Coronavirus, and idiocy

inam ul rehman

Now officially it has been declared that the first death of coronavirus has taken place in the Kashmir Valley (March 26). It may have sent a shock wave to the entire Kashmir Valley. Often his death is blamed on the proselytising methods of the Tableeghi Jamaat.

The Tj is an offshoot of the Deobandi school of thought. The TJ are known for their non-confrontation ways. They invite everyone toward Islam irrespective of the place where they are. And now the spread of coronavirus in Kashmir is blamed on them. Why, because as per Kashmiri netizens the TJ members refused to disclose their case history, and didn’t abide with the restrictions imposed on congregations! 

These are some of the allegations which can easily swoon any man. The TJ ameer has already clarified that he had asked his men not to hold congregation prayers, and no matter how fast the communication is it takes time for any message to reach every individual.  But it doesn’t absolve them for still holding congregation. 

The TJ man returned to Kashmir and disclosed his travel history to everyone who was interested. But he was pushed from one hospital to other with no one taking responsibility. Many pedalled false narratives, as is wont in Kashmir, particularly on social media with journalists, doctors taking lead in it that he didn’t disclose his travel history. A brouhaha was created in which profanities were hurled toward the TJ, and some netizens even suggested their mass arrest!  A case of siege mentality.  

The same doctors, journalists, and intellectuals were mild toward those doctors who were coming from foreign countries and evaded scanners at the airport, or refused to be quarantined. Worse, some even hid their travel history. Imagine how many people they must have infected. But since TJ members are not used to counter it on social media networks they were pulped, while as doctors, businessmen, scholars, students, hiding their travel history were let off.   

Yesterday when unexpectedly Azaan was called in Kashmir at 11pm because some preacher in Pakistan has said that it would ward of coronavirus, some people justified it because they claimed it has religious sanction, and some even went further because Pakistan has said it, so, it has to be obeyed!     

A few days earlier the Indian prime minister asked his countrymen to clap for those who are at the forefront of combating the coronavirus disease, the same journalists, intellectuals in Kashmir mocked at it, and worse concocted it as an event through which coronavirus will not affect Indians!  The same people who raised objection that Azaan should not be mocked, but were at the forefront at mocking Hindu people for taali, and thaali bajao!.

Pandemics create paranoia, and yesterday it was witnessed in Kashmir’s downtown area when people came out of their homes in midnight as they thought the last day has arrived. They even circulated videos in which they claimed to have seen the Angel of Death looking at them. 

I hate it when people mock at other religions, but when the same is done to their religion become extremists. Religion is not a science or a rational thing that one can always make sense of it.

The first official coronavirus case in the Kashmir Valley was a female, and the blame was put on an IPS officer for helping her to evade scanning at the airport. While as the fact of the matter was that she was put to quarantine but her doctor relative forcefully took her out from that quarantine ward.

In Kashmir one should be careful because some journalists, intellectuals like to give it twist, and want people to remain ignorant as it suits their fan following.  

Incompetence of persons mar institution's growth

inam ul rehman

Incompetence of any person during his service years can be gauged on number of hurdles he creates for his co-workers. A competent person erases roadblocks because he considers it his professional duty. 

I work in the University of Kashmir, an apex educational institution so far. Here we have a number of incompetent persons, who unfortunately are also placed in responsible positions. Many of these persons are in such positions because their fathers, uncles, who were previously working in the University, vied for them. Their incompetence mars not only individuals working with them but hampers the growth of the institution.  

In January 2020, the government said that broadband connections would be restored to educational institutions but our man at the information technology and system support refused to act on it. Instead “His Highness” at the ITSS put a form on the intranet of the University, which states that anyone who wants to use the internet connectivity has to fill an undertaking form. It was surprising because the university already has its own firewall system which restricts access to thousands of websites including social networking sites. Also, the government of Jammu and Kashmir didn’t say any such thing was to be done, instead it stressed on mac binding, but since “His Highness” at the ITSS thought it is a cumbersome process he went for “undertaking form”. This mac binding was already done in the summer secretariat of Srinagar in September 2019. No employee was made to sign an “undertaking form”. I loathe such undertakings because if the institution has no trust on its employees it should shut down, or dismiss them from services.  

