It is not beating a dead horse. Widely agreed is that unchecked powers lead to the misuse, abuse and overuse of authority. The questionable and unlawful use of power manifests itself in multiple ways— blackmailing, bribery, delay tactics and any other gratification by the power holding hands. These acts simply are professional gross misconduct. And the most impactful but less visible— ‘Sifarish’ reigning supreme in all walks of life at the expense of the underdogs and underprivileged.
It is an open secret that bribery, nepotism, favoritism and sifarish are not confined to any particular society but more or less are in play worldwide. These unfair means breed governance deficit and feelings of deprivation of state services for an ordinary citizen— something against the spirit and purpose of a welfare state. Resultantly common citizens go unheard and feelings of insecurity overtake them.
Remarkably, we do have potent laws in place to turn tables on corrupt practice; we have scores of institutions capable for calling to account the corrupt hands. Arguably, these institutions may not be convincingly foolproof but they have turned up heat on several corrupt officials in the recent past; are watchful to ensure that the big fish do not slip through the net.
But what about the menace called ‘sifarish’ (literally influence) in this part of the world. It is in bad taste that ‘Sifarish’ holds a whip hand in majority of cases related to ration card issues, for a simple deployment/ transfer, for a doctor’s consultation, for admission in institutions, etc; long is the list. Do we need merit or ‘sifarish’? Do we need rule of law or ‘sifarish’? Should we wait for our turn at a hospital or use ‘sifarish’ to get the medical assistance? Hard to answer are these questions in view of the going.
For ‘sifarish’ to operate, the road is not bumpy. The rot sets in when the supposed moral preachers and pious people make things happen on the back of ‘sifarish’. Most people opine that taking the well travelled path of ‘sifarish’ for posts, postings, transfers, admissions, contracts and so on, does not bear any threat to society. To an extent, ‘sifarish’ may be tolerable and understandable. ‘Sifarish’ is seen as a status symbol and the people possessing it are predisposed to weaponise it, leaving the non- ‘sifarish’ people helpless and defeated.
Truth is that the weaker sections suffer for not having a rich purse, strong hands or right contacts. In action is the survival of the fittest which compromises the legal framework and murders the very essence of social justice — in a democratic set up.
If nobody is above the law, then ‘sifarish’ culture must be erased as it is wiping out our moral and legal norms. An individual act of ‘sifarish’ may look negligible but its toxic effect on the system is devastating. Ordinary citizens face hardships and violation of human rights on the occasions where ‘sifarish’ is a decider.
Tragic but true is that we lack the backbone to berate the people who favor and intervene in the interest of the blue eyed at the cost of the disadvantaged sections. Contrarily, such influential people are garlanded, gifted with sweets, suits, boots, friendships and invitations to functions. As a result, they feel endeared and encouraged to the point that they their wishes become rules for a common citizen. Dozens of lower rung employees are seen wandering even during duty hours; dozens do side business, skipping duty. All due to ‘sifarish’, a dominant form of corruption. In addition, the evil practice (sifarish) hits the economic and social sectors as well. A few examples;
Doctors are trained on tax payers’ money in our medical colleges and are mandated to treat people free at government hospitals. For this service, the health officials receive fat salaries — again from tax payers’ money. Once appointed, most doctors come late to duty and leave early for private clinics. So double gains to them. One, their salaries and two, income at clinics. Because of ‘sifarish’, they even act on impunity, knowing well that their patrons will come to their rescue. But what about the larger society?
The next sector is induction into the administration on the basis of ‘sifarish’ and its negative impact on society. We all have grievances about the absence of competence and lack of professionalism in public services. Under ‘sifarish’, merit and competence are sacrificed at the altar of mediocrity.
The worst damage to our future is inflicted in the shape of teacher appointments if based on ‘sifarish’. When teachers get licenses not on earned merit but on ‘sifarish’, we need not expect any turnaround in quality education. And for that matter in the betterment of our younger generation or discipline in their lives.
When influential teachers show non seriousness and stay away from their duties to indulge in side business with patrons protecting them, teaching-learning process is bound to be derailed. To let that happen, ‘sifarish’ comes into play.
Undeniably, patronized teachers go by their wishes, not the codal norms. The disillusionment railroads, the dutiful teachers to follow suit, feeling deviant behavior goes unnoticed and good work unfruitful. No wonder if we have poor results, declining enrollment, high dropout rates, and a high number of actually illiterate young people unable to find jobs. These people may end up in the depths of anti-social activities. Where does the buck stop then?
‘Sifarish’ involves ‘lihaz’, ‘sharam’, ‘biraderi’, relation, friendship etc. It is a tall order for a person to refrain from the evil act but if we prioritise public interests over personal ones and seek better future, we can free our work culture from ‘sifarish’. Nothing can change if we change nothing; ‘sifarish’ is our own enemy; we all need to weed it out. It is time, we change our priorities. Now or never!
(Author is RK Columnist and Teacher by Profession. Feedback: [email protected])
