Chankya's Chant (54 page)

Bhadrashala nodded. ‘They shall face no resistance at all. But you should be prepared for a bloody battle once you reach Pataliputra.’ Bhadrashala took another swallow and allowed the alcohol to slowly numb his senses.

‘What gives you the impression that we’ll fight for Pataliputra?’ asked Jeevasiddhi innocently.

‘O hear ye, hear ye, and hear ye. The court of the wise and benevolent Maharaj Chandragupta Maurya, Emperor of Gandhar, Ashvakans, Sindh, Simphapura and overlord of Mallavrajya, Kshudraka, Saindhava, Alor, Brahmasthala, Patala and Maha Urdha, is now in session. Come and be heard!’ droned the crier as Chandragupta entered the council hall. Only Magadha remained to be added to the list. Chandragupta was reminded of his childhood when his friends would utter the very same words as part of the juvenile theatrics of their imaginary world. He was saddened to realise that his father, the senapati, would not get to see his son anointed king.

Ambhi was dead, having been killed on the battlefield by Sasigupta. Sasigupta was dead, having been murdered by a Brahmin guerrilla set on him by Mehir. Chanakya had succeeded in killing two birds with one stone. Chandragupta had simply walked in and taken over Gandhar. The local population had welcomed him with open arms. Chandragupta was now more powerful than the king of Kalinga, as powerful as Paurus, but slightly less powerful than Dhanananda. That would soon change.

Before he reached his throne, he took a short detour to the right where Chanakya stood. He bent down and touched his guru’s feet reverentially. Chanakya blessed him. ‘May you be ever meritorious, victorious and glorious!’ he intoned. Chandragupta rose and walked over to an empty seat upon which sat a pair of ordinary sandals. They were his father’s. He bowed down before the chair and received blessings from the spirit world before he reached his mother. The simple and frail woman had tears in her eyes as he bent to touch her feet. She placed her hand on his head and said, ‘May your world be beautiful, your actions dutiful, your nature merciful and your kingdom bountiful, my son.’

Chandragupta wore royal garments made from fine
cinamsuka
—imported from China through the silk route. His
antariya dhoti
was pale gold, his
uttariya
vermillion-red, and his
kayabandh
girdle was creamy white. Around his neck hung a necklace with a pear-shaped diamond of about seventy-five carats at its centre. Around his upper arms were bajubandhs studded with flawless blue diamonds, six carats each. Each armband was embellished with a forty-carat heart-shaped Burma ruby. On his head he sported a golden turban ornamented with a hundred and fifty carats worth of pure emeralds. He looked every inch the emperor of the world.

Chanakya stepped up to the throne and said to a seated Chandragupta, ‘Do you solemnly promise and swear to govern the people of this kingdom of Gandhar, Ashvakans, Sindh, Simphapura, Mallavrajya, Kshudraka, Saindhava, Alor, Brahmasthala, Patala and Maha Urdha and the dominions thereto belonging, according to the laws of kingship as handed down by our ancestors through the Vedas?’

Chandragupta folded his hands in prayer, closed his eyed and said, ‘I solemnly promise to do so.’

Chanakya asked, ‘Will you ensure that law, justice and mercy shall prevail in all your judgements?’

‘I will,’ replied Chandragupta.

‘Will you, to the utmost of your power, maintain the laws of God, the honour of your Kshatriya blood, the protection of Brahmins, the defence of the downtrodden, and will you preserve unto the ministers and officers committed to their charge, all such rights and privileges as by law do or shall vest to them?’ asked Chanakya.

Chandragupta answered solemnly, ‘All this I promise to do.’ Then laying his right hand upon a stack of the sacred Vedas he said, ‘The things which I have promised, I will perform and keep, so help me God,’ as the great hall erupted in cheers.

‘I
’m unable to understand what’s going on here. R&S Aviation is part of the Rungta & Somany empire. Why would they want Chandini out of the way? They’re on the same side as us!’ said Menon.

‘Look beyond the obvious, Menon. Everything is not what it seems,’ said Gangasagar as he made a gesture for Menon to allow the next visitor in.

Agrawalji walked in, dressed in a fresh starched dhoti and kurta. He nodded to both men and sat down opposite Gangasagar. ‘Is Chandini alright?’ he asked.

Gangasagar nodded grimly. ‘She’s a fighter. She’s not frightened. I seem to be more fearful for her life than she is for her own!’

‘What can I do to help?’ asked Agrawalji.

‘The dispute between the R&S partners,’ began Gangasagar. ‘We need to understand what’s happening a little better. I also need to understand Ikram’s role in this entire matter—without him knowing it.’

‘But it’s obvious, sir. Hameed wanted money. When he didn’t get it from us, he went to Ikrambhai and told him how we arranged things with the magistrate. Ikram got him to try and have Chandiniji eliminated in revenge,’ explained Menon.

‘I’m not sure, Menon. Let’s not jump to hasty conclusions about Ikram. He adopted Chandini, for God’s sake. Something else confuses me, though,’ said Gangasagar, scratching his head.

