Gatekeeper and Citizen

"Before the law sits a Gatekeeper" are the opening words of the parable, Before the Law by Franz Kafka. The Gatekeeper (or, the Chowkidar), true to zir duty, does not allow "a man from the country" (hereafter, the Citizen or the Nagarik) to enter through the gate. In the beginning, the Gatekeeper lets the Citizen know that it is possible for the Citizen to get entry, "but not now."

The Citizen till zir fag end could never get entry through the gate. Nevertheless, the only consolation, if one may say so, is that  the Gatekeeper lets the Citizen know that the gate, like Aadhaar, was specially prepared by the State for zir entry. 

The parable while complete, somewhere, leaves a feeling of something being incomplete. The Gatekeeper, who has only done zir duty, moves on, without conveying what ze feels - ze perhaps has a sense of completion, perhaps not.

In a rational (not reasonable) manner, it would make sense to the Gatekeeper to internalize and accept that the gate (as also the wall) is for everyone's good. This also facilitates the Gatekeeper's move to a higher level. It is said that if one gate closes then many others open up. Note, the gates open up only for the Gatekeeper if ze is willing to continue as a Gatekeeper. Otherwise, ze can always be like the Citizen, waiting for zir entry through a gate that is specially made for zir.

It is pertinent to inform that Before the Law by Franz Kafka is a parable from an unfinished novel, The Trial, which has a concluding chapter. So, one is left with a question. Is the sense of completeness meant for some, like the Gatekeeper, who perhaps moves to a higher level of gatekeeping, but not for the Citizen, who is meant to wait on at a gate specifically prepared for zir?

[This write-up on Gatekeeper and Citizen (or, Chowkidar and Nagarik) is based on a reading of Franz Kafka's Before the Law. Any similarity with the larger discourse on Chowkidar in the Indian context now is coincidental.]

© Srijit Mishra