One of the criticisms being flung against outgoing RBI governor Raghuram Rajan is that he is an outsider; does not quite understand Indian banking and worse, is mentally not ‘Indian’. Ditto for Arvind Subramaniam, who is still holding on to his post as chief economic advisor nevertheless.US presidential candidate Donald Trump’s solution for a safer America is keeping the Muslims out, building a wall around Mexico and anything else to make sure that outsiders(read terrorists) do not find their way in. Across Europe, the refugee crisis has led to bitter debates on the status of the outsider in our midst. Mistrusting the outsider – be it from other countries, religions or those speaking other languages — is an old habit.And myth and folklore have many references to the risk of harbouring strangers, but strangely theyhave plenty about the enemy within the ranks too.
In the Ramayana, for instance, Manthara is a palace insider. She is the queen’s confidante and aide and plays a central role in the exile of crown prince Ram. No stranger turned the queen against Ram;Manthara was her childhood companion (though there is a Kannada version called Torave Ramayana where Manthara was a form of maya whose sole purpose was fulfilling the divine will).
Another character from the same epic, Vibhishana, Ravana’s brother has spawned many folk sayings that warn of the traitor who eats from the same plate. Even though Vibhishana chooses good over evil and stands up for his principles, he does betray his brother.So much for the outsider bringing the house down.
In the Mahabharata, the brothers battle each other. And Shakuni, the evil plotter, he is Duryodhana’s uncle. And then there is the Greek tragic hero, Oedipus who marries his mother and kills his father. The kingdom of Thebes was undone by its own son, not a stranger from another shore.
Creation myths are all about sons devouring their fathers; in Greek myths, Cronus kills his father Uranus and is in turn, killed by his son Zeus. In the Babylonian creation saga, Apsu is killed by his son Ea and so on.
Myth also credits outsiders with many great deeds. Romulus, creator of Rome, was a descendent of Aeneas of Troy. He and his brother, the story goes, were brought up by a she-wolf and after a series of adventures, Romulus set up a new city, far from home.However, that is not to say that myths and epics have no examples of the outsider as enemy. Helen’s abduction by the Trojans and then the ensuing battle between Troy and Agamemnon’s men and finally, the story of the Trojan horse — all serve as fair warnings against trusting outsiders.
True, but no amount of protection has been ableto block the flow of people and their stories, ideas and languages across cultures. Migrating herdsmen, trading merchants and nomadic tribes criss-crossed the globe in ancient times, builtlastingpolitical and cultural connections. Today economic and political immigrants are laying the pipelines for networks of the future.
While the outsider-insider relationship has always been fraught with tension, it has also been the basis for the growth and evolution of civilisations. An interesting story about the Chinese state of Funan may help understand why. The story mentioned in several Chinese and Sanskrit texts goes thus: Kaundinya(Huntian according to Chinese texts but this name is disputed) was a great Brahmin. One night he dreamt that Ashwathama, son of Dronacharya, had asked him to go to this distant land where a special spear had been set aside for him. He was to go there and establish his kingdom. Kaundinya set off on a boat till he reached a mass of land called Funan (Chinese texts refer to it as an Indianised kingdom). The queen of the kingdom, Queen Willow Leaf, was not too pleased to see him. He was a stranger after all.She attacked his ship and the two fought bitterly. Kaundinya won and Queen Willow Leaf became his wife. The two ruled Funan which was a precursor to the region called Kampuchea, which is present day Cambodia.
In Angkor Wat, the story changes slightly to say that Kaundinya and the resident princess (Soma, daughter of the moon) fought for supremacy over the lands. Kaundinya won and married Soma. He became the king of the region while Soma controlled all the land. In the end, civilisations survive and live to fight another day when outsiders become insiders and fall, when they fail to recognise the dangers within.
This article first appeared in the Business Standard (Mythic Mantra by Arundhuti Dasgupta) in June 2016
