Our mentality and mindset
Tuesday, 23 March 2010
Shamsher Chowdhury
Deaths by road accidents, deaths by fire in readymade (RMG) factories, deaths caused due to intake of poisonous drugs, deaths due to lack of medical services, deaths on the river ways due to sinking of passenger vessels, so on and so forth. Yet our efforts in tackling and reducing and preventing these unfortunate deaths keep getting poorer by the day. I was listening to a statement made to the BBC by the President of BGMEA where he said that in factories accidents are but natural. When asked about the deaths that took place due to fire in one of the factories only the other day, where as many as 21 workers died, the best response he could muster was something to the effect that we would hold frequent fire drills and install modern fire fighting equipment.
Good idea, but it is only decades too late. The lives of the poor in this country are of little consequence. Come to the deaths on the river ways. Year after year all that the "enquiry committees " come up with, is that the accidents were caused by overloading or mechanical fault or both, with overloading being the common factor. Come to the incident of some scores of children having died due to taking of some analgesics or cough syrups manufactured by one of our local drug companies. I understand that the police are still struggling in bringing to book the Managing Director of the manufacturing company. I am also told that the concerned brand of the drug is yet to be withdrawn from the market.
One may ask what relevance all these have with what I have stated above. There is considerable relevance, since as these deaths do take place, amongst others, due to a kind of mindset and mentality we have. Owners take the position that these are illiterate poor workers in dire need of jobs and that they would continue to work no matter what happens to their life and safety. Besides, the owners could settle matters in the event of an emerging crisis like the ones I have described above by spending some money in collaboration with the related authorities of the government and "settle matters amicably" without getting involved in litigations. Hence, why bother? Such attitude of the owners stems from the mentality that they would do anything to cut expenses and in the process continually enhance the profit margin.
The mentality and the mindset are no different with the people in the administration, too. Whenever such situations emerge, the concerned authorities of the government form enquiry committees with the specific objective of unearthing the causes of the incident/s aimed at preventing recurrence of such tragedies. Believe me, this country specialises in creating and forming "Enquiry Committees". Time passes and all is forgotten. Those who lost their near and dear ones continue to lead their lives in eternal grief.
While I was doing my Master's at the University of Karachi in early sixties, some of my senior colleagues who passed a year before or so were already looking for jobs. One day I asked one of them as to how was it going. He gave me a broad smile and said, " Apply, apply, no reply." I got the picture. During those years at the University I once asked a classmate of mine enquiring of his overall wellbeing, (I would like to put it in Urdu in its original version for an in-depth understanding of what he had said, "Yaar chaal badalta gaya magar haal wahi purani hai" (in English, it conveys something to the extent that despite making changes in tactics my condition continues to be the same).
Dealing with governmental authorities in this country is like banging your head against the wall or pulling teeth. Authorities in the government, popularly known as bureaucrats, are some of the most difficult people to deal with. They are mostly into display of their authority than anything else. Most of them are pompous and suffer from a false sense of ego. Most people in some kind of position of authority have this attitude that the individual seeking his assistance is at his mercy and hence has to "wait", a debilitating mindset indeed.
We all have short-comings -- some more than the others. In my years of experience in being a columnist dealing with socio-political issues and extensive interactions with the cpncerned people, I have come to the conclusion that the neo-rich and the affluent have the most debilitating mindset. Their attitude towards the poor is indeed very poor. Look at their mindset when they measure their honour and status in the society by the price and size of their cars and the "luxury flats" they own.
There is a class of people in this country who are highly status conscience and possessed with the idea of being a CIP or a VIP. I find it so amusing when I come across advertisements in the print media, proudly announcing one being made a CIP or a VIP. The ad. often carries the photograph of the concerned individual.
You see, from our political leadership down to a rickshaw puller on the street, we have serious attitude problems. In an environment like this there can be no qualitative development of the society in general. We simply must bring about all-round changes in our mentality and mindset. We must learn to be magnanimous, forgiving, kind and generous. Yet, we must be strong-willed and highly committed. We should nurture a vision that extends beyond the shores of the Bay of Bengal.
