555. Why This Punishment?

"How could they have delivered such a verdict? During my long political career spanning over 30 years, there has not been a single allegation of corruption against me. When I was the Chief Minister, whenever there were allegations of corruption against a minister in my cabinet, I ordered a probe and took action against the minister concerned, if the probe indicated that the allegations were prima facie true. They filed a case accusing me of accumulating assets disproportionate to my income. I have been convicted and given prison sentence. They have also imposed a fine of ten crore rupees on me. I don't have assets to the value of ten crore rupees!" lamented Manimaran, a former Chief Minister, to his lawyer who had come to meet him in the prison.

"We have filed an appeal in the Supreme Court and also sought bail. You may get the bail in about a week. We have requested the Supreme Court to hear your case expeditiously" said the lawyer.

 ''Getting bail is fine. But this is a fundamentally flawed verdict. Since I was not guilty, in the beginning, I didn't take the case seriously. I was confident that I would be acquitted. But my political opponents created a false narrative that my younger brother's properties were acquired by me from ill-gotten income and that he was only a front for me. Even when the lower court convicted me, accepting this story, I was hoping that I would get justice in the High Court. But to my shock and surprise, the High Court has dismissed my appeal and confirmed my conviction."

"Sir! We have discussed the case in detail. Your brother was a bachelor and he lived in your house. He earned a lot of money in his real estate business. But, unfortunately, to evade taxes, he understated his income in his financial statements. He didn't keep proper records either. Since he had no children, he wrote a will leaving all his assets to your children. He died and all his assets came to your children. After you had lost the election, your political opponents made clever use of these facts to project that the assets acquired by your brother were, in act, acquired by you, since your brother had no means to acquire those assets and that his writing a will leaving his properties to your children confirmed this. Unfortunately, the circumstances supported their allegations and the courts accepted the case made out against you" said the lawyer.

"Then, how did you say that I would get a favourable verdict in the Supreme Court?" asked Manimaran, sounding angry.

'When did I say so?' said the lawyer to himself. 

"We will present strong arguments that the entire case is based on assumptions and that there is no evidence to show that you acquired the assets owned by your brother. There have been many instances of some big lawyers, through their skills of persuasion and argument, having successfully got the Supreme Court overturn the High Court judgements" he told Manimaran, in an attempt to infuse a sense of optimism in him.

"I am not sure. Anyway, please proceed with the appeal and the bail petition, as per your plan" said Manimaran.

Manimaran's wife Kumari came to the prison to meet him.

"Kumari! You know about me. I never took any bribe from anyone. I didn't have money to acquire these assets. Why should this happen to me?" asked Manimaran, sounding desperate.

Quite unexpectedly, Kumari reacted with an angry outburst.

"Do you want to know why? When you were in power, you adopted a highhanded approach and committed atrocities against ordinary people. You might not have taken bribes. But, what about your autocratic, aggressive and oppressive acts? I have cautioned you several times not to do things that would harm others. But you didn't listen to me."

"I don't understand what you are talking about. When I was running the government, I was bound to use the powers vested with me, to put down protests and agitations. My distractors called me an autocrat and a tyrant. But I only acted tough against people who tried to obstruct me from carrying our my plans. What can be wrong about it?" shot back Manimaran.

"The things you did were not just wrong. They were merciless and cruel. How many people did you imprison? You ordered lathi charge on peaceful protesters. You even ordered shooting on the agitators which led to the death of several people. It was nothing short of murder!"

"A strong government has to act strongly against people who hold protests and launch agitations!"

"Just because you had the power, you thought you could use it anyway you wanted to. You took the law into your hands. When people protested against that chemical factory, complaining that its exhaust fumes caused environmental effects resulting in many people including children getting diseases, you ordered firing against the protesters. Fifteen people were killed in the police firing. Even a boy who was supplying tea was killed. Do you know how I felt when I saw in the TV the cry of his mother? When I heard her curse, 'God will punish those who killed my son,' I was struck by the fear that something bad would happen to us. Now, you are in jail and we are going to lose all our properties, which are going to be confiscated by the government, as per the court order. Our two sons and I are going to be on the streets!"  cried Kumari, feeling both angry and frustrated.

