When I hear or read the word democracy, my first reaction is to be on guard;to wonder if another confidence trick is being pulled over the country. Over thedecades, democracy has become a cover under which politicians, whom you wouldnot trust with a loan of Rs 10, gain authority to handle crores of public moneyor put pressure on those who do. To reach the commanding heights of politics,they must contest elections, which needs cash in suitcase-fulls. Criminals andtheir black money associates are happy to contribute, for a price. Society paysthe price, with corruption eating increasingly into its vitals. If progress ismade, it is in areas shielded from party politics. The true test of democracy,we were told in school, was that it should further "the greatest good ofthe greatest number." As practiced in India, the word has come to signifythe opposite.