It was the year 2009, a 9 year old me was excited that my mother had got a job as a professor in a Government Aided College. Her field of study was Mathematics. She was so into Mathematics that she taught me and my brother to get above 90 per cent in our High school exams, later. Her understanding skills were profound and not only did she have knowledge in mathematics but also in the education industry as a major in Med and Mphil also.
She was a hard worker, who didn’t get paid by the government due to internal church politics, as her college comes under Church, being a Christian institution. The case of professors like my mom, totally 30 professors who had required qualifications were taken to the Supreme court, which finally released an order on the year 2019, 10 years after she joined the work, that my mom and the other professors have legal rights to get their salaries. It has been 11 years, all the hard work she has done with passion in her eyes and intellect in her mind hasn’t been paid off well. She has seen 10 years of students who had studied under her, get their salaries for the work they have done. The church demanded bribe even after the order from the supreme court, that the professors have legal right to claim the salary for their work. The professors were not ready to pay the bribe. We are living in a country where one has to pay a bribe to get their own hard-earned money, what kind of justice is there?
The government, the college institution and also the church which supports the college didn’t concern well into the case of the 30 professors. 30 Professors were not seen as a family but as an individual who has no authority to claim for their rights. We are living in a country were Rights to Freedom of Speech is appreciated, yet why was the case of the 30 professors not given attention? Even after the case has been solved in the supreme court with an order to give the concerned salary along with 11 years salary to the professors, the government demands a bribe to have the professors provide with their salaries. When did bribery become the master of attaining an employer’s due salary?
I sometimes ask my mother how she worked for 11 years with no salary but with a smile. She always responds it was because that she knew every day has to be purposeful, though she didn’t get her salary, she has some passion and purpose to get up each new day, go to college and give a student life. She has always been an inspiration to the people around her. She always had the beam of sunlight that no one could ever have. Not only did she teach us maths, but she has also taught us “Patience” and “Optimism”.She is a very good problem solver and a great counsellor because I know no one would have survived the mental torture of not getting paid for years. She often refers it to invisible war between the Good and the Bad. She taught us that Good always wins no matter what.
She taught us happiness is a choice and only a few chooses it. Among the few, she was one I knew. She has always been a difference to me and my brother and I know, she always will be! One thing I knew for sure, even in my future if I ever come across a hard time, I knew my mother has already gone threw it, the invisible war between good and evil. And I will go through it too! I am writing this in the year 2020, now I am an engineering student, freelance writer and my brother is a business student in IIM. If not for our mother, we wouldn’t have had the courage to pursue our fields of interest. It is still sad news that she didn’t get paid till now but she always tells that with a smile, always hoping for a better tomorrow with million wishes and hopes.
