The First Corruption Scandal of India.

“It is pertinent to mention here that Nehru made corrupt colleagues like Krishna Menon, who was involved in the infamous ‘jeep scam’ while he was the Defence Minister”.- V. Kalayanam, the personal secretary of Mahatma Gandhi.

Independent India within a year as an independent nation was bestowed upon by a high-level corruption scam.

The 1948 Jeep Scandal is a memory long lost. But must be remembered for a key reason, for a nationwide introspection on corruption and why it still continues to haunt our lives and system is quite necessary. To realise the full potential of India.

During the Indo-Pak War of 1947–1948. V.K. Krishna Menon, the then Indian High Commissioner placed an order for 2,000 second-hand jeeps from a nameless firm in Britain called the Anti-Mistanees which had a mere capital of 600 British Pounds. Nevertheless, Menon argued that instead of ordering from an American or Canadian firm, ordering from this firm would result in faster and shift delivery. And agreed to pay roughly around 300 Pounds for one single jeep, the demand was for 2,000 Jeeps. Despite the little known company’s capital being a mere 600 pounds. Sixty per cent of the total sum was agreed upon to be paid in advance by Menon upon inspection, and twenty per cent upon delivery and the rest after a gap of a month. Whilst this was the agreed-upon sale deed. Menon quite suspiciously paid 65% of the total sum of $170,000 without any inspection certificate. Eventually, only 155 jeeps were to Madras and they were found unusable. The Defence Ministry refused to accept them, and the nameless Company refused to compensate for them. And didn’t adhere to their promise of delivering the total number of jeeps. They were delivered and the haunting question remained, why did Menon pay a nameless company with barely any capital a staggering amount of money, that too 65% of a defence payment of Government of India with no official inspection certificate whatsoever?

Menon was silent, and Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru the Prime Minister of India then protected Menon from any enquiry whatsoever. After much protest from the Defence Ministry, the Ayyangar Judiciary Committee was created to probe into this scam. But in 1955, the Government quite suspiciously said that the case is officially closed.

In 1956, Nehru inducted Menon into his cabinet and made him Defence Minister. Did Nehru protect corrupt colleagues and thus backed a system of endemic corruption turning a blind eye, to heavy corruption taking over the roots of Independent India? Can one say, he was akin to Bhishma turning a blind eye to the insult meted on Draupadi by Kauravas? Or far worse?