Chapter IV: Director, Mr. X and Mr. X, Director- A Dilemma
Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. But how one can become powerful?
If you can reach the top of the organization/ government/ company, automatically you will be powerful. How can one reach and stay at the top?
Unless you inherit the top position, you must have a trait along with competence and intelligence. Because your, competence and intelligence with your peers may be almost same, may be even less. Then, what is the specific trait you must have to reach the top and powerful?
‘You have to lick the boots of the seniors, boot the juniors and cut throats of the peers.’ This is a famous statement by a famous General.
In administrative language, it is called ruthless, disciplined and loyal officer/worker/person/soldier etc. Once you are at the top, you are the master all you survey, you are the judge and you’re the chief executor. If anybody dares to challenge you, you just annihilate him/ her.
But normally, technical people are not coming in this category. But always exceptions are there. A few years back, I attended a golden jubilee celebration of a technical organization at New Delhi. Retired top officers were also invited for the function. As soon as a retired top officer entered, everybody present there, rushed to him to greet him. This officer had retired about ten years back, but still commands respect among the juniors. The officer could not only recalled everybody by name, but also knew about the family members, their problems, both solved during his time and unsolved problems during his time.
At least another ten top retired officers were also present in the function, but none was swarmed like him. No doubt they were also greeted by many of us.
But I noticed, another retired top officer was sitting all alone, nobody was talking to him. I, out of sympathy, went to the old fellow and introduced myself and asked,
‘Sir, May I know, why you are sitting all alone?’
His answers perplexed me. ‘Young man! Why you are talking to me? If any of your seniors see you talking to me, they may be unhappy with you also. Perhaps you do not know me, I am Mr.----‘.
As a newcomer to the organization, I was told about this gentleman. When he was in the helm of affairs, he terrorized all the employees working under him, in the name of transfer, disciplinary actions etc. At the drop of a hat, he suspended many young officials. That was the first time I met this tyrant face to face. I surprised to see fear in the eyes of once most feared person. I understood that, he might be worried thinking, he might be humiliated by anybody, whom he had mentally tortured when he was in power.
I asked him politely, ‘Sir, would you mind if I ask you a question?’
The old fellow replied, ‘I know, what you want to know. No, I am not a happy person now. My misdeeds are now haunting me. Every day, I think why I did those acts. I sometimes, feel like committing suicide. But probably, God also does not want me. As an old man, I want to advise you, never think power will always be with you.
Power is like a prostitute, when you are on top, you are the master, the moment you leave, and you are no more even concerned to her/it. Even if you have choice between, your career and your conscience, always go with your conscience. Never compromise your dignity and principles. I did realize this fact of life very late. I learnt it very late that, love and respect cannot be earned through enforcement of power and authority, it comes through your actions and virtues, mutual respect and cooperation.
I was a good man till I occupied the top post and power took over my head. Now, I curse the day when I was selected for the post.’
I observed that, his voice was trembling and eyes became moist.
A few years back I was presiding a farewell meeting of an officer who had a Topsy turvy career. However, he was a very jolly person and he can mesmerize the audience whenever he speaks on any topic.
After giving thanks to the organizing committee, he started his farewell speech as follows:
I joined the service in ---year and completed 35 years of chequered career without any complaint about anybody who worked with me as senior or junior. In my entire career, I wanted to be a good human being, rather than a good officer.
As an officer I am a total failure in the eyes of many of my seniors and I am a very good officer in the eyes of my many juniors. However, I must be grateful to all my 35 bosses except five bosses, in my long 35 years of my service career, who were kind enough to support me in my office work and for them only I am able to retire as -----.
You may be interested to know about those five officers, who gave me some torrid time during my career. Out of five officers, three were extremely good people and you all know, good people have to leave this sinful earth early; they also left the world of sin, well before their retirement.
Out of the rest two, one was sent to jail for few months by the authority due to some malpractices and the last one was allegedly beaten up by a junior officer, in his office chamber itself. When both of us were working under him, he used to instigate the young officer against me. Though, I had no role to play in all these happenings, both the living officers accused me as the chief architect of their misfortunes. Some accused me as ‘manhoos’ (a person who caries misfortune to others) for my bosses. As a matter of fact, none of the officers died, when I was working under them. Similarly, both the incidence occurred about the living officers, well after I left those offices. But, I cannot stop anybody who had a bad opinion about me.
But I can tell you, out of other 30 bosses, one went on to become a member of the apex body of our organization, one retired as a very senior officer in UN, four of them retired as the topmost officers of the organization. Many of my earlier bosses also retired after reaching the second top most post.
But you all know, we always remember all the bad things in the wrong spirit. Some seniors termed me as rogue, who never listens to the advices of the seniors; some said that, I deserved to be condemned.
I always feel about those seniors as they are innocent but lack of knowledge in the subjects dealt by us and administrative rules and regulations. It is the problem of the Indian system, where a person is identified by the designation, neither by knowledge nor by any other quality.
Suppose a person is holding the post of Director, then he is taken by the society as ‘Director, Mr. X, not as ‘Mr. X, Director’.
These officers also think about themselves like that and treat their subordinates as their servants, not servants of Government of India or Government of a State. When they cannot argue on administrative points or technical points, they would say, ‘you have to agree with me, because I am your boss.’
I never digested such type rulings in my life. I had always good relations with all seniors, whom I thought, they are intelligent and hardworking and protective against any external pressure. I hated those officers, who advises you to do something and once it goes wrong, he abandons you like a mouse abandoning a sinking ship.
