True to its name, Mango, the King of Fruits, continues to play a role in politics and trade deals

The mango’s rise to worldwide popularity can be traced back to its origins in the Indian subcontinent more than 4000 years ago. Over the years, a host of stories and incidents have occurred around this delicious fruit. It is quite remarkable how adventures, exploits, and stories surrounding this fruit have travelled across time and national borders.

It has been mentioned in the Mahabharata as well as Jain and Buddhist literature. Ancient travel writers like Megasthenes of Greece and Huen Tsang of China have mentioned that Indian Kings developed huge mango orchards in their kingdoms. Their descriptions of the fruit and its qualities enchanted those readers who had never seen or tasted it.

The celebrated poet Amir Khusrau also described mangoes as the fairest fruits of Hindustan. Mirza Ghalib was a devout mango lover. Reportedly, he once said, “There are only two essential points to note about mangoes. Firstly, they should be sweet, and secondly, they should be available in huge quantities.”

Mangoes were an enjoyable delicacy at the court of the Delhi Sultan Alauddin Khalji. Two centuries after the existence of Khalji, the rulers of the Mughal Empire and their nobles developed a great fondness for mangoes. Babur, who did not like most Indian fruits, made an exception when it came to mangoes. In his writings in the Baburnama, the founder of the Mughal Empire has lavished praise on mangoes of India along with the watermelons of his native Fergana valley.

Patronage of Mughal emperors

Mughal patronage of horticulture led to the grafting of thousands of mango varieties. Akbar is said to have planted a mango orchard of 100,000 trees aptly called Lakhi Bagh near Darbhanga in Bihar, while Jahangir and Shah Jahan created mango orchards in Lahore and Delhi. It is said that Aurangzeb sent many crates of mangoes to the Shah of Persia to secure support for his fight for the throne of Delhi.

Nehru conducted lessons

India’s first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, was known to give crates of mangoes to political leaders as a gift. He would also offer lessons in mango eating to foreign dignitaries. Western diplomats became so ecstatic with the taste of mangos that on one occasion, the fruit was responsible for a trade deal between the USA and India. It resulted in Indian mangoes going to the USA in exchange for Harley-Davidson motorbikes from the USA to India.

Mango as a political tool

Last year, the mango season for India began with a round of political gamesmanship. After Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief, Arvind Kejriwal, was imprisoned over corruption charges, news emerged that the diabetic Kejriwal was ‘secretly’ increasing his sugar levels by eating mangoes sent from his home.

The result was widespread debates on television channels about the sugar content in mangoes. News channels, with the help of well-informed as well as ill-informed people from the fields of medicine and horticulture, extensively discussed Kejriwal’s mango consumption. No fruit has ever received better pre-season marketing than the mango did on that occasion.

Pakistan gifted mangoes to Mao

In 1968, Pakistan’s foreign minister, Mian Arshad Hussain, presented crates of Sindhri mangoes to Chairman Mao Zedong of China. At the time, China was witnessing an intense cultural revolution because of Mao’s policies. But instead of eating the mangoes himself, Mao sent the fruits to workers stationed at Tsinghua University. His refusal to eat the fruit himself was publicized as a great sacrifice by the leader for the benefit of his toiling workers.

At the time, very few people in that region of China knew what mangoes were. That led to many workers developing an awe for the fruit. They began to compare mangoes to the Peaches of Immortality that were mentioned in Chinese mythology. The mangoes were preserved using chemicals and were displayed in various Chinese universities. Workers soon began to venerate wax models of mangoes and parade them around the country.

Punished for insulting mango

But one dentist by the name of Dr. Han Guangdi saw the mango and said it was nothing special. It is no better than sweet potato, he said. For daring to insult the fruit, he was put on trial for malicious slander, found guilty, and paraded publicly throughout the town. The incident was reported in the Daily Telegraph. Hence, the Pakistani mangoes were preserved and displayed to mark solidarity between China and Pakistan.

But gone are the days when only kings and noblemen were privileged enough to eat mangoes. Nowadays, everyone can eat it, and it is available in plenty. It is the national fruit of India, Bangladesh, and the Philippines. But in the course of world history, the King of Fruits played a role in international trade and politics and was accorded a royal status everywhere it went.