Maharashtra Minister Nitesh Rane’s backing of the ‘Malhar Certification’ | File Image
Those in power in Maharashtra have plenty to learn from John Emerich Edward Dalberg-Acton, popularly known as Lord Acton. Lord Acton is known as one of the greatest historians of the Victorian period in Great Britain. He was also a writer and, as a politician, was also elected to the British parliament.
A strong advocate of individual liberty, he wrote to Bishop Creighton that the same moral standards should be applied to all men, political and religious leaders included, especially since “power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”
This is true even today, and it is so in India too, with Maharashtra being no exception. To be corrupt, it is not necessary to accept material benefits; not doing one’s job properly or being dishonest or immoral while executing the tasks entrusted to an individual by virtue of his/her position is also corruption. As such, there are very few individuals in politics and in public service who can be said to be non-corrupt.
In India, power does not tend to merely corrupt those enjoying it, it also makes them think that they are the know-all; in effect, they tend to become idiots. So, the more the power, the more the tendency to become a bigger idiot.
It is seen that when individuals gain power, they believe that they are experts in every intellectual activity in which human beings indulge. Power makes a person speak on mathematics and show how mathematicians have failed to understand that in the quadratic equation of (a+b)2, an extra 2ab is obtained, or how the air force should strike when the clouds gather in the sky so that enemy radars cannot detect our aircraft. Such leaders speak with authority on history too and claim that Chandragupta Maurya was the founder of the Gupta dynasty.
Fifty years before the famous statement of Lord Acton, Hans Christian Andersen wrote the tale ‘The Emperor’s New Clothes.’ The clothes, the emperor was told, will not be seen by a sinner, and the emperor proudly moved around the kingdom wearing what he presumed were clothes which were not seen by the sinners. It was only when a child said that the emperor was naked that he realised his situation.
There are more such sinners in society who do not wish to point out the errors of knowledge and information of those in power.
A classic example of power making one believe to be knowledgeable is that of Maharashtra’s Minister of Ports Development Nitesh Rane. He is an absolute misfit to not only be a minister but also be a legislator that he is, since he violates the oaths of allegiance to the Constitution and of office, which he took as a member of the legislative assembly and as minister, respectively.
Day in and day out, Rane makes communal statements and spreads hatred towards Muslims. The venom that he spits will make even the deadliest snake feel dwarfed. In his efforts to polarise Hindus, he has gone to the extent of making false statements about Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.
Many before him have tried to project Shivaji Maharaj as a Hindu king who fought Muslim rulers. Rane went a step ahead and claimed that there were no Muslims in the Maratha king’s army. This is not only a distortion of historical facts but also a great insult to Shivaji Maharaj and all that he stood for. Like Rane, there are millions who are ignorant about history and historical facts and often adore historical figures without making efforts to read about them. Luckily, among others, Rane’s fellow legislator, Dr Jitendra Awahad, immediately came out with a list of Muslims who were loyal members of the Chhatrapati’s team in different capacities.
A few days ago, another legislator, Abu Aseem Azmi, quoted historical facts about Aurangzeb, which were deemed to be praise for the Mughal ruler, and Azmi was suspended as a legislator for the current budget session. State Legislative Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar is a law graduate, so he should be more judicious while discharging his duties as the presiding officer of the Legislative Assembly by understanding the responsibility that is bestowed upon him as the Speaker of the House.
What Azim said may not be palatable to many, but what he said was neither a distortion of historical facts, nor was he found guilty by any court of law, yet, he was suspended because Narwekar and the legislators wished to play to the galleries.
As a good Speaker of the Assembly, Narwekar should implement Lord Acton’s statement that “the same moral standards should be applied to all men, political and religious leaders included.” Applying the standards set by Narwekar and the members of the ruling Mahayuti, Rane is a bigger culprit, as his statements are no less than blasphemy. So, Rane should also be suspended from the legislature.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis is also a law graduate; he is intelligent and well-read. It is a shame that he has to tolerate many incompetent individuals in his cabinet, but that has to be done due to political compulsions. The Rane family, with its multiple qualities, wields enough qualities to remain in power. Yet, Fadnavis should throw Rane out of his cabinet, not for the false statements about Shivaji Maharaj, but for failing to adhere to the Constitution by fanning communal hatred through his repeated statements against Muslims and his efforts to bring about a communal divide in the state.
It is strange that some of the self-appointed guardians of Sanatan dharma or Hinduism are silent on Rane’s decision to counter the halal products with Malhar products. The diagonal opposite of halal should have been jhatka, but by naming the products as Malhar, a form of Shiva, Rane is playing with the sentiments of the Hindus. It would mean that he is using god as a brand for commercial activity, notwithstanding the fact that his party has anyway commercialised Hinduism and its gods for political gain.
Rane is lucky that Shivaji Maharaj or his rule are not around today, otherwise, as Lord Acton wrote in 1887, for his crime, Rane would have faced the harsh punishment that Shivaji Maharaj practised 300 years ago.
The author is a senior journalist and media trainer. He tweets at @a_mokashi
