A item on the online BBC news site on Tuesday, 23 October, 2007 says that money collected for disaster relief has gone missing. Mr. Rehman, an employee of Coal India Ltd. says that all employees of that company had donated one day's wages for victims of Gujarat earthquake, Kargil war and the Asian tsunami but the money never reached the Prime Minister's Relief Fund. He found this out by persistently asking for information under the Right to Information Act. I doubt that any Indian will be surprised at this news. Few years back an American of Indian origin wanted to donate money to the college he had passed from but the then minister, Murli Manohar Joshi decreed that he could not donate directly to his college but had to go through the ministry. The fellow donated the money to an American college instead. Such is the mistrust and contempt for politicians and civil servants tht no self respecting Indian will have anything to do with them. Do these people feel insulted that they are seen as scum by their countrymen? Not at all. When they are able to commit any crime and live a life of luxury at tax payers expense they can afford to have skins thicker than that of a rhinoceros. Do mafiosi feel insulted by being called criminals? Some educated Indians say that a period of army rule would benefit the country by executing all politicians and civil servants but that would be even worse than what we have at present. There seems to be no solution.