'Mahabharat’ is a much abused word. From one-day cricket to electoral contests, everything is seen in that distant mythic mirror. Few of us are familiar with the multi-layered classic of almost 1,00,000 verses and most have a hazy recollection of childhood encounters with the cast of characters— heroes and villains—as depicted in illustrated comics like Amar Chitra Katha. Inevitably, we tend to discount references to it as clichés. But recent happenings in Uttar Pradesh have jolted us back from lazy stupour to our senses. What an uncanny replay of a self-destructive ‘family feud’—in this instance, more farcical than tragic—yet full of dangerous implications for the fragile democratic fabric already under severe stress.
Truth be told, we aren’t least interested in the ‘power struggle’ in the Yadav Clan. It is difficult to sympathise with Mulayam Singh as a ‘Lion in Winter’ or ‘Patriarch in Autumn’. He reminds one more and more of the Old Man in the story of Sindbad the Sailor, who refused to disembark from the back of the young man and kept tightening his vice-like grip on the helper’s neck. Ironically, nor is it easy to identify Akhilesh as the hero in shinning armour. He has vacillated enough and compromised often in the past to retain any credibility. He continues to proclaim the ‘Love and Respect’ for his father that none can snatch away from him, oblivious of the fact that no one in the wide world is interested in his filial feelings at the moment. Then, there is the uncle, Shivpal—for a change not from the maternal, but the paternal side—who is perceived by many as the villainous mastermind plotting the crooked moves before the throw of dice. There is no dearth of friendly (wise or wily) counsellors on both sides—Azam Khan to Amar Singh—ever ready to complicate this narrative of insatiable lust for power, deadly blend of ignorance and arrogance, injustice, hurt pride with their contributions.
Call him ‘Netaji’ or ‘Samajwadi Party Supremo’ or the ‘Peerless Wrestler’, none of these epithets can today hide the helplessness of the man called Mulayam. It is not likely that his extremely busy political life ever allowed him to read and reflect on the Gettysburg Address of Abe Lincoln. Otherwise, its resonant words of warning—“a house divided against itself” etc—may well have pulled him back from the brink.
But who is really interested in the fortunes of this family? The Samajwadi Party (SP), like the Congress and many other political parties, is a family fiefdom. How it flourishes or flounders matter only to the extent the fluctuations impact on the fortunes of other contenders to power.
Analysts have been busy speculating about who will benefit most from the ‘implosion’ of the SP in UP. It is clear that the legal fiction of the Hindu Undivided Family can’t be sustained any longer. Not only that, the word Hindu is anathema to the ‘Secular’ SP but also that the ‘Karta’ has been decisively marginalised. No rebates, taxing to the public, can be claimed. It’s painful payback time.
The strife in the SP is going to leave the state and the nation badly bruised. True to their DNA, the warring factions have taken their battle to the streets and decided to settle the issue through muscle power. Other political parties, too, have split acrimoniously, but seldom have such ugly sights been witnessed. Using stormtroopers to prove one’s majority not by peaceful vote but by show of brute force certainly bodes ill for the democracy. The bitterness engendered now can only vitiate the election campaign and provoke violence.
At times one can’t help wondering whether what is unravelling is not more like Ramayan Redux. Old King Dashrath succumbing to entreaties of a younger dear consort and banishing the crown prince designate to exile in haste and then lamenting at leisure. Or, think of Vibhishan, the brother who turned ‘traitor’, a prisoner of his conscience who ‘conspired’ with the Noble ‘Enemy’ to ensure the downfall of his sibling. This epic, too, presents a fascinating cast of characters—heroic and villainous—with none of them unflawed. It has become customary to invoke the Lakshman Rekha, the line that none may cross. But we digress.
It is not only the Hindu epics that provide insights and illuminating sidelights on political shenanigans in UP and elsewhere in India. Just recall Satyajit Ray’s brilliant recreation of Shatranj ke Khiladi, the famous short story written by Premchand. The self-obsessed effete rulers busy making moves on the chess board were totally cut off from harsh reality surrounding them. They drew swords in hurt pique only to slaughter one another and ruin the realm. The song and dance couldn’t ultimately drown the din of impending battle that announced their doom. Alas, this forgotten gem tells the tale not only of UP but many other states of India.
Pushpesh Pant
Former professor, Jawaharlal Nehru University
pushpeshpant@gmail.com