Hope government strictly following the norms and the procedure is foolproof
Every place is inhabited by both the upright as well as the corrupt humans. Kashmir is not an exception. I always believed being the Muslim dominated land ours would be much better than the rest of the world. But, then I learned corruption engulfs every religion equally. There is no discrimination.
A corrupt person irrespective of any religion, creed, caste or sex is a deceitful one. A person who is in power, if perfidious, shall always find its ways to mint the money by all fraudulent means. It is not only about the material part. Corruption stands for any means of moral, ethical or social immorality.
I grew up in a very honest family. My father and mother always lived by the example, taught me to be honest and thankful to Almighty Allah. My dad once told me, “If you have to choose between corruption and death, happily choose death.”
Thus, I always revolted against the unscrupulous part of our society, though it never yielded much.
I had a few encounters with such circumstances that shattered me apart. These had direct connections with my life, so more or less it always fractured my morale.
First major one was in the year 2003. I was preparing for my Common Entrance Exams (CET) at home when we received a call on the land line. The man on the other side wanted to talk to me, thus my mother asked me to converse with him.
I was literally shocked. His words, more or less, were like this, “I know you’re preparing for the CET. If you really want to crack the exams and be a doctor, you shall have to pay me ten lakh rupees.”
I was frightened, and without thinking twice I rejected his proposal.
My dad hugged and appreciated me. I did not pass the CET exams. It was one of the major setbacks for me, but then I knew it was not the end of the world. My father somehow arranged money and send me to Bangladesh for Medical Studies.
On 1st January 2013, I completed my MBBS and Internship from University Of Science and Technology, Chittagong Bangladesh. It was the time to start preparing for the Foreign Medical Graduate Examination, famously known as FMGE. It is a licensure examination conducted by the National Board of Examinations (NBE) in India.
The test is one of the mandatory requirements for a student who has a medical degree from a college outside India to practice medicine in the country.
In other words, to get the permanent registration from the Medical Council of India, it was essential for me to pass the examination.
Thus, I started preparing for it at home.
One cold winter day as I was coming back from the Masjid after offering the prayers, one man called me from the backside.
As I stopped, he approached me and said, “I can help you in passing the FMGE Exams. Tomorrow or whenever possible, come with me to one doctor. He is a consultant, lives nearby. You shall have to pay him twenty lakhs, and it is assured. He has hundred percent track record.”
I was demoralised.
As soon as I reached home I informed my father. He only smiled and replied, “Go to your room and study. You have Allah by your side.”
That was truly relieving. And, by the Will of Almighty, I passed the examinations.
Then came the turn of finding the job.
I had two options. One was to apply through Public Service Commission (PSC). And, the other was National Rural Health Mission (NRHM).
I decided first to try in NRHM.
The National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) is an initiative undertaken by the government of India to address the health needs of under-served rural areas. Launched in April 2005 by Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, the NRHM was initially tasked with addressing the health needs of 18 states that had been identified as having weak public health indicators.
As I am from Sopore, I applied for my job at their Baramulla office. As I submitted all my documents, it was time to wait for the call of an interview.
One fine morning a person came to our house and assured my dad to help me in the selection process. Before he could continue on, my father rejected the proposal and he went away.
By then I was totally dejected witnessing the level of corruption in Kashmir.
With no big private hospitals in Kashmir, the last hope was sitting in the State level Public Service Commission (PSC) exams. But, by then I already had started the process of getting the job in Maldives through one of my good friends.
It didn’t end there. I guess it was a Sunday. And, one person came to our house. You can say a very close one. I overheard the conversation between him and my dad. I know it’s a bad habit, but I’m content I did it for all good reasons ahead.
That man was trying to explain my father that all I had to do was pass my written or screening. For viva or the interview part he himself would approach the Board.
I was confused how he would do it. Later I understood, as most of us know it could be arranged. That literally gave me shock of the lifetime.
Though my father disagreed with him, I really felt bad for those candidates who work hard and yet can’t make to the destination they deserve.
I hope nowadays government is strictly following the norms, and the procedure is foolproof.
Finally, I moved to Maldives without sitting in PSC examinations.
I am not blaming the whole process, but I feel a lot needs to be done to make sure such incidents don’t happen again. As some say corruption is an untreatable ailment, I still believe this cancer could be amputated off our system and society.
My father somehow arranged the money and I studied the Medicine. What about those who can’t afford it and fell to this corrupt system?
I know my classmates who were and still are far more intelligent than me. Sometimes, I believe they deserved to go to Bangladesh more than I did. Bu, I just can’t help it. I just don’t know.
I hope someday ours shall be the corruption-free system where only the deserved and honest candidates pass the exams or get the job.
Let’s hope for the best.
Author can be mailed at qhchangal@gmail.com
