J.K Rowling spawned a world full of magic and imagination with her widely celebrated series, “Harry Potter” which has engulfed children and adults alike for the past two decades. While there have been many to dismiss the series as a juvenile creation made solely for the purpose of children’s entertainment, the underlying political ideologies in the novels have not gone unnoticed by all. The power structures and the rebellion displayed against the dominant rulers of the magic world are comparable to the current political scenario in our world which is potentially in the hands of some power hungry tyrants and the backlash they receive from the public for their brash policy decisions.
Voldemort, who is the main antagonist in the series, is an insatiable leader who wishes to convert the entire magical world to the dark side where he can be their authoritarian ruler. Voldemort and a majority of the magic world discriminates against various magical communities such as Half Bloods (individuals with one magical blood parent and one non-magical blood parent), elves, werewolves, giants etc. This entitled treatment which includes the prominent usage of racial slurs meted against the aforementioned downtrodden communities by Voldemort and his followers could possibly be drawn from the racism that we witness on an everyday basis in our world. A modern leader such as Trump could be compared to Voldemort for his outspoken dislike and public racist acts towards most non-white communities in the world.
Dolores Umbridge, a power abusing teacher in the novel, is a more realistic and hence most hated villain since she has blind regard for outdated rules that put her in a position of complete dominance over her children. When she comes to Hogwarts (the school of magic), she begins to slowly take over the reins of the school and makes everyone bend according to her wishes. The character of Umbridge bears an uncanny resemblance to Hindu nationalist politician and Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Aditya Yoginath who also wishes to take undisputed charge over the state and its secular proceedings by slaying practices of other communities especially the Muslims.
Despite the existence of these tyrants, J.K. Rowling instils hope in her readers by showing the incessant attempts of her protagonists to carry the world to the light of justice. There are multiple failures, eg: Hermoine’s (Harry Potter’s best friend) organisation for elves’ rights which is mocked by her own best friends symbolizing unappreciated civil movements in the world. However, as the series progresses, the characters start questioning authority, an act that Rowling practices even in real life and eventually succeed in bringing down Voldemort and his corrupt followers and freeing all those innocent prisoners captive under his rule. This is a beautiful and optimistic story that explains that organized civil disobedience against manipulative governments can lead to freedom for all the citizens who have been forcibly pushed down under that governance instead of silently suffering and swallowing orders from the authorities.
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