PANCH PARMESHWAR
Racism in
Dallas, U S A followed by mob
violence. Brutal murder of
innocents in Dhaka. The eruption of
violence in Kashmir; the tragedy in Nice
; there seems to be a common thread. No; I am not revealing some well kept
secret but deep deficiency in our collective character which has not stabilized
even with centuries of democracy! The oldest democracies are passing through difficult times. The rise of
Donald Trump signifies the dormant and hidden tendencies of American life. Are
sizable number of Americans racist? What
has happened in Britain? Does it not convey that a Nation which flourished on
exploiting the far off lands now wants that wealth only for itself! The spurt
in racist violence post Brexit explains the latent hatred within the communities. The
crisis in middle east, the mass migration and the rise of IS is human creation
. The dismantling of Iraq regime under by Bush-Blair combine was a personal
agenda of Bush who wanted Saddam dead because he planned to kill his father! Have we not studied the political
parties of our Nation. Bulk of them are
either caste based, or region based or religion based. The malice is so wide
spread that the ElectionCommission also never questions their ability to
protect our lofty Constitution. In order to communicate better and provide a
perspective I narrate hear a story of ‘Premchand’ to whom I lean to for solace
from time to time ,if not for solutions.
The
story is titled ‘Panch Parmeshwar’ and was written in
Urdu in 1916
and published in ‘ Zamana’ newspaper from Kanpur. It was published as
book in 1920. It is a story of two friends- Jumman Sheikh and Algu Chowdhary.
They were childhood friends and Algu was indebted to Jumman’s father as he was
his teacher and made him proficient in drafting of applications and other legal
documents. Algu had also served his master well and gave him respect and looked
after his personal needs. Jumman had in his family his old Aunt ( Khala ) who
had some property in the village. As she was old and being looked after by
Jumman she gifted the land to Jumman and a registry of the same was made. Soon
after the gifting the attitude of Jumman and his wife changed toward her , they
were not only careless in providing her basic needs but were also rude to her.
When it became intolerable for the old lady she
confronted Jumman and asked for a monthly allowance to sustain herself,
which Jumman refused stating that she was being taken care of and that there
was no earning from the land which she gifted to him. This compelled the old
lady to call for a village Panchayat.
She requested many people to
participate but some declined as they did not want to antagonise Jumman and
some were obliged to his father, but there were few who were jealous of him and
looked at this as an opportunity to settle scores. When Algu was approached to attend the Panchayat
he said that he would not like to participate owing to his relationship with
Jumman , to which the old lady said that as ‘Panch’ one should listen to the
voice of one’s conscience and be honest. Well; one evening when the sun was
about to set the village people assembled under a tree to decide the case . When the time came to
nominate the ‘Sarpanch’ Jumman was asked to give a name ,he looked around and found
that large number were those who did not like him and so said that he does not
have a choice and would accept whosoever his Aunt nominates. At this the Aunt
announced Algu Chowdhary to be the Sarpanch, this surprised all as they knew
that the two were good friends, Jumman was happiest. Well, Algu Chowdhary
occupied the seat and commenced the proceedings. He ascertained the details
from both parties , whilst discussing the case he realized that this was a
hallowed chair he was holding on trust of people and should do justice. He
decided that Jumman was not fair to his Aunt and that he would have to give her
monetary monthly allowance to sustain. This came as shock to all who were expecting a different outcome. Jumman
was furious and their friendship soured. Things moved on and time went by but
Jumman carried the grudge and looked for revenge. In order to supplement his
farm Algu purchased from the nearby fare
two oxen to plough his field. They were of superior breed and had long
horns, people from nearby village would gather to admire the two. One day one
of the two fell sick and in matter of days passed away. Algu was heart broken
and decided the sell off the second bull to Sahu the local trader. Sahu was
happy to posses a hardy animal to pull his cart. The deal was that Sahu would
pay in instalments as he earns money by taking goods from village to town and
bringing items to village for sale. Sahu was a greedy trader and he would
employ the ox much beyond the normal routine ,the diet also was reduced compared
to the earlier days when the ox would get the wholesome meal at Algu’s home and
was treated well with love and care. Here the sole aim of the trader was to
exploit the animal and multiply gains in short time. Gradually it started
showing on the health of the ox and one day it just collapsed on the road and died. Sahu had to
spend the night howling on the lonely road and when he fell asleep in the wee
hours his earnings too were stolen.