Thirukkural

Section 2

Materialism

Chapter 56

Tyranny

Verse 555 (in Tamil):

allal pattu ARRAdhu azhudha kaNNIr anRE
selvaththaith thEykkum padai.

Meaning:

The tears shed by citizens subjected to intolerable grief

are the weapons that erode the rulers’ wealth.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'edhaRku indha dhandanai?' by the same author.)

Verse 556 (Soon)
Verse 554

554. Opinion Polls

The meeting of the High Power Committee of People's Democratic Party was going on.

"It has been two years since our party came to power. We contested the elections on three planks - honest politics, efficient administration and power to the people" said Shyam Prasad, a senior leader of the party.

 "Of course, we did! But, why are you mentioning this?" asked Amarnath, the party president.

"Are we running the government in tune with these principles?" asked Shyam Prasad.

"He is attacking the Prime Minister. We shouldn't allow this" yelled a supporter of the Prime Minister, in a loud and angry voice. 

"Let him air his views" said Prime Minister Mahadev. "Mr. Shyam Prasad! You are one of the most senior leaders of the party. I am willing to listen to your views and correct my functioning, if necessary. Tell us what deficiencies you find in our government."

Kalidas, who was sitting next to Shyam Prasad, whispered in his ears, "This is a trap. He will encourage you to speak your mind, but use your words to take action against you, accusing you of acting against the party's interests. Don't fall into this."

"I am not concerned about what they will do to me" Shyam Prasad told Kalidas, in a whispering tone. 

He then turned to the Prime Minister and said, "Don't you know what you have been doing? Your government is being run in contravention of the three principles propagated by us during the election campaign. Corruption in the government has increased many times over what it was when you took over. You have enacted laws that would affect the poor and the downtrodden people. You have let out repression on those who protest against the government and those who are critical of the government. You have taken several measures so as to benefit a couple of business houses, to the detriment of the vast majority of the people of our country. Because of your arbitrary actions, the economy of our country is in a precarious state."

"In which world are you living Mr. Shyam Prasad?" asked Amarnath, in an agitated tone. "The entire media has been saying that there was never a leader like Mr. Mahadev in any country of the world, during any time in history. All the opinion polls say that the Prime Minister has an approval rating exceeding 80%. We are going to win not only the next election, but also all the elections that will be held in the next hundred years. The newspapers describe Mr. Mahadev as the permanent Prime Minister of our country. Don't you read these papers?"

"You have imprisoned all critics of the government, branding them anti-national and created a situation that only the kind of media that sings the praise of the government could exist. You are living in a delusional world created by the pretentious praise of such media. You don't know what the reality is" shot back Shyam Prasad

"Mr. Shyam Prasad! I am pained to hear you speak the language of the enemies of our nation. I respect your views. But, since, no one in this committee agrees with you, I think we can talk of other things" said Mahadev, putting an end to the discussion.

The next day, there was an announcement from the People's Democratic Party that Shyam Prasad had been expelled from the party, because of his anti-party activities. There was also a raid on Shyam Prasad's house by the income tax authorities. But, nothing incriminating was recovered during the raid.

After getting expelled from the party, Shyam Prasad used the social media to voice his criticism about the government's policies and functioning. He was severely trolled by the supporters of the ruling party. Many libelous allegations were made against him.

During the next three years, the economy of the country kept deteriorating, going from bad to worse. But in the government's annual surveys, reports and budgets, a rosy picture of the economy was being projected.

It was time for the next election. The opinion polls carried by the media projected a huge win for the ruling party. They said that Mahadev's party would win an even more impressive victory than it did in the previous election.

