| THE HAND OF THE GESTAPO |
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I
i got selected for the md course in physiology based on my performance in the pg entrance examination of the corresponding year - based on relative merit i would say, for physiology is not, or was not, a coveted discipline in this place at least and so there is not much of competition. all the same you have to find a place in the selection list; and even after all those years in the wilderness i was able to off hand ensure that my name is in the list - there were many who were washed out.
i was then working in td medical college alleppey and i took one day's casual leave and paid a visit to trivandrum ( replenished my stock of alcohol from the csd canteen) and met the then dme. the lady (who had the misfortune of a character like me sitting in her class) consulted her staff on the matter and assured that i will be accommodated as lecturer trainee as per the existing rules. the charm of the lecturere trainee appointment is that one can work as lecturer and draw the salary and simultaneously do the postgraduation!
on the basis of this verbal assurance from the Director of Medical Education, Kerala (DME) i joined the M.D., course in the Department of Physiology of Medical College, Trivandrum in May 1995. the dme's office in the same complex as the medical college and i used to meet the DME frequently in her office in order to expedite my appointment as lecturer trainee. initially the DME's response was that as soon as a vacancy comes i will be given the appointment.
however after a couple of months waiting the dme had a change of mind and one day told me bluntly "i dont think you will get the appointment" - those were the exact words used.
this was a bolt from the blue for it meant that i will have to forego the privilege available to all serving lecturers who get admission on their own in the discipline they are teaching of simultaneously doing the pg course and working as a lecturer and earning a salary.
with my precarious financial position the only choice available to me would have been to discontinue the course and rejoin duty as lecturer in td medical college alleppey of course with a break in service and the associated bit of embarrassment.
however i did not loose heart and made a representation in person to the then health secretary. convinced of my claim, the secretary was magnanimous enough to waive the orders of the dme and directed that i be appointed as lecturer trainee.
i am not aware of any specific reason for the dme' change of mind on the matter of my appointment. no new rules were introduced in the intervening period and again the fact that the secretary health did issue the orders and as a result i ultimately got the appointment makes it obvious that i was being rough shod over by the dme.
perhaps the dme had her own compulsions. she was extremely nice to me initially and i remember her telling me that i can call her on her personal phone. and i still have a clear picture memory of the meeting with the dme on that fateful day. she conveyed her shocking decision to me and then never looked up at me after that but was going on scribbling something. i waited for some time and then got up and quietly walked out.
the hand of "god" ?
II
The confidential report on me for the year 1995, my first year as trainee lecturer in medical college trivandrum by the head of the department (HOD) of physiology, was a flattering one. There in, the HOD commended me for my exemplary conduct and punctuality in all matters, praised my extraordinary proficiency in understanding new and difficult matters, resourcefulness and originality in giving suggestions and pursuing them constructively, ability to get systematically to the root of the problems and for my consistently sound and well balanced judgement. Above all the HOD specifically mentioned my keen interest in improving the standard of the practical classes.
the very same HOD in the next year gave me an advrese report and recommended that i be given behavioural therapy.
how come a middle aged male made such a sudden transition ? i have not heard of a male climacteric; have you?! then what could be the reason for the sudden reversal of the HOD's report?
III
i challenged the adverse remarks. the authorities were adamant and the result was a series of litigations in the kerala high court. the first writ petition on the matter was decided in my favour.
from the second petition onwards i myself was pleading the cases for the simple reason i could not have afforded the lawyer's fees. i know it is a professional's field but i did not have much of a choice there. the second petition was decided in my favour on my own pleading.
i got the third petition admitted on my own steam. the judge fixed the hearing for saturday, 25 septemeber 2004 and even told me that i could come in the afternoon and that though 25.9.04 was a saturday, the court was going to be in session.
but when i reached the court in the morning itself on 25.9.04 i was told that the case has been heard on 24.9.04 the previous day! as far as my information goes such a change of the dates that is preponing to the previous day and without informing the party concerned is unheard of.
and it is not that the petitioner was not there and so the hearing was postponed - it looks the concerned people were in a hurry and things did happen on that day for sure. the case was sent to the chief justice which for all practical purposes was the end of the petition as far as i am concerned.
the fact of the matter is that the preponing was a carefully manipulated dirty trick aimed to ensure that the i was not present in the court at the time of the hearing so that the opposite party can get away with whatever nonsense they had to, unopposed.
obviously when i was told that the case was to be heard on 25, the presiding judge was not aware of this later turn of events. that means some power had intervened at a later stage and manipulated things.
the hand of god ?
well, no; not the hand of god ( i do NOT believe in god; if you ask me, i would say that god is man's best invention - i said invention and not discovery.) if not the hand of god, then whose hand is it ? here is the answer:
the power that intervened in all the three cases wasthe hand of the gestapo.
viceman
071123 * * *
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