Can Kashmir Build A System Where Only Merit Matters?

(MENAFN- Kashmir Observer)
Representational photo

By Dr. Fiaz Maqbool Fazili

Some dreams start with a question. In Kashmir, one such dream is fast spreading among students, professionals, and young officials: What if merit alone decided who got promoted?

What if getting ahead didn't depend on who you knew, but on how well you performed?

In a region where turmoil has frayed trust in institutions, the idea of a“sufarish-free” Kashmir-a system without backdoor deals, political influence, or family pressure-feels radical.

But it also feels necessary. If we want a just, functional, and prosperous society, we need to make merit the rule, not the exception.

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The idea sounds simple. But the road to get there isn't.

Kashmir isn't alone in struggling with favouritism. Across the world, only about 4.36% of promotions go to the lowest-performing employees, but when that happens, the damage is deep.

When someone gets ahead because of connections rather than competence, it hurts morale. The entire team suffers. Good workers start wondering why they should try at all. And the institution becomes slower, weaker, less trusted.

We see this everywhere. In a school, an underqualified head can harm students for years. In a hospital, it can mean life-or-death mistakes. In government, it leads to bad service, growing anger, and deep public distrust.

Nowhere is this more dangerous than in a place like Kashmir, where faith in public systems is already fragile. If young people stop believing that hard work leads anywhere, they look for shortcuts, or they give up. That's a crisis waiting to happen.

But there's another side to this. When people know their work will be fairly judged, they show up differently. They put in the extra hours. They innovate. They speak up. A merit-based system does more than reward good performance, it creates it.

Of course, everyone says they want the best person for the job. But who decides what“best” means?

In many places, gut instinct still drives decisions. A boss promotes someone who seems sharp or loyal or shares a hometown. That's where bias creeps in.

We need to shift to data. Real performance metrics, not vague impressions. That means tracking who delivered results, met deadlines, led teams, and solved problems.

Countries and companies that lead in fairness use tools like Human Resource Information Systems (HRIS) to log this information across departments.

They also use diverse hiring and promotion panels to reduce bias. They explain their decisions in writing. They review them. They audit them. This kind of transparency builds accountability and trust.

In Kashmir, such systems don't yet exist in any consistent way. But they can.

Let's not pretend this is easy. Patronage has become part of the fabric in many parts of Kashmiri administration. Years of instability have taught people to survive through networks, not rules. Interference in transfers and postings is common. Rules get bent. People learn not to complain.

But change has to start somewhere. The first step is leadership that genuinely believes in merit, and shows it. That means saying no to pressure, protecting whistleblowers, and publicly celebrating honest success stories. The second step is investing in tools that can track and compare performance objectively.

We also need legal reforms: laws that clearly spell out how promotions must be made, what“merit” means in each role, and how decisions can be challenged. Some global systems, like the U.S. Office of Personnel Management or the Singapore Public Service Commission, offer examples of how to do this. We don't have to invent everything from scratch.

Let's imagine a timeline. In the next three years, we could roll out digital HR systems in departments like education and revenue. We could train managers to use data to make decisions, not favours. We could pass strong anti-corruption laws targeting sufarish and reward those who speak up.

In five to seven years, we could have oversight bodies with real power. We could create a culture where fair promotions are expected, not rare. We could start to see better service in hospitals, schools, and public offices. Not because the people changed, but because the system did.

In ten to fifteen years, if we stay the course, we could have a fully merit-based government workforce. Sufarish could become socially unacceptable. Our institutions could earn public trust. Investors and professionals might look at Kashmir as a place of fairness, not frustration.

The biggest obstacle to building a meritocracy isn't money. It isn't even politics. It's cynicism.

Too many people believe change isn't possible. They've seen too many bad decisions, too many rigged processes. But if we keep thinking that way, nothing will change.

The truth is, the roadmap is already there. The question is whether we have the will to follow it.

If we start today, by fixing what we can, by pushing for fair rules, by refusing to take or offer backdoor help, we can move toward a future where Kashmir runs on talent, not ties. We owe that to the next generation.

Meritocracy isn't just a dream. It's a plan we can build, step by step, role by role, and system by system. The only thing missing is the choice to begin.

• Dr. Fiaz Maqbool Fazili is a member of the GCC, a Group of Concerned Citizens in Kashmir.

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