Voltaire wrote: ‘I would rather obey a fine lion, much stronger than myself, than two hundred rats of my own species.’ I am not sure if he was actually talking about monarchy or something else… but isn’t it funny that even in political parties in a democracy one sees the rats obeying the lion? In a way then monarchy was never out. Monarchy strategically changed its direction that some of thought was a ‘retreat’ and walked in to return with a bang in a different guise.
Lest someone gets me wrong, let me explain that a powerful ruler is not necessarily always a mortal… there can be an ideology that can rule over minds. And this too will be equally qualified to call itself a monarch. Was Indira Gandhi less powerful than any monarch? For that matter didn’t Sonia Gandhi display levels of power that would shame a lesser king? Isn’t Modi our new monarch boasting of a 56 inch chest? These are just a few of the monarchs we have had in democratic India… the ones who had access to unaccountable power, could appoint and dismiss anyone at whim, loved to openly or covertly interfere in day to day political working, and have been known to challenge the right forms of recognition of merit.
As I mentioned earlier, monarchs aren’t always people… if the RSS overrules every other thought and wishes to make its own ideology and ideas the ideology and ideas of all around, it is mimicking a monarch. The communists know this, the Ambedkar lovers know this, the Ammas, Behenjis, and Didis know this, the something-or-the-other-bachao groups know this, the boss in the office knows this, the parents know this, and even the one who has the remote at home knows this… monarchy isn’t limited to nations or kingdoms or states or provinces. These new monarchs, by the way, also have devised newer ways of execution and can kill promising ideas, hopeful individuals, and cowering dreams before they transform into something more powerful. Monarchy has raised its head from every conceivable and inconceivable nook and corner because it knows that it is a concept that will never die.
Monarchy has navigated successfully from the past to the present, from nation to notion, and from death to rebirth in ways that could shame any other socio-political concept ever conceived. Monarchy has actually managed to get for itself a seat in the chromosomal universe of mankind and even when we thought they were finished ‘they made the corpses dance’ (Sue Townsend). Monarchy is all about monopolisation and so aren’t the Ambanis, Adanis, Birlas, Tatas, Bajajs, Rhuias, and the Modis some sort of rulers living in corporate palaces that remain elusive and unapproachable for the rest of us?
So why talk about monarchy returning with a bang? These men and women (‘King of the Hill, Top of the Heap, Ruler of All They Surveyed…’ – Ray Bradbury) are all here right in our midst. They hadn’t gone anywhere nor had they disappeared.
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What if… monarchy returns with a bang
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This blog post is inspired by the blogging marathon hosted on IndiBlogger for the launch of the #Fantastico Zica from Tata Motors. You can apply for a test drive of the hatchback Zica today.
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Arvind Passey
19 February 2016
