Prof M. L Bhan
The inspection date for B.Ed at Jammu was approaching and I decided to come to Jammu to be present on occasion and also to apprise MC members of situation in Srinagar. I got a notice issued with this agenda by Dr M K Teng who besides being VP of M C was Acting Secretary that time. The Secretary Dr. Raina was however present in meeting. The meeting has a sinisterus start, when Presdient Gen Dhar, disregarding the agenda for meeting, brought in his own one point agenda of restrcting my going to Srinagar, just to keep I/C there, with full financial powers as before. Inspite of my stiff opposition to president’s move, I had to yield, after I found all other members,sitting silent inelegantly and indecorously, including Dr. Teng, who himself had issued notice for the meeting. For me, the meeting unfolded clearly their intentions which I harboured all along. The meeting proved to be the last meeting of M C and turned out to be the beginning of an end of Gen Dhar’s era in G M College. Management lost all grace with staff at Jammu and Srinagar, and was later dethroned with the help of community members through formation of a General Council by the staff. This body in reality, the General Body for college management was however named as HESK to suit urgency of the times.The body proceeded with installation of an ad hoc president, dissolution of the existing M C, change of constitution of body and subsequent elections to the executive. Some staff members, who successfully led the struggle in Court, decided to contest elections to the management, to keep future management on track, in view of their experiences, throughout the decade of exile, post migration. This step though incompatible and incongruent, was ignored by all, because of urgency for a good and responsible management. A new management thus came into existence with A.K Dewani as Presdient and M.K Dhar of college staff as Secretary and other members from community and college staff as
members.
Shortly sometime after the formation of new executive, I retired from the college with full honours and promise of payment of full retirement benefits as soon on fund would be available. Some ugly trends became discernible as : (a) Trends to expand General Council strength by bringing in their acquaintances without proper procedure of advertisement. (b) Trends for incurring expenditures, unmethodically in name of expansion. (c) Trends to overlook the employees interests at Jammu and Srinagar. The problem of retiral benetits of three senior most employees, was dealt with, in most irresponsible and ugly manner, without caring to know the GIA rules; with the result that the retirees had to go to Court and are still unpaid because of their unbecoming attitude.
This behavior of the members made the MC unacceptable with staff at Srinagar, with the result that these people (MC) could not make a niche there in view of their legal superiority. Efforts to expand and expend at Jammu unit, made conditions favourable for Srinagar employees to approach the government with complaints and for takeover. The CM obliging them, issued order, which was not protested, or even reacted upon, by MC generating some doubts about MC’s intentions about Srinagar college among members of community.
A stay was however, obtained on the takeover order by two members of community-Pran Nath and Upender Kishen, some days after. This created many doubts and gave risen to some rumours about intentions of MC, which later (many days after) also approached Court for stay, perhaps to save face in community. The stay order is there on paper and the college stands practically lost to the community as no effort has been made to undo the stay order unfolding clearly the intentions of new MC about the main college at Srinagar.
The educational heritage of KP community in Kashmir is almost practically vanished with the new MC’s ugly and irresponsible attitude towards college problems at Srinagar, post migration.
Concluding, I recite the saying of late S.N Fotedar, founder President of HESK. “The college will someday have managers who can be likened to midway passengers of train with motives, without carring in any way, about the origin of the train or its
destination.
