384. The Village Guard

"The Village Guard is expected to protect the people by keeping vigilant and bringing people who commit wrongs to book. If he himself commits a wrong, how can people be safe" said Manickam.

"We have convened the Village Council only to decide whether the Village Guard has committed any wrong. We will examine the issue" said Ganesan, the head of the Village Council.

"This man tried to hack me with a sickle!" yelled Manickam, angrily.

"Did you?" asked Ganesan, looking at Marimuthu, the Village Guard.

"No, sir. I didn't try to hack him, but I did flaunt the sickle" said Marimuthu.

"See, he is admitting! Dismiss him immediately!" demanded Manickam.

"Mr. Manickam! It is for the Village Council to decide what action to be taken, after conducting an inquiry. Don't dictate to us." 

After reprimanding Manickam, Ganesan turned to the villagers assembled there and asked them, "Has anyone witnessed the incident?"

"Ten of my people were with me when Marimuthu tried to hack me. What audacity should he have had to try to attack me, even when I was surrounded by my men?" said Manickam, his anger having not subsided.

"We are going to examine the witnesses. Marimuthu and Manickam may leave this place and be away for a while we examine the witnesses" said Ganesan.

"Sir! These ten people are Mr. Manickam's men. They will only testify in his favour" pleaded Marimuthu.

"We can only examine those who witnessed the incident, but don't worry. We are wise enough to decide whether a witness is telling the truth or not!" said Ganesan.

After about half an hour, Marimuthu and Manickam were called back to the Village Council meeting.

Ganesan addressed the villages assembled there:

"We have examined the ten witnesses individually, in private. Being Manickam's men, they testified in favour of their employer. However, by talking to them individually, we were able to understand what had happened. Last night, Manickam had tried to divert the water from the village canal to his fields by digging a channel, employing some men. Witnessing it, Marimuthu, in his capacity as the Village Guard, raised his objection to this violation and tried to prevent it. Caught in the act, Manickam's men working there closed the channel dug by them and left that place.

"This morning, Manickam had gone to Marimuthu's place along with his men and pleaded with him not to report the incident of the previous night to the Village Council. But Marimuthu was firm that he would be reporting the incident. Manickam tried to bribe him, but Marimuthu didn't budge. Angered by Marimuthu's resoluteness, Manickam spoke to him in abusive language and also made derogatory comments about his family. Provoked by Manickam's derogatory remarks about his family, Marimuthu flaunted the sickle, which he, as the Village Guard, has always been carrying on his body. Now, the village assembly may tell us what we should do." 

No one answered.

"The Village Council has come the the following conclusions. One, Marimuthu had performed his duty vigilantly. Two, by refusing to accept the bribe offered by Manickam, he has proved that he is a man of integrity. Three, his getting provoked by Manickam's derogatory remarks about his family shows that Marimuthu values his honour. Lastly, he displayed courage by flaunting his weapon at Manickam, despite the fact that ten of Manickam's men were with him at that time. He has the courage required of a leader. He should be commended for this. He didn't attack using his sickle. He flaunted it only to show that he won't hesitate to retaliate, if his honour is offended. We, the members of the Village Council, therefore, conclude that not only has Marimuthu not committed any wrong but also that he has demonstrated that he has all the qualities required to function as the Village Guard. He should continue in this post. During the inquiry, it has come to light that Manickam, the complainant has illegally tried to dig a channel from the village canal to divert water to his field. We will examine this allegation in another sitting, after a few days."

Thirukkural
Section 2

Materialism

Chapter 39
The Might of a Ruler

Verse 384 (in Tamil):
aRan izhukkAdhu allavai NIkki maRam izhukkA
mAnam udaiyadhu arasu.

Meaning:
An ideal leader is one who doesn't swerve from the path of righteousness, refrains from immoral acts, displays Courage and upholds honour.

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

Verse 385 (Soon)
Verse 383