We, as a nation gained independence from the Colonialists in 1947. Our grandparents and parents shared the stories of the incidents that took place as people from both sides migrated to the ‘other side.’ The incidents were both heartwarming and heart wrenching. I, as an individual, opened eyes in an independent state, therefore, remember only the stories told by my relatives. What I learned from the stories told is that our forefathers wanted an independent state to live in peace and beyond the politics of protocol. However, one can find ‘leftovers’ of colonialism around in all fields. The leftovers that can be found in academia (probably in other fields too), are of three types.
The first type refers to the leftovers, the British left unconsumed in the serving dishes. Such leftovers believe that they have the same rights and should be given the same protocol as the Angrez Sarkar (British rulers). Many of them might get angry if they are not given the due protocol as per their belief of being someone deserving.
The second type includes leftovers that the British left behind in their plates – as their appetites were filled to the fullest. Such leftovers spend their life in proving that they are senior and should be given due protocol even if they do nothing and look busy. Because they have superiority complex, they have issues with every other thing that happens around them. They are always criticizing everyone except their own practices and believe that they have the right of make others’ life miserable.
The third type consists of bits of food that fell off the table, on the ground, while the colonialists ate. This type refers to the personal secretaries and personal assistants of the above mentioned two types. Many of them have more protocol issues that any of the individuals belonging to the first type. These bits believe that they should be given more protocol that their bosses. Trust me, call them and you will have an experience of a lifetime.
In past 72 years of independence, the number of leftovers has increased. The increase that we are experiencing is because of the acceptability of such behaviors in our society. For me, this is another form of slavery, when your minds are tuned to despise others – especially if the others have lower or similar grades or lower socio-economic statuses. It is more beneficial for our society to differentiate between respect and slavery. As people in academia, who are responsible to educate the future generations, must teach the current generation to question the practices of these leftovers, if we are proponents of equity and equality. If not, then what we are experiencing, the current and all the future generations will face and go through the same scenario.
saminanaseem 