To buy or not to buy jobs

Free Thinker *

People say that these days many jobs are on sale. I beg to differ for the simple reason that no one is asking money for the jobs; only the job seekers are eager to pay either to the politicians or to the bureaucrats who are directly or indirectly associated with the recruitment process. When no one is actually selling and no one is virtually buying where is the question of "jobs on sale"? The expression "jobs on sale" is a misnomer.

If some enthusiastic weak candidates offer money to the competent authorities to strengthen themselves and feel confident, that does not amount to purchasing the jobs. And there is no guaranty that they will get the jobs.

Because these days the recruitment is done in a very transparent manner and purely on merit (counting marks from Nursery to Ph D or D Litt) and interview is conducted by extremely honest people with marvellous integrity. Thanks to 2017 election, many of our youngsters are likely to get government jobs.

Tips are normally given after the work is done or service is provided. Therefore, it is requested to kindly bestow the tips after the appointments are actually made. That is the right way of presenting tips (amount not fixed).

Some years back I heard a true story of a waitress you got a million dollar as tips. If people get money as tips or honorariums, they must spend within the State; they may build buildings, store gold biscuits, keep JCBs, buy costly cars, eat 'elisa' (fish), buy expensive clothes, distribute money during the election; I don't mind because the money is circulated within and it helps our economy to run. I dislike people who spend money outside but I love people who bring money inside the State.

As a matter of fact, people (particularly young people) are desperate to get a job in this part of the world. Since there is no big commercial activity or factories or companies or industries they have hardly any option except to run after the government jobs.

It seems we are happy to confine ourselves in this tiny land doing nothing except criticizing one another and also pulling down one another. Only a few of us go out of the state to earn livelihood, fortune and fame. No doubt we are a home-seek people.

Let me tell you that people of Manipur are more talented than many of the people of this entire sub-continent. But those people are hard-working and we hardly work. There lies the difference. And they are more universal and enterprising; that is why they are there in UK, the USA, Canada, UAE, Singapore, Australia almost everywhere on this planet.

Among the Manipuris Kuki-Chin group are perhaps more daring and adventurous; they have moved out from their living space and started working in many cities of the country and the of the world. To my utter surprise I found a girl from Churachandpur in a Gift-shop in Paris.

She started talking to me in Manipuri and told me that she did her graduation from GP Women's College (Imphal). She did a French speaking course in Kolkata and now she is learning fashion designing in Paris and at the same time she is doing a part time job in that Gift-shop.

What a moment! I purchased all the Eiffel Towers (replicas) from her.

The manager was really stunned when I asked him that 'If I buy all your Eiffel towers through her, what benefit she gets'; he replied reluctantly in English (being French) 'she gets 2% of the selling price as incentive that is in addition to her monthly salary'.

What I want to say is that why don't we go out of this land (that does not mean that we don't love our motherland) and go to other places for better earnings and better opportunities.

I know some doctors, engineers, lawyers, teachers and nurses who are doing very well in England and elsewhere. If you are uneasy in the Indian cities, go to other cities of the world and do something there.

Whenever and wherever we go to any part of the world we find people from Punjab or Kerala or Gujarat working and they are having a comfortable life. Instead of fighting and bargaining among ourselves for the few government jobs we must start going to other countries (however we have to learn the language of the country concerned).

Believe me we will be preferred to others because we have already made the impression to the whole world that we are simple and gullible. Smart employers certainly go for us.

We all know that people in high places were once upon a time selling tea or coffee. So, you can also sell 'momo' in Miami and later on become the CM of Manipur.