Instructive progress: Meet Amit Khare, advisor to Prime Minister

Amit Khare's role in the case that sent Lalu Prasad to jail was almost incidental

India in 1996 was in turmoil. Corruption was the most-used word that year and the reputation of almost every national political party was tainted by it, said Sumit Ganguly, professor at Indiana University and respected India expert. The Jain hawala scandal would eventually throw up the names of 115 politicians who were suspected of having taken bribes. Among the accused were three members of Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao’s cabinet as well as opposition leader L K Advani.

In Bihar, a corruption scam was just beginning to unfold. In 1996, State Finance Secretary V S Dubey ordered district magistrates