There is a shocking uncanny resemblance
of the 2014 India election scene with the William Golding’s ‘Lord of the Flies’.
The hunter wants to dominate the weak social order incapable of producing
excellence. But unfortunately, unlike in the book, India has no luxury of a foreign
messiah rescuing it from the chaos. Will India pay the price & submit
meekly to the hunter, as it has on innumerable occasions in pre & post
1947, for its lack of social order capable of producing excellent public order
& society?
The antagonist in the Lord of the
Flies, Jack, older of the boys left stranded on a deserted island in wake of
raging war in the developed world, lacks love & affection for others and he
tries to make that up with offers of security & food. In the struggle for
acceptance, Jack wins the largest following among the disparate group afraid of
its survival & redemption, by persuasion & force both.
In India Narendra Modi wants majority
India to support him despite his management of 2002 Gujarat riots. Modi almost resembles Jack who is adept at
manipulating others, represents the base instinct of savagery within all human
beings, in contrast to civilizing instinct of Ralph, the protagonist.
Another major character in the
LOTF is Piggy, a whining intellectual boy, who represents the scientific,
rational side of the civilization, like media & couple of experts therein. The
Jacks of the chaotic democracies know that characters like Piggy pose no threat
to their dictatorship dream but also help them project a liberal side for
publicity, a camouflage. Media in India is like the Piggy.
The chief protagonist in LOTF is
Ralph, who is younger to Jack and has backing of the majority in the beginning.
Rahul Gandhi campaign is trying to project him as the leader who promises a
just civil society capable of delivering all that is promised by the Jack, and
with a humane face. Although some may
disagree with my opinion and would like to paint Arvind Kejriwal of Aam Adami
Party as the true hero of India’s enactment of LOTF 2014 edition.
Most outside India, who don’t
know the Hindutva character of India, find it difficult to understand why a two
term Prime Minster of India , a humble, suave sophisticated & brilliant
economist Dr Manmohan Singh don’t have same adulation & following within
India as abroad? Well Dr Manmohan Singh
is a Sikh & majority of Hindus are not yet ready to accept a non-Hindu as PM
of India, even beyond 1947.
President Obama is elected by
people of the USA and hence represents their collective morality. On the
contrary, Dr Manmohan Singh can’t win an election despite being the PM of
India. Simon in the LOFT is the only person whose sense of morality does not
seem to have been imposed by the society. Simon represents natural goodness, in
contrast to unbridled evil of Jack & imposed morality of civilization
represented by Ralph & Piggy. A Simon
can’t be first past the post in contest for power.
Akali Dal & Shiv Sena are to
BJP what Sam and Eric are to Jack in the LOTF. Congress too has its own band of
likeminded parties that support it for from time to time based on mutually
profitable terms that has nothing to do with development of India. Those who
have read LOTF would see many characters like Roger, in Indian political scene
too, who are willing to kill for a consideration.
Although many Indians believe
that India is no island and it is a super power or going to be superpower which
has lot of respect in the world but when they travel abroad their dream gets
shattered. India is still like an island that needs to work hard to grow into a
continent of power and so it must choose wisely. The Ralphs may not look strong
with enough killer instincts but such characters give promise of a just &
civilized society which can integrate itself with rest of humanity on the
planet. A Jack can hack well but they should be contained to some island for
sake of humanity.
