In a shocking display of official apathy, casual news editors, news readers, computer operators, and translators working at the Regional News Unit (RNU) of Doordarshan News, Srinagar, have been labeled as “beggars” surviving on “Baitul Maal” by a senior official while seeking their pending dues.
Bashir Ahmad Mir, a retired Personal Assistant (PA) who superannuated on February 28 but was rehired on a contractual basis, made the degrading remark in response to Javed Shah, a casual news editor who has dedicated over two decades of service to DD News.
“We are beggars and survive on Baitul Maal, the fund kept by Muslims for the poor, destitute, and handicapped,” Mir allegedly told Shah while addressing his pending payment query. He went further, stating that casual editors and other contractual staff were being booked for payments “only once a year, like charity cases.”
The remark, made in the presence of an officer, Mudasir Amin, left many stunned, with Amin himself visibly uncomfortable with Mir’s humiliating comments.
Expressing his anguish, Javed Shah made a scathing appeal to the Prime Minister, Home Minister, and CEO of Prasar Bharati, sarcastically urging them to officially recognize casual employees as “professional beggars” in a public function.
The incident has once again brought to light the plight of casual media workers in government-run organizations, where years of dedicated service are often met with neglect, delayed payments, and a lack of job security. While full-time officials enjoy post-retirement benefits and reappointments, casual staff are treated as expendable, their rights ignored, and their dignity trampled upon.
With mounting frustration among media professionals over these unjust practices, the question remains: How long will the government turn a blind eye to the exploitation of its contractual workforce?
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