On the sudden death of the ox Sahu decided to inform Algu that since the ox
was no good and died he would not be paying the balance amount. This was not
acceptable to Algu because he had handed over a healthy animal and had
sold him as his partner passed away, therefore in order to settle the dispute a
Panchayat was called and Jumman was
nominated as Sarpanch, the people expected
that Jumman would settle the score. On arrival at the venue Jumman too
was in revengeful mood. However as he settled to take the responsibility his
thoughts changed he asked himself that this was a coveted nomination and
despite his relationship with Algu which was strained he should be fair as God
resides in the heart of the ‘sarpanch’ and it was not he but the voice of God which pronounces the
outcome. The ‘Panch ‘ ( five people)listened to the case much of it they were
already aware and decided that Sahu was liable to pay the balance amount as
Algu had given a healthy animal but it was Sahu who misused it and did not
maintain it. The assembly erupted in jubilation as they acknowledged the
sincerity of the ‘Panch’, and shoted”sarpanch ki jai…’. Algu was stunned in
disbelief and tears started flowing from his eyes ,he approached Jumman and
both embraced each other ;their friendship was restored.
At
the individual level we are imperfect in varying degrees. It is indeed normal
as far as it does not result in conflict
and violence. Certain contradictions, competitiveness are acceptable and
understandable. However we all wear a veneer of sophistication but underneath
we are different- parochial, suffering from stereotype, castist bearing
prejudicial leanings toward our institutions, regions . It is revealed during our moment of weakness as it
did to Rajdeep Sardesai when he stated joy at the swearing in of Suresh Prabhu
as Railway minister and expressing his Gaur Sraswat Brahmin Community. He was correctly
criticised for that. We are our true selves with our close family members
freely expressing our reservations on caste and community lines but in the
public and in our apparent conduct we are above such shortcomings. All the
above is acceptable as far as it does not harm anyone. The issue is that the
Nation represents our collective
consciousness and when a large majority is biased it affects directly or
indirectly our actions. Be it the Parliament, appointments, police action etc
and therefore there remains and undercurrent of dissatisfaction and even
animosity.
The above story may not be directly connected
to the theme in hand but it does convey that even in the remotest corner and
neglected places there may be a sign of
hope . The old lady talks of ‘Imaan’
that is truthfulness and honesty is not the domain of the select but
shines brightly in quiet corners as well. Fairness and balance are key ,there were two
judgements made in the story, one by a friend
and the other by a friend turned foe, but both the judgements were fair.
The unabashed castism, parochialism
and nepotism which sows the seeds of discontent should be fought at each
level. Even when we commit such blunders we should be aware that we are
contributing to discontent. Every action has its equal and opposite reaction ,
may not be immediate, but later in a much fatal form. Look at the UP politics,
the ruling party has the ministry filled with family members. Telangana is not
far behind.
In my
opinion ,the root of unrest is ‘economic
insecurity‘ which compels people to form associations on caste, race,
community, region, institution affiliation. For the poor , oppressed,
downtrodden ,deprived such a recourse is logical , but what happens when the
well placed and economically secured people and communities resort to such means because the level at which this insecurity will
stabilize is not known. The deeply entrenched corporate giants , the legendary
politicians, the high profile film stars are equally insecure and greedy.
The
Powerful State should cater for
the basic economic well being but for
those who fan such violence perhaps an
ideological indoctrination may work.
It could be any; a secular or religious as far as it works. The ideology which worked for Jumman and Algu was ‘Imaan’
very simple, and yet very difficult.
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