Lessons of political power from the ‘Monkey Master’
Understanding political power and how it is organized is at the heart of how the people can initiate the process of social change through political defiance. Public perceptions and perspectives on the powerful and the powerless, and the desire for a structural shift from power-over people to power-with the people are central to this understanding.
Gene Sharp, a retired professor and founder of the Albert Einstein Institution, a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing the study of nonviolent action, in his book From Dictatorship To Democracy turns to the 14th Century Chinese ‘Monkey Master’ parable by Liu-Ji to offer insights into understanding political power. The parable goes like this:
“In the feudal state of Chu an old man survived by keeping monkeys in his service. The people of Chu called him ‘ju gong’ (monkey master).
Each morning, the old man would assemble the monkeys in his courtyard, and order the eldest one to lead the others to the mountains to gather fruits from bushes and trees. It was the rule that each monkey had to give one-tenth of his collection to the old man. Those who failed to do so would be ruthlessly flogged. All the monkeys suffered bitterly, but dared not complain.
One day, a small monkey asked the other monkeys: ‘Did the old man plant all the fruit trees and bushes?’ The others said: “No, they grew naturally.” The small monkey further asked: “Can’t we take the fruits without the old man’s permission?” The others replied: ‘Yes, we all can.’ The small monkey continued: ‘Then, why should we depend on the old man; why must we all serve him?’ Before the small monkey was able to finish his statement, all the monkeys suddenly became enlightened and awakened.
On the same night, watching that the old man had fallen asleep, the monkeys tore down all the barricades of the stockade in which they were confined, and destroyed the stockade entirely. They also took the fruits the old man had in storage, brought all with them to the woods, and never returned. The old man finally died of starvation.”
Gene Sharp quotes Yu-li-zi’s observation that, “Some men in the world rule their people by tricks and not by righteous principles. Aren’t they just like the monkey master? They are not aware of their muddle-headedness. As soon as their people become enlightened, their tricks no longer work.” The Monkey teaches that it is only through submission and obedience without asking questions that the unjust status quo is upheld. In other words, those in positions of power require the support and cooperation of the people they rule; and maintaining power without it is impossible. The question to ask is, where does the real power rest? If the people realize that political power actually resides with them, then they can awaken to the possibility of withdrawing their obedience and support to those who depend on it. This action will immediately influence the ability to rebalance the status quo in favor of the oppressed and increase the possibilities of genuine change. While State power is centralized through government bureaucracy and military institutions, in community societies like the Naga people, power is not centralized. There are various community institutions and civil society organizations such as the church organizations, village councils, tribe hohos, women’s organizations, student associations, human rights groups, literary societies, neighborhood councils, and many other diverse traditional groups, all of which together have great political influence. All of these diverse groups can collectively bring about genuine and lasting change.
However, the ground reality is that some of these institutions have either been co-opted or have succumbed to the overwhelming culture of power of the State government. It is therefore imperative to take new nonviolent initiatives to rebuild independent social civil institutions and inculcate the desire to limit the culture of power and to draw upon people’s strength to exercise its self-determining abilities to define a shared Naga future.
Naga people’s history has been constantly challenged as we can see in our grandparents and parents generations. Our grandparents discourse revolved around aspirations of political freedom and independence; and our parents’ generation was faced with new issues and challenges that emerged after the Nagaland State was formed, and contesting the manner in which the State changed the language of freedom and justice. The present generation has to deal with the cumulative legacy of their grandparents, parents, and also our own unique challenges around lacking participatory democracy, inclusive and accountable governance, development that addresses basic needs, and a justpeace.
This is further complicated by a clash between a dynamic, rapidly moving society and a static, unchanging society fearful of what might be done to it in the name of change and progress.
To further illustrate this critical distinction, we are now living in a situation where the older generation is concerned with the roots of the tree, while the younger generation is concerned with its fruits. Given these different generational perceptions and expectations, the language of politics has changed and it is important to understand it. The fact remains that changes in the language of politics has not positively impacted the people’s lived realities nor the political aspirations for freedom and liberty. What is important is how one understands the changing language of politics and realizes the timeless truth that every generation needs to shape its own future.
This situation invites an act of political defiance. Singer-song writer and poet, Jewel, captures the essence of this in her lyrics:
And lend your voices only to sounds of freedom No longer lend your strength to that Which you wish to be free from Fill your lives with love and bravery And we shall lead a life uncommon
