The Blind Men and The Indian Politics

It was six men of great repute

To learning much inclined,
Who went to see the roots of India
(Though all of them were blind),
That each by observation
Might satisfy his mind.

The First approached the nation,
And happening to strand
But guided by its broad and sturdy side,
At once begins to understand:
"God bless me!- the ethos of the country
Is very like a Hand!"


The Second, feeling the pain of peasants,
Cried: "Ho!- what have we bred
So very oppressive and bland and dark?
Grows hence my sense of dread
This colour of the mystic land
Is very like a shade of Red!"


The Third approached the wild spirit,
And in a manner very elegant
Awoke the collectivity of outcastes,
Which he found relevant
"I see," quoth he, "Indianness
Is very like an Elephant!"


The Fourth reached out his eager hand,
And found the other claims bogus
"What most this wondrous civilisation is like
Has come to my notice;
'T is clear enough the ancient land
Is very like a Lotus!"


The Fifth, who landed at the temples of yore,
Said: "E'en the blindest one
Can tell what this resembles most;
Ignore the God for there is none,
This marvel of the southern shores
Is very like the Rising Sun!"


The Sixth no sooner had begun
From the ashes of gloom,
Than, seizing on the political trail
Through which he could resume,
"I see," quoth he, "the Nation
Is very like a Broom!"

And so these men of great repute
Disputed loud and long,
Each in his own opinion
Exceeding stiff and strong,
Though each was partly in the right,
And all were in the wrong!

So, oft in ideological wars
The disputants, I ween,
Rail on in utter ignorance
Of what each other mean,
And prate about the ethos of a country
Not one of them has seen!

Footnote:

The poem is an adaptation of "The Blind Men and The Elephant" by John Godfrey Saxe.