Why do the persecuted perpetrate the same when in power?

 This question has haunted me for a long time and I do not think I have an answer to it. Since time immemorial there have been power asymmetries and there have been oppressors and the oppressed. Revolts against the oppressor have been seen and the fight between good and evil is the subject of books, wars and the basis of religions. The simplistic narrative of all such situations is that evil is all evil and good is all good and the good will eventually win and destroy evil. This is the black and white certainty of most of our belief systems the stuff of our childhood story tales and Hindi films which end with a happy ending. The symbolism since time has been the theme of dark forces black battling against the good forces which are always shown as bright or pure white. 

The power of our conscience is such that we see everything clearly and in many cases we see wrong things being done like stealing, cheating, being unfaithful, deceiving, slandering and even killing. At such times, we forget the the quality of discrimination and feel that the perpetrator of such acts deserve to be cast out and punished. The quantum of punishment in our eyes must be commensurate with the magnitude of the crime. The state has the power and a system to perform such sanctioned acts of violence as per law ordained. 

The battles in life are not as simple and between black and white there are shades of grey. Besides, this acts which are evil are justified in the name of street smartness, ways of the world, essential for survival especially in a day or age where evil seems to triumph more often than good. Perpetrators of evil actually become rulers and role models of society. When such things happen and evil starts gaining an upper hand the spirit of the oppressed gets so badly crushed that they normalize the atrocities and get resigned to their sorry states citing a fatalistic interpretation of destiny. The law of causation is misunderstood and even as it is inevitable that we reap what we sow, our reaction to these atrocities are in our control and are acts of Self Will rather than destined occurrings. On the other hand for the oppressed, when realisation dawns on them they feel the need to revolt or resist the evil. In this they act according to their state of mind. In this very often external sources in the form of leadership from other persons who empathize with the cause influence the manner and extent of revolt. When this revolt is tainted by ego or a kind of violence it gives rise to a tainted victory. 

At this stage in democracies or ordered civilized societies, right from time immemorial the rule of law and a just state came to the rescue to restore order in society and its multiple organizations large and small. Sadly, this is not true and the biggest oppressor and perpetrator of violence is the state. At this time the oppressed lose their powers of discrimination and think that they can adopt wrong or unfair means to justify victory over the oppressed. This important distinction that however, great is your cause one should not adopt unfair means to achieve them. This was very well understood the prophets, and great souls like the true Mahatmas. It is only when we understand the cause of our suffering as a result of our past Karma, which we accept with grace that we can create the strength to react in a manner where we do not act in a manner of revenge and create further negative karmas. This battle of means and ends is the crucial question which gives the answer to the question of why the oppressed are unable to not become oppressors when they come to positions of power. The story of the preeminence of human beings in the hierarchy of life is based on the belief system of good or evil which has been established in society by the prevalent framework laid down by those in authority. The problem is that it is rare benevolent leader who creates a just and ideal society where there is true democracy. 

History is replete with examples which prove this especially that of India and South Africa where movements led by Gandhi and Nelson Mandela which remained true to adoption of fair means to achieve good ends and be patient have led to relatively fairer and just regimes compared with the regimes which won freedom through violent structure and revengeful crushing of dissent. 

The saddest cut is that the oppressed when coming to power become the oppressors they indulge in far more worse actions than what they themselves suffered. This happens when revenge and retribution rather forgiveness and resolution drive the revolt. As a nation oppressed for nearly 100 years the relationship between the colonized and the coloniser namely India and Great Britain remain excellent. This is a tribute to the Mahatma.

The last aspect is the political parties and their leaders just do not care about the means to attain and later retain power. Divide voters along caste and religion lines, use of state apparatus to foist cases on companies, political opponents and securing support and votes in return leads to a never ending cycle of oppression and persecution. Sadly, in this situation the institutions and nations suffer and erode democracy and the ability of the state to act with true justice. 

Vispi Jokhi