"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
nALdhoRum nAdu kedum.
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