Avadhoot Dandekar

Congress president Sonia Gandhi has aimed to kill the effigy of “Ravana”. In India, the effigy of “Ravana” is burnt to commemorate the celebration of “Dussehra”. All other leaders watched the burning of the effigy of “Ravana”, a symbol of evil. In India, the “Dussehra” festival is celebrated as a symbol of the victory of “good” over the “evil”. It is in this context the effigy of “Ravana” is burnt. It is also celebrated on account of the victory of “Rama” over “Ravana”. 

It is said that “Ravana” had ten heads. This can not be true biologically. To me, this is just a metaphor. It is symbolic for the evil within. He was a king. He was a scholar. He had all the knowledge of the scriptures. And he also had boons from the Gods. But he was never trustworthy. The ten heads symbolically represent all possible evils or “Vikaras” in a human being. “Akara”, is an outer form and “Vikara” is an inner form. The body is an outer form and the mind is an inner form. An action is an outer form and a thought preceding that action is an inner form. The killing of “Ravana” and celebration of “Dussehra” is symbolic of the killing of these evils.

We are now in a 21st century India. The world is moving towards globalization. And India as a nation is heralding towards this change. The evils in the existing system have taken many different forms. The ten great “goods” that the people of India should aim for are: (1) good governance, (2) non-corruption, (3) safety and security of women, (4) safety and security of minorities, (5) freedom from terrorism, (6) freedom from poverty, (7) inflation-free economy, (8) free education for children, (9) creation of jobs and employment, and (10) wholistic economic growth. And the real achievement of the above would mean a true victory of “good” over the “evil”. 

I am 100% sure that all political parties will design their political manifestoes for the forthcoming elections in 2014 around the above ten great “goods”. They all will come out with their own ways and means to eradicate the social evils from the society. And what the people have to do is to assess the political parties and their leaders as to what they have done on the above during their periods in power, how their achievement can be proved empirically and statistically, and what further they are going to do in the coming years, if the people vote them to power. The test of the time is now. The time is very short. The people should now aim their arrows towards killing the real “Ravana”.