Keep your passion, career entwined

Working for NGO has, in recent times, also become a sought after career, particularly for young people. Well-qualified youth, quite capable of finding remunerative employment in other fields, such as the government, the private sector or the teaching profession, are increasingly seeking employment in NGOs; usually they are drawn by the desire to serve the underprivileged sections of society, and, also, to further the causes, such as preservation of the natural resources or combating climate change

Whilenot falling strictly under the category of planned careers, services, in the government, and the judiciary, are also rewarding callings, especially from the point of view of job satisfaction, and public service. Positions in them carry substantial authority, which can enable lasting contributions to the process of changing the manner in which systems, and institutions, function. The Civil Services, in particular, have proved an irresistible calling, for those with a patriotic bent of mind.

Over the last seven decades and more, extraordinary civil servants, such as C D Deshmukh, T N Seshan and S R Sankaran, have, each in his own way, blazed trails for others to emulate. Each has carved out a niche for himself, in the annals of the history of the country, and will be remembered for their exceptional courage and farsightedness.

The perquisites, and emoluments, are not inconsiderable either. I remember how I started with a salary of 300/- a month and now draw a monthly pension close to 1,50,000/- every month.

There are many from the legal circles that will be remembered forever, for the extraordinary contribution they made to the cause of dispensation of Justice in the country, and ensuring that no compromise is made in the process, even in the most trying circumstances. The names of Parasaran, Soli Sorabji and Ram Jethmalani, at the bar, and Koka Subba Rao, Md. Hidayatullah, Krishna Iyer, P.N. Bhagavati and HR Khanna, at the bench, are a few prominent ones, from among those.

Although, for long, it remained a preserve, only of those with charity and humanitarian service at heart, working for Non-Government Organisations (NGO) has, in recent times, also become a sought after career, particularly for young people. Well-qualified youth, quite capable of finding remunerative employment in other fields, such as the government, the private sector or the teaching profession, are increasingly seeking employment in NGOs; usually they are drawn by the desire to serve the underprivileged sections of society, and, also, to further the causes, such as preservation of the natural resources or combating climate change.

Institutions, such as Institute of Rural Management Anand (IRMA), and the Council for Advancement of People’s Action and Rural Technology (CAPART) and the National Institute of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj (NIRD&PR), National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) are serving as stepping stones for those interested in such vocations, and providing management, financial and academic support to institutions, and individuals, engaged in such activities.

While there are thousands of examples of outstanding NGOs in the country, among the most well-known, and known for the quality of the service they provide, and their commitment to delivering selfless service, are Helpage India, Pratham Education Fund, and Child Rights and You (CRY), among many others. I have, in recent years, had the satisfaction of being closely associated, with the establishment of organisations such as ‘Elderlline’, which instituted a novel, and unique, initiative for providing help to the elderly and ‘Swastava’, an organisation seeking to serve the needs of poor patients suffering from cancer. I have also had the immense satisfaction of being closely associated with the Bhagavatula Charitable Trust, in district of Anakapalli Andhra Pradesh state, which, for over several decades, has rendered yeoman service to the people of the area, especially in agriculture, education, and skill development.

Just as games, sports, and the histrionics fields do, the areas of the fine arts also offer opportunities, not only to pursue one’s favourite pastimes, but also, in the process, painting, sculpture, dancing and singing, are a few examples. At a more solemn, and serious, level, one can also become a part of a religious order, in different religions, such as Christianity, Islam or Hinduism.

Then there are the artisans, mostly in the rural areas, who practise traditional arts and crafts, such as potters, cobblers, weavers, and goldsmiths, whose products have fascinated consumers for ages. Fortunately, in recent times, governments have devised programmes to enable them to access technologies, as well as financial support, for adopting strategies to make their products market friendly.

One daunting challenge, which the Indian economy is facing, is of agriculture becoming increasingly mechanized, and rendering the traditional agriculture labour jobless. A welcome phenomenon, no doubt, but needing to be addressed by appropriate interventions, such as enabling farmers to take, more and more, to the use of machinery, in place of manual labour, and also creating opportunities, for the displaced labour, to find reasonably secure and profitable employment in the urban areas to which they are migrating.

No matter what the chosen career, or profession, one’s conduct should be informed by a sense of service and dedication. One should strive, constantly, to improve one’s performance and, where possible, provide help and assistance to others in need. In this context, it is relevant to recall, the Biblical saying “physician, heel their self”, meaning that people should take care of their own defects and not just correct the faults of others, a maxim applicable equally to all vocations.

An intriguing aspect of the relationship between credentials and success, in several cases, is that the most highly educated persons are working for a salary under near illiterate businessmen!!

While a large number of people work on their own, there are many, as we have already noted in the previous part, who work for others. One person can, on occasion, be accountable to several superiors or bosses. Personally, I take pride in the fact that, as an officer of the Indian Administrative Service, I had close to 1.3 billion bosses, namely the citizens of India!

The mention of the members of the bar, and the bench, brings to mind an instance when the Chief Minister of an important state said, while inaugurating the newly established High Court, that he was gratified that a noble institution had been born, to ensure that justice would, henceforth, be dispensed with expeditiously!

(The writer was formerly Chief Secretary, Government of Andhra Pradesh)