Tuesday, February 17, 2015

On Legitimacy

Legitimacy refers to that ingredient which turns mere power into authority.

I take your money, it's stealing or robbing. I take it with authority of a tax collector (appointed by an accepted legal process and acting according to the law), then it is not. I use a legal example, but legitimacy (or authority) need not necessarily be synonymous with legal.

Consider a traditional tribal society with no legal system. Such a society still has elders or leaders who exercise authority and can dole out punishment and rewards simply because it is thought to be legitimate for them to do so. They act in absence of any formal legal system. Weber famously gave his three way classification of authority -- traditional, charismatic and rational-legal. Only last is explicitly tied to a legal system. First two are not.

Finally Beetham's views on the subject are relevant. According to him, legitimate power (and therefore authority) must satisfy 3 conditions -
1. Power must be exercised according to established rules.
2. Rules must be justified in terms of shared belief of the government and governed.
3. Legitimacy must be demonstrated by the expression of consent.

The essential point here is -- for it to be legitimate, the exercise of power must be justified in terms of shared beliefs of the government and the governed. And those views may be codified either as laws of a modern society or customs of a tribal society or even dictates of a charismatic messiah.
On Legitimacy SocialTwist Tell-a-Friend

Happy MahaShivratri

He is an ascetic and an householder. A Maha-Yogi, He's a "fitness freak" and yet He loves his bhang and his soma. A lover of nature and animals, He meditates in Himalayas, far removed from the concerns of the world and yet He cares enough about it to drink the worldly poison. A destroyer and a creator - He performs tandava and lasya in turn. His legendary phallus is a symbol of male fertility and yet as Ardhanarishvara he's also half feminine.
A patron of all performing arts, isn't He the coolest God ever?
Happy MahaShivratri!

[P.S. Of course celebrate the day with this lovely song -- which I have already translated for you :D ]
Happy MahaShivratriSocialTwist Tell-a-Friend

Tuesday, February 3, 2015

Mohe Apne Rang Mein...



So I heard a song in a friends car and it wont leave my head. So I searched it online and found it's sung by Shafqat. No surprises there -- he's an amazing singer. More interestingly, the song is written by Amir Khusro - the 12th century poet disciple of Nizamuddin Auliya. And that makes it second consecutive ear-worm for me that has originated from Khusro and dedicated to Nizamuddin Auliya. [The earlier one that I've been binging on for last few weeks is - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7SDrjwtfKMk ]
So obviously I got a bit curious about Khusro and these songs. And it turns out that this Kusro dude was, to put it colloquially, f'ing awesome! He invented sitar and tabla and Qawalli and maybe even Ghazal. And he was "originator of the khayal and tarana styles of music". Wow! Basically Khusro was to Hindustani music what Newton was to classical mechanics.
Coming to the song -- "Mehboob-e-illahi" in the song is one of the names of Nizannudin Auliya, of whom Khusro was a disciple. And the phrase means beloved of God. (And it reminds of the similar title of the emperor Ashoka -- "Devānāmpriya" (in Pali or was it Prakrit?) also meaning beloved of gods). Anyway, I digress. Coming back to the song -- here's my attempt at translating the simple yet beautiful lyrics -
मोहे अपने ही रंग में रंगले
मोहे अपने ही रंग में रंगले
तू तो साहिब मेरा मेहबूब-ए-इलाही
मोहे अपने ही रंग में रंगले
[Dye me in your own color
You're my master, O beloved of God
Dye me in your own color.]
हमरी चुनरिया, पिया की पगरिया
वो तो दोनो बसंती रंगले
तू तो साहिब मेरा मेहबूब-ए-इलाही
मोहे अपने ही रंग में रंगले
[My stole and beloved's turban
Color them both saffron.
You're my master, O beloved of God
Dye me in your own color.]
जो कुछ मांगे रंग कि रंगाई
मोरा जौबन गिरवी रख ले
तू तो साहिब मेरा मेहबूब-ए-इलाही
मोहे अपने ही रंग में रंगले
[If some fee you ask for dyeing
Keep my youth as security.
You're my master, O beloved of God
Dye me in your own color.]
आन पड़ी दरबार तेहारे
मोरी लाज़ सरम सब रख ले
तू तो साहिब मेरा मेहबूब-ए-इलाही
मोहे अपने ही रंग में रंगले
[I come to your court
Keep (uphold) my honor and dignity.
You're my master, O beloved of God
Dye me in your own color.]
Mohe Apne Rang Mein...SocialTwist Tell-a-Friend