Many people may talk about you many things, but you and only God knows what you are doing and what you have done. Therefore, I always do what makes me happy and in the interest for the country and staff working under me.
I may be implicated in things, which I actually had not done. Even the bosses know the truth, but they will never divulge the truth, because falsehood helps them. But God is always kind enough to me, whenever the bosses tried to harm me in connivance with some other senior officers, God rewarded me with something which otherwise, I would have missed in my life.
I am rather thankful to those poor bosses, for their misdeeds, I became mentally tougher and got chances to prove myself. Now I am a content man by achieving many things which, of course, may not be acknowledged by others. That is life, even Pandavas who were protected by God himself, had to suffer entire life, so who am I, who would not suffer!
Always remember, sufferings are like fire, which gives a chance to get rid of impurities of your body and mind.
I once again,
thank all the bosses who helped me during my thick and thin and also those five bosses, three of whom are no more today, for their very good (Sic!) behavior /activities towards me, which made me mentally stronger, efficient and gave the opportunity to intellectually develop myself to some extent. I am also thankful, to all my juniors, whom I always treat them as my brothers/ sisters or sons/ daughters for their wonderful associations in my long journey. I also extend my.------
After completion of his speech, I asked him, why he is so skeptical about some of his bosses.
Further, ‘if I die tomorrow, you will make fun of my death also. Is not it?’ I asked him a pointed question.
‘Yes. When, I said, the persons who die early, I really mean it, they are lucky people. They need not have to face humiliation in the hand of any junior whom he tortured mentally. Their very entities are associated with the posts, they were holding. They do not have any social status compared to even a person, who might have retired from a very low post. Death is the ultimate truth and ultimate escape route. Dead persons need not have to reply anything, good or bad. I also do not have any bad feeling about them. But, yes, it is tragic for their families; I have also full sympathy for them.’
Though, I could not agree with the retiring colleague in all the points he had made, he also tried to see his arguments from his point of view.
I tried to compare the speech of the retiring colleague and the advice given by the retired person met on the golden jubilee celebration day.
Again I recalled of a person, who happened to be a nice person a few months ago, now fast changing to an authoritarian ruler after clinching a prize posting. I can see the future of the person, if his ego continues to grow like the way it is growing in the last few months, he may also end up with the same category of person of the retired person, whom I met on the golden jubilee celebration day, many years back.
I thought for a while, whether I should talk with the person, whom he had lot of respect, not to allow power and authority take over his head. Being a Junior in status, in a second thought, he desisted myself from doing so, because, if he does not take it in the right spirit, he may make my life hell.
I also try to look back, as administrator, how many times I had to take tough decisions, which were not appreciated by many. I have few more years to go. Who knows, if I die tomorrow, my family will suffer no doubt, but many juniors/ colleagues may also mock about my death, publicly or privately.
After a sleepless night, I shrugged off all the negative feelings and surrendered to his destiny!
The author is a Government servant and a man of vivid experiences derived from his official postings across the country, travels across India and numerous visits outside India. He is presently placed at New Delhi.
His earlier publications are:
1. Random Thoughts through a Coloured Prism
2. Dilemma of a Young Mind
3. Funny Statistics and Serious Statisticians
4. Melody of Fragrance
5. Akhadya
6. Few Cities through the Lens of Hiranya Borah
7. Guilt: Gift of Winter Spring
8. Beautiful Ghost
9. Great Fighters: Grace of God
10. All Blurred
11. Putting kids to sleep
12. How to become unpopular
13. Soulmates
14. My grumpy Face
15. Love and Worries
16. Discussion of own Birth: A Taboo
17. Interview
18. Indecent Love Affairs
19. My Fair Lady
20. Waiting time
21. Two Stories
22. My Mother: Dashami Borah
23. Parineeta
24. Manorama
25. Unwanted
26. First Attempt
27. A father
28. The Portrait
29. Snapped Thread
30. Only He Knows
31. The Stupid Mother
32. The Same Old Story
33. The Old Scoundrel
34. Third Attempt
35. Some of my First Days and First Nights
36. Snubbed Twice
37. Have You Met the God
38. Frequent Flier
39. Messiah
40. Forgive and Forget
41. To Win or to lose
42. Call Girl
43. Beyond Blood Relation
44. Lady with a Black Car
45. My wife
46. Complete Woman
47. Diwali Gift
48. Romance with a Lady
49. Open Heart Surgery
50. My First Love
51. Replacement
52. Pebbles on My Way Home
53. My First Bengali Book
54. Murder Mystery
55. Niharika
56. Swapping
57. Make a Habit to Thank God
58. Killing of a Bird
59. The Hero
60. Fantasy versus Reality
61. The Party
62. Road Rage
63. Death of a Friend
64. Cannot Live with Memory Only
65. None Cares for Me
66. A Tribute to My Guru
67. Two Professionals
68. The Choice
69. The Elusive Spouse
70. First Encounter with A P
71. Plane Crash
72. Plane Crash Part-II
73. Plane Crash Part-III
74. Abducted
75. A Bag of Currency
76. Suitable Groom
77. Head Hunters
78. My Dear Sister
79. Selection While Waiting at the Airport
80. Oh Shit
81. Perverse
82. He Got Back His Wife
83. Beautiful Faces
84. Elder Sister
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