Outlook English - Print Subscribers Copy Outlook English, 09 July 2018 | Page 25
have saved a lot of headache by ann
ouncing in the very beginning that
Sharma was just an “acting DGP”.
The government accused Sharma of
orchestrating the campaign and put
him on “compulsory wait” before nam-
ing T. John Longkumer, now serving as
the Additional Director General of
Police (Rail) in Chhattisgarh, as the next
Nagaland DGP. Sharma is also likely to
face disciplinary action for allegedly
staging the campaign and disturbing
law and order. Sharma, who is from
Dharamsala in Himachal Pradesh,
denies the allegations.
Hundreds of miles to the west, on a
balmy June morning in Odisha’s
Tentulikhunti village, Dr Kailash
Chandra Das was in tears after the
poignant farewell given to him by the
people he had served for eight years. It
was an unusual scene for the nonde-
script village with almost everyone out
on the streets, just to see “doctor saab”
leave. Local people recall how Das
changed healthcare in the village—
transforming the ramshackle commu-
nity health centre (CHC) into a modern
medical facility complete with a full-
fledged operation theatre, an air condi-
tioned delivery room and an oxygen
concentrator. Revealingly, his chamber
was not air-conditioned.
“He was always there to attend to
anyone who needed medical attention
at any time,” says Digambar Nayak, a
villager. When nearby Jharigumma saw
an outbreak of diarrhoea, Das rushed to
the village with a medical team.
For G. Bhagawan, the job at Tamil
Nadu’s Thiruvallur district is his first.
He has taught at the school for four
years. “I have tried my best to interact
with students beyond just academics. I
used to narrate stories, understand
their family background, talk to them
about their future, and show them
things via the projector. It’s probably
because of all these new things I tried to
do that we developed a real bond. More
than a teacher, I’m a friend, a brother to
them,” a media report quotes Bhagawan
as saying. Whatever he did, it seems to
have worked. A viral video clip shows
students wailing hysterically and cling-
ing on to a distraught looking Bhagawan,
asking him to stay back. “They were
hugging and crying and clutching my
feet, refusing to let me go. Watching
them, I broke down,” Bhagawan said.
T
HE school principal has also thrown
his weight behind Bhagawan in
the hope to retain him. “We have
requested the department to look
into the possibility of retaining him.
He’s one of the best teachers we have.
During special classes that would go
beyond school hours, he would help in
arranging food for students and was
very friendly overall,” he was quoted as
saying. The state education department
later put his transfer on hold.
Beyond the obvious, heart-warming
stories of love and respect lies the bigger
picture of a country where government
employees are often seen as corrupt and
rigid, refusing to work beyond their
timetable or mandate. While teachers
are still held in high esteem and com-
mand respect, the same cannot be said
about police officers and doctors. The
police, especially, are hardly respected
and are mostly feared for their alleged
high-handedness. But there are some
who make news for the right reasons.
Like sub-inspector Gagandeep Singh of
Uttarakhand Police who has been
widely hailed as a hero after saving a
Muslim man from a mob last month.
People like Gagandeep Singh and G.
Bhagawan answer to American singer
Mariah Carey’s classic song, Hero:
There’s a hero/If you look inside your
heart/You don’t have to be afraid/Of
what you are/There’s an answer/If you
reach into your soul… O
9 July 2018 OUTLOOK 25