The exit polls presented at the end of the polling day also confirmed the predictions of the opinion polls, by projecting that the Prime Minister's party would win about 80% of the seats in parliament.

However, when the votes were counted and the results announced, Mahadev's People's Democratic Party had ended up losing most of the seats it had contested. Mahadev himself was defeated in his constituency, losing his seat by a huge margin.

The new government that assumed office after the election, after making an assessment of the state of the country's economy and the government's finances, revealed that the country's economy was in a very bad shape and that the previous government had been giving out false and misleading information about the state of the country's economy.

Thirukkural

Section 2

Materialism

Chapter 56

Tyranny

Verse 554 (in Tamil):

kUzhum kudiyum orungizhakkum kOl kOdich
chUzhAdhu seyyum arasu.

Meaning:

The king who lets his sceptre tilt towards tyranny

will lose all his wealth, people and state.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'karuththuk kaNioougaL' by the same author.)

Verse 555
Verse 553

129. "Remember Me?"

Thirty years had passed. In Dhandapani's mind, the memories of spending his life as a boy in that village were like the impressions of a hazy dream.

Dhandapani's father had passed away two months before he was born. Dhandapani could not even know his father's face, since no photograph of his father was available.

In the year1960, in the village his family had lived, the number of people who would have been photographs was in single digit.

Arranging to be photographed even during a special occasion like marriage was a practice only among the well-to-do people living in towns.

"Look at your face in the mirror. What you will see is your father's face!" Dhandapani's grandmother would often tell him.

Dhandapani lived in his native village till he was five. Since he was brought up in a joint family, he did not feel the absence of his father very much.

When he was five years old, an incident happened. During the Deepavali festival, he was holding a sparkler in his hand and whirling it. 

His shirt caught fire, from coming into contact with the flame of the sparkler. For a couple of minutes, no one noticed it. By the time someone saw his shirt burning, pushed him on to the ground, rolled him a couple of times and put out the fire, the fire had burnt a small area on the side of his torso, below his right shoulder. It took a few weeks for the burn injury to heal.

A few months after this incident, Dhandapani left the village, with his mother, for Chennai, for living in his uncle's house.

He had his education in Chennai. After completing his education, he got a job, got married, begot children and settled down in Chennai.

After thirty years, he got a chance to visit his native village. 

His family members had decided to sell the properties in the village jointly owned by hem. The sale was finalized and the date for registration of the sale deed was also fixed. As one of the joint owners, Dhandapani was required to go to the Registrar's office and sign the registration of the sale.

Dhandapani arrived at the village, a day before the date of registration. He stayed in a relative's house. 

In the evening, he went around the village. No place appeared familiar to him. People said that the village had not changed much. Yet, he had no recollection of any place, which he should have visited as a boy.

He went to the house in which he had lived. He had no recollection of living in that house. Images of his standing outside that house, whirling a sparkler, someone shouting, 'fire, fire,' someone pushing him to the ground and rolling him and his getting scared by what was happening to him seemed to be the only things that stayed in his memory.

He sat on the pial of the house and wondered why he couldn't remember anything about his life in that house till his fifth year. 

He heard a noise and turned back.

A tall old man had come and stood near him. 

"Dhandapani! Do you remember me?" he asked.

Dhandapani looked at him. Even as he was wondering how he could possibly remember a face seen by him thirty years back, a spark appeared in his mind.

"Are you not Kulasekaran uncle?" asked Dandapani.

"Amazing! You remember my face after thirty years!" exclaimed Kulasekaran.

A scene appeared in Dhandapani's mental screen. It was vivid like a scene from a movie.

After he had the burn injury, went to the hospital, got medicated and came home, many people came to see him.

He was able to remember only one among them - Kulasekaran, the man known in the village for his sharp tongue!

"Lad! You have survived the fire accident. Though you swallowed your father, even when you were in your mother's womb, your father, dwelling in the heavens as an angel, saved you from getting burned."

