“It’s only after you have stepped outside your comfort zone that you begin to change, grow and transform” (Roy T. Bennett).
Every single individual on the face of earth who claims any lineage or belonging to the Homo sapiens lives and sustains in one or the other society. For the consistent growth and development of society, almost every individual strives and toils at his best. In fact, work is worship. The greater the zeal and zest for toiling and striving harder in any society’s individuals’ neurons, the greater progress and prosperity is witnessed in different aspects of that particular society in it’s socio-economic, infrastructural, moral, ethical as well as technological and scientific temperament.
History is witness to the fact that Rome was not built in a day. Every culture, tradition, folklore, norm, value, linguistic as well as social group combines in a complex whole like an organism and transforms through various developmental phases to attain maturity in order to give birth to a well-developed civilization. This is equally apt on the Indian society which took birth and attained maturity through longer periods of historical development and transformation.
Ours is a society having not only thousands of year’s old glorious culture but also diversity of languages, traditions, values and especially our own unique identity. We have contributed towards as well as admired each other’s mutual endeavors for the sustenance of our own being and that of others. We are the primary witness to the accomplishments undertaken by our fathers, forefathers and great grandparents who left no stone unturned in making Indian society an intellectual, architectural, commercial and academic paradise. What so ever, negligible or significant, every individual has contributed his part in shaping and beautifying this land. As a result of which everybody has been treated at par and due regard was given to each other’s endeavors. In fact, those were the times, when India was known as ‘golden sparrow’.
Alas! A topsy-turvy society has evolved at present in this fertile Paradise. From every aspect the kaleidoscopic paradise seems to be “Paradise lost” now.
In today’s India, the deep rooted fragmentation and ideas based on individual interests have encroached in almost every sphere of our life. Our own people belonging to same species and similar genre are treated differently in present day Hindustan. The spirit of collectivism and mutual respect as well as recognition for each other’s work has met a tragic end.
In its various developmental phases, people belonging to some specific profiles like politicians, bureaucrats, big businessmen and religious leaders are always treated as highly reverenced and numbered in good books. While some other services have always been neglected in its social setup. Among these essential and inalienable services, the most neglected and vulnerable ones include the banking employees, the police and the medical staff.
In the times of any emergency like corona pandemic, all the three departments rendered and are rendering their invaluable services and unconditional support in order to keep our people alive and our society functional on its normal track. In the absence of any of these services, the sustenance and vitality of our society is unimaginable. These are the people who leave no stone unturned in moving from pillar to post in order to ensure the safety and security as well as smooth functioning of the entire country. However, it is an irony that we neglect their services and don’t pay them the due regard which these people owe from us.
The hectic nature of job in addition to their longer working hours than most of the other departmental employees have rendered the bankers as most depressed sections of society. These are the human beings whose services are never ever regarded with honor. Instead, we look upon them as the people who feed on tax payers’ money.
Similar is the case with police. These are the people who follow strict routine and discipline even in the hardest of the circumstances of their tenure for the sake of ensuring maintenance of discipline and control in common man’s life in order to make him or her a law abiding citizen. These men in uniform teach a layman the essential lessons of living a dignified life by developing in him or her the qualities of submissiveness and obedience. In fact, they transform a raw into ripe citizen.
Medical staff is not an exception to this great but highly vulnerable and least respected section of our society. In every episode of emergency or normalcy, health and medical department is our last refuge. These people work for days and nights altogether, only to see the rest of the countrymen grow healthy, sleep well and sustain for long. Our survival with dignity is the concern of all these people. Do they get in return the same what they work for?
The irony is that, the social set up of ours has been created as such where murders and criminals are looked up on with high esteem and dignity with thousands of followers, but the people belonging to noble professions like doctors, bankers and police are hardly given due regards or cooperation.
Need of the hour is to understand the nature of job as well as the conditions of service under which people from these sections of society work and contribute in making our lives beautiful, easy and tension free. Being the members of same society, we should contribute on our part in giving the due regard and reverence and to set examples of high social standards of cooperation and affirmation in and around our society towards these services.
Once the personnel belonging to these professions are given their due regard and provided necessary cooperation from other quarters, the graph of conflicts and clashes arising out of our contrasting and conflicting areas of interest will come down. This will also generate more interest amongst such people to work sincerely and honestly with extra efforts. It will make our society more justiciable, transparent and a beautiful place to live in where not only social but also ethical and moral standards of people will touch the skies.
Dr Rafi Ramzan Dar (Author teaches Geography at GDC Kulgam, J&K)
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