I waited for a few more weeks that the government may finally rescind its order and the internet (broadband) clampdown would be removed. It didn’t happen. Then on February 14, I signed the “undertaking form” and send it to “His Highness” of ITSS so that my internet account in the University is restored. He took only 14 days to decide with a cavil that the head of the centre has not countersigned the undertaking form, and as such connection cannot be restored. But when my friend pointed to him that no such thing is mentioned on the undertaking form, he said it is “common sense”. But, argued my friend, why is this common sense not reflected in the “undertaking form”, to which he was speechless. The “undertaking form” clearly mentions that the person using the internet will be responsible for its “misuse” then where does the role of my head comes in! If director has to take responsibility of my action then why should I sign the form! I refused to countersign it from my head. Meanwhile in the institute of management and public administration (IMPA) employees signed “undertaking form” and their internet accounts were restored without any fuss. And this was done there during the month of October.

Then on March 05, government restored broadband connections, lifted ban on social media for everyone, and I was expecting that now I would be able to log in to the internet at the University of Kashmir. But “HH” at ITSS kept the internet locked. Like me there are many hundred employees who were unable to log in to their internet accounts because one person excels in creating hurdles. Why? because it gives him a sense of power at the expense of our discomfort.  Before the clampdown of the internet in Kashmir no one knew him in the university, but now from gatekeepers to professors everyone knows him as he made teachers and non teaching staff to beg him for the restoration of their internet accounts.   To Know more about His Highness here is one story about him  

Six days later (March 11) my colleagues inform me that all internet accounts of our centre have been restored.  

Just when I was thinking it maybe an aberration another circular from the University surprises me. This time it was regarding university transport facility. Before the abrogation of the state we used to get Rs 350 as transport allowance, but when we availed the transport facility of the University we were charged four times extra. It violated the rule because as per the rule if a transport facility of institution is availed only TA amount has to be cut from the salary, whatever it is. The SKAUST-K, SKIMS follow it but not the UoK Now after seven months the university restarted the bus services and this time it came with even queer circular. In the circular rates are mentioned for students, and employees. As per the circular any university employee who avails the transport facility of the institution forfeits his transport allowance, but if the employee’s TA does not meet the rates prescribed he has to pay more money! See it here. 

It is flagrant violation of the rules by the apex body of education. When we raised queries to the assistant registrar transport regarding it he didn’t pay any heed, and had no answer why the boarders of the university transport were charged four times more than their TA. To ward off more queries he stated that we should meet the registrar, and only he can null this order. It doesn’t matter for him that he has issued the order not the latter.  Just to remind readers that most employees fed up with this attitude hire private vehicles, and they charge less than the university. Many vehicles meant to hire employees, students are rusting in the campus because of incompetence of the transport section. It deprives the university of healthy income. 

The purpose of this write up is not to put down the persons or institution. It is to remind them that at the position of responsibility your role is to iron out hurdles.  A competent man is known for resolving crisis not abetting it.  

Destroying institutions in a Kashmiri way?

inam ul rehman

On January 08, 2020, I came across a news story in one of the fledgling English newspaper, Kashmir Reader, on the Global Educational Trust, Mumbai, run schools in Kashmir. The story (“Mumbai based school closes 2 branches in Srinagar, career of hundreds of students in quandary”) was a case of lazy journalism in which the contending party’s view was not sort, or wilfully ignored.   

In the said story the reporter quoting the “parent association” writes that the GET closed two school branches at Iqra International School, Habak, and Bagh-i-Mehtab, adding that it “hiked fee”, increased the “prices of books by 40 percent”, the GET management wants to “layoff some staff members at the two branches”; “staff barred to enter the premises”, and the “salary of staff members is withheld for several months”

The fact is that my kids are studying there from the past six years. I looked at the fee card which says that no fee was hiked for the past three years. Plus the school gives concession to siblings, destitute ones, and in case there is any disturbance like the 2014 floods, 2016 agitation, et al, it waives off half of the annual fee. Even from this year the school has waived off any admission fee, and started free winter classes for its students. The other assertion that the prices of the books were hiked to 40 percent is gibberish. The school administration brought the rates of books down to 50 percent as compared to the past practise. As far as withholding of the salary is considered only the salary of the ex-principal has been withheld, as the latter admitted during the parents meet that he organised. To lay off staff is not unique in anyway. It happens in every other organisation. It is always advantageous to have better paid teachers than having more teachers with peanut salaries.

