This quote endorsing the King’s honesty in the face of united opposition is misattributed to Chanakya - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
May 26, 2023
A social media post attributing a quote to ancient Indian scholar Chanakya (also known as Kautilya) is being widely shared across social media platforms. The Hindi quote attributed to Chanakya loosely translates to “when the entire opposition unites, then understand that the king of the country is honest”. Through this article, let’s fact-check the authenticity of the quote attributed to Chanakya.
Claim: “When the entire opposition unites, then understand that the king of the country is honest”- Chanakya
Fact: The viral quote is being shared against the backdrop of opposition parties boycotting the inauguration of the new Parliament building. However, the viral quote is misattributed to Chanakya. There are no authentic sources or references attributing the quote to Chanakya. Moreover, in Arthashastra, Chanakya proposed alliances and the concept of joining forces with the enemies of one’s opponents. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
Opposing the decision of Prime Minister Modi to inaugurate the new Parliament building instead of the President, nineteen opposition parties announced their decision to boycott the inauguration of the new building earlier this week. Most likely it is in this context, the alleged Chanakya’s quote is being shared, referring to the unity of opposition parties in boycotting the inauguration.
While Chanakya provided numerous insights on politics, governance, and statecraft, the specific quote mentioned in the viral post did not find mention in any of his literary works. An internet search also did not yield any authentic sources or references attributing the quote to Chanakya.
In Arthashastra, Chanakya addresses strategies to handle a united opposition, however, he refrains from endorsing the King’s honesty in the face of the united opposition.
On the other hand, Chanakya did propose alliances and the concept of joining forces with the enemies of one’s opponents. Reflecting the idea that if you have a common adversary with someone, it can be advantageous to align with them temporarily to achieve a common goal. This contradicts the negative depiction of coming together against a shared adversary.
All these establish that the viral quote is misattributed to Chanakya and is being shared against the backdrop of the current political scenario.
To sum up, this quote endorsing the King’s honesty in the face of united opposition is misattributed to Chanakya.