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Journalism of Courage
At a time when others their age are thinking of their children8217;s careers, these men in their 30s and 40s find themselves back in the job market. Once the object of envy of relatives and friends, the sacked Punjab Service Commission PSC members are digging up forgotten CVs, polishing up old degrees they thought they would never again need.
The storm has been set off by Ravinder Pal Singh Sidhu, who as chairman of Punjab Public Service Commission, selected them. It has left the world of Ludhiana-based Amit Talwar, an assistant commissioner till a fortnight ago, upside down. He had scored 85 per cent in Electronics Engineering from the Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology Patiala, but decided to give a shot at civil services.
Another engineer at Chheherta near Amritsar, Jagjit Singh, is in more of a spot. Sacked as Kapurthala Assistant Commissioner, this 30-year-old has crossed the age bar to appear for the UPSC exams. With no land or business to fall back on, Jagjit does not know what to do.
His engineering degree is something he can fall back upon and the four years of experience in the private sector can help. 8216;8216;Will anyone employ an engineer tainted by the media and the government alike?8217;8217; he asks.
Jagjit is the only earning member of his family. A scholarship holder in his college days, he had cleared the Himachal state services exam but preferred to work in Punjab.
Rubinderjit Singh Brar, former assistant commissioner of Fatehgarh Sahib, has a family to support 8212; two daughters and his wife. Along with them is a widowed mother and an aunt. 8216;8216;My mother and aunt have seen me study and bag gold medals,8217;8217; Brar laments, talking of the old days.
A post-graduate engineer from Punjab Engineering College, Brar had topped the university in both the BE and ME exams. He had left a job as an SDO in Chandigarh to join the PCS. 8216;8216;Had I continued there, I would have retired as chief engineer,8217;8217; Brar feels. He is hopeful he will get his job and honour back. 8216;8216;The stigma has to go, or no one will give jobs,8217;8217; Brar says.
More tragic is the case of Amarjit Singh. He had reached the position of deputy manager in a bank when he gave it all up for the PSC. Forty-four years old now and without a professional degree, he recalls the day he appeared for the PSC exam. 8216;8216;After appearing in the exam on March 29, I slept at the Pathankot railway station that night. From there I rode my scooter to reach my bank at Chamba so that I could close the account books by March 31.8217;8217; There is only one silver lining. 8216;8216;My brother failed to clear the PSC,8217;8217; he says. 8216;8216;If he had, even he could have been jobless.8217;8217;
