The Essential Strategy of Saama, Dana, Danda, Bheda

The strategy most frequently attributed to Chanakya is that of Saama, Dana, Danda, Bheda. This four point strategy however precedes Chanakya and was frequently used in ancient world by Greeks, Romans and Indians alike. The strategy is progressive in the use of force to attain the results and is the unwritten rule of negotiation for modern business, office politics and matters of state.

The four principles outlined in the strategy are:

1. Saama: The process of Conciliation.
2. Dana: The process of Placating with gifts and Bribe.
3. Bheda: The process of dividing and Sowing Dissension.
4. Danda: The use of Force and Brutality to Crush the Enemy.

In the first look the strategy appears to be a step by step process. Start with conciliation or gentle persuasion (Saama). If that does not work, bribe the person or offer gifts/material wealth (Dana). If that still does not solve the problem, divide your opposition and cause dissension (Bheda). If all three fail, use punishment or violence (Danda). The strategy however is not a set of consecutive steps; Saama, Dana, Danda, Bheda are four independent principles of dealing with opposition.

The combination of tools to be used depends upon identifying the type of opposition or the motivations of the person fomenting the trouble. For example, if there is a genuine misunderstanding between the members of the board then Saama alone is sufficient. Unrest by employees for increasing wages will require both Saama and Dana. If there is an insurgency, then Danda should be the first step, Saama can be considered later.


PRACTICAL APPLICATION:

Ramesh Sharma (name changed) is the proprietor of a large shoe manufacturing firm in Maharashtra. He has run his business amicably for a period of over 10 years without any strike or unrest. All of a sudden in the middle of year 2001 he encounters a sudden and aggressive unrest.

In the month of September, workers suddenly go on strike and ask for a pay hike. He quickly responds to this unrest; he calls the leaders of unrest to listen to their demands (Saama). He then addresses a general staff meeting and reminds that the workers have received a genuine hike of 6-8 % every year ever since the start of business. In order to pacify them he also promises a 10 % Diwali Bonus (Dana).

Three days later the unrest resurfaces. This time workers are complaining of a water cooler that has stopped working. He understands that the water cooler is a primary requirement for anyone working in the hot summer. He instantly gets the water cooler fixed and praises the workers for their physical prowess and ability to work in the hot summer (Saama).

About a week later, a supervisor is beaten up by the workers. The reason – The supervisor had asked workers to work overtime. Now Ramesh is alarmed, in past his workers had worked overtime without any complains. A sudden chorus for a hike, a complain to repair water cooler and then beating of supervisor all point towards some malcontent.

Ramesh calls all his supervisors and asks them to objectively evaluate the intentions of Samir Khan (The newly elected leader of the workers union). He also assigns one of his old loyalist Rajendra Kaka to spy on Samir (Use of Intelligence and Espionage).

Five days of spying on Samir Khan reveals that he has been secretly receiving payments from a manager of a rival business group. The report prepared by group of supervisors also points to some sudden change in behavior of Samir.

Next day Samir’s 13 year old son along with his wife are picked up and severely beaten. Simultaneously Samir is fired from his job along with seven of his loyalist on account of misbehaving with supervisor (Danda). Sharad (another leader of workers union) is promoted as well as transferred to head office in Mumbai. This is done to send him away so that he cannot lead any future unrest (Bheda). To contain any further unrest the 10% Diwali Bonus (which is more than two months away) is replaced by an immediate bonus of 25% (Dana).

What followed is a period of peace for four years.

INFERENCE:

The above is a perfect example of the use of the Four Point Strategy and Ramesh is a perfect example of a modern day Chanakya – a man of refinement who is otherwise capable of arm twisting.

Ramesh initially tries to resolve the problem by listening to and praising the employees, he also tries to pacify them by giving a Diwali bonus. But on encountering the fact that trouble is being fomented from outside, he resorts to brute force. The beating up of Samir’s teenage son and his wife is a form of psychological warfare – striking Samir where he is most vulnerable – breaking his will to fight any further. Termination of Samir and his loyalist is a warning for others. Promotion and transfer of Sharad is a cautionary action against any further unrest and an immediate bonus of 25 % is a bribe/ gift for others to remain quite.
 

CAVEATS:

1. Saama, Dana, Danda, Bheda is the strategy to deal with dissent from below. It should never be thought of as a strategy to deal with a person / organization which is more powerful. History is full of disasters resulting from use force (Danda) against the more powerful opponent.
2. Sowing Dissension (Bheda) can be counterproductive in projects that require teamwork. One must calculate the loss of productivity resulting from a divided team.
3. The four point strategy cannot work without Intelligence and Espionage. Vital information collected from intelligence sources should be the basis of a plan of action.
4. One has to be cautionary in the use of force (Danda). In an era of Human rights and Social Activism, it is difficult to get away with brazen use of force. One must avoid use of assassins and the use of goons for bullying should be minimal. Further, Physical violence should be used as a psychological weapon to bring opponents to the discussion table (Danda followed by Saama).

Relevance of Chanakyanism in 21st Century

One question which is regularly asked and which must come to the mind of anyone seriously studying Chanakya is: why to study Arthashastra or what is the relevance of Chanakyanism is in the 21st century. After all Chanakyanism and Arthashastra are more than 2300 years old. The treatise itself is written in Sanskrit which is the language of antiquity and rather tedious and difficult to understand.

