India since independence has never been free of religious tensions. Even after Muslims were given their own state of Pakistan in 1947, religious pluralism characterized India’s population: Today it is composed of approximately 83 percent Hindus, 11 percent Muslims, 2.6 percent Christians, slightly over 1 percent Sikhs, and smaller numbers of Jains, Parsis, and Buddhists. None of these groups has been completely satisfied with India’s constitution, which states that India is a secular state with partiality toward no religious group. Many Hindus are convinced the government bends over backward to protect Muslims and Sikhs; Muslims and Sikhs, conversely, are equally certain that the government panders to Hindus. In the early 1980s religious tensions intensified as Muslims began to make converts among low-caste Hindus in the south, Sikhs agitated for an independent Punjab, and Hindus organized their own political party, the Bharatiya Janata (Indian’s People’s Party), or BJP, whose goal was the “Hinduization” of India. Founded in 1982, the BJP increased its representation in parliament from two members in 1984 to 185 in 1996, fifty more than that of the Congress Party, which had enjoyed a parliamentary majority in all but four years since 1947.An important spokesman for Hindu nationalism and the BJP before his death in 1993 was the journalist Girilal Jain, who was editor-in-chief of the New Delhi Times of India between 1978 and 1988. Born into a poor rural family in 1922 and educated at Delhi University, Jain was jailed by the British during the 1942 Quit India campaign. As a journalist he was best known for his impassioned support of Indira Gandhi, prime minister from 1966 to 1970 and 1980 to 1984. During the 19080s he was drawn to Hindu nationalism and the BJP.
The editorials that I would like you to read (you can read them by clicking here) were written in 1990, when Hindu-Muslim tensions were peaking over the Babri mosque in the city of Ayodhya, built in the sixteenth century on the site of a Hindu temple believed to be the birthplace of the Hindu god-king Ram. Hindus demanded the destruction of the mosque, which was no longer used, so a temple in honor of Ram could be built. In December 1992, Hindus stormed the mosque and destroyed it, precipitating a government crisis and causing violence that took the lives of thousands. The government, with its commitment to religious pluralism and democracy, survived, but religious tensions remained high.
After reading the editorials, I would like you to think about and discuss the following: What are the reasons for Jain’s disenchantment with India’s government? What does Jain mean when he says that the issues that concern the BJP have to do with “civilization,” not religion? How does Jain define the West? How does he view the West’s role in Indian history? Why, according to Jain, is the controversy over the Ayodhya mosque so significant for India’s future? In Jain’s viewpoint, why have the Muslims been satisfied to go along with the secularist policies of the Indian state? What is Jain’s vision of India’s future?
9 comments:
Jain basically says that the "civilization" is what is really cuasing the conflict and not necessarily religion. He says that the real resaon for this is the fact that the HIndus want to renew their civilization and state...which the BRitisg created. He sees the west as something that i think had a huge impact on both religions. I think Jain sees the future of India to be succesful if only both religions work together and work out their differences.
in this document i see the battle of religious versus secular values. it says that the hindu population is rising up and voicing their opinions. the west has defined india in so many ways. the customs and the general nature of indians has become western and indian culture has been pushed aside by the government secularist. the doc says that indians are battling the u.s./soviet policies. i'm not really sure how to phrase it, but this document definitely gave me a clearer idea of india's cultural and state battles.
the viewpoint is more of the fact that the tensions between relligions are civilization based, not just off the religion itself. He says India needs to reform the society that the British instilled. I loved his closing lines- "A new order is waiting to be conceived
and born. It needs a mother as well as a
mid-wife." so simple yet so powerful!
Jain thinks that the future of India can be bright it if the two religions can learn to work together. He also said that the west has an impact on them. The hindu population is raising there voice and opinions.
He says that the Hindu fight is not with Muslims, but is between Hindus anxious to renew themselves in the spirit of their civilization. He also says that India has been a battleground between civilizations 1)Hindus & Islamic for over a thousand years and 2)Hindu, Muslim, & Western for over two hundred years. Well no wonder there is so much war over there. This stalemate is the "root of the crisis of identity". He also states that the Indian state has been far from neutral in civilization terms, so that adds another reason to the war.
he seems optimistic that the two sides can learn from each other and grow, and that more and more of the people are standing up and voicing opinions. he sees that society and civilization has created the differences and strife between the religions, and that that's really what the struggle is about. the two religions are really not meant to fight one another, instead they should work out their differences like civilized people, even though civilization is what created the need for struggle.
Jain believes that the religions aren't against one another. He said it was nothing but a stalemate because no one religion could oppress the others long enough to do that. He wants the Hindus to rebuild themselves and not in a secular way. He seems to be saying that the identity crisis is from the secular based government because all they have interest in is themselves.
Jain seems to think that the religions should not fight amongst themselves, they should try to fix relations among themselves first. He believes that India will become more balanced and unified when the religions work out the differences between each other. Jain also backs up his argument with stressing the need to stay with Indian culture and stay away from Western culture.
Jain seems to have issues having the state and religion agree. It is almost as if he sees them as two separate things that can survive without the other. Though he clearly stated that he (Hindus) have no fight, but then clearly stated that it is a pity that the Muslims are allowing themselves to be misused. Also, he states that India has been a battle ground for Hindus and Muslims for “well over a thousand years.” He seems to be able to accept Islam, and has true issues with westernization. Also he seems to thinks that there is a better way coming, but it isn’t “here” yet.
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