Job war: Govt versus Private!

http://www.risingkashmir.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=440&Itemid=51

BABA UMAR

Ever wondered on the attitude of your relatives who shower blessings to your brother on getting a government job and never utter a word of compliment when you got a placement in a private firm where your salary is more than your brother!

And what about the trend ( popularly known as ‘Vartav’ in Kashmiri) when your relatives come with loads of fruits and present a gold chain to your sibling who had made into the government services, while at the same time you are completely ignored? Boy, no need to be envious, blame the custom here.

“We carry this baggage from our forefathers and such people have limited vision and a narrow channel to think,” says Tashif Ayaz, working as a Knowledge Management Publisher in a Multi National Company (MNC), Hyderabad. Ayaz, a victim of this ‘negative tradition’ says such well-wishers believe in being happy with little or no risks. “People in Kashmir”, he says, “always see the government service as a permanent solution to all financial and other problems which is not factual.”

“I remember when my cousin got a government job and people thronged him in herds to congratulate and present ‘Vartav’ and all that…and when I got selected in an MNC, my relatives seldom appreciated it,” recollects Ayaz.

There was a time when an 8th pass student would easily get into government services.

“Even if you earn lakhs per month in a private sector, it is played down and negated,” says Qayoom Ahmad. “People here in Kashmir have limited vision regarding the benefits of private services and I guess youngsters need to put it on permanent halt.”

Even the marriages proposals are being decided on the nature of service one is involved in. The better match is one who is in a government service regardless of the salary he is drawing. And there are anecdotes that cause one to simply accept disappointment at times. Ahmad’s brother is one such case.

“My brother got master’s in finance from a reputed University in Delhi and when he came back to valley he started the profession of Auditing ( in various government and non- government organisations) and he was doing well,” says Ahmad. “But when our parents put forward a marriage proposal to a girl’s family, we were shell-shocked on the reaction.”“The boy should be a government employer, no matter if he is a Rehbar-e- taleem (government teacher who earns Rs. 1500 a month),” was the reply from the bride’s mother.

However, Ayaz opines that things can change once the private sector booms in the valley. He says that private organisations are not much visible in the valley that could otherwise make people change their attitude.“Government jobs are still visible in the valley and how come people believe on something which they have never seen”, says Ayaz. “ But once the private industry overtakes the government, everything will change.”