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Man evolved in the jungle environment and his first strategy to assume power was in
accordance with the jungle law of the supremacy of one who is physically stronger. As
society evolved, the rule of the "Physical might" was replaced by the concept of right
man for the right job, i.e., merit. The concept of merit evolved in different ages and
societies and is closely linked with the history of social evolution of the concepts of
justice, morality, prosperity, culture and equality.

The merit or appropriateness of a person is determined in several ways. For certain trades
and occupations the rule of physical strength is still valid, sport and wrestling for
example, but for most other occupations it has been replaced by qualification like
education, professional and technical skill moral character and intellectual honesty.
Qualification apart, certain specific qualifies are considered of greater importance for
certain occupation. Take, for example, the case of a man who is involved with the
dispensation of justice, in addition to professional knowledge and intelligence, neutral
and intellectual honesty are deemed necessary for him. For another job, like a university
professorship, the criteria would include professional excellence and ability to teach and
guide. For some trade and occupations age and experience are given more importance. »

Thus, civilised societies have evolved systems to determine merit in the from of well-
established institutions for recruitment to service, i.e., examination system, pre-job
interviews and tests, books on rules and regulations, tribunal and courts of law to adhere
to such rules of justice and develop such concepts further.

What is damaging and perhaps even fatal to the process of evolution of society is the
ambition of some short-sighted people in position of power to try to disturb the norms of
civilised behaviour to achieve personal objectives and thus destroy the established
institutions. In this process they make society revert to the jungle tradition. In a society
where the concept of determination of merit disappears - let us call it a demeritiscd
society - all its constituent

units and institutions get affected by the malady, eventually, leading that society to
disintegration. In as demeritiscd society people can receive recognition and rewards for
reasons other than work and efficiency and get punishment for consideration other than
inefficiency and bad work. A student can pass examinations without studying; one can get
a job without qualifications and receive the highest positions in society without any
outstanding ability and excellence. Knowledge, skill and hard work cease to be the
criteria for receive premiums in life and are replaced with political links social pressures,
physical strength and, above all, reckless use of money. A brief review of the impact of
the process of dcmeritisation on various segments of society would be enlightening.

Politicians and rulers: In any society political will determines the ultimate and final shape
the society it is going to take, and this is closely linked with what type of politicians and
rulers it had. In a demeritised society, they are often most corrupt and degraded. Politics
and public life are monopolised by a class of elite sharing not the concept and ideologies
but blood relations, caste and the bonds of class and wealth. They all belong to the
affluent class but are still greedy both for power and money. They allot to themselves
agricultural lands, plots and industries, receive foreign grants and make generous use of
public funds for private purposes. Treasuries an.i banks are placed at their disposal and
they make use of public money -without any hesitation or compunction. Their objectives
is to stay in power and to continue to rule -- rather misrule. And to achieve this objective
they recruit any army of political workers and pay them out of public funds.

Such politicians have no ideological commitments. They can be sold and bought easily
like a commodity off the shelf and their price varies according to the prevalent market
rates in accordance with the law of supply and demand. They constitute the most
powerful political mafia and continued to weld power under all political permutations and
combinations. Weather it is dictatorship or democracy, the rule of civilians or army
Generals, they continue to be in power. It one were the keep a count and prepare a list the
same names and surnames would appear common to all sets of ruling arrangements in
such societies.

Educational institutions: The first victims of a demeritised society are educational

institutions and the assailant is the ruler, often a politician of the character described
above. The problem starts with appointment of an incapable head of an institution with a
low scholarly but high political profile. Thence forward, instead of imparting education
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institution turns into an arena of political activity and intrigues. Students are persuaded to
join such activities, and soon cafeterias take the place of classrooms and Kalashinkovs
that of books. To win popularity the teaching load is reduced, the period of holidays
increased, and as a result the academic standards go down. Students pass examinations
every year and to achieve this objective the exams are made easy by lowering standards,
both professional and ethical. As a short-term measure it creates a sense of euphoria all
around. Teachers arc happy because they do not have to work, students are happy because
they have sufficient time to enjoy, and parents are happy because their children do not fail
in the examinations. However, the ultimate victim is society at large. The lowering of
educational standards, after some time, lowers the proficiency and efficiency of society as
whole. The products of educational institutions of today occupy higher position in
societytomorrow. In time to come they become political leaders, bureaucrats, judges of
the courts, professors of colleges and universities, etc. Thus the vicious circle of
dcmeritisation of society continues.
In the name of 'advancement' of science and technology sjjich heads of departments and
institutions often resort to establishing institutes of excellence and high performance
which are staffedJby the same incompetent but politically well-connected and clever
people. And what do these clever people excel in? In selfprojection, in bluffing, in
flattery, in jobbery, indeed in everything except professional ability and competence.
They are able to please the rulers by quasi-scientific statements. They manage to fill the
gaps in their competence and expertise by purchasing expensive instruments of doubtful
utility, thus wasting the precious resources of a poor country in the name of transfer of
technology. This junk of instruments is seen mainly at exhibitions. Every now and then
they produce write-ups in the newspapers, backed by TV appearances about
breakthroughs that have already been made elsewhere in the world 50 years earlier. It is
not surprising that such people receive all the scholarly auiirds and distinctions at
national or provincial level.

