Saturday, 12 March 2016

Oh Krishna, Where are you?




                                                          Oh Krishna, Where are you?

"Yada Yada Hi Dharmasya/Glanirva Bhavathi Bharatha,
Abhyuthanam Adharmaysya/Tadatmanam Srijami Aham'.
Whenever and wherever is decline of righteousness and a predominance of unrighteousness prevails, at that time I manifest myself personally. This is Lord Krishna’s answer as to when he will manifest himself.”
The marked decline in personal and public morals in our nation in the last two years and the charges of corruption during the earlier UPA government have made many of us wonder if Lord Krishna  would keep his word.  All we read and hear in the newspapers and over the TV channels is about rape, murder, loot, violence, predatory business practices, juvenile crimes, sexual perversity, road rage, uncivilized and uncultured speeches and actions… the list is endless.  Even more alarming are the hairsplitting arguments among our lawmakers about nationalism and anti nationalism, tolerance and intolerance, the right to dissent and the state’s duty to stifle it, democracy and anarchy , the esoteric and exoteric aspects of religious beliefs-  driving a wedge in the society, leading to irreconcilable ideological and religious conflicts besides spreading venom and hatred among the contending groups. The principles of democracy that guarantee individual liberty have also come under dispute and the nation is currently in the vicious grip of unrest, disharmony and disquietude. India after Independence has never seen such volatile commotion and unease as is happening in the last year and a half. If one gives credence to Lord Krishna’s words, one feels crying in angst and despair the famous lyric of Pt.Ravi Shankar : “ Krishna! Krishna! I am missing you, Oh Krishna, Where are you? I am missing you, Oh Krishna, Where are you?”
Many political writers have hailed the arrival of Kanhaiya, the jailed and released student leader from JNU. Kanhaiya coincidentally is another name for Lord Krishna.  Leave aside the media hype, it is a fact that this young man, the president of JNU Students’ Union(JNUSU) had struck a sympathetic and spontaneous chord with everyone who heard him and who read his speech.  He was media savvy when he gave his interview to different TV channels.  He had a cheerful smile, he displayed no trace of  rancor even after having been unlawfully kept for  three weeks in custody, spoke eloquently and even if he had slightly erred on historical facts, that did not make his  message one of vitriolic denunciation of his political opponents in and beyond JNU. This was at the opposite extreme of the Parliamentary speeches by the HRD minister and by Rahul Gandhi and by the PM especially in his reply to motion of thanks to the President in the Rajya Sabha.  Kanhaiya came across as a mature, seasoned debator who was well trained in the etiquette of discussion and debate. He did not say anything new that we had not known, but the way he expressed our concerns and anxieties was simple, elegantly worded and followed the trend of the  second inaugural address by Abraham Lincoln: “ With malice towards none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive to finish the work we are in…”. His right wing detractors find his ‘right’ as ‘left’ and criticize him as an ultra leftist whose slogan mongering is aimed at whipping up Maoist hysteria and unleashing anarchy. It is inconsequential at this point of time to debate about his ideology, but only see the positives arising out of youthful freshness and idealism that augurs well for the emergence of a decent and alternative political discourse, away from the trite and abusive tenor of the present day discourses. Rather than dividing our young and painting them into corners of “left” and “right”, (in JNU it is between AISU backed by the Left and  ABVP, the junior wing of BJP) Indians would do better by positively nurturing their aspirational dreams unleashed  by Kanhaiya. Salil Tripathi commenting on Kanhaiya’s speech observes: “One thing that emerges from Kumar’s speech, and more tragically, from the suicide note left by Rohith Vemula, the Dalit scholar in the University of Hyderabad, is how thoughtful India’s young are. Vemula wanted to explore the mysteries of the cosmos; Kumar reflected on transforming the Indian universe by looking at two bowls in the jail—one red, one blue; one left, one Dalit; and in seeking to unite the two, he sees hopes of building a new India that fights caste and class. Bliss it is in this dawn to be alive, and to be young, the very heaven.”
