Dear Editor,
The APPSCCE fiasco is about to complete its second anniversary since we had sat for the first prelims, and if the conflicting parties continue with their same attitude, it will take at least another half-a-decade to conclude anything.
In this incessant legal tussle, everybody will lose. In fact, the greatest loss wouldn’t be for the poor or older candidates; it would be for those candidates who are channelling their whole energy and time in leading this perpetual legal battle.
Under the able leadership of CM Pema Khandu, the APPSC is going to be reformed and restructured anyway. The honorable APPSC is the premier recruiting body of our state, and the protesting aspirants are the future civil servants of our state. We as general public expect them to behave in keeping with the highest code of conduct possible and set examples for the rest of our society. But in reality, it’s anything but.
We urge both of the parties – one comprising present civil servants and the other comprising future civil servants – to come up with a ‘gentlemen’s agreement’ between them. Even scholars, intellectuals and scientists can have disagreements, arguments and ‘fights’ on many issues, but what makes them different from us laymen is the way in which they settle their disputes or differences.
Let’s settle the APPSCCE dispute in a more matured way, befitting the premier institution and the future officers. We request both the parties to mutually sign a ‘memorandum of understanding’ between them that, in the greater interest of all, they will not drag this issue any further. Because there’s no point in doing so.
Even during the height of the Kargil war, both India and Pakistan had an informal agreement, understanding that they wouldn’t expand their zone of military engagement beyond the immediate vicinity of Kargil, ie, they wouldn’t extend the conflict to the main civilian areas. Both the countries proved their military prowess within the delimitation of Kargil itself and then accepted its outcome. Thus, civilian lives were saved from being unnecessary lost.
Perhaps just like that, let us give our best arguments, our best efforts in the high court (HC) itself, and then welcome its decision as the final verdict. Dragging the same issue for another round, for another couple of years, will dearly cost everybody’s time, money, peace of mind and the psychological motivation to pursue a career in the civil services. Moreover, the apex body will uphold the decision of the HC in majority of the cases. I hate to say this, as we are all friends, but the damage may even be irreparable, especially for some of us.
We all accepted the HC’s decision regarding the fiasco of the November 2017 prelims, so why is it so hard to accept it this time? The court is not anybody’s friend or foe. For the greater interest of all and for the state, have a memorandum of understanding that we will do away with the fight in the HC itself. Your mode of settling this dispute will set an unprecedented standard for all Arunachalees as to how we can deal with our differences and our disputes, as common citizens in our everyday lives, without unnecessarily harming each other and those around us. Let’s give peace and justice a chance, and let’s hope for a new Arunachal to be born.
Sincerely,
Dite Pertin