People working or trained at such "institutes of excellence" are, just out of national pride,
considered at par with those who have received superior knowledge and training at
international institutes. The result ill be that all such institutes of excellence will soon be
converted into centres filled with mediocre.

Judiciary: In a civilised society judiciary is the most effective restraining and balancing
force. When men are placed in such responsible positions out of merit and irrespective of
standards

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of professional and moral integrity the concept of \

eroded and people lose confidence in such prestigious » t.uus.

When small people occupy very high position in society they can easily become tools in
the hands of crafty rulers. Their decisions are not always made in the interest of justice.
They are sometimes made according to the rulers convenience and expediency of
situations, or sometimes out of "necessities" - of even under the "Doctrine of Necessity."

The system eventually fails to provide effective and timely justice to the common man
and safeguard his rights. People are dismayed and frustrated, and out of frustration and a
sense of helplessness they tend to settle their grievances personally by resorting to
violence. This leads to increased incidence of crime. In a demeritised society, state
agencies fail to provide security of life and property; hence the need for carrying arms
and ammunition and seeking patronage of the physically stronger bullies.

Religious class or clergy: In a demeritised society the clergy, which normally maintains
the standards of good and bad, becomes totally bankrupt and degraded. Instead of
promoting moral values and guiding the public o the right path they join hands with the
people in power and come out with religious injunctions to support them. They fail to
check the misdeeds of rulers and become shareholders in their power. Instead of speaking
the truth in the face of tyrants they distort the truth and fabricate lies to please the people
and the ruling class. Instead of suffering hardships in the process of upholding truth as
their predecessors die, they opt for easy and luxurious living.

Press: In a civilised society the Press is considered one of the most important organs
which acts as a watchdog of the interests and rights of citizens. It is supposed to play the
role of both an educator and a moderator. It guides the rulers to adopt a sane and
sympathetic attitude towards people and also projects the views of those who are out of
power and hold divergent views and opinions on various national issues. In a demeritised
society the Press is completely in the hand of the rulers. The public is often kept ,
misinformed or uniformed. People with competence and ability are kept out of important
positions and less competent people with appropriate political profile occupy key
positions in various newspaper, information agencies, TV and ratio. Journalism in a
demeritised society develops a set vocabulary depicting gocJ and bad qualities of the out-
going and fit incoming rulers. Superlatives are used in abundance so that pigmies are
elevated to the level of giants and ordinary human beings given the status of gods.

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146 tMnpui iu». ^.-

Administrators and Defence Forces: Administrative machinery in a

dcmcritiscd society is geared towards the maintenance of status quo in the interest
of existing rulers, and this is achieved by law and order agencies which become the most
effective, powerful and often coercive forces in society. Law and order, however, docs
not mean providing security of life and property to the people but is interpreted in terms
of providing security to the rulers for continuous and uninterrupted rule. Murderers
and dacoits often go unnoticed but the entire government machinery geared towards
keeping people away from the roads anc preventing them from staging political protests.
In return, the law enforcing agencies are give the highest prestige and rewarded wit! cash
lands, plots, houses, bungalows, foreign tips and treatmen abroad for trivial ailments. The
administration becomes thorough! corrupt and is viewed as strong political party and
force.

Defence forces of a demeritised society, likewise, ncgle

their professional training and lack competence. They fail to secu

the border of the country and the neighbours kccp on nibbling

their territories bit by bit ad, in the end, occupy large areas withe

meeting any resistance. Every now and then they exhibit capabil
of conquering their own countn7 in the name of law and order and imp

martial Uws which becomes a recu rrcnt phenomenon in such societies.

To sum up, social evils spread like cancer in all spheres i

at all levels of a demeritised society, corrupting politic!;

bureaucrats, servicemen, businessmen and professionals a!

Lawlessness and irresponsibility become the cardinal feature of s

a society. The people promote partisanship, provincialism, casti

and are given to safirish, nepotism and misuse of power. 0

social evils like profiteering, black-marketing and the desire t<

rich by hook or by crook become important characteristics of

a society. Crime, hypocrisy, immorality, lawlessness and other s

evils cause disintegration of the fabric. At this stage invasior

occupation by stronger neighbours cannot be ruled out.

Dcmeritisation of a society is, in fact, like dcmeritisati a currency; where in the latter only
the currency losi credibility, in the former the entire society loses credibilit respect both at
home and abroad. Such a society is on the v total destruction because nature can ignore
individuals but n collective sins of society.

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