My experiences of Hypocrisy

During my 44 years of life after graduation, I came across innumerable cases of hypocrisy having been myself a target in over a dozen cases. I will record here only four different types of hypocrisy in which I was made a target.

During early 1963, when I was a teacher in a Polytechnic Institute, on reaching the Institute when I had walked by the block that housed Principal’s office, a colleague, Mr “M”, met me and asked, “Are you coming from Principal’s office ?” I said no and proceeded to my department. After about 25 minutes a friend came to my office and said, “Oh, you are here ! I thought that you had not come today.” On knowing that I came early morning, he informed me that, about 20 minutes back, when he was with the principal, Mr “M” entered Principal’s office and said, “I have been looking for Mr Bhopal but he is not traceable. Is he on leave today ?”

In May, 1963, I joined an organization comprising many factories as Assistant Works Manager. A month after joining, a colleague, Mr “K” (who was in other nearby factory) telephoned and invited me on a cup of tea in his office. I said that we should do such things after and not during working hours. He insisted and said that he had already talked to my boss on telephone and taken permission and that he had also ordered snacks for me, and that my not going to him would be too bad. Believing in him, I went to his factory. He made me sit in his office and went out saying that he would be back in a few minutes.
On reaching my factory, my boss informed me that Mr ‘K’ had talked to him about ten minutes back and said that he had been searching for me for over half an hour because he had to give an urgent message but had failed to find me.

An engineer Mr “B” who joined the organization in 1964, was to be appointed Assistant Manager after 2 years training, but was not appointed even after 3 years. On his request, I lobbied for him and he was appointed Assistant Manager. We became a friends. In 1973, some materials were stolen from the factory and Mr “B”, was arrested without any proof. In an effort to get him released, I put my future at stake. Fortunately, I succeeded in getting him released. After release Mr “B” said to me, “What you have done for me, perhaps, I would have not been able to do for you under such circumstances. I shall remain grateful to you all my life.” Only two years later that very Mr “B”, for his personal benefits, gave incorrect self-manufactured adverse reports against me to the management of the organization.

In the organization which I served from May, 1963 to August, 2004, confidential report on every officer was written every year by his senior officer. First page of this report, containing profile of the officer, had to be filled in by the officer himself and then handed over to his superior officer. Having learned German language, I wrote that I could speak German in 1970’s report. My senior officer, “Mr G” called me and directed me to delete that because according to his standard speaking meant speaking very fluently. Later, “Mr G” called “Mr A” an officer junior to me. On return “Mr A” informed me that “Mr G” had asked him to write in the form for Annual Report that he (Mr A) could read write and speak German. (“Mr A” did not know even a word of German language) Later, on the basis of knowing German language well, “Mr A” was posted to the Embassy in Germany as Technical Attache while, previously, my name was on record for that posting.