Many dates and days are observed as national or international dates and days across the globe. They are celebrated to emphasize their importance and make people aware to promote them. Rallies and demonstration are held to commemorate the events and spread awareness about the key issues or the themes selected.
People assemble, or are gathered on line or offline, by the authorities concerned with the conduct of such events. The line and the auxiliary departments/offices get grossly engaged with the prerequisites for a successful celebration.
Preparations for celebration are prioritized over normal work. Public dealings and issues are deferred and resumed only after the end of the event. Hectic efforts for the smooth conduct are underway ahead of the actual date on which the occasion falls.
The characteristics and the involvement are similar at both the national and the international levels with the same purpose of pushing forward the aims & objectives of the events. The practice is good. The motive behind is sacred and not sacrilegious.
These events are mostly sacrosanct but for meaningful sustainability. Initially a few dates/days for a few topics/issues were celebrated at global and national level.
However, with the passage of time more dates/ days were added to this itinerary by the countries, number of which increased gradually from 63 in 1920, to 106 in 1940, 191 during 1970-71 and to about 195 in 2020 except decrease to 68 due to world war II in 1945 with resurgent increase to 74 in 1946 and 89 in 1950.
Then there are Independence Day and the Republic Day celebrations no country can dare skip or underrate which make unavoidable additions to the calendar of events.
The pace at which the number of topics/events marked for celebration grows is likely to surpass in near future the quota of 365 days of year. Even nowadays more than one event coincides with the other on a single date. The similar state of affairs prevails at country level.
As all events are signified alike none can suffer exclusion from the same basket of importance. Importance sometimes gives way to impertinence also.
Consequently the growing number of celebrations involves engagement of more official establishment and the private participation with resultant consumption of more routine functional work hours followed by pendent expenditure telling upon production and services of a country.
It is said that once a dignitary of a factory in an Asian country visited a watch factory in Japan. The host officers accompanied the guest. The visiting officer made a round of the whole factory during working hours where hundreds of employees were engaged with their respective jobs.
None of the employees heeded to pay the salutations to the visiting officer. The workers carried on their assignments in a normal and usual manner as if nothing had happened. The visitor felt it. He took it as a cold shoulder, disrespect to the guest and a disgrace to the protocol.
His ego minded it; emotions too supported his heart. He was lost deep in his assumptions and could not discern any reason to conclude the cause for an indifferent behavior of the factory employees. At last he gave vent to his pent up emotions.
He enquired from one of the workers during recess as to what was the reason that factory employees did not demonstrate any sign of welcome to the visiting dignitary.
The listener replied humbly and handsomely that since they were at paid work of production, their one minute pause would have caused loss of production of so many work hours to the country.
It was in the ethics of their work culture that service or production should not suffer during service/working hours. Any matter between employees, management or anybody else was sorted out during recess or after work hours. The foreigner found a new vista of life in the world of thinking making meaningful measurement of time devoutly.
Coming to the brass-tacks it is also seen/heard that even after celebrating the marked days or events focusing on related issues a great number of deserving persons and matters complain of indifference and diffidence in due approach and action from the helmsmen.
Rampant chaos bears testimony to the feigned dedication to the issues in the calendar of events resulting in more constant threat of war than rare hope for a much needed peace in the world. Respect to power and the person instead of principle predispose the cures thereby becoming incurable.
Man threatened the objects and the purposes yesterday, it clamours for celebration today, to have a gleeful tomorrow. Life is bracketed, barricaded or dotted for various open-secret reasons and it runs tough in large swathes of the globe.
How long can world afford to observe more and more national or international dates/days for every aspect of life which has been so affected as to cry for its protection, preservation and promotion.
Factually governance structure, the way of thought and ideology are to be ordained invariably to cater to the daily needs and the issues cropping up due to difference of opinion or approaches to technological challenges. It has to be like air reaching everywhere day & night tirelessly impartial to any regional or continental division.
The system should address the issues and work for fulfillment of the requirements automatically. If all the additions to the list are necessary the importance of preceding units gets divided and diluted tapering to zero point. When everything is equally important, it requires an ever vigilant and not once in a blue moon approach.
The system is to react with an impromptu action like an SOS call or as we do to a disease or respond to an itch in body while asleep. With the spirit of self introspection all the wings of the government, and the people, are to deliver their own part efficiently.
However, the crowning wings of the government viz, legislature, judiciary and the executive having the broadest shoulders are to bear the heaviest burdens.
Legislations need to be fair and universal in appeal; letter & spirit, pregnant of providing ethics based legal guidance and protection for all human actions. Judiciary is to be quick in the judicious disposal of all cases whatsoever brought before it.
Executive is to ensure implementation of laws & rules and maintain contended peace instead of eerie calm besides ensuring safety of life, honour and property.
The author is a former Sr. Audit Officer and Consultant of A.G’s Office Srinagar.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are the personal opinions of the author.
The facts, analysis, assumptions and perspective appearing in the article do not reflect the views of GK.