ELECTIONS '98
COMMENTARY
SPECIALS
INTERVIEWS
CAPITAL BUZZ
REDIFF POLL
DEAR REDIFF
THE STATES
YEH HAI INDIA!
ARCHIVES

Why do these Hindu groups always seek to turn India into a Hindu Pakistan?

The Vishwa Hindu Parishad has demanded that all conversions be banned, that missionary activities be abolished. By seeking to ban conversions, the VHP is assuming that the tribals are a dumb poor lot who lack the intelligence to make rational choices themselves, that they leave Hinduism because the missionaries trick or bribe them. This is Brahminical thinking of the worst kind similar to the days when Brahmins laid down all the rules for the entire society.

Indian laws ban forcible or induced conversions and such cases must be prosecuted and punished. That is the job of the State. No doubt a few countries like Pakistan and Saudi Arabia don't allow conversions. But then good, mature democracies such as UK and US do allow it. So who's our example? Why do these Hindu groups always seek to turn India into a Hindu Pakistan?

Years ago, Brahmins told the lower castes what they could do and not do, and laid down every law of society, to their advantage and other Hindus disadvantage. Today, the same Brahmins are now telling the tribals that they will henceforth have no right to convert. Is he to suffer damnation at the hands of the upper castes forever and ever? This is most dangerous and utterly wrong. If the VHP really has guts, why don't they take on the missionaries and spread Hinduism? Why doesn't the VHP change the thinking and prejudice of the upper castes? Is it because the VHP knows it really cannot succeed in these twin tasks?

In 1981, a group of dalits in Meenakshipuram, Tamil Nadu, converted to Islam declaring that they were fed up of being mistreated by the dominant Thevar (a caste group above the Dalits; Thevar-Dalit riots still continue with sickening regularity). Please remember that the dalits who converted were not among the poorest of the poor; on the contrary they were above the poverty levels, were literate, and had jobs. But they converted because they hated being treated as second class citizens (just like Indians hate being treated so in Western countries).

Two weeks ago, a leading newspaper carried a report on the Meenakshipuram Dalits who had converted. They all declared that after conversion, no Thevar had dared to attack or misbehave with them, that after conversion they got the respect which they never got as Dalits. And, of course, there was the added bonus that some of them even got jobs in the Middle East. But no one had converted for want of a job; they did for want of respect. The respect that other Hindus don't give the dalits (and tribals).

Journalist P Sainath is currently writing a book on the plight of Dalits and tribals in India, 50 years after Independence. Excerpts from the book have been carried in newspapers and they make bloodcurdling reading. Sample just a few that I recall from memory:

· In south India, tea stalls keep two glasses, one for the Dalits and one for all others (upper caste Hindus, Muslims, etc. Please note that upper caste Hindus and Muslims are treated alike, but not Hindus of different castes);

· In villages in Uttar Pradesh, when a Dalit bridgegroom rode a horse to the wedding hall, upper caste boys beat him up for having the audacity to carry out an upper caste practise (riding a horse). The poor groom was forced to walk, signifying his lowly status (would they dare to attack Muslims?);

· A Dalit woman sarpanch, who hoisted the Indian flag on Independence Day last year was stripped naked and paraded through the village in Madhya Pradesh for doing her duty as an Indian. Incidentally, tales of Dalit women being stripped naked and paraded are endless, the practice showing no end.

Await Sainath's book for more. What has the VHP and its allied organisations done to stop all this? Have they ensured that upper caste culprits are punished and such crimes stopped? And if such upper caste persons do not want Dalits (and tribals) to be Hindus equal with them, why should the Dalits and tribals remain Hindus at all?

The VHP lamely claims it is working to eradicate the caste system. But they are just not working hard enough. The VHP says it has set up 10,000 schools, but the need is 10 million. In today's fast paced world, no individual will await another birth or 10 years for salvation: he wants it here and now. And if Hinduism cannot give that, too bad, there are other religions.

