Author: Bulbul Roy Mishra
Publication: BJP Today
Date: August 1-15, 2002
During the recent riot in Gujarat,
Prime Minister Vajpayee made a loaded statement that the ruler of the state
must discharge his Rajdharma, far above any sectarian consideration or
narrow mindset, by implication. What Vajpayee had in mind was undoubtedly
the glorious tradition of over five thousand years when the precept of
Rajdharma was elaborately expounded by Grand Sire Bhisma of Mahabharata
fame to his grandson Yudhisthir after the latter won the battle of Kurukshetra.
Bhisma then was lying on the deathbed of arrows, awaiting the onset of
Uttarayana for his final departure from this earth.
Remorseful for causing the death
of his grand father, Yudhisthir was at first hesitant to face him. When
Krishna brought this to the notice of Bhisma, the first lesson on Rajdharma
fell from his mouth: "If even father, grand father, master, relations and
friends are engaged in an unjust war, to kill them is not a sin but Rajdharma".
Inspired, Yudhisthir requested for further lessons on Rajdharma and Bhisma
obliged.
Let us analyze the above lesson
Bhisma imparted, and explore its relevance to present day context when
war of the type of Kurukshetra is clearly ruled out. What was actually
conveyed by Bhisma was that the king or the ruler must rise above petty
personal consideration or bias and shall fight for a right cause, even
if that means destruction of his nearest and dearest ones, not on the right
path. Our present day rulers during their fixed tenure of power ought to
remember this lesson of objectivity and righteousness and shun nepotism.
The second message of Bhisma was
that the king must be ever- enthusiastic in his karma and ought to have
greater faith in himself rather than in destiny or divine intervention.
Read in the present context, tendency of modem rulers to rush to astrologers
or godmen for remedies must be controlled if not totally dispensed with,
as it indicates lack of self-confidence and, therefore, evokes contempt
or derision of citizens.
Bhisma also pronounced that the
king should be transparent in all his works except the following three:
suppressing his own weaknesses, investigating weaknesses of adversaries
and secret counseling. It goes without saying that Vajpayee government
has so far been quite transparent in its works and nobody can accuse the
present government of an attempt to suppress even its weakness although
such suppression would have been otherwise legitimate, according to Rajdharma.
In the Shastra or ancient scripture,
said Bhisma, six forts were mentioned and of the six the most impregnable
fort was human fort. It was, therefore, advisable for the king to be kind
and compassionate to his subjects so that he could win their loyalty. The
king should be neither mild nor cruel. He should be like the sun of springtime,
neither scorching nor freezing. Like a pregnant woman constantly taking
care of the embryo in her womb, a king must do constant good to his subjects,
sacrificing his self-interest. Bhisma was indeed prophetic when he talked
about impregnability of human fort. In Indian democracy it has been proved
time and again that loyalty of voters cannot be taken for granted. To win
them over there is no substitute to performance with utmost sincerity and
dedication. Besides, the rulers must be balanced and shun extremity.
Bhisma advised Yudhisthir to maintain
distance from servants as proximity was often exploited by them in ignoring
the master, accepting bribes and boasting to people that they were the
actual rulers while the king was a mere figurehead. That familiarity breeds
contempt is now taken as axiomatic, over five thousand years later. Following
the precept of Bhisma, ministers must maintain distance from public servants
as a matter of discipline so that the latter cannot exploit the proximity
to amass fortune, thereby causing a deathblow to the ruling party.
According to Bhisma, the king should
neither trust absolutely nor totally mistrust anybody. He should not dispossess
any honest and saintly person of his property, but take away the property
of a dishonest subject. A king must do charity to deserving persons. The
above sermon, no doubt, has a universal appeal in politics.
The essence of Rajdharma emanated
from Bhisma in the end. "That king is the greatest of all", he proclaimed,
"in whose kingdom subjects wander fearlessly as if children trotting in
their parental home". This happens to be the ultimate criterion of Rajdharma
that Vajpayee obviously had in mind when he urged Narendra Modi to pursue
it unhesitatingly. It goes to the credit of Modi that he took the hint
and within a short time contained the disturbance that had necessary incendiaries
to assume devastating proportion. It is true that said ultimate criterion
of Rajdharma is still elusive in Indian polity. Vajpayee has no doubt made
a beginning of the thought process relating to Rajdharma.
Yudhisthir's penultimate meeting
with Bhisma was brief but significant. During this meeting on the eve of
the Uttarayana, Bhisma summarized the concept of Rajdharma as follows:
"Nonviolence (to the ruled ones), pursuit of truth, non-cruelty to subjects,
and charity" said he, "are the four sanatan dharma (traditional virtues)."
Those four virtues were the Rajdharma that Bhisma urged Yudhisthir to pursue
relentlessly. Non-violence to subjects should not, however, be confused
with punishment meted out to wrongdoers and antiterrorist combat, violent
in nature. Pursuit of truth even at the cost of the ruler's self interest
was prescribed in the ancient time, as it was the surest means to win the
loyalty of subjects in the long run. In the present day politics, a politician
or a statesman who has sacrificed his self-interest and stood by his principle
or the truth can be sure of winning over voters irrespective of considerations
such as caste, religion, sect, region, or community.
It should be the aim of the BJP
to stand collectively on the lofty ideal of Rajdharma of the glorious past
in order to make a lasting impact on Indian polity.
