Righteousness by Right

This is also a tale from my service days. In my flying squadron crew room, we were taking a break between two flying missions. We had just dropped the milk packets around forward posts in Arunachal, and were preparing to undertake a ration dropping mission in another area.

An argument developed between two of my colleagues, one an experienced pilot with a few thousand hours under his belt, and another a bright young pilot, lesser in terms of flying hours, but solid in terms of qualification (master green rating in flying skills).

The matter started innocuously enough. It was about what kind of decision to take if a cloud is blocking the valley in which an aircraft is passing for a mission further up the valley. There are umpteen consideration like weather prognosis, the hill range height, load in the aircraft, …and so on.

Soon the argument turned towards egocentric brawl of who is right. The conversation (…err would rather qualify as a shouting match) went like this,

Senior Pilot : I have taught many like you how to fly.

Junior Pilot : Sir, I don’t think any of your pupils has gone as far as green rating.

Senior Pilot : I have ten years experience flying each corner of Assam area.

Junior Pilot : Sir, I have done more missions in this area  in the last one year than you

                       have done in two.

Senior Pilot : I have learnt more nuances of flying from many able instructors than you.

Junior Pilot : Sir, in the last skill test, they gave me ‘Master Green’ rating, and gave you

                       ‘Green’ only

Senior Pilot : You are being impertinent. I am your senior.

Junior Pilot :  Hmmm……(Face expressions and unsaid thoughts not described)

I, the wise man, could not help interjecting. I addressed the senior pilot “ Sir, but that is not the issue. We were talking about the flying tactics, when there is a cloud……”

Senior Pilot : When two seniors are talking, who the hell are you to talk about issues.

…..Phew. I immediately shut my mouth so hard that my lips vanished into a thin line with the proverbial zero width.

I have learnt my lesson. But who has the gumption to tell History from repeating itself.

This once it is a nice person called Anna. The grandfatherly persona means well to all, but is specially seized with making India a great country.  Like the Squadron interaction mentioned above, it started with an innocuous thing called corruption. Now corruption is a thing that all empowered people in India practice and all the rest have learnt to suffer in silence.

I believe conversation (…err I don’t know what to call the kind of interaction that took place. In case of our crew room, there were no water cannons, police, Baba in funny clothing or any spokesmen involved)  went on like this (dramatized version, does not bear any resemblance to anyone living or dead.)

Anna : You must do something about corruption. You owe it to people.

GoI    : Who the hell are you?

Anna : I am the civil society. Peoples’ voice.

GoI    :  What ?  I am the elected representative.

Anna :  But the issue is ……..

GoI    :. Don’t talk about issues. Issues are not more important than

              the Democratic principle that says that issues should be

               tackled by elected representatives, manifested by the houses

               of the parliament as enshrined by the provisos of the constitution

                of India, that has come about after innumerable sacrifices by our

                forefathers, one of whom was………….

I have no idea how the conversation ended or whether it is still ongoing.

But the nagging doubt remains.

Is being Senior (or elected) some kind of metamorphosis of a human being into a superior being with the capability of being exclusively right and righteous?