[ P Nobin Jomoh ]

I write this neither to seek sympathy nor to accuse any individual. I write because silence can sometimes conceal a painful truth, and because my experience may help the system understand how a sportsperson can continue to be judged by the mode of his initial appointment, even after many years of dedicated service.

Sports shaped my life long before I wore the police uniform. For more than two decades, I devoted myself to competitive sports with discipline, determination and sacrifice. Representing my state and country and winning medals at national and international levels were not easy achievements. Every medal required years of training, physical hardship, financial struggle and personal sacrifice.

My sporting achievements eventually gave me an opportunity to join the Police Department under the sports quota. I accepted it with pride because the sports quota is neither a favour nor a shortcut. It is a lawful government policy intended to recognise sportspersons who bring honour to the state and the nation.

I believed my appointment would inspire young athletes and demonstrate that excellence in sports could provide a dignified path into public service. For nearly 11 years after my appointment, no other sportsperson received a similar opportunity in the state police service. I therefore regarded my journey as a matter of pride, not only for myself but also for the sporting community of Arunachal Pradesh.

However, throughout my 12 years of police service, I have often felt that the label 'sports quota' has followed me more closely than my performance, responsibilities and contributions.

I have been entrusted with difficult and demanding assignments, including responsibilities that others were sometimes reluctant to accept. I never refused. Whether a duty was challenging, inconvenient or carried little recognition, I performed it sincerely because I believed that an officer must serve wherever the department requires him.

My service record speaks for itself. No adverse remark has ever been communicated to me in my annual performance appraisal reports. No departmental proceeding, vigilance case or allegation is pending against me. My performance has consistently been assessed positively.

During my career, I have received two state gold medals, one state silver medal, the DGP's Commendation Disc, and several commendation certificates and appreciation letters from senior police officers, including the DGP and the IGP. These recognitions were earned through my conduct, performance and contributions after joining the department.

Yet, despite my experience, clean record and departmental recognition, I have often felt overlooked when important professional opportunities arose.

This leaves me with a painful question: after how many years of sincere service will an officer cease to be identified primarily by the quota through which he was recruited?

I have the highest respect for officers who enter public service through competitive examinations. Such examinations are extremely demanding and require intelligence, preparation and perseverance. However, sporting excellence at the national and international levels is also rare and difficult to attain. It demands years of discipline, courage, consistency and sacrifice.

Academic achievement and sporting excellence should not be treated as opposing measures of merit. Both require ability and commitment, although they test individuals in different ways.

Once a person joins the department through a legally recognised process, he should thereafter be judged by his integrity, competence, conduct and service record. The mode of initial recruitment should not become a permanent label that limits his professional growth.

The most painful aspect is the message such an experience sends to young sportspersons. How can I encourage talented athletes to pursue excellence and join public service through the sports quota when I have personally experienced how such an appointment may continue to attract prejudice and criticism?

Sometimes I think about my own child. I want my child to succeed and obtain a respectable position in life, but I would hesitate to advise him to seek employment through the sports quota. I would not want him to spend his entire career repeatedly proving that he is not less capable merely because his opportunity came through sporting achievement.

That thought deeply disappoints me.

A policy created to recognise excellence should not become a lifelong source of stigma. A sportsperson should never have to apologise for accepting an opportunity provided by law.

I remain proud of my sporting journey, and I am equally proud of my police service. I have never treated the uniform casually or avoided responsibility. I have tried to discharge every assignment with discipline, dedication and loyalty to the department.

I do not seek special treatment because I am a sportsperson. I seek only equal and fair consideration. I want my eligibility, professional performance, clean service record, experience and contributions to be assessed objectively. I do not want everything I have achieved during 12 years of service to be overshadowed by the words 'sports quota'.

My disappointment is not merely personal. It concerns the future of every talented young sportsperson who hopes that sporting excellence will be respected by society and the system.

A medal is evidence of discipline, resilience and commitment. It should not become a reason to doubt a person's merit.

I remain grateful to the Police Department for giving me the opportunity to serve, and I remain fully committed to my duties and to the dignity of the uniform. But gratitude should not prevent an officer from respectfully expressing genuine pain or asking whether every eligible officer is receiving fair consideration.

My request is simple:

Do not judge me forever by how I entered the service.

Judge me by my integrity.

Judge me by the responsibilities I accepted.

Judge me by my performance.

Judge me by my service record.

Judge me by how I have served.

And above all, judge me fairly. (The author is an Arunachal Pradesh Police Service officer. The views expressed are personal.)