Valley
of Kashmir has produced eminent doctors, engineers, professors, technocrats, scientists,
poets, saints, businessmen and artists over decades who have brought laurels to
us as well as earned a name for themselves throughout the world. However three
decades of persistent turmoil have taken a heavy toll on the quality of our work
culture and consequently on the quality of our human resource too. Our work
culture and work ethics have been drastically affected as a result of our
misplaced priorities and misdirected goals. Sycophancy, flattery and short-cuts
seem to be taking precedence over merit, hard-work, perseverance and dedication
in our society at present. No doubt we have exhibited unparalleled resilience
and invincible fortitude in times of severe distress and devastation over the
past three decades, bouncing back every time we were at the brink of getting
drowned and decimated by death, disturbance, destruction, earthquakes, floods,
strikes and shutdowns. Our hardwired, time-tested survival instincts and insurmountable
spirits of recuperation and rejuvenation amid some of the most testing,
miserable and desperate times have been very well acknowledged as well as applauded
worldwide. However our work culture continues to remain a grim and grey area
that needs urgent attention and prompt action by all sections and stakeholders of
our society.
One
of the ills that appear to have been plaguing our society for long is laziness
and lethargy. Late nineteenth century travelers to Kashmir including Tyndale
Biscoe and Walter Lawrence have written a lot about this trait of ours. Lawrence
describes a Kashmiri in his 1895 travelogue entitled, “Valley of Kashmir” as, “he
is effeminate, lazy and helpless. He will not work or try to improve his
condition, for experience tells him that this is superfluous. It is in his
opinion the duty of his employer to feed him but he himself is unfettered by
any duties. He objects to innovations, and when reforms are suggested he howls
with indignation. He ridicules drainage and streets as wild ideas of another
world”. Sadly we seem to have retained this undesirable feature even till today
in our character. We perhaps are the hard-core status-quoists who are conventionally averse and reluctant to any substantial
progressive change obviously because that involves some amount of hard work and
labour. We feel utterly dismayed by any idea that seeks to bring us out of our cozy
little comfort zones. We are not generally inclined to work hard because we do
not value merit, competence and capability. Most of us want quick money that can
lift us from rags to riches overnight. We cherish sycophancy, deviousness and
chicanery as our ladders to success and hate accountability and transparency from
the core of our hearts. Much to our furtive delight, red tape and babudom is
perceived by common masses as being too rampant in our offices, as a fall-out
of which we consider ourselves as demigods the moment we occupy some chair of
authority and start wielding as well as misusing power brazenly.
Our
inherent sufarishi culture in
particular has achieved its zenith and penetrated deep inside each and every
sphere of our life. Whether we have to secure admission of our child in a
school, college or a university, or seek an employment or even an appointment
with a doctor, or get hospitalized and receive treatment, procure a ration card
or some documents from any government office, or to get our telephone line
repaired, to receive tuition from a tutor, or to get one’s by-lane macadamized,
we inevitably seek a sturdy (dae’r) sufarish
or recommendation to get things done to the best of our satisfaction or may
be without that things don’t work the way they should. Sufarish is all pervading in our culture. Our students usually reckon
that only a sufarish is going to
fetch them a govt. job making merit an all too meaningless entity. All they need
is a degree certificate to fulfill the basic criteria, sufarish and exhortation will in all probability take care of the
rest. Hence they feel no need to burn their midnight oil and study hard for
obtaining good grades and high merit in their examinations. They even leave no
stone unturned to escape from the assessment and evaluation process itself by
seeking mass promotions on the drop of a hat. They might have witnessed people treading
ahead on the ladder of success by kissing the feet of the one above and hitting
the head of the one below, on the rungs of this ladder. Amid all this
melancholy and desolation, corruption, nepotism and favouritism appears to be
flourishing day-by-day in our society while merit and competence is
unfortunately taking a backseat.
Consequently
when merit gets relinquished and relegated to the background, it is the
mediocrity that rules the roost. Mediocre people who have nothing much to boast
and offer to the world keep scouting for short-cuts while resorting to
sycophancy to achieve their mean goals. They keep themselves busy coaxing and
cajoling their bosses all the time in order to fulfill their selfish motives.
Richard Yates writes in ‘Revolutionary Road’, “Mediocrity is a disease. Nobody
thinks or feels or cares anymore; nobody gets excited or believes in anything
except their own comfortable little God damn mediocrity.” Mediocrity is the
main culprit responsible for sleazy and lax work culture prevailing in our
society. We need to get rid of mediocrity in order to restore any semblance of sanctity
and credibility in our work culture and work ethics. Nigerian playwright and poet Michael Bassey
Johnson has said that “to
be of good quality, you have to excuse yourself from the presence of shallow
and callow minded individuals.” Meritocracy and talent alone must prevail in all
our appointments, promotions, assignments, assessment, evaluation, dealings and
decisions. That alone can bring us out of the morass of mediocrity and laziness,
failing which we will keep losing our meritorious, capable and competent manpower
that can contribute significantly towards nation building, to the western
world. No wonder that in civilized, polished and learned societies that value
talent and aptitude, our gifted youth religiously follow all norms and statutes
in vogue, make a mark for themselves and shine like stars. It is time that we
nurture them and hone their talent towards building our indigenous institutions
as world class centres of excellence, otherwise there will be no enticement and
opportunity left for the merit-holders to work hard with sincerity and diligence
for the upliftment of their nation and society.
