Managing manipulators

Prof AVR Rao takes an incisive look at the machinations of manipulators and shows us how to cope with them

- Prof AVR Rao

Manipulators are all-pervasive, and every one of us has adorned that hat at one time or another. But its gravity looms large when manipulation becomes a habit. It is a trait which can be inherited, inherent, imitated, or developed over time by anyone. Manipulative people prey on the conscientiousness, good nature, and helping attitude of virtuous people since it is easy to hoodwink, mislead, and exploit them.

Manipulation is a type of psychological influence used to change the behaviour or perception of others through indirect, deceitful, concealed, or unethical tactics. Manipulators selfishly use behavioural and emotional tactics to make others act or desist from acting. They are quite dangerous. They believe in—what Shakespeare says in Macbeth—‘fair is foul, and foul is fair.’ Often, they make even good people commit heinous crimes. The best examples are the villains and schemers in the Ramayana and the Mahabharata and also characters like Lady Macbeth in Shakespeare’s drama. Another example is that of spouses manipulating their partners to estrange them from their own kith and kin.

Depending on the situation and the interpretation of the viewer, manipulating can either be positive—guiding, moving, and operating for the benefit of the recipient—or negative—demeaning, scheming, calculating, and destroying.