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Professor's
Corner: The
Fable of the donkey in the guise of a Tiger
Professor
M Jameel Ahmed
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 Apropos
of the news item "CM's charisma will see me through..."
in the Times of India dated 21st of May 2002. I am constrained
to say that it is not only in bad taste but also a distorted
version of the poll process. For charisma by itself is not
a single most decisive factor in an electoral contest, all
the more so if it in not one's own but somebody else's an
aspirant is hoping to capitalize on. The case in point is
that of the candidate in the fray. Nor 'dynasty' is a decisive
factor, especially if the legacy is one of skeletons in
the cupboard.
This
comes in the wake of the vulgar display only last week of
strength by the major political parties in support of their
candidates in the run up to the filing of nomination papers
for the Narasimharaja Legislative Assembly seat in Mysore
city especially by the Congress party was sickening. The
most objectionable part of course was the tableau portraying
the saint among kings Hazrath Tippu Sultan-e-Shaheed as
part of the procession, which was in bad taste.
It
is an insult to the Tippu Sultan, the tiger of Mysore, who
was not just a valiant king but also a martyr who laid down
his life on the battlefield defending his kingdom against
the British rulers like a soldier. What is the big idea?
It is not only scurrilous but also borders on sacrilege
for a 21st century' politician' of sorts and a rabble-rouser
to compare himself to a saint king and the first freedom
fighter of India.
It
reminds me of a fable which I had read in my school days.
It goes like this.
A
donkey deprived of food because of stronger beasts hit upon
a novel idea of finding enough food for its survival. It
wore the skin of a dead tiger and helped itself to whatever
it could lay its hands upon and went on merrily for quite
some time. One day as it was merrily grazing in a sugar-cane
field to his heart's content, it could not restrain itself
from braying like an ass. And that was that. It was exposed.
The moral of the fable is too obvious to be elaborated.
If the people get wise to it, it will be too bad for politicians.
Do not take people for granted. They will see through your
dirty games. For now, politicians can leave saints like
Tippu Sultan and Mother Teresa alone.
M.Jameel Ahmed,
Manasa Gangothri,
Mysore.
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