When the VHP reconverted the tribal people in the Dangs to Hinduism, it made them go through a purification ceremony. This involved making the tribal bathe in a hot spring and recite the Hanuman Chalisa (copies of which were handed out). Frankly, this effort stinks of casteism.

Why could not the VHP have done the upanayan ceremony and invested the tribals with a sacred thread (the mark of Hinduism)? Is it because the sacred thread is only for the so-called upper castes? Are tribals always only half Hindus and low caste? This is why the VHP is doomed to fail, why Hinduism is unable to wipe out the horrendous blight of casteism. Because the Brahmins in the VHP and RSS simply cannot bring themselves to give up their own prejudices and treat all equally.

Let us clearly recognise one fact. If Hinduism is to remain a religion for the Brahmins and upper castes, then no one else will want to be part of it. Today tribals and Dalits are leaving, tomorrow other so-called lower castes will follow suit. If ever all lower castes become part of another faith, the upper castes are doomed.

To stop conversion, Hinduism has to reform radically. In fact, the need of the day is for a Hindu Revolution that will prioritise equality and introduce pathbreaking changes: Some that some come to mind:

· Abolish the idea of creation that states that Brahmins came from Brahma's mouth, Kshatriyas from the arms, Vaishyas from the thighs and Sudras from the feet. Instead, say all humans are created equally by the grace of the Parmeshwar (which is what Hindu philosophy says anyway);

· Destroy, or at least redo, the concept of rebirth, especially the nonsense that salvation is in the next birth and that only upper castes are twice-born (that is, they alone were born as humans in their last birth whereas the lower castes were non-humans!). Instead, say all are born twice or once, do the thread ceremony equally to all (at present, different castes wear different threads). In fact, ensure that all rituals and prayers are equal and not different in terms of length and sacredness for different castes;

· Let us every Dussera, when we celebrate the victory of good over evil, also celebrate the destruction of the Manusmriti, the worst book of the Hindus, which perpetuated and strengthened the caste system;

· Let all those who seek to become temple pujaris be part of a Sangh where they are taught Bhakti songs, the Vedas, Hindu philosophy and religion, and the concept of equality, liberty, fraternity and justice. Everyone here must also learn to do labour, including cleaning toilets so that all notions of pure and impure, high and low, are removed. In fact, the pujari should be seen as a friend and source of guidance rather than an exploiter (which is how they are perceived today);

· In addition, let prayers be said in the native language (rather than Sanskrit) so the Sangh is more democratic and open (remember, Hinduism spread when its greatest saints spoke in the local language of the people, you cannot teach Hinduism to a Santhal unless you speak Santhali);

· Temples must practise the langar (feeding all irrespective of caste). More important, let the cooks also be of all castes. Also, replace the idea of feeding Brahmins (for salvation) to feeding Hindus.

Suggestions are most welcome.

The VHP and other Hindu organisations must realise that to spread the faith, you need people from the background that you are working among. Despite racism and apartheid, Christianity spread among the Blacks simply because there were a sufficient number of black priests who could soothe and preach. These black priests in turn were initiated by white Christians committed to the religion.

Hinduism has the great example of the Bhakti movement that swept across the country and among all castes, especially the lower. Unfortunately, the VHP seeks Brahminical and ritualisic Hinduism rather than the bhakti king. The VHP would do well to revive bhakti propagation in India. Also, to win over the tribals, there must be tribal Hindus spreading the word, conducting ceremonies, singing bhakti songs and prayers all in the languages of the tribals.

Religion alone, of course, is not the answer. Along with is needed progress in all the facets of life, and helping tribals face the moneylender, landlord and forest contractor who have reduced them to slaves. Alas, it is here that the VHP faces trouble, because the moneylenders, landlords and contractors are usually Hindus and often VHP supporters. The VHP will have to choose between the two.

Amberish K Diwanji