In a previous blog, we saw how rulers from Khilji to today's politicians fabricated optics of fake horses and people to gain power. But gaining power is only half a war won, keeping it is much more complex. Horses aren't enough here. Rulers thus resorted to credentials, even fake and divine, if need be.
The legitimate heirs of kings didn't have to suffer much for credentials. Their "royal blood" was a sound credential and we saw many such princes ruling vast kingdoms, atleast as puppets of nobles wielding real power. Unfortunately, many famous dynasties saw their nemesis under the reign of these puppet kings. With credentials, but no real strength, they crumbled in the face of power wielders.
Thus borne are the newer dynasties and empires of history. With power of horses and people, real or fake. And then started the fabrication of new optics of credentials to keep the thrones. Let's see a few of them.
The gold standard is the divine credential. That you are ordained by the God to rule. Muslim Slave Dynasty rulers like Iltumish used to write to the Caliph sitting in Egypt (considered the successor to the Prophet) as a way to win this credential. The founders of the Vijayanagara empire took help of a saint Vidyaranya to link their ancestry to divinity (Chandra vamsha). And the nouveau rulers would build temples and mosques, not because they are religious, but because they add to their divine credentials. Krishna Devaraya went fruther extreme and called himself the incarnation of Vishnu!
The social credential comes next - be it caste or religion. When people outside the ruling class get into power, they cement their position by ascribing to all the social credentials possible. Dantidurga, the founder of the Rashtrakuta empire, performed a ritual called "Hiranyagarba" to demonstrate his rebirth as a Kshatriya. Many rulers converted their religion as per exigencies of the time.
Today, educational credentials have become important, earned by degrees (and English eloquence in few geographies). Education democratised access to credentials and thus not having this credential is considered a weakness. Like anyother credential, these can be faked too and that probably explains the presence of fake degrees as optics of credentials.
A question to ponder upon - Are you happy with the current system of credentials? If not, how can there be a much more closer relationship between the real strength weilded by you and the credentials you possess.
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