How, and who started it?

It started with a notice appearing in an English newspaper on December 28, 2019, informing people that two branches of the GET affiliated schools will “remain closed till further notice due to the uncertainties created by the members of the GET and their associates”. But the fact is that the school was never closed by the GET. The school was open, and remains so.

A day later another notice is issued in which parents are requested to come and discuss “issues” of the school. Apparently the meeting was called in to inform parents about “various issues and their solutions”. The meeting was held on December 31, at the Iqra International School branch premises of Bagh-i-Mehtab. The same school that was declared closed! The same school which according to the story of the reporter barred staff members to enter its premises!  On attending the meeting parents were given a shabbily and contradictory pamphlet titled “issues and its solutions”. Then a preacher of Ahle Hadith school of thought preached for 30 minutes without anything substantial with regard to the school issues. Since he was a member of managing committee of the school, and acted as the head of its body there, one thought he would put forward the “issues and its solutions”. In the fallacy of issues and solutions what he talked in between his preaching were administrative things that the GET wanted, which principal along with other managing committee members were reluctant to do. The managing committee members, all supporters of the deposed principal, then begin to sermonise. They told everyone present in the meeting that they admitted their wards in the GET branches not because of anything but because of the principal! 

The ex-principal, who had purportedly put notification in media with regard to closure of the school branches and holding of meeting, was asked by the managing committee to explain things. In a monologue of 35 minutes the ex-principal “revealed” many things but failed to discuss issues and its solutions. He said that the GET members are also doing their business while running the school, and as such have no time for the school! A ludicrous allegation, to mention just one. The deposed principal, a doctor in training, himself does business of diapers.

A few parents asked the new administrator to respond. He in a measured sentences responded to allegations levelled at the Trust, but was heckled by the managing committee members. He kept himself composed, and said: if someone has admitted his child because of one person they are free to take any decision, but if anyone is thinking that this school will be closed he should come out of this delusion. This school belongs to the GET, and it will remain so.

Many parents were left confused why they have been called on such a trivial administrative issue. Administrative issue of one administrator being sacked and replaced by the other is a normal thing. But normal is a word which we Kashmiris don’t understand.

A few days later, after the meeting, notification comes in media that a parent association has been formed which will look after the two GET branches in Kashmir! A day later another notice comes in which the self-styled parent association argues that they have resolved that the private school association of Kashmir should nominate educational experts to take over the management of the school!

In Kashmir a failure is commonly blamed on external factors because hardly any one is ready to own the responsibility of it. The fear of failure does not make anyone to achieve great things. Kashmir is an example of it. To make a mountain out off a simple administrative issue is the complexity of our character. That is how Muslims ruin institutions. The principal no doubt established branches in Srinagar, and the GET made him guardian here, but it no way makes him indispensable. Five years earlier the same ex-principal was responsible for 90 students leaving the institution in one go. The then parent association blamed him not the GET.   

It would have been better for the deposed principal to give a thanksgiving speech to the staff, a pep talk to students, and notified areas of improvement for the administration rather than creating panic among parents.  It would have been beneficial for him to understand that in institution’s growth lays his greatness whether he remains at the helm or not. Despite lacunae the GET schools in Kashmir are able to do what the grandiose claims of local Islamic schools couldn’t do. Persons go, institutions stay.

Since both the principal and his coterie used Islam effusively to justify themselves, I will use an analogy here for them. When Muhammad bin Qasim conquered a part of Sindh province, which previously many generals failed to capture, his Khalifah then ordered him to be removed from his position. The general obeyed the order of his Khalifah. That is how Muslims of the yore cared for institutions.