This must have taken the wind completely out of the sails of the ruling dispensation.
For years they had a favourite weapon. It was ridicule. Every speech, every television discussion, every social media exchange seemed to contain the same word aimed at the opposition leader. "Pappu."
It was repeated so often that it became part of the political landscape.
Then along comes a new political party and calls itself something far worse.
Cockroaches.
Imagine the panic.
Somewhere in their strategy room, political advisers must have looked at one another helplessly.
"Sir, we have a problem. The new party calls itself Cockroach."
The smile disappears.
Because what do you do when people take away your ability to insult them?
Perhaps there is a lesson here, not just for politicians, but for all of us.
Most people spend a great part of their lives worrying about what others think of them. We are terrified of criticism. We are wounded by insults. We lose sleep because somebody made a joke about us at a party, in the office, or on social media.
Yet the people who are hardest to defeat are often those who have learned to laugh at themselves.
The man who jokes about his bald head takes away everybody else's joke. The woman who laughs at her own mistakes removes the sting from criticism. The person who can smile when insulted often ends up looking far stronger than the person doing the insulting.
And then another thought crossed my mind.
What are these cockroaches going to call these old, old men in a few years?
The same people who spent years laughing at others may suddenly find themselves being laughed at by a younger generation.
I wonder whether they will enjoy it.
I wonder whether they will take the jeers and sneers with the same enthusiasm with which they handed them out.
I wonder whether they will smile when youngsters create nicknames for them. Or will they discover that ridicule is much more entertaining when you are throwing it than when you are receiving it?
The mockers eventually become the mocked.
As for the cockroach, it remains one of the most resilient creatures on earth.
It survives floods, droughts, pesticides, traps, slippers, and every attempt to eliminate it.
Long after more glamorous creatures have disappeared, the cockroach is still marching confidently across the floor as if it owns the building.
Perhaps that is exactly the message these young political activists are sending.
"Call us what you like. Laugh if you want. Mock us if it makes you happy. We are still here."
And who knows?
A few years from now, while the old political warriors are wondering what embarrassing nickname has been invented for them, the cockroaches may still be crawling steadily forward, quietly having the last laugh…!
The Author conducts an online, eight session Writers and Speakers Course. If you’d like to join, do send a thumbs-up to WhatsApp number 9892572883 or send a message to bobsbanter@gmail.com
