When Merit Loses To Manipulation

It didn't take long for the sheen to fade.

- Namrata Kohli

The more I saw, the more I realised—she wasn't a role model; she was a master of manipulation. Her meteoric rise wasn't fuelled by talent alone, but by transactional relationships with top management—a fact that circulated in hushed whispers across media corridors.

I was naive but driven. All I knew was hard work. I poured my energy into reporting and writing, and soon my bylines began shining in the print edition. But that drew her ire: It seems you have abundant time to write for the print edition. You think you will become a star? I'll make your life hell." And sure she did. Every assignment became a battlefield, every day an uphill climb.

At the time, I couldn't make sense of it. Why would someone feel threatened by my work and sincerity? Why did the system reward charm over competence? It took years—and many similar encounters—to realise this wasn't an isolated case. It was part of a larger pattern.

In far too many workplaces, ambition without integrity wasn't the exception—it was the winning formula. And women, ironically, weren't just victims of the system. Sometimes, they were its most ruthless enforcers.

It isn't just about one woman or one company. This is extremely common in corporate India and globally. As a mediawoman commented, "The Astronomer case of a cheating couple was not an outlier, it was a mirror to society." Such instances are swept under the corporate carpet—swiftly, snugly—because it's easier to maintain the facade of harmony than confront the rot.