I don't know how many individual Olympic medals has India won, but I suspect that there are many individuals alive who alone exceed that number each by a comfortable margin. I also don't know how much money has been spent on the Olympic quest since Freedom, but I suspect that it is more than the current annual budget of some small medal winning nations.
If the ratio of Olympic medals won to the money spent in India is considered, I am sure it would be the most expensive piece of metal by weight ever.
In this backdrop we hear our top medal winner threatening to leave his employer, the Indian Army, if he is not promoted to a Commissioned Officer. Army officers, serving and retired, lost no time in pulling up our hapless protagonist for his insubordinate behaviour and pontificate that ranks have to be earned and rewards are to be given and not asked for. Most people found this expression quite perplexing, patronizing and maybe even distasteful. And they are saying so freely in national media. Welcome to the age of instant judgement.
For an organisation which prides itself for it's man-management expertise, this incident is a reminder that all is not well with it's human resource policies. However what is more confounding is the near total absence of planning to deal with such situations and total lack of credible and decisive response when the reports started filtering in. The authorities did NOT have a plan of action in place. They still have not given any credible information or reaction to the people through the media. One wonders who is in charge?
Our protagonist asked for something do-able and probably promised by someone at some level - the President's Commission. It may not amount to a lot financially compared to offers from the private sector, but in terms of honour it is unparalleled. Rubbing shoulders with fellow competitors, it would be very satisfying to be aware that one has been rewarded by the nation with something which cannot be compared with monetary rewards - the nation acknowledged that he carried the honour of his people with great sense of responsibility and did them proud.
Our 26 year old protagonist is not trained in politically correct public speaking and so his simple rustic utterances have been interpreted in every possible manner with some even suggesting his dismissal (as if all these people were flawless Gods in their military careers). The older generation cannot be faulted as the social and value systems of the armed forces were different in their unit service days. The present aspirational generation of soldiers is the product of present value system and information society. They don't accept things at face value and won't follow blindly. This has to be accepted and factored in man management techniques. Outrage is merely a sign of 'Generation Gap'.
Since the achievement of the young marksman is singularly exceptional, it does cross my mind that we could possibly acknowledge his contribution better by nominating him to the Rajya Sabha. That may not happen immediately , but when the time does eventually come, would the Indian society support his nomination as it supports his demand for the President's Commission? In terms of achievement alone, this boy from a village in Himachal deserves to be a visible symbol of aspirational India even though he would not have the exposure or audacity to even think about it in his present position. This should legitimately be given impetus by our political leadership. They would get to prove that it is not only the elite and rich sportspersons who get nominated to the parliament, but an ordinary Indian who did something extraordinary for his nation could also hope to be honoured in the inclusive spirit of our great Constitution.
I hope this message of mine is heard STRENGTH FIVE by our decision takers.
Jai Hind.
How do you see it?
