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Feb 17th, 2003
Mother Teresa: The Final Verdict — Book
Review
I am delighted that Dr. Aroup Chatterjee's book, "Mother Teresa: The Final
Verdict", ends up in the small but select body of work that fails to
endorse the winner of a rather special version of the much celebrated
Keynesian beauty contest. Keynes had noted that in a contest where each
judge votes for the contestant most likely to be chosen by other judges
and therefore win, rather than voting for the contestant he (or she)
finds most attractive, the winner could well be the one who is perceived
to be the most likely winner and not necessarily the one who is the most
beautiful. Keynesian beauty contests are a recurring feature in any
population exhibiting herd behavior – from stock market speculators, to
readers of gossip columnists, to political parties.
Mother Teresa is the undisputed winner of this particular 'beauty'
contest. The challenge was to be the one who is most widely perceived to
be the savior of the poorest of the poor. Note the operative word
'perceived' above. Never mind what actual good was done, or worse still,
the real harm done to the poor. The game appeared to be one of taking in
as much donations as possible from conscience-stricken Westerners by
displaying as ugly a picture of India as possible, and seek as much
adoration from the necessarily grateful but gullible Indian population.
Challenging prevailing notions cannot, by definition, be popular. But
there are honest and brave people in any population. Chatterjee is not
alone. He is in good company – Sunanda Dutta-Ray and Christopher
Hitchens, to name a couple. Hitchens too has critically examined the MT
phenomenon and wrote (in a 1993 article which appeared in The Nation
magazine)
'The Pope is still fornicating with the Emperor,' wrote Dante
in one of his pithier staves, and with M.T. one sees yet again
the alliance between ostentatious religiosity and the needs of
crude secular power. This is, of course, a very old story
indeed, but when one surveys the astonishing, dumb credulity
of the media in the face of the M.T. fraud, it becomes easier
to understand how the sway of superstition was exerted in
medieval times.
Committed people often sacrifice their own self-interest for the sake of
the greater good. I could be persuaded that MT perhaps did that too --
but her greater good was the glorification of her religious beliefs. But
her religious beliefs are not sufficient for ensuring the common good.
Maybe she was well-intentioned, but that itself does not guarantee the
common good. "Let me save you from drowning," said the monkey to the
fish, as the monkey put the fish on a tree. The road to hell is paved
with good intentions.
In a country that is suffering from the burden of extreme
overpopulation, she single-mindedly advocated against birth-control. Not
satisfied with the misery that was already the lot of millions in her
adopted city alone, she took her mission global and tried to derail
international attempts to stop the population explosion that is both a
cause and consequence of poverty. It would appear that she wished to
perpetuate, rather than alleviate, poverty and suffering so that her
mission could continue into perpetuity.
I have heard that there exist beggar-lords. These are people who
deliberately mutilate children so that these children will evoke pity
in people and who would give more generously as a result of the
mutilation they see. Unfortunately, these beggar-lords are not
celebrated on the front pages of newspapers. For if they were, they
would be out of that business. No one could ever imagine that the
beggar-lords do it for some greater good. That is, I believe, the
fundamental difference between them and the likes of those who inflict
harm with a clear conscience. I think C.S.Lewis put it best when he
noted that
"Of all tyrannies a tyranny exercised for the good of its
victims may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live
under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies.
The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity
may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for
our own good will torment us without end for they do so with
the approval of their own conscience."
The Spanish Inquisition was not so merciless because they were evil but
rather because they were so convinced of their righteousness. MT was not
plauged by doubt or moral ambiguity. She knew what her god expected her
to do and she did it regardless of who she had to enlist the support of.
Dr. Chatterjee's book is a welcome addition to a growing literature on
the MT phenomenon. Pointing out that the emperor's new clothes hide
little is not very popular with the cheering crowd of admirers. One
reviewer, Mr. Khushwant Singh, went so far as to claim that Chatterjee
was spitting against the wind. But I believe that the wind will change.
In an age where information is so freely accessible, the truth cannot be
concealed too long. The final verdict, to my mind, is in but not fully
known. Satyameva jayate!
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