34. Demiliterization Of Society

142 Emporium Current Essays Emporium Current Essays 143 Man evolved in the jungle environment and his first strategy to assume power was in accordance with the jungle law of the supremacy of one who is physically stronger. As society evolved, the rule of the "Physical might" was replaced by the concept of right man for the right job, i.e., merit. The concept of merit evolved in different ages and societies and is closely linked with the history of social evolution of the concepts of justice, morality, prosperity, culture and equality. The merit or appropriateness of a person is determined in several ways. For certain trades and occupations the rule of physical strength is still valid, sport and wrestling for example, but for most other occupations it has been replaced by qualification like education, professional and technical skill moral character and intellectual honesty. Qualification apart, certain specific qualifies are considered of greater importance for certain occupation. Take, for example, the case of a man who is involved with the dispensation of justice, in addition to professional knowledge and intelligence, neutral and intellectual honesty are deemed necessary for him. For another job, like a university professorship, the criteria would include professional excellence and ability to teach and guide. For some trade and occupations age and experience are given more importance. » Thus, civilised societies have evolved systems to determine merit in the from of wellestablished institutions for recruitment to service, i.e., examination system, pre-job interviews and tests, books on rules and regulations, tribunal and courts of law to adhere to such rules of justice and develop such concepts further. What is damaging and perhaps even fatal to the process of evolution of society is the ambition of some short-sighted people in position of power to try to disturb the norms of civilised behaviour to achieve personal objectives and thus destroy the established institutions. In this process they make society revert to the jungle tradition. In a society where the concept of determination of merit disappears - let us call it a demeritiscd society - all its constituent units and institutions get affected by the malady, eventually, leading that society to disintegration. In as demeritiscd society people can receive recognition and rewards for reasons other than work and efficiency and get punishment for consideration other than inefficiency and bad work. A student can pass examinations without studying; one can get a job without qualifications and receive the highest positions in society without any outstanding ability and excellence. Knowledge, skill and hard work cease to be the criteria for receive premiums in life and are replaced with political links social pressures,

physical strength and, above all, reckless use of money. A brief review of the impact of the process of dcmeritisation on various segments of society would be enlightening. Politicians and rulers: In any society political will determines the ultimate and final shape the society it is going to take, and this is closely linked with what type of politicians and rulers it had. In a demeritised society, they are often most corrupt and degraded. Politics and public life are monopolised by a class of elite sharing not the concept and ideologies but blood relations, caste and the bonds of class and wealth. They all belong to the affluent class but are still greedy both for power and money. They allot to themselves agricultural lands, plots and industries, receive foreign grants and make generous use of public funds for private purposes. Treasuries an.i banks are placed at their disposal and they make use of public money -without any hesitation or compunction. Their objectives is to stay in power and to continue to rule -- rather misrule. And to achieve this objective they recruit any army of political workers and pay them out of public funds. Such politicians have no ideological commitments. They can be sold and bought easily like a commodity off the shelf and their price varies according to the prevalent market rates in accordance with the law of supply and demand. They constitute the most powerful political mafia and continued to weld power under all political permutations and combinations. Weather it is dictatorship or democracy, the rule of civilians or army Generals, they continue to be in power. It one were the keep a count and prepare a list the same names and surnames would appear common to all sets of ruling arrangements in such societies. Educational institutions: The first victims of a demeritised society are educational institutions and the assailant is the ruler, often a politician of the character described above. The problem starts with appointment of an incapable head of an institution with a low scholarly but high political profile. Thence forward, instead of imparting education and promoting scholarly activities, the144 Emporium Current Essays institution turns into an arena of political activity and intrigues. Students are persuaded to join such activities, and soon cafeterias take the place of classrooms and Kalashinkovs that of books. To win popularity the teaching load is reduced, the period of holidays increased, and as a result the academic standards go down. Students pass examinations every year and to achieve this objective the exams are made easy by lowering standards, both professional and ethical. As a short-term measure it creates a sense of euphoria all around. Teachers arc happy because they do not have to work, students are happy because they have sufficient time to enjoy, and parents are happy because their children do not fail in the examinations. However, the ultimate victim is society at large. The lowering of educational standards, after some time, lowers the proficiency and efficiency of society as whole. The products of educational institutions of today occupy higher position in societytomorrow. In time to come they become political leaders, bureaucrats, judges of the courts, professors of colleges and universities, etc. Thus the vicious circle of dcmeritisation of society continues.

