In the western world of politics, the name Machiavelli has come to mean intrigue and the pursuit of power through the use of every method, no matter how despicable.

Nicolo Machiavelli (1469-1527) wrote his famous treatise The Prince, which has been used as a guide to leaders on how to deal with the problems of staying in power. It is regarded as an expression of realpolitik, which is governmental policy based on retaining power rather than pursuing ideals.

The adjective Machiavellian refers to amoral cunning and justification by power! In the politics of T&T we witness and experience many acts that deserve the description “Machiavellian.”

When local politicians appeal to race and ethnicity to achieve power in a multi-racial, multi-religious and multi-cultural society like T&T, they can be described as using Machiavellian strategies.

And when affirmative action is used to dilute the education of our children and “dumb down” examinations to enable even the most backward to pass, the principles of Machiavelli has taken hold of our politics and the people in our land.

Machiavelli does not endear himself to modern-day moralists when he writes: “Some virtues will lead to a prince’s destruction, while some ‘vices’ allow him to survive. Indeed, the virtues which we commonly praise in people might lead to his downfall.”

He further argues that it is better to be feared than loved and that people more quickly forget the death of their father than the loss of their inheritance. And he advises that “the prince should know how to be deceitful when it suits his purpose.”

But almost 2000 years before Machiavelli, Hindus were introduced to a work that identified and described the structure of power and how to maintain it through devious means. Kautilya’s Arthstastra is regarded as a work of exceptional interest and value to students of politics.

The name “Kautilya” is believed to be a pseudonym for an ancient Hindu author of a number of religious treatises. Chanakya also produced many works on the Indian way of life and his Arthastastra has been compared to the great epic, the Mahabharat that also tried to cover the whole range of human emotions in ancient India.

Kautilya (321-296 BCE) in his Arthastastra produced a treatise on how the king can acquire and maintain the earth. He provides a code of conduct but also emphasises the need for negative traits.

Accordingly, if one has to get rid one’s enemy, no holds are barred and he recommends the administration of poison in “good faith.” Achievement of an aim is of paramount importance according to this political guru. Morality and humanity must not stand in the path of success.

The author of Arthastastra has been described as an ironman, “full of schemes and tricks, merciless in his precepts and unrelenting to any emotion.”

Another ancient Hindu author, Kaadambari, optioned about the science of Kautilya as:

“Rich in cruelty, is an authority whose priests habitually hard-hearted with practice of witchcraft, to whom ministers always inclined to deceive others are themselves councillors; whose desire is always for the goddess of wealth that has been cast away by thousands of kings; who are devoted to the application of destructive sciences, and to whom brothers affectionate with natural cordial love are fit victims to be murdered!”

BK Chaturvedi’s in his abridged version published by Diamond Pocket Books Pvt Ltd New Delhi, describes this work as the “science of polity” and claims that it is erroneous for western historians to compare Kautilya to Machiavelli alone. He writes that Kautilya represents the two personalities Karl Marx and Machiavelli.

A prominent Hindu characteristic of the reading of reality is the principle of opposites. The good accompanied by evil.

Human nature is the product of a variety of influences (karma) from previous births and the present life. So the same human being contains both righteous and unrighteous impulses. Even the most righteous person may occasionally commit unethical acts in the interest of a larger righteous cause.

The Ramayan is the most popular Hindu scriptural text in T&T and in it we find that Lord Rama, the most perfect human being (maryada purshottama), kills Vali the brother of his ally by deceit. Hindu classics always uphold righteousness or dharma but condone and often justify lapses from the code.

In T&T, however, statecraft has given way to the politics of intrigue. Ancient thinkers like Kautilya and Machiavelli influenced many of the policies of past and present governments.

SATNARAYAN MAHARAJ is the Secretary General of the Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha