Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely; this is true under dictatorship, totalitarianism and fundamentalism, and democracy as well. Slavery, bondage, suppression and discrimination follow when absolute power corrupts. Perhaps, an Abraham Lincoln could legally put an end to the physical slavery, but its manifestation in various other forms related to race, including color and caste, culture, language, religion, nationality and political system remains a threat to man's spirit of freedom. The nineteen month-long Emergency declared in India in 1975 would be relatively an insignificant event in the political history of the world's largest democracy. But, when The Haunted Man, allegorically presents the agony of the people, gasping for breath under its heavy yoke, the subject gains universality. Through dozens of symbolic episodes and references picked up from the world of literature-scape, Alexander Raju's novel unravels the severity of such physical and psychological suppressions of the helpless masses and, thereby, not only creates awareness among freedom-loving peoples but also tenders a warning to the whole world.