In the name of 'advancement' of science and technology sjjich heads of departments and institutions often resort to establishing institutes of excellence and high performance which are staffedJby the same incompetent but politically well-connected and clever people. And what do these clever people excel in? In selfprojection, in bluffing, in flattery, in jobbery, indeed in everything except professional ability and competence. They are able to please the rulers by quasi-scientific statements. They manage to fill the gaps in their competence and expertise by purchasing expensive instruments of doubtful utility, thus wasting the precious resources of a poor country in the name of transfer of technology. This junk of instruments is seen mainly at exhibitions. Every now and then they produce write-ups in the newspapers, backed by TV appearances about breakthroughs that have already been made elsewhere in the world 50 years earlier. It is not surprising that such people receive all the scholarly auiirds and distinctions at national or provincial level. People working or trained at such "institutes of excellence" are, just out of national pride, considered at par with those who have received superior knowledge and training at international institutes. The result ill be that all such institutes of excellence will soon be converted into centres filled with mediocre. Judiciary: In a civilised society judiciary is the most effective restraining and balancing force. When men are placed in such responsible positions out of merit and irrespective of standards Emporium Current Essays \ of professional and moral integrity the concept of \ eroded and people lose confidence in such prestigious »

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When small people occupy very high position in society they can easily become tools in the hands of crafty rulers. Their decisions are not always made in the interest of justice. They are sometimes made according to the rulers convenience and expediency of situations, or sometimes out of "necessities" - of even under the "Doctrine of Necessity." The system eventually fails to provide effective and timely justice to the common man and safeguard his rights. People are dismayed and frustrated, and out of frustration and a sense of helplessness they tend to settle their grievances personally by resorting to violence. This leads to increased incidence of crime. In a demeritised society, state agencies fail to provide security of life and property; hence the need for carrying arms and ammunition and seeking patronage of the physically stronger bullies. Religious class or clergy: In a demeritised society the clergy, which normally maintains the standards of good and bad, becomes totally bankrupt and degraded. Instead of promoting moral values and guiding the public o the right path they join hands with the people in power and come out with religious injunctions to support them. They fail to

check the misdeeds of rulers and become shareholders in their power. Instead of speaking the truth in the face of tyrants they distort the truth and fabricate lies to please the people and the ruling class. Instead of suffering hardships in the process of upholding truth as their predecessors die, they opt for easy and luxurious living. Press: In a civilised society the Press is considered one of the most important organs which acts as a watchdog of the interests and rights of citizens. It is supposed to play the role of both an educator and a moderator. It guides the rulers to adopt a sane and sympathetic attitude towards people and also projects the views of those who are out of power and hold divergent views and opinions on various national issues. In a demeritised society the Press is completely in the hand of the rulers. The public is often kept , misinformed or uniformed. People with competence and ability are kept out of important positions and less competent people with appropriate political profile occupy key positions in various newspaper, information agencies, TV and ratio. Journalism in a demeritised society develops a set vocabulary depicting gocJ and bad qualities of the outgoing and fit incoming rulers. Superlatives are used in abundance so that pigmies are elevated to the level of giants and ordinary human beings given the status of gods. J146 Emporium Current Essays 146 tMnpui iu». ^.Administrators and Defence Forces: Administrative machinery in a dcmcritiscd society is geared towards the maintenance of status quo in the interest of existing rulers, and this is achieved by law and order agencies which become the most effective, powerful and often coercive forces in society. Law and order, however, docs not mean providing security of life and property to the people but is interpreted in terms of providing security to the rulers for continuous and uninterrupted rule. Murderers and dacoits often go unnoticed but the entire government machinery geared towards keeping people away from the roads anc preventing them from staging political protests. In return, the law enforcing agencies are give the highest prestige and rewarded wit! cash lands, plots, houses, bungalows, foreign tips and treatmen abroad for trivial ailments. The administration becomes thorough! corrupt and is viewed as strong political party and force. Defence forces of a demeritised society, likewise, ncgle their professional training and lack competence. They fail to secu the border of the country and the neighbours kccp on nibbling their territories bit by bit ad, in the end, occupy large areas withe meeting any resistance. Every now and then they exhibit capabil

of conquering their own countn7 in the name of law and order and imp martial Uws which becomes a recu rrcnt phenomenon in such societies. To sum up, social evils spread like cancer in all spheres i at all levels of a demeritised society, corrupting politic!; bureaucrats, servicemen, businessmen and professionals a! Lawlessness and irresponsibility become the cardinal feature of s a society. The people promote partisanship, provincialism, casti and are given to safirish, nepotism and misuse of power. 0 social evils like profiteering, black-marketing and the desire t< rich by hook or by crook become important characteristics of a society. Crime, hypocrisy, immorality, lawlessness and other s evils cause disintegration of the fabric. At this stage invasior occupation by stronger neighbours cannot be ruled out. Dcmeritisation of a society is, in fact, like dcmeritisati a currency; where in the latter only the currency losi credibility, in the former the entire society loses credibilit respect both at home and abroad. Such a society is on the v total destruction because nature can ignore individuals but n collective sins of society. "

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