Monday, November 16, 2009

Abusing power...




Gandhiji said, "Be the change you want to see in the world". I want to see the change in all those officials who abuse powers. I encountered few incidents in my college which had put me to shame. Groped with frustration & irritation I dint know how to respond and felt forced to pour down my heart's content through blog. So this is what happened:

I am applying for internships and need a no objection certificate and transcripts. These two are essential to complete the application procedure. With a enthusiastic mood and a smile, I approach my dean. Our dean is a sweet heart n readily signed and forwarded it to the registrar. I approach the registrar who enthusiastically approved it and asked me to meet his assistant to get the letter. And now the story begins...

I go to the office and introduce myself to the Asst registrar
Me-" Good afternoon sir, i am R.Shrinivasan doing my M.Tech in Industrial Biotech, 5 year integrated course and i am applying for an internship & require a no objection certificate from head of the institution. Registrar has asked me to meet you concerning this issue.." "smiles"

He looks at the letter which was signed by all the higher authorities. Name the person and the signature was there. After listening to my entire intro he says," I am not the person in charge, meet that person"

Now, the room is very small.. with some 7 officials sitting across one round table. All their eyes on me. I approach the person directed and say i need NOC.

2nd official(angry tone)-" is this the way you ask??? who are you? hw am i supposed to know what you need" I repeat the entire intro with few sorry n excuses.
He looks at the letter n says, " I am not incharge of Biotech contact him"

i approach the 3rd, the fourth, the 5th, the 6th official. Every time I approach a new person i repeat the intro. The irony is that all know my need but they wanted me to suffer! They were deriving a pleasure by all this. this wasnt funny to me. Finally the guy with a nonchalant attitude (both hands behind his bald head, relaxing on chair) asks me to get it signed from registrar!!!

I said-" its already signed" oh shit. what did I do?? i am not supposed to back answer. and i face the consequence
he- angry. "keep it on the table n leave" i keep it on table and ask him wen can i collect it
him- frustrated. u cant be given letter whenever you want. it takes time. dont you know dat???
me- sorry sir. and i leave

i wasnt sure of how to respond but task ahead was much important. I had to apply for transcript. For transcripts, one is supposed to apply 20 days before. I had applied it on 19/10/2009. I had been begging them to give it. People who had applied after me got theirs but mine seems to be missing.

I went to the office today.
Me- Sir, i came to collect my transcript.
he looks at the 400 rupee receipt and date. "You people dont know the timing to approach. I have been working right from morning. come after 2 hours. I will give then
I wait for 2 hours in the lobby and approach him again
Me- sir transcript?
He checks the record and says " Yours is not ready yet"
I get frustrated. I ask him when can i have them. I tell him that i urgently need it. Its been more than 20 days but others have got it. Why not me? what is the problem. Now he doesnt anwswer but the other official shows his authority.

Him-" Get out. Dont you know exams are going on?" you cant get it. How dare you ask such things to us??? get out. come after exams. go now"

I was treated as if i come from some slum or some creepy worm of a gutter. Damn it. For god's sake, I am a technocrat!!! My dad pays the fee. this is not the way you behave. You mint money but dont pay heed to the student!!!! How fair is that? i leave because i cannot shout at them. They have powers and abuse powers. All the higher officials are humble but their assistants roam with a fake pride and attitude. It is these assistants who grin and derive pleasure by torturing students.

I was frustrated because i wasted my time. I wanted to take rest after my exam but i spent 2 hours waiting just to hear a NO. When i enquire, i am called rude, arrogant and spoiled brat.

Once upon a time i used to pride myself to be associated with an elite institution like this. Today I feel ashamed to be studying here.

Today Gandhian laws may not seem to work. But i still stick to them. Silence is the only weapon but my beliefs stagger when I see people abusing powers. I know this is a small and trivial issue. Government officials are worse. But what is the solution to all this?? what is a common man supposed to do in such situation? ??

These trivial things are crippling the society and nobody seems to do anything. I can be the change by not abusing powers, if given to me. But what about my needs at the present?

.silence.

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