TALES OF TRAVESTY
DR. JITENDRA SINGH
In reply to a legislator’s question in the Jammu & Kashmir Assembly on 20th February, the chief minister reiterated his government’s resolve to get rid of what he described as ‘‘dead wood’’ in administration. The CM also shared with the House, the information that a high-powered committee had been constituted to identify such cases which fall in that category.
Incidentally, this is not for the first time that a chief minister of Jammu & Kashmir is toying with the idea of sending on forced premature retirement, those of the state employees who have seemingly turned into ‘‘dead wood’’ or, in other words, who have turned redundant and worthless like the wood that is left with no fire inside. More often than not, however, the government’s intent is thwarted by the influential lot who are capable of pulling strings to survive… no matter whether the wood is dead or alive.
Years ago, when Ajit Wadekar declared his sudden decision to retire from international cricket soon after having won for India a cricket series as skipper, he was asked why he was doing so and he quoted his mentor Poly Umrigar to say ‘‘ One should retire when asked why you are retiring and not when people start asking why you are not retiring ?’’
In the realms of Jammu and Kashmir administration, however, the reverse is the case with even the senior most bureaucrats, senior most police officers and heads of department found inventing new and innovative methods to postpone their date of retirement either by way of an extension in service or reemployment or, if nothing works, then by forging a false Date of Birth Certificate.
George Bernard Shaw once remarked that certain set-ups are such in which the craziest rise to become ‘‘Admirals’’. Often, it is whispered in certain quarters in Jammu and Kashmir that to rise to the topmost position in state hierarchy, one needs to be less competent, more dishonest and most sycophantic. Now, whether these traits are also capable of infusing life in ‘‘dead’’ wood is a question to be answered by the polity presiding over state hierarchy provided the polity itself is not dead or dying with stigma of scams, land encroachments and cash-for-transfers.
Meanwhile, a curious observation is that those who deserve to be forcibly or voluntarily retired from government, often manage never to retire whereas those who apply for voluntary retiremeent are the ones whose services are needed but they choose to quit the government job because they have the option of better avenues outside government set-up.
Nevertheless, those who inspire the common man are the ones who quit for a higher cause and never look back. Umapathy philosophically but poetically speaks on their behalf ‘‘…Ahle-e-Sahil Ko Humne Pukara Nahin!’’
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