Kulasekaran's words fell on Dhandapani's ears like a flame and inflicted an agony that was even more intense than the one caused by the burn.

After thirty years, Dhandapani felt the same pain rising up again in his mind. He reflexively put his hand on his chest.

"How can I forget you?" asked Dhandapani, with a smile.

Kulasekaran couldn't have sensed the bitterness behind Dhandapanils smile.

Thirukkural

Section 1
The Path of Virtue

Chapter 13
Restraint

Verse 129 (In Tamil)

thIyinAl sutta puN uL ARum ArAdhE
nAvinAl sutta vadu.

Meaning:

A wound caused by fire will heal inside;

a scar caused by the tongue never heals.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'ninaivirukkiRadhA?' by the same author)

Verse 130 (Soon)
Verse 129

553. The King's Decision

"Minister! Six months back, there were some protests in regions close to our southern border. We tried to quell the protests. but couldn't succeed. Taking advantage of the situation, our neighbouring country Seevaga occupied those areas. Did you see what reward the protesters got? Like people who were enjoying a jolly ride in a boat getting caught in a vortex, people of that region have entrapped themselves into the tyrannical rule of the king of Seevaga!" said King Adiyta Velaan, sounding bitter.

The minister nodded his head quietly, wondering how to convey to the king what he wanted to.

"Your Majesty! After Seevaga country occupied the region belonging to us, we sent our troops to retrieve the region, but the people of that region did not extend their support to us" said the minister.

"That is what surprises me! What is the reason for their apathy towards us? Are they so scared of the king of Seevaga country, or have they given up thee loyalty towards their motherland?"

"Your Majesty! It is my humble opinion that this is is not the time to discuss that issue. Now, we have a problem in the central region of our country. We should think of ways to resolve it."

"What is there to think about? Arrest the protesters and put them behind the bars. The protests will then subside" said the king, angrily.

"Pardon me, Your Majesty. People who are protesting are our own people. They are your children. If the child cries, the mother should find out why it is crying and do what needs to be done."

"What are you trying to say? People in that region complain that that region is affected by floods every year, during the rainy season. Can we stop the rains? When the area is flooded, people should migrate to some other place and return after the flood waters recede. How can the king solve the problems created by nature?"

"We can do a few things to mitigate the problem, Your Majesty. We can dig canals in the flood prone areas to divert the flood waters to other areas. It may take a few years to complete digging the canals. But, if we announce the plan and start the work, people will develop the confidence that the problem will be resolved. More importantly, the feeling that we have understood their problem and begun to take steps to resolve it will drive out people's anger and frustration and make them peaceful and hopeful" said the minister.

The king was silent, as if he was reflecting on the minister's words.

"Your Majesty! You may remember that when there had been protests in the southern region, I suggested that we depute some officials to that region, ascertain the people's grievances and create a confidence in them that we would take steps to redress their grievances. But, since we approached the situation as a law and order issue and tried to put down the agitation, people of that region lost their faith in us. Our enemies took advantage of people's resentment and occupied the region. They had even won over the people there, by addressing their problems. That was why those people did not support us, when we tried to retrieve that region."

"I agree with you, minister. We lost a part of our country, because we failed to appreciate and resolve the problems faced by the people living there. I consider losing the faith of those people a greater loss than losing that region. Hereafter, I want to ensure that not even one person should lose his faith in us. You may decide what is to be done to resolve the problems of the people of our central region and take appropriate steps. Send some officials to that region immediately for meeting the people, talking to them and restoring their faith in us, by assuring them that we will do what is needed to resolve their problems" said the king

Thirukkural

Section 2

Materialism

Chapter 56

Tyranny

Verse 553 (in Tamil):

nALdhoRum nAdi muRai seyyA mannavan
nALdhoRum nAdu kedum.

Meaning:

The ruler who doesn’t assess and administer justly, day after day,

will let his state rot, day by day.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'arasanin mudivu' by the same author.)

