Graveyards and Indispensable People

New proverb: "Jet engines can't be made in a country where graveyards are full of indispensable people".

Indispensable or dispensable? Even in the educated circles of Pakistan, the thinking seems to be inclined in favour of "dispensable". The phrase "Graveyards are full of indispensable people" is often used by bosses for certain motives but sometimes it can be detrimental to the intellectual growth of individuals. It is time to scrutinize this phrase.

Indispensable person is one whose absence would adversely affect the pace or outcome of an endeavor in a given period of time. These are people who have invested a lot of time, effort and money in their speciality and thus are hard to replace. While an identical training can be imparted to several individuals, they don't necessarily share the same zeal and passion for a given job.

Of course, vegetables would continue growing in a farm if one farmer is replaced by another. But if we talk about modifying the genes of mangoes for better climate tolerance or developing disease-resistant varieties of plants, then it would not be easy to replace an experienced scientist if timely completion of a project is desired.

Who else other than Ferdinand De Lesseps could have envisioned the feasibility of the Suez Canal when contemporary experts did not believe in it? The prevailing opinion in 1850s was that there is a difference of water levels between the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea and that the water level in Mediterranean would go up, flooding the port cities. Of course, it was not true and De Lesseps proved it. He spent five years on the planning and almost eleven years (1859-1869) on the execution of the project, along with a team of engineers and other professionals. Monsieur De Lesseps also encouraged the construction of the Panama Canal and persuaded the Americans that there is no difference of level between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. As per 2012 figures, Egypt is earning almost five billion dollars per year from the Suez Canal.

During the Battle of Britain (1940) in the Second World War, despite the shortage of experienced fighter pilots in the Royal Air Force, Flight Lieutenant Frank Whittle was spared to continue work on his new jet engine. He was clearly deemed indispensable for the project.

Why was the German rocket engineer Wernher Von Braun taken to USA along with his colleagues after the defeat of Germany in 1945? Was he indispensable for designing rockets? Was there nobody in the USA who could have designed rockets? The reality is that he was indeed indispensable for the early completion of these projects. 

From above examples, it would seem that if one is not planning to send a mission to the Mars, then for him nobody would be indispensable. This is not the case because unforeseen circumstances and events beyond your borders may dictate things otherwise. Some possible case studies are given here.

After the revolution in Spain (1930), many indispensable people were purged, sidelined or condemned in one way or the other based on their political loyalties. They included General Francisco Franco (then Brigadier). He was declared "unpromotable" by the new Republican government and sent to a remote overseas location. When the riots and uprisings started in the remote corners of Spain, the Defence Minister could not find anyone more suited to the job than Franco and this time he was promoted. When the chaos was over, he was again sent to a remote overseas location. A few years later, when the Spanish civil war broke out (1936), government lacked experienced professionals. This time Franco himself led the rebellious Nationalists to victory against the Republicans (1939).   

When the Nazi party came to power in Germany in 1930s, they started a huge purge on religious/racial grounds. Many professionals had to leave Germany. These men included Albert Einstein (left in 1933). Who else could have done the job of Einstein? He left for USA when environment became hostile. Scientists like him played an important role in the development of weapons for the USA, ultimately contributing to the downfall of the Nazi regime.

A similar purge occurred in Russia in 1930s during the reign of Joseph Stalin. Many indispensable men were either sent to graveyards or removed from their posts based on political affiliations. A few years later in 1939, Second World War started. Russia was totally unprepared and German Armies penetrated deep into Russia, reaching the gates of Stalingrad and Leningrad (St Petersburg). It took millions of Russian lives to recover these territorial losses.

Another case study belongs to our neighborhood. After the Islamic revolution in Iran (1979), many professionals were discharged on political or religious grounds. They also included air force pilots, engineers and other officers. Soon after this purge, Iran entered into war with Iraq (1980). Suddenly all those discharged fighter pilots and engineers were needed and it was the patriotism of these professionals that they joined back their ranks.

To conclude, it can be said that sometimes some people do become indispensable.