The nation has been waiting for this moment when bitterness, rancour, intolerance, hatred and animus would give way to good will, spirit of accommodation, love, tolerance and geniality, when caste and gender discrimination will give way to equal opportunities for everyone without the caste and gender tag.  Anna Hazare had provided a glimmer of hope five years back when he descended in Delhi’s Ramlila maidan like a cloud burst to wash away the corruption that was widespread in the country at that time. He was hailed as the new messiah, a new Gandhi to fight to bring back honesty, transparency and a corruption-free State through establishment of a Jan Lokpal, an institution to act like an ombudsman with the power to deal with corruption in public places. But his influence waned because he was not ready for an iota of compromise on the rigid stand he had taken that it should be only his version of Jan Lokpal and nothing else. There were other issues such as his insistence on the Dalits of his village to adopt vegetarian food or else to be tied to a post and flogged, alienated him from the politicians of all parties as his attitude appeared more dictatorial and passe’ and  not in sync with the 21st century India.
Five long years later, the waiting for a new messiah continues with the nation sliding regressively in all aspects, displaying a lack of civility, culture, cultivated speech, politeness, grace and tolerance. The fall in civilized behavior has been the trend that started from the time of the last General elections and continues today. PM’s speeches abroad have a polish (despite his frequent unseemly references to the opposition parties in India) that is distinctly missing in all his election speeches back home( particularly galling , delivered after his massive victory in the general elections). The so called ‘fringe’ group of his Sangh parivar and his own cabinet ministers use crude and coarse language against anyone who dares to oppose them or question their partisan vehemence against other religious followers in their single aim to spread saffronization. The opposition in turn, is taking the cue from the shrill cry of the BJP to orchestrate its shriller outrage and attack on anything and everything the government proposes. Contrary to Modiji’s clarion announcement that he would give India minimum government and maximum governance, we have minimum governance and maximum verbiage ( more of abuse and attack). The new nursery rhyme echoing through the Parliamentary hall sounds as follows:                  
                                         BJP and the Opposition sit in the Parliament,
                                         BJP and the Opposition have a wordy engagement ,
                                         So uncultured and uncivilized is their argument
                                         All the men and women could not bring them together again.
The nation’s waiting for someone to lift it from the morass it had been fallen into seemed to get a respite with Kanhaiya’s unexpected and catapulted arrival. The Media began to fawn upon him “All hail, Kanhaiya, hail to thee/ Thou shalt be the new Messiah” forgetting that for all the adulation he had been given, Kanhaiya is not Lord Krishna. The comparison stops at the tip of that coincidence of the names-Krishna and Kanahiya.
Kanhaiya has a long way to go to grapple with the serious issues plaguing the nation. It is not just economics where the debate revolves around the Left and the Right ideology- about Capitalism and Socialism, about Public and Private enterprise, about taxation and inflation. The more serious issues are about the prevalence of unrighteousness and decline of all values that are essential to sustain and preserve the well being of society. Krishna was known as “Draupadi mana rakshaka”(the  protector of Draupadi’s honour) . What we see today is hundreds of Dussasanas and Duryodhans whose aggressive rapism sends the shivers down our spine. A million policemen cannot equal Krishna the protector and savior of Draupadi. Our society needs a million Kanhaiyas to speak about gender justice. There have been voices against Kanhaiya in the last couple of days and reprehensible statements have been made to tarnish his image in particular with the opposite sex.  What is true and not true in today’s biased media is not easy to arrive at. But it highlights the need for the modern Kanahaiya to articulate and inspire his generation strongly to bring a rape-free India.
When we think of Krishna, we recall the Mahabharat and when we recall the great epic, we recall the one and only Karna, the tragic hero of that magnificent work which is best epitomized by the couplet
What is found here is found elsewhere
What is not found here is found nowhere.
