Shrilal Shukla in his book Raag Darbari has given a vivid account of a phenomenon that pervades the Indian social system. This phenomenon which is also implied by the title of the book has a common place name now. It is called Chatukarita. A simple literal translation is licking up to someone. But the meanings of this word are deep and the form this phenomenon has taken over the years in this country is a subject anyone interested in the Indian psyche should definitely explore.

There are different kinds of Chatukarita in India depending on where one is and who one is dealing with. There is the one in hinterlands in India which is raw and visible to any naked eye like the one we see in the novel. Here if you do not lick the ass of your seniors in a clear way, you won’t go up. This is Chaturakita 1.O. There is the other kind of Chatukarita which is present in the higher social class of India. Like the ones present in the higher ups in the government, the corporate sector, and the Indian academia. It has developed into an ecosystem of its own, diverse and rich with mechanisms tougher than the ones we used to read in Organic Chemistry and biochemistry. I call this kind Chatukarita 2.0

In this kind, the ass licking is done in a little sophisticated way. That is people who do this, and there are many you can find in this country everywhere, don’t sing tunes of praise on the face of their superiors. This might offend the superior and it may attack his self perceived notions of merit. Because most people at top in India have this notion of merit and reason that they carry with them. Here the allegiance to the superior is shown in subtle ways. It could be doing what the superior asks you to do without questioning the merits of the point. It could be by aligning with people your superior wants you to align even though you do not feel it is important. And most importantly, you have to know the right time to praise the superior in the exact manner he or she wishes. And for that one should have the knack of knowing the superiors wishes.

Now this looks alright on paper. Why one shouldn’tbe like a Chatukar, after all the superior is more powerful and has control over his subjects. And it makes strategic sense to lick ass. Many people in Indian top classes have had an important component of Chatukarita in their blood and actions. They have gone up by doing exactly what they have been asked to do, putting their head down and just following orders. And it is a self propagating system. Once you have done Chatukarita, you expect it. Your subjects will do it. And so it goes on. Looking at it this way, there does not seem any problem. There is a structure and order which this kind of behavior maintains. And overtime we have become comfortable in these systems.

But this comfort is dangerous. This kind of a system curbs innovation and independence and promotes people who start believing that it is not the quality of their work and ideas that are important, but the quality that they can lick someone’s ass. Take for example the Indian PhD system where your supervisor holds power over you. Research is about asking questions and exploring ideas. It is beauty of this exploration that invites people to give years and years to a topic. A system of Chatukarita in research is a death knell to this whole process of creation and investigation. If a scholar is expected to follow everything that the supervisor and needs his nod of smallest of ideas, and when discussions are not based on the merit and relevance of ideas but whether the supervisor is satisfied with your ass licking qualities or not, it  becomes very difficult to make an important contribution. This is doubly harmful because then not only one looses an appetite to think but also develops a fear and an impression that he may not be good. Good work does not flow from this system. And I don’t need to tell you how good we are doing on the research front as a country.  

I can go on and on about the properties of Chaukarita. But I would like end it here and pray that you stay well in these times of distress.