The writer can be reached at e-mail: chowdhury.shamsher@yahoo.com
Deaths by road accidents, deaths by fire in readymade (RMG) factories, deaths caused due to intake of poisonous drugs, deaths due to lack of medical services, deaths on the river ways due to sinking of passenger vessels, so on and so forth. Yet our efforts in tackling and reducing and preventing these unfortunate deaths keep getting poorer by the day. I was listening to a statement made to the BBC by the President of BGMEA where he said that in factories accidents are but natural. When asked about the deaths that took place due to fire in one of the factories only the other day, where as many as 21 workers died, the best response he could muster was something to the effect that we would hold frequent fire drills and install modern fire fighting equipment.
Good idea, but it is only decades too late. The lives of the poor in this country are of little consequence. Come to the deaths on the river ways. Year after year all that the "enquiry committees " come up with, is that the accidents were caused by overloading or mechanical fault or both, with overloading being the common factor. Come to the incident of some scores of children having died due to taking of some analgesics or cough syrups manufactured by one of our local drug companies. I understand that the police are still struggling in bringing to book the Managing Director of the manufacturing company. I am also told that the concerned brand of the drug is yet to be withdrawn from the market.
One may ask what relevance all these have with what I have stated above. There is considerable relevance, since as these deaths do take place, amongst others, due to a kind of mindset and mentality we have. Owners take the position that these are illiterate poor workers in dire need of jobs and that they would continue to work no matter what happens to their life and safety. Besides, the owners could settle matters in the event of an emerging crisis like the ones I have described above by spending some money in collaboration with the related authorities of the government and "settle matters amicably" without getting involved in litigations. Hence, why bother? Such attitude of the owners stems from the mentality that they would do anything to cut expenses and in the process continually enhance the profit margin.
The mentality and the mindset are no different with the people in the administration, too. Whenever such situations emerge, the concerned authorities of the government form enquiry committees with the specific objective of unearthing the causes of the incident/s aimed at preventing recurrence of such tragedies. Believe me, this country specialises in creating and forming "Enquiry Committees". Time passes and all is forgotten. Those who lost their near and dear ones continue to lead their lives in eternal grief.
While I was doing my Master's at the University of Karachi in early sixties, some of my senior colleagues who passed a year before or so were already looking for jobs. One day I asked one of them as to how was it going. He gave me a broad smile and said, " Apply, apply, no reply." I got the picture. During those years at the University I once asked a classmate of mine enquiring of his overall wellbeing, (I would like to put it in Urdu in its original version for an in-depth understanding of what he had said, "Yaar chaal badalta gaya magar haal wahi purani hai" (in English, it conveys something to the extent that despite making changes in tactics my condition continues to be the same).
Dealing with governmental authorities in this country is like banging your head against the wall or pulling teeth. Authorities in the government, popularly known as bureaucrats, are some of the most difficult people to deal with. They are mostly into display of their authority than anything else. Most of them are pompous and suffer from a false sense of ego. Most people in some kind of position of authority have this attitude that the individual seeking his assistance is at his mercy and hence has to "wait", a debilitating mindset indeed.
We all have short-comings -- some more than the others. In my years of experience in being a columnist dealing with socio-political issues and extensive interactions with the cpncerned people, I have come to the conclusion that the neo-rich and the affluent have the most debilitating mindset. Their attitude towards the poor is indeed very poor. Look at their mindset when they measure their honour and status in the society by the price and size of their cars and the "luxury flats" they own.
There is a class of people in this country who are highly status conscience and possessed with the idea of being a CIP or a VIP. I find it so amusing when I come across advertisements in the print media, proudly announcing one being made a CIP or a VIP. The ad. often carries the photograph of the concerned individual.
You see, from our political leadership down to a rickshaw puller on the street, we have serious attitude problems. In an environment like this there can be no qualitative development of the society in general. We simply must bring about all-round changes in our mentality and mindset. We must learn to be magnanimous, forgiving, kind and generous. Yet, we must be strong-willed and highly committed. We should nurture a vision that extends beyond the shores of the Bay of Bengal.
The writer can be reached at e-mail: chowdhury.shamsher@yahoo.com