 Let us study the case of Karna- the tragic character of the  Mahabharat and who  is today represented by the Dalits and the most underprivileged classes of our society. Karna though unaware of his Kshatriya credentials and  brought up as Sutputra (son of a charioteer)shows his extraordinary prowess as a skilful wielder of the bow, a man known for his  loyalty, gratitude and friendship towards the wily and envy-filled Duryodhan (who had made  him the king of Anga), for his truthfulness and filial  duty  by promising his mother that he would not  engage in any battle with his Pandava brothers and  kill them except Arjun,  for his generosity as he gives away his protective armour and earrings( that guaranteed him immortality)  to Indra who comes to him disguised as a Brahmin.  Karna triumphs over the casteist prejudice through his sadharna dharma(Eternal or Universal dharma)  of truth, loyalty, honesty and commitment. One Kanhaiya and before him one Rohith Vemula  cannot help in establishing Sadharana dharma  just by continuously  questioning the eons of unjustness heaped on the underprivileged classes. We need a lot more Karnas to bring up a new social order where everyone is given the platform to rise up irrespective of his caste and religion.  Kanhaiya cannot and should not repeatedly express anxiety over his social position based on his caste but rise above to make a casteless society that encourages all classes of men and women to realize the Sadharana dharma i.e. the ethical principles common to all.
 It is true in the Mahabharat, Krishna’s cleverness brought Karna down and when Karna laments that he had always followed Dharma, but Dharma failed to protect him, Krishna answers that Dharma cannot be a one- time principle to be adhered and asks Karna where was his dharma when Draupadi was shamed, when Duryodhan usurped the kingdom of the Pandavas or when Abhimanyu was encircled and killed by the Kauravas. Will Kanhaiya rise up in stature and protest against the heinous killings and maimings of civilians and law protectors by the Maoists? Will he be able to articulate the subtle distinction between individual democratic right and constitutional obligation for every citizen to be law abiding? Will he speak about the freedom of expression which when unchecked may lead to anarchy? Will he be able to inspire the youth not to rest content with just protests against casteist discrimination but rise above them  to realize their potential? If he fails to do so, all his magnificent speech will be empty words.
The most important aspect of Krishna’s attempt at restoring righteousness was the art of diplomacy-often mistakenly cited as guile or trickery.  Anna Hazare’ s attempts to weed out corruption  have failed to stop corruption at all levels of governance. Because mere preaching without practical efforts is akin to letting go of a wounded tiger or a hurt snake. His disciple   Kejrewal for all his antics is to be lauded for taking up the responsibility to govern Delhi, which is not even a mini state.  His constant battle with the Centre have made him out to be a constant fighter and a whiner, nevertheless he has succeeded in taking a few small steps towards fulfilling his major poll promises. Success comes to those who dare and act and seldom to the deserter or in modern parlance to the armchair philosopher. Anna Hazare exited from mainstream dissent as a disappointed man as his movement was not structured and his  12 day fast was not followed by any follow up action.  Now Kanhaiya is trying to take the crusader’s path but without any thought about the shape it will take. His brilliant speech has been applauded for its candor, its lack of rancor, its new found spirit to take the fight to the ruling party that had jailed him. But then in the last one week he has made some startling charges against the Indian army, that has evaporated all the euphoria his earlier speech had generated. Krishna went into the battlefield not by listing criminal charges against the Kauravas but only after all his reconciliation efforts failed when Duryodhan refused to yield even five villages to the Pandavas.  If he inspired the Pandavas to fight, it was to restore justice and righteousness. His inspirational advice to Arjun  - the Bhagavad Gita- is an exhortation to Arjuna to fulfill his duty as a warrior to re-establish Dharma.   Kanhaiya is not Krishna and he should realize that mere speech, however well delivered will end as an empty vessel that makes noise and nothing beyond.
We need many Kanhaiyas who can articulate a new political testament, a new set of belief that is practical, implementable and is well within the framework of the Indian Constitution. Till such time let us not exalt Kanhaiya as the new Krishna; he has to prove that his life and preaching, his eloquence and exhortation, his criticism and constructive actions complement each other.





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