In order to answer this question we must understand the life and times of Chanakya, the changes which they saw and the forces which shaped them.

Acharya Vishnu Gupta or Kautilya or Chanakya as most of us know him was born in an era of radical changes and massive political upheavals. It was an era which saw the invasion of India by Alexander the Great, Destruction of the old political order by Nanda Empire, the rise of Buddhism and Jainism and their conflict with Vedic religion and finally the unprecedented rise of Chandragupta Maurya.

The times we are living through are also witnessing swift changes. Globalization and the information revolution are changing the dynamics of business and economy on an unprecedented scale. The power centers of the global economy are slowly shifting back to Asia. Power itself is getting more and more democratized. From Arab Spring and Occupy Wall Street to Anna Hazare movement in India, it's an era of radical changes.

However what has not changed is the human nature. Human nature is as twisted and unpredictable as it was 2300 years ago. Men are still ruled by hedonism and desires of erotic and fantasy. Religion and superstition are still the best tools to fool and enslave the masses. Money not morality continues to be the prime commerce of the elite. Kings are still there – we just call them Ministers and CEOs. Aggression is still there, it has simply morphed into more sublime forms. On the top technology has advanced but at the bottom, Human Nature is same, the human soul is still black and selfish.

Arthashastra or Chanakyanism in general is an honest acceptance of this unethical element of Human Nature. It is in fact beyond ethics and morality .The overall approach is pragmatic, practical and aimed at acquiring and maintaining power and material wealth. Unlike the ideals of the Ramayana and Ahimsa of Jainism – Chanakyanism is sheer pragmatism. It does not concentrate on any abstract moral values, but focuses upon how people behave and what strategies work in actual practice.

As a treatise, Arthashastra is a tailor made advice for Kings in an era of opportunism. Interestingly the current environment where the old order is being eroded by the forces of technology and social change, the avenues to practice this opportunism are everywhere. Arthashastra is thus the treatise for our times.

My Fascination with Chanakyanism and how it all started

--Why I am writing this blog

I grew up in a household with a genuine interest in political Philosophy. Gandhi, Machiavelli, Chanakya, Lenin all were part of our everyday discourse. On the dining table, every night the family would critically evaluate current affairs with the philosophies of morality, personal power, pragmatism and religion.

I however, like most teenagers, was uninterested and dismissive of everything that parents said. I was genuinely good in science and mathematics and therefore considered philosophical discussions to be inferior. For my innocent mind discussions on politics and personal power were unnecessary wastage of time, discussions which consumed a lot of mental energy and dint get anything done.

When I entered college suddenly the nature of reality changed for me. I naively chose a college which was not suited for my style of thinking. During my teenage years I had grown in accordance to the strict meritocracy of school. The college was anything but meritocracy. The students getting highest assessment marks were those with the ability to charm and flatter their academic advisors or those with links to influence top management. Many of the professors and academic advisors were backdoor entrants. They were not only incompetent but also arrogant and close minded. For me, this world of politicking was not only disappointing but stifling.

But as I got accustomed to this new arena, the melancholy gradually gave way to social intelligence. I learned how to pay lip service and show respect to people and ideas I dint believed in. I learned how to deceive my professors, winning them over with gifts and out of box favors.  I started reading people from their actions instead of their words. I began searching and reading books that dealt with the subjects like Human Nature and psychology. It was during one of these knowledge hunting ventures that I came across Aditi – The girl who would kindle my interests in Chanakyanism.

One fine morning I was browsing through the self help section in college library when I accidentally met Aditi – a final year student who was a huge fan of Chanakya. She was famous in entire campus for her frequent repetition of four point strategy of "sama, dana, dand, bhed". She was the president of the student union and a godfather like figure whom everybody approached with all kinds of problems. She was infamous for giving a hard time college management and I was attracted towards her because of that.

After that initial meeting in the library she gave me her phone number and invited me to attend the Saturday Afternoon session in her home. Saturday Afternoon sessions were a gathering of selected scholars and Leaders of the student union. The sessions were not only famous for philosophical discussions on politics, arts and technology but also for Aditi’s elaborated lectures on Arthashastra and Nitishastra. It was in these sessions that I developed a scholarly taste for Chanakyan Teachings and realpolitik.

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Over the years I have become more critical and appreciate of Chanakya. I have not only read and reread Arthashastra but also consulted several scholars on the subject. I have explored other similar works like The Prince, Thick Black Theory and The Art of War. I have systematically analyzed people, their reactions, opinions, and thoughts through the lens of Chanakyanism. I have experimented with Chanakyan principles by applying them in office politics, considered their long term consequences and tried to simplify and add examples as per my knowledge and experience.

Most of the other works on Arthashastra and Nitishastra are either a toned down version of original or are illustration of the treatise chapter by chapter, Shloka by Shloka. I have deliberately avoided both styles . I have tried to read in between the lines and actively absorb the essence rather than passively translating the work.

Like Chanakya, I have tried to remain amoral, objective and dispassionate. Also I have avoided commenting on world issues and have tried to restrict only to the domain of personal power. 

 I hope that this blog will help you in better understanding of Chanakyan principles. I would love to engage in a discussion with others who follow or study Chanakyanism, so please do leave a comment if you find this blog.