‘What?’ asked Menon.

‘Rungta & Somany came to Uttar Pradesh to set up a global scale steel plant with our political blessings. One partner agreed to pay higher compensation to the farmers while the other disagreed and managed to get me to offer a sales-tax concession.’

‘So?’ asked Agrawalji.

‘The pattern repeated itself when you nominated Rungta to take over the World Bank-funded roadways project. The junior partner—Somany—came along and complained that he had been cheated out of his share by Rungta. In the process he succeeced in getting an armaments contract cleared by us. Now that I think about it, the whole damn episode stinks!’ said Gangasagar, cracking his knuckles.

Gangasagar paused. He stared at Agrawalji for a moment and then resumed. ‘One partner—Somany— supported the defence minister in his bid for the prime minister’s job. The other—Rungta—supported the finance minister. Both knew that irrespective of the outcome, one of their men would hold the top job.’

‘I don’t understand what it is that you’re complaining about, Gangasagar! The rivalry between the two partners brought this present government—along with Chandini and nine other ABNS ministers—into power. Why are you tying yourself up in knots over this?’

‘If it looks like shit, smells like shit, and feels like shit, it’s probably shit! We’ve been had—I know it,’ said Gangasagar as he got up from his chair.

‘You’ve had business dealings with R&S, right?’ asked Gangasagar over lunch. He had calmed down.

‘Yes. I transferred my interest in the roadways project that you gifted me to Rungta, remember?’ said Agrawalji as he scooped up the remaining rice and lentils on his plate with his hand and slurped approvingly.

‘I need you to put one of your finance hounds on their trail,’ said Gangasagar, as he passed a bowl of fresh yoghurt to Agrawalji.

‘What do you want done?’ asked Agrawalji.

‘I need each and every share purchased in R&S companies to be analysed. Who bought? Who sold? When? And I want it correlated with their public statements!’ growled Gangasagar, wagging his spoon in a disciplinary gesture.

‘What do you hope to find, Ganga?’ asked Agrawalji.

‘I don’t hope. I only go out looking when I already know what I shall find.’

‘Which is?’

‘A pattern that shows these two partners as being in cahoots with each other—using their display of hostility to wangle more business out of the government. Most importantly, timing their public quarrels to coincide with buying of their company stocks, and their cooling off to coincide with selling. They are milking us and the public like we were cows!’

‘But why would R&S team up with Ikram to try to bump off Chandini?’ asked Agrawalji as he wiped his mouth with his napkin.

‘Possibly because R&S are happy with the ABNS
supporting
the government in New Delhi but do not want the ABNS
leading
the government in New Delhi. Chandini is now seen as the only real contender for the top job, and that must hurt Ikram too,’ said Gangasagar.

‘They also know that Chandini comes as a package deal along with Gangasagar, a terrifying prospect,’ joked Agrawalji.

‘Agrawalji’s chartered accountant has done his homework. Share prices of R&S Infrastructure crashed from 1,178 to 900 rupees in a single day when the partners made public statements about going to court over the World Bank project. The very same day, both partners bought huge blocks of shares through known investment companies. A week later, they announced that they had reached an out-of-court settlement and sold the shares at 1,250 rupees!’ said Menon, leafing through the reams of analysis provided by Agrawalji’s team.

‘If they think they can come in the way of Chandini and the ABNS, they’ll soon see that Pandit Gangasagar Mishra is not to be messed with. How many employees work in R&S?’ asked Gangasagar.

‘Around a hundred thousand, as far as I can recall,’ replied Menon.

‘And how many of those workers are members of ABNS-affiliated labour unions?’ asked the Pandit.

‘I found out for you, sir. Our Lucknow University Students’ Union president—Upendra Kashyap—had gone on to head the ABNKU—our trade union arm. He says that around twenty thousand workers of R&S are card-carrying members of the ABNKU.’

‘And the balance eighty thousand workers at R&S?’

‘According to Kashyap, they are split equally between two unions. The ABNKU is the smallest chunk—only twenty per cent. The other two unions are around forty per cent each.’

‘Which are the other two unions?’

‘The CPUK—headed by Vikram Singh Tyagi, and the INWF—headed by Lalji Garg.’

‘Menon, I need you to take down two dictations please.’

‘Yes sir?’

‘Dear Comrade. As you know, the CPUK has been working tirelessly to help the employees of R&S. The problem is that your leader, Lalji Garg, President of INWF, has betrayed you. Garg, who claims to represent your interest, has sold out your interests to Mr Rungta. Increases in emoluments will now be linked to unattainable productivity targets. This allows for higher notional increases in the salary agreement whereas increases in real wages remain insignificant. As a friend and well-wisher of each one of you, I urge you to ditch the INWF and join the CPUK instead. We are the only true voice of the workers of R&S. I look forward to seeing you at our weekly meeting next Friday. With best wishes. Vikram Singh Tyagi, President, CPUK.’