Hinduism is riddled with caste and the dynamics it enforces on its members. Untouchability is banned by law, but we know it still exists openly in some isolated places and secretly in the minds of most of us, to be frank. When the issue of marriage crops up, a partner is invariably to be found from one's own caste. And, some even select their friends from the same caste. Thus we say, Hinduism is split into compartments made water-tight by the injunctions of caste dynamics.
As I remarked before, if one were asked in the future to list out reasons why Hinduism failed and disappeared, caste will be the numero-uno item in that list. It debilitates the body social, splits people unnecessarily on an imaginary criterion and sows dissent. It seems like the withered trunk of Hinduism needs only a shove for the entire tree to come down to a crash.
But still, the religion flourishes and even displays the skill of adaptation to new realities on the economic, social and political fronts. Isn't this a paradox?
The answer to this paradox came out in this general election in which Narendra Modi single-handedly lifted his party from oblivion and rode an unbelievable wave of popular support which silenced all critics and spellbound all opponents. And this, even after he publicly announced his backward caste origins at election rallies. But this was only an anti-climax, because he declared a fact which was known to everybody! We Indians have a sixth-sense of identifying a person's caste after a very few doses of interaction.
But the redeeming issue at focus is the acceptance of the leader, by all sections of the Hindu society. It didn't become an obstacles for the upper castes to vote for a lower caste leader. Every section of the society forgot their caste affiliations and shared a thought that was percolating through the social mind - whether justified or not. It is often said that "in democracy, people cast their votes, but in India, people vote their caste". This adage was proved false in this election, when all castes came in support of a lower-caste leader and to put him in the most powerful chair of the country.
May be this resilience in the face of a crying need is what instils Hinduism with its vitality and stamina to go strong in a changing world? There may be castes - thousands of them, in fact - but the ability to think and act out of the confines of it has not dried up in the Hindu mind.
And this sense of acceptance and accommodation makes me surprised pleasantly at the pragmatism of Indian society!
As I remarked before, if one were asked in the future to list out reasons why Hinduism failed and disappeared, caste will be the numero-uno item in that list. It debilitates the body social, splits people unnecessarily on an imaginary criterion and sows dissent. It seems like the withered trunk of Hinduism needs only a shove for the entire tree to come down to a crash.
But still, the religion flourishes and even displays the skill of adaptation to new realities on the economic, social and political fronts. Isn't this a paradox?
The answer to this paradox came out in this general election in which Narendra Modi single-handedly lifted his party from oblivion and rode an unbelievable wave of popular support which silenced all critics and spellbound all opponents. And this, even after he publicly announced his backward caste origins at election rallies. But this was only an anti-climax, because he declared a fact which was known to everybody! We Indians have a sixth-sense of identifying a person's caste after a very few doses of interaction.
But the redeeming issue at focus is the acceptance of the leader, by all sections of the Hindu society. It didn't become an obstacles for the upper castes to vote for a lower caste leader. Every section of the society forgot their caste affiliations and shared a thought that was percolating through the social mind - whether justified or not. It is often said that "in democracy, people cast their votes, but in India, people vote their caste". This adage was proved false in this election, when all castes came in support of a lower-caste leader and to put him in the most powerful chair of the country.
May be this resilience in the face of a crying need is what instils Hinduism with its vitality and stamina to go strong in a changing world? There may be castes - thousands of them, in fact - but the ability to think and act out of the confines of it has not dried up in the Hindu mind.
And this sense of acceptance and accommodation makes me surprised pleasantly at the pragmatism of Indian society!
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