Verse 554
Verse 552

1129. A Prescription for Sleeplessness

"What is the problem?" asked the doctor.

"She has not been able to sleep, since the past few months" said Sarada, Suganthi's mother.

"Are you not getting sleep?" the doctor asked Suganthi.

"I don't think I have a problem" said Suganthi.

The doctor examined Suganthi in a general way and said, "There doesn't seem to be any problem. Are you studying in a college?"

"Yes, doctor."

"Try reading some textbook lying on the bed. You will get sleep immediately" said the doctor, smiling.

"Doctor! The problem is she doesn't lie down. She keeps awake the whole night, sitting before the computer" said Sarada.

"That is the problem. Whether you get sleep or not, you should cultivate the habit of going to bed at a particular time, every day. If you follow this practice, after some time, you will start getting sleep and things will become normal" said the doctor.

"You said you would be coming to my house yesterday. Why didn't you come?" asked Thenmozhi, Suganthi's friend.

"I went to see a doctor" said Suganthi.

"What was wrong? Who was not well?"

"It was for me. My mother took me to the doctor for the reason that I was not getting sleep."

"Do you have such a problem? You didn't tell me about it. What did the doctor say?"

"He said that if I lied down on the bed and closed my eyes, I would get sleep!"

"That's all! Then follow the doctor's advice."

"I can't. Rajesh's image is permanently stationed in my eyes. Whether he is there in front of me or not, his image is with me. I think I am unable to close my eyes, because have a fear that if I close my eyes, his image will go off!"

"Rather than blaming you for this delusion, I would blame your lover Rajesh, who has driven you to this state!" said Thenmozhi.

Thirukkural
Section 3

Love

Chapter 113
In Praise of Love

Verse 1129 (in Tamil):
imaippin karappAkku aRival anaiththiRkE
Edhilar ennum ivvUr.

Meaning:

I fear that if I shut my eyes, he would be veiled. Hence, I don't sleep. But, the townsfolk blame him (for my sleeplessness), calling him uncaring.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'thUngAdha kaNNenRu onRu' by the same author.)

Verse 1130 (Soon)
Verse 1129

552. The Dacoits

When Nitya Satya contested the election for the President of the country, he promised to cut the taxes by half.

But, within a year of his becoming the President after winning the election, taxes were steeply increased by his government. With the increase in indirect taxes that impacted the poor being particularly high, inflation was spiked, leading to an abnormal increase in the prices of essential commodities. Survival became a challenge for people in the lower strata of the population.

Suicides triggered by extreme poverty and starvation deaths were on the increase. Protests against increase in taxes and prices erupted in many places all over the country and soon became a daily occurrence. 

But Nitya Satya did not seem to be bothered by the protests.

Nitya Satya had summoned the Finance Secretary to discuss the annual budget with him. 

When the Finance Secretary mentioned about the problem of deficit, Nitya Satya insisted on increasing some taxes still further.

"Sir! People are already protesting against increase in taxes and prices. If we increase the taxes, the protests will intensify" said the Finance Secretary.

"I will manage the protests. What do we have the police and the army for? Why have we given them lathis and guns?" said Nitya Satya, with a chuckle.

"Moreover, members of parliament are unable to face the people's anger, when they visit their constituencies. They will not support any proposal for increasing the taxes. We won't be able to get the budget passed in parliament."

"If the budget is not passed in parliament, I will approve it, using my special powers. Prepare the budget as per my ideas" said Nitya Satya, in a strict tone.

The Finance Secretary nodded his head and left.

The President was having a discussion with the Home Secretary.

"How is the law and order situation in the country?" asked the President.

"Protests against higher taxes have been increasing day by day" said the Home Secretary.

"Leave it. I will ask the army chief to take care of the protests. Let us talk about other issues" said Nitya Satya, in an acerbic tone.

