We need to radically improve!

I am now slowly getting convinced that the sarkari tantra in the country has firmly resolved to maintain status quo and vowed not to improve itself. 

The flood of scams has indeed swept us off our feet and almost everyone has lost the count. 2G when it happened indeed hit the nation hard but the flood witnessed thereafter has brought major scams as close to the common man as minor acts of extortion indulged in by petty government functionaries in each and every single sarkari office in the nation. Scams have indeed lost their sheen unless they are in a few lakh of crores bracket.

The indignity heaped on the nation in the night of the 16^th of December 2012 when Nirbhaya was raped and murdered is again a reminder of the our passion for mere rhetoric and not decisive action. Nirbhaya stands forgotten and the case lingers on the lower courts. The leaders who then made tall statements about fast track justice in this case and deterrent steps have almost vanished. The laws remain the same and so is the slowly grinding machinery of the judicial system.

An organization, state or a nation moves forward by decisive action. A resolve unless translated into action is at best a rhetoric and therein lies the tragedy of this great nation. The bureaucratic tantra is so complex that it is unable to go beyond self sustenance, an act that keeps it fully occupied. The political machinery remains confined to exploiting the harvest to recover many times over the major investment it made in getting elected. The poor citizen is left to fend for itself.

Closer home, the great railways continues to remain the paradise of the mediocre and the corrupt. The system that has evolved with the contribution of nine services of the union places on a high pedestal the non–performer and the bechara. The complexity of the tantra ensures that delivery happens only rarely and corruption does not get eradicated. The complex tantra is indeed a perfect shroud for covert practices.

The bureaucrat has stakes only in non deliverance and self gratification. The recent scams have only taught him to be more careful, yet continue with things as they are.

Hum nahi sudharenge kabhi bhi, seems to be the national slogan.   

Conformance galore!

Conformists rule the roost in all mediocre organizations and railways is no exception. An organization that remains devoid of even extremely faint traces of leadership invariably provides an ideal ground for the conformists to take deep roots.

In conformance lies anonymity and in anonymity lies a mediocre survival, a survival that provides not   satisfaction but ample opportunities for self aggrandizement.

I recently realized that it is only since my return to the railways that a liberal usage of the term “self aggrandizement” has been finding way in all my writings. Yes it is indeed true that one starts appreciating this term more in railways than anywhere else and perhaps I also would not have appreciated the same had I not spent a considerable time outside the organization.

For where else one would find, almost the entire fleet of babudom, with limited exceptions, merely living for themselves, without any concern for the organization, staff or the clients.  Which other organization provides its top level officers, opportunities to ridicule, punish, loot and exploit on a platter. And this exploitation is amply witnessed in misuse of railway staff at home, ridiculous protocols, almost ordering gifts from subordinates and yearly renovations of toilets and hanging curtains almost worth a nano whenever the incumbent changes. The brass is above rules and procedures and the brass cares only for itself is what the rank and file has learnt by experience.

The lack of vision and direction and absolute unconcern for men and land has also apparently emerged as a mandatory criterion for all those who are poised to move up in the conventional sense in this organization that had a "great" affixed to its name till very recently. 

Treading a different line requires courage and the brass neck deep in acts of self aggrandizement is obviously found lacking and therefore prefers to tread the oft beaten track.  The acts of the brass are adoringly emulated by those below thus perpetuating the rule of the conformists.

The most visible aspect of the conformist is his almost violent inability in being able to listen to a point of view that is not in conformity to his way of thinking. And therefore one witnesses either a heated or a subdued environment in almost all discussion forums at almost all levels. And that leads me to wonder as to the type of organization are we rearing for the future generations.

I am not sure whether my time shall come or not, but if and when that comes, either the organization shall change or I would  get the boot in the first few days itself. But I would definitely avoid like plague  the path that all my predecessors had tread upon.

Insha Alllah!

Inaction Kills!

Inaction kills.

Almost six years of continuous batting on the field, first on the unknown but smooth turf of Bhopal followed by the familiar but undulating turf of Delhi has me thirsting for more. But I am temporarily rested, not to recoup as a matter of design, but more as a matter of policy of the top brass of the railways to clip the wings of whomsoever they perceive as a high flier and maybe a threat to their own mediocre existence.

The two innings separated played on turfs separated by almost eight hundred kilometres had some amazing similarities and some not so amazing differences. What was similar was the level of challenge, the pathetic condition of the terrain handed over to me and the integrity, commitment and capability of my boys. What was different was the complexity of processes, the level of empowerment and trust and the support of the top brass with the delhi turf taking the cake in so far as negativity is concerned. The powers that mattered at Bhopal left no stone unturned in ensuring my success, for the sake of the state of course while the support structure at delhi was virtually non existent with the top brass making its presence felt generally only for finding faults or giving unsolicited advice. Yet, my boys played exceedingly well and what a success it was, even on the delhi turf!

And this further reinforces my belief in the superiority of the people who man the apex levels in the golden service of the nation and those in the railways who man the functional levels, levels that are responsible for keeping the wheels moving.

Why we refuse to accept the ground reality, the truth, knowing fully well that a make believe world cannot be sustained for long. The reality and the basic truth has to be faced some day and therefore why not now? Why is it that the powers that be, refuse to grant basic dignity to all those subservient to them, and would only like to hear the voice of a mediocre or that of a sycophant? Any version other than theirs is normally considered high treason. We have to appreciate that the ivory tower approach suited the british who ruled over subjects of a slave nation, but has no place in a free nation. Perhaps this behaviour is what mediocrity is all about.

It is not physical activity that tires a person, it is physical and mental inactivity that really tires one down. This realization comes only after one is rested after a gruelling long drawn out match.

Amen!