These Scams are and will have Snowballing Effect in Corruption practices
By Noor UL Shahbaz
The term governance implies the manner in which power is exercised by government in managing or regulating the state affairs. Good governance is the exercise of power by various organs of the government “that is” effective, honest, transparent, equitable and accountable. Peaceful and productive society is based on effective state institutions. Good governance in this sense means effective and efficient structures which provide optimal support to citizens in leading a safe and productive life in line with their desires and opportunities.
Essentially, this involves a combination of democracy, the social welfare state and rule of law. Dear readers promotion of the good governance although goes beyond the government sector and includes all relevant actors from private sector and society as well, but this goal is achieved only when government performs its prime and clean role to achieve the standards of good governance, when it is itself corrupted how come it can expect from private sector and society to contribute for good governance. The main aim of that good governance includes, balancing interests and focusing on common goals, particularly reducing poverty and providing access to state services for all.
To make administrative structures participative, efficient and solution oriented, not running of those institutions that will make life of people particularly the youth complicated, not those institutions from whom the educated-unemployed youth get dejected while recruitment processes are going on. The three important elements on which any sovereign state rests are :
Firstly, the “democracy” I-e, in its real sense, by the people, of the people and for the people. Both the democratic sovereign and the subjects who elect him must be conscious about their responsibilities of “how to rule” and “who will rule” respectively. No space for autocracy, no one is absolute sovereign but all share common power and equal responsibilities.
Secondly, “social welfare” of the subjects who submit their sovereign will to their representative, redress of their issues, problems, genuine concerns, poverty, employment, education, food, clothing, shelter with the aid and assistance of accountable institutions.
Thirdly “rule of law” no one will exercise his authority as per his own whims and wishes, law will regulate the whole system of affairs, make accountable all including institutions for the service to the people, transparency to be checked while giving the services to people.
The whole crux of good governance is dependent upon the above three elements. My contention of writing all this is present revelations [although everything is known to them] by state agencies about the recruitment scams in posts of Sub-Inspector in Police department [SI] under 2021 Notification and Finance Accounts Assistants in Finance department under 2020 Notification, by recruitment agency Jammu and Kashmir Services Selection Board [JKSSB]. In both the advertised notifications exams were conducted and then selection lists were made public lastly both the selection lists were cancelled on the ground of scam, fraud with the genuinely deserving aspirants either by paper leakage or bribe charges on officials of government departments and some other persons.
With FAA the whole process of exams was completed for the posts of JE but the links of scam were also found in it and before announcing the selection list the whole process was set aside. Now on 30th September 2022 news post of “daily Excelsior” writes that, “In a sensational revelation, it has surfaced during investigations by Central Bureau of Investigations [CBI, to whom the present Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir Manoj Sinha handed over the case of SI, FAA, JE for investigations before a month] that not only the exam papers were leaked in connivance with Service Selection Board [SSB] previously but even OMR sheets had also been replaced in lieu of money while question paper of Panchayat Assistants [posts advertised under 2019 notification and they have joined and are serving at present] had also been leaked and a deal of 4 crore was struck between paper leakers of Haryana and Jammu based scamsters for upcoming examinations of Foresters.”
Many of the aspirants encouraged me to write on this burning issue that has made their lives miserable but I also found it my prime duty to although use my pen and inscribe it as history that the regimes under behest of recruitment played with the future of educated-unemployed youth and spoiled the lives of hundreds and thousands of male, female innocent and helpless youth. Whole liability for all this mess rests on the regimes that run the state of affairs in our Jammu and Kashmir; presently these all black sheep’s are waiting in a queue with the bowl in their hands to beg for their personal interests, luxurious standard of life for themselves and their families, for their chairs. Now if the Central government is clean on the issue of educated-unemployed youth particularly the aspirants who took part, burnt their blood whole day and night while to get chance of appointment in these recruitments, they must serve unconditional and timely justice to aspirants and deterrent punishment for all those actively involved in these scams.
One of my neighbour namely Sajad Ahmad who was dropped by point twenty five (.25, has scored 81 points) in Panchayat Assistants exam of 2019 after hard preparations has a serious disaffection about all other recruitment processes. He is the only person among his family of ten members who has post graduated and then started preparations for exams of SSB, but all in vain for him when he saw the scam in the same list in which he was dropped by a small margin. His father and other three brothers did hard labour for higher studies of their kin but their blame is also on the “so called government”. This is not the only case but you, your family member may be and around you are people who are the worst victims of this immoral, illegal, unreasonable malpractice. Dear readers my contention is that these are not the only scams in Jammu and Kashmir but it has happened also in past times, “dapaan ye aav aeth, sue zann ous nae aeth evaan”. It is not and must not be a new development for conscious Kashmir citizen that scams in employment are being done because alike scams were also done in other state of affairs and when life of an innocent human being does not matter before money then what this scam in employment means. Although it means a lot for that young blood who gives his whole time of precious young age for attaining required qualifications [degrees], then prepares for recruitment exams of different departments sacrificing his other interests and then finds distrust by that sovereign authority to whom he submitted his will and also by those institutions who were for his sincere service towards the goal of welfare state. Meaning thereby the goal of good governance cannot be attained when these viruses are prevalent in our state-society affairs. The one who get’s selected by paying bribe how can you expect from him that he can run an accountable and transparent system. He is himself a bad germ capable of polluting to a greater extent and creating more and more bad germs in our system.
Conclusion: Good governance is a must for survival of a state-society, and for that we all are contributors. State institutions must be transparent and also accountable not corrupted, otherwise they can be accomplice rather direct responsibility lies on them for the untoward activities of these dejected aspirants. If injustice is done law can take its recourse to make the things in the right way otherwise if not so done then it means corruption lies from top to bottom. Also in a sound society government employment is not only the mean to survive and end of our lives but a life with small income but prosperous in thoughts can be a tool for prosperity of the whole nation.
Noor UL Shahbaz is an M.A, LL.M (GOLD MEDALIST)Guest Lecturer and former Acting Principal at Sopore Law College, can be reached at im1415151819@gmail.com