"Of late, incidents of dacoity are on the increase. Buses and cars are waylaid by dacoits holding weapons and valuables are looted from the passengers. Even pedestrians are robbed. Since these incidents take place at different places, the police are unable to prevent them. When the police are on the lookout for the culprits of a robbery at one place, similar incidents take place at other places. The entire police force is on its toes and the hunt for the dacoits is on."

"Since how long have these robberies been occurring?"

"For the past three or four months."

"When the government increases the taxes, people protest. Why are they not protesting against the robberies?" asked Nitya Satya.

"I don't know" said the Home Secretary. 'Perhaps, they think that dacoits' looting them at gun point is not as cruel as the government squeezing the people by imposing exorbitant taxes on them!' he told himself.

Thirukkural

Section 2

Materialism

Chapter 56

Tyranny

Verse 552 (in Tamil):

vElodu ninRAn idu enRadhu pOlum
kOlodu ninRAn iravu.

Meaning:

The extortion and graft done by the person (ruler) wielding the sceptre is no different from robbery done (by a dacoit)  pointing a spear.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'koLLaiyargaL' by the same author.)

Verse 553
Verse 551

551. Three Judgements

"Arresting journalists indiscriminately and incarcerating them for long periods has become a routine affair, in this fascist regime. Intimidated by this, many journalists have stopped reviewing the government's actions. I feel sad that Murthy became a victim of the government's highhandedness."

"It is true. Most of the journalists have chosen to sing the praise of the government. They depict even the corrupt, self-serving and pernicious actions of the government as being in the country's interest, so as to be in the good books of the government and get the benefits they want from the government. Some journalists like you and me, who are conscientious, have been doing a tight rope walking, by not blindly toeing the line of the government, while also not being critical of its misdeeds. But, journalists like Murthy have been boldly pointing out the wrongdoings of this government. They are being painted as antinational elements by the government, arrested on fictitious charges, under the draconian laws enacted by this government and put behind the bars for an indefinite period. People like us have to watch these atrocities silently and lament in private. Even while exchanging our concerns in the privacy of our office or a club, we have to be apprehensive of someone hearing us and reporting us!"

"The court is going to give its verdict on Murthy's bail petition tomorrow. I wonder what the verdict is going to be!"

"Yes. And another verdict is going to be delivered tomorrow!"

"It is on the public interest petition filed by a citizen seeking a probe into the corruption charges against that important person!"

"Yes."

"Can we not guess what the judgement on that petition is going to be? I expect that soon after the verdict is delivered, the person who filed that petition will be arrested on some charge."

"Yes. We can bet on such a development taking place. I am reminded of the lines in Bharathiyar's poem, 'In the devil's regime, the scriptures will be eaten by the cadavers.' We are experiencing what the poet warned us of. I am hoping for some miracle to happen in the next election, leading to a regime change."

"Okay. Let us meet again tomorrow evening."

"The verdicts in both the cases have been on expected lines."

"Yes. The judge has ruled that there are no grounds to order a probe into the corruption charges, levelled against the important person. I can stomach it, but I am saddened by the denial of bail to Murthy, though this was expected to happen."

"Yes. The judge accepted the government counsel's argument that if Murthy is released on bail, he is likely to indulge in seditious activities."

"Apart from these two judgements, another judgement was delivered today. Did you notice it?"

"What is it?"

"A person charged with murder has been given death sentence."

"Oh, what a pity!"

"You are showing compassion to a murderer!"

"I didn't mean to show my sympathy to the murderer. Perpetrators of crimes more heinous than murders have been getting immunity from punishment. Innocent people like Murthy have been incarcerated and denied bail. I just expressed my dismay at this pathetic state of affairs."

Thirukkural

Section 2

Materialism

Chapter 56

Tyranny

Verse 551 (in Tamil):

kolai mERkoNdarin kodidhE alai mERkoNdu
allavai seydhu ozhugum vEndhu.

Meaning:

The ruler who harries his citizens,

and indulges in unjust acts is worse than a murderer.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'mUnRu thIrppugaL' by the same author.)

Verse 552
Verse 550