ASKING people from the lower castes and classes to make sacrifices in the name of faith, tribe, caste, nation and the state is nothing new. Let`s have a look at a story from the epic Mahabharata. The Pandava brothers had a teacher named Drona who used to train them in the art of archery. Arjuna was his star pupil. One day Ekalavya, the son of a Nishada chief (Nishada was an indigenous tribe held in utter contempt by the Aryan elite), came to see him. Drona, wellversed in dharma, refused to have him as his pupil.

Ekalavya touched Drona`s feet and disappeared into the jungle. He made an image of Drona and held him up as a model teacher. He practised the art of archery and subsequently became a wonderful archer. It so happened that one day the Pandava brothers were hunting with their dog that wandered off. The dog came across Ekalavya and started barking at him. Heshot seven arrows into the dog`s mouth simultaneously.

The dog came back whimpering to the Pandavas who were wonderstruck as to who could accomplish such a rare feat.

They loolced for him and found out that he was the Nishada Ekalavya who was a self-professed pupil of Drona.

Arunja would not stop thinl(ing about the archer. One day, he asl(ed Drona how could he have a pupil, the son of Nishada, who was a greater archer than him? Drona thought about the matter.

Accompanied by Arjuna he went to see Nishada Ekalavya.

When they met, he said to Ekalavya that if he was his pupil he must pay him his tuition fee (guru dakshina).

Ekalavya replied that he would not hesitate to pay the guru`s fee whatever it could be. Drona said that he would like to have his right thumb as his fee.

Ekalavya heard this dreadful command, cut off his thumb and offered it to Drona. After that, Akalavya`s fingers would not move as quickly as before.

Arjuna breathed a sigh of relief. Thus he got rid of hisunassailable rival through a well-thought-out trickery.

Ekalavya belonged to Nishada, a native tribe. He was black and wore deerskin.

Though a prince, he was treated as dirt by the Aryan princes who represented the upper caste and class. He adopted Hindu practices but was still treated as if he deserved no respect at all.

Secondly, he was never taught by Drona but was forced to make such a gruesome payment in the name of Dharma.

Now look around and find out whether the scene has changed. No, not at all. If you have a discerning eye, you can discover what lies under the patina of time. You may see a change in optics but substance remains the same hatred for those who suffer from caste and class disadvantage. If there are floods, fields inundated, crops destroyed and huts washed away, the peasants are not compensated by the ruling class and the state. The blame is shifted to nature and natural causes. The question of who tampers with nature and its course is not asked. No preemp-tive action is seriously taken.

Rather rich landowners, backed by the state and the officials, encroach upon the natural water courses that block the flow of floodwater.

Instead the mud houses of the rural poor are thought to be what blocks the water from receding. People are forced to put up with their losses patiently. Patience in such a situation is projected as virtue.

And if there is ever a charade of accountability, none of them is held accountable who have budgetary allocation of billions and billions to meet the needs of the people in a state of emergency and disasters. Whatever the situation the present day Ekalavyas are made to pay the ruling elite the fee in the form oftaxestokeepitensconced as the ruler. They, like servile Ekalavya of Mahabharata, never question the legitimacy of the elite`s claim on them.

They cut off their thumb and offer it to them by being willing to be non-recipients of what is their due. All the receivable that was there was because of their taxes.

Inurban areas,you see peo-ple gathered to get a sack or two of flour at subsidised rate or free of charge at distribution centres set up by the government. There is hardly a queue and if there is one, it`s never maintained. The strong are allowed to jump the queue.

Some quietly collapse after hours long wait. All this happens without a bang or a whimper. After all, dying is natural.

Eventually, the throng turns into a mob which suits the officials concerned. Blaming the chaotic situation, they can claim to have distributed any number of flour sacks. At the end of the day, it`s reported that distribution of flour at subsidised rate or free of charge may deplete the government godowns, which will result in the skyrocketing of prices of wheat and flour. But the government, being people friendly, it is announced, will allow only a small increase in the prices. But the next morning people find that the prices of wheat and flour are beyond their reach. Buy now, it is whispered, it is still cheap, otherwise you will have to pay more for the commodity tomorrow.So the people pay through the nose because of a few thousands fiour sacks distributed at a reduced price or for free.

Thus Ekalavyas of today cut off their thumb to offer to the modern Dronas and Arjunas for being allowed to barely have their daily bread.

The people of the subcontinent are hit by a double whammy; they are victims of caste oppression as well as that of class. Such a lethal mix has perennially weighed them down. There has rarely been a rebellion against such a dehumanising system. So much so that now this oppression seems natural. `Is that because it`s so many who are suf fering? ...The more there are suffering, then, the more natural their sufferings appear,` says poet Brecht.

In simple words, the more you accept an oppressing system, the stronger it becomes. How long the wretched of the earth would continue to wait for another Prometheus? Will they learn to keep fire alive in their belly? They themselves have to be an avatar of freedom if they want an end to their sufferings.

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