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\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Thus Spoke Saraswati : Saraswati had a new theory for Railways ills<\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Rajiv Upadhyay![\"rp_RKU-150x150.jpg\"](\"https:\/\/patriotsforumindia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/RKU-150x150.jpg\")
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<\/a>It was 14 April\u2019 2065. It was the worst day for Indian Railways. The<\/div>\ngreat Indian Railways born on the same day was being obliterated from India<\/div>\non its 200th birthday.Frenzied crowds were celebrating the death of Indian<\/div>\nRailway in streets. National TV gave live coverage to the last rail of Indian<\/div>\nRailway being ceremoniously dumped in Arabian sea at Bombay. Parliament<\/div>\nmet in a special midnight session which was termed as \u201cFreedom from<\/div>\nRailways\u201d Session, The Prime Minister in his midnight speech in the<\/div>\nparliament hailed the masses for destroying the last symbol of British Raj, the<\/div>\nscourge of the nation, the Indian Railways.<\/div>\nFive thousand kilometers away, in a sleepy lane of London, the great<\/div>\ngreat grand son of Clive could not understand how the great organization<\/div>\nbuilt by his forefather met this end. Since Hinduism had become very<\/div>\ncommon in Britain, he went to the temple of goddess Saraswati.<\/div>\n\u201cMother\u201d, he asked reverently, \u201cplease tell how such a great<\/div>\norganization came to such a sad end\u2019?<\/div>\nSaraswathi smiled at her \u201cVideshi Bhakt\u201d and asked him to narrate the<\/div>\nincidents in detail.<\/div>\nMother it all began six months back when Rajdhani Express running at<\/div>\nfull speed collided head on with a goods train carrying nuclear missiles over<\/div>\nthe old Yamuna Bridge. The bridge broke. Both the trains fell in the river.<\/div>\nThe nuclear blast killed a million people. Yamuna water got polluted by the<\/div>\nnuclear fall out. People all along the Yamuna and Ganga banks up to Dacca<\/div>\nfell sick. Two hundred MP\u2019s traveling in Rajdhani Express died. Having thus<\/div>\nlost the majority, the government fell. In the mayhem that followed, the<\/div>\ncrowd destroyed all railway stations. Railway colonies were burnt. In the<\/div>\nworst communal riots, Railwaymen were killed by thousands. People<\/div>\ncollected railwaymen\u2019s skulls as trophies. Bhai Singh who had collected two<\/div>\nhundred such skulls was made the Prime Minister of the country.<\/div>\nSaraswati was intrigued. She asked, \u201cDidn\u2019t they take any precautions<\/div>\nto prevent such disasters?<\/div>\nThey did mother. In the year 2020, Indian Railway made a rule that in<\/div>\nthe Division where any accident took place; all the divisional officers were<\/div>\nautomatically removed from service. But by the year 2040 this punishment<\/div>\nbecame inadequate. So imprisonment began in 2045. In the year 2060 the<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n- \n
\n\n\n\nwhole Railway Board was executed summarily after a head on collision in<\/div>\nwhich 600 people died.<\/div>\n\u201cDid such an exemplary punishment, not have a salutary effect on the<\/div>\norganization? Why did such a disaster occur again then\u201d asked Saraswati?<\/div>\nNo mother, every time they increased the punishment the performance<\/div>\ndeteriorated. Because all the good and influential people remained away from<\/div>\nsafety jobs. Only the meek, helpless and good for nothing people were posted<\/div>\nin train operation related posts. Initiative and drive got lost totally. People<\/div>\nonly tried to protect themselves. Punishments became merely occupational<\/div>\nhazards like road accidents. An enterprising person started an insurance<\/div>\nscheme in which the lifelong salary was insured for 10 percent premium,<\/div>\nCorruption increased by twenty percent to pay this premium.<\/div>\nBut the summary executions of all Board Members should have helped,<\/div>\nasked Saraswati.<\/div>\nNo that too didn\u2019t work. Because actually the switch man who caused<\/div>\nthe accident was related to the Home Minister. He convinced the Home<\/div>\nMinister that the responsibility must be fixed at the highest level. In fact the<\/div>\nSecretary, Railway Board saved his life by marrying his daughter to his son.