Karna and Indian Politics

I have often wondered about Karna, the character in the Mahabharata. The epic and the depictions of epic in books and movies go great lengths to portray Karna as the good guy on the wrong side. The message being pushed was very simple – “he is a good guy, possibly even the best. Circumstances forced him on the side of the bad guys but even then he stuck it out and remained loyal to them.” And, the story has been bought by the majority as evident by the fact that Karna is as popular as Arjuna.

But, if you have read the Mahabharata more than once or even once with great concentration you will find instances to show how Karna had co-opted the cause and even tried to be badder than the bad guys. As Viktor Frankl said in “Man’s Search for Meaning”, “Everything can be taken from a man but ...the last of the human freedoms - to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way.” Karna did not demonstrate this freedom.

Indian politics is full of Karnas. I remember the oft repeated line about Vajpayee – “good guy in the wrong party.” Ah, a Karna. Maybe there are a number of folks who say the same thing about Dr. Manmohan Singh now. He has presided over the Bihar election debacle and now the reservation stuff – the “good guy” in the bad group. The fact is Karna was on the wrong side and remember one rotten apple spoils the barrel. The chance of he co-opting the bad cause was always higher than his ability to change the rest of the group.