Indian Politicians

I read an interesting discussion about the causative factors behind political corruption in India. Most people, self included, get all riled up and self-righteous when we talk about corrupt politicians. Of course, cynical Bollywood films, where the politician is the personification of every evil known to mankind, only indicate how deep-rooted our contempt for the political class is.
Its almost as if the profession has become some kind of lightening rod about what ails our economy, and our democracy. Remember Operation Duryodhana, where a group of journalists launched a sting operation against politicians who offered to ask questions during parliamentary debates in return for monetary compensation? Or the Tehelka expose about kickbacks given to senior officials of the defence ministry and the military?
Unless one stubbornly insists on burying one's head in the sand -- its quite obvious that the Rules of the Game are set up such that, in economic terms, there are strong incentives for corruption, and very weak rewards for those who refuse to be corrupt.