<\/div>\nAfter this, the officers too joined Union which had all the authority but<\/div>\nno responsibility.<\/div>\n\u201cFinally what caused the nuclear disaster\u201d, asked Saraswati.<\/div>\nMother, the rail switch before the bridge as well as the interlocking<\/div>\nrelays had become defective. No one complained but everyone knew this had<\/div>\nbecome the social norm after executions. There was a small derailment on<\/div>\nthe up line. To cover it up all trains were taken on down line through a<\/div>\ncrossing. At midnight after duty change the new cabinman did not know<\/div>\nthese informal precautions, thus causing the collision.<\/div>\nSo now tell me why Britishers pampered the railway officers who did so<\/div>\nlittle work in those days. They did not inspect every rake, point and bridge<\/div>\nevery week as required now, yet things were much better. They were not<\/div>\nselected on the present point rating system and yet much better people<\/div>\nreached the top.<\/div>\nMother, they were not pampered. They were required to set values of<\/div>\nhighest integrity and professionalism. We realized that if we treated people as<\/div>\n\u201ca thing special\u201d they behaved as something special. If we treated them like<\/div>\nkhalasis they behaved like khalasis. We made institutions out of our officers.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n- \n
\n\n\n\nThey spent life time checking and setting up systems that worked and not<\/div>\ninspecting every inch of railways, every week.<\/div>\nSo what would your forefathers have done to get \u2018Safety\u2019, asked<\/div>\nSaraswati.<\/div>\n\u201cThat would not have been a problem mother\u201d. A good management<\/div>\ncan always get what it wants. It is only a confused management, which want<\/div>\nsafety first but loading at any cost or safety first but low operating ratio at<\/div>\nany cost or safety first but gauge conversion or electrification at any cost, that<\/div>\ncannot get safety, replied Clive\u2019s great great grand son.<\/div>\n\u201cAnd what would have you done if you knew that it was the<\/div>\nswitchman\u2019s mistake that blew out the city of Delhi. Would you not have<\/div>\nexecuted, the whole Railway Board summarily?, asked Saraswati.<\/div>\nNo mother, Leaders should have large shoulders. No organization or<\/div>\ncountry becomes great by witch hunting. We selected and groomed officers<\/div>\nwho could take immense pleasure but remained committed to their ideals and<\/div>\nprofessional judgement. Our leaders could own up mistakes. They created<\/div>\npublic opinion and did not follow it out of fear. Our people were far more<\/div>\nresponsible.<\/div>\n\u201cPygmies stymie the people they lead\u201d, replied Clive\u2019s great great grand<\/div>\nson.<\/div>\n\n\u201cSo mother why did the Indian Railway die?\u201d he asked\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut\u00a0\u00a0 surely\u00a0\u00a0 someone\u00a0\u00a0 could\u00a0\u00a0 have\u00a0\u00a0 raised\u00a0\u00a0 his\u00a0\u00a0 voice\u00a0\u00a0 and\u00a0\u00a0 saved\u00a0\u00a0 the<\/p>\n
railways. Clive\u2019s progeny could not understand the cowardice of intelligential<\/p>\n
of this professed great nation. Why they always crawled when merely asked<\/p>\n
to bend? Why were the pygmies allowed to reach the top?<\/p>\n
Mother don\u2019t you think we were better rulers than your own people\u2019,<\/p>\n
\u201cClive\u2019s great great grandson could not hide the glee in his eyes\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u2018Son, a nation is only a product of its culture. Boldness, large vision<\/p>\n
and\u00a0\u00a0 striving\u00a0\u00a0 for\u00a0\u00a0 excellence\u00a0\u00a0 is\u00a0\u00a0 not\u00a0\u00a0 more\u00a0\u00a0 in\u00a0\u00a0 our\u00a0\u00a0 culture.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThe\u00a0\u00a0 rot\u00a0\u00a0 is\u00a0\u00a0 all<\/p>\n
pervasive. IR in fact was the best organization. Others died much earlier. We<\/p>\n
probably need another Avtar. Saraswati closed her eyes painfully as Clive\u2019s<\/p>\n
progeny left fully satisfied<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Thus Spoke Saraswati : Saraswati had a new theory for Railways ills… more
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