Dalit author and activist Dr Kancha Ilaiah is used to making controversial, no-holds-barred statements. His recently launched book Post-Hindu India: A Discourse in Dalit-Bahujan, Socio-Spiritual and Scientific Revolution lives up to that reputation. In the book, Ilaiah predicts an inevitable civil war between the Hindu upper castes and the Dalit Bahujan community across spiritual, social and political spheres. “Symptoms of civil war are all over India. The Dalit Bahujan community wants more space in our society. They want equality,” says Ilaiah. “Dalit Bahujans are called Hindus. But are they really Hindus? How can they really belong to that religion when it does not give them the right to become priests or enter its most revered places of worship. Dalit Bahujans have had enough of this spiritual fascism.” Ilaiah’s book was launched at New Delhi’s India Habitat Centre. The occasion brought together many Dalit activists, campaigners and politicians. A panel discussion on their struggle for equality was organised jointly by Sage and the Dalit Freedom Network, a human rights organisation that supports the Dalit Bahujan cause for religious freedom, social justice and economic empowerment. “That Dalits feel marginalised was evident even at a book launch like this attended by accomplished members of their community. Somebody came up to me in tears because he said he could not believe a book written by a Dalit man was being released in a place like the Habitat Centre. Why should I have to face the tears of my people even at a joyous moment,” Ilaiah wonders. In the 340-page book, Ilaiah critiques the intellectual contribution of the dominant upper castes and postulates that Hinduism, as a religion, has blunted the country’s innovative skills. He theorises that scientific discovery stagnated in India because Hinduism put barriers between spirituality and occupation. “We only have borrowed science. Our scientists are really just skilled workers. Scientific inquiry can flourish only in societies where these tasks are believed to be the tasks of God. Hinduism does not allow that. It views production as pollution.” A professor at Osmania University in Hyderabad, Ilaiah won the prestigious London Institute of South Asia (LISA) Award for 2008 for his book “Why I Am Not a Hindu”. He is unafraid to label himself “anti-Hindu”, and accuses the religion of being in a time warp. “I want this book to get the frozen Hindu mind out of the freezer. Christianity undergoes reform battles so often. Islam has a huge reform battle raging right now. Authors like Salman Rushdie and Taslima Nasreen are soldiers of that struggle. But, there is no discourse on reform in Hinduism.” His writings are often accused of rabble-rousing and war-mongering, but Ilaiah believes revolutions and civil wars are at times imperative for bringing in a new era. IHe says the Hindu upper castes and classes need to lead reconciliation attempts. “I appeal to them to come forward and re-negotiate all our relationships. I invite them to engage with us. People who have been made subservient for 3,000 years should not be expected to effect change.”
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Disclaimer The views expressed here are strictly personal and civilsocietyonline.com does not necessarily subscribe to them. We shall endeavour to upload/publish as many of the comments that are submitted as possible within a reasonable span of time, but we do not guarantee that all comments that are submitted will be uploaded/published. Messages that harass, abuse or threaten other members; have obscene, unlawful, defamatory, libellous, hateful, or otherwise objectionable content; or have spam, commercial or advertising content or links are liable to be removed by the editors. We also reserve the right to edit the comments that do get published. Please do not post any private information unless you want it to be available publicly. Your feedback on this story... India, indeed, has suffered immensely on all fronts on account of caste divisions exploited by the so called upper castes. People discriminating or exploiting the lower castes are not really Hindus but enemies of their own faith. In fact the way such people have discriminated with even upper caste widows, including child widows, has no parallels elsewhere. Hinduism is urgenly in need of a transformation so that all its followers are treated equally. Can this great and liberal religion rise to the need of the hour. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ by :alex morgan On : 1/20/2010 2:29:03 PM This is a realistic veiw of the problem that ibndia faces with the dominance of the Hindu caste system. I have been to India in 2009 to look into the situation from ground level and i was shocked at the appalling conditions and attitudes to sub-caste people (of which Dalits comprise a very large majority). I am active in campaigning against injustice and DFN UK has been recently formed to actively raise awarness in the UK of the Dalit issue. We are committed to bringing an end to thousands of years of injustice and degredation of Dalits and their more recent trafficking into prostituition through religeous practices, which they are refused in every day life. Apatheid in India is practised, but hidden as the caste system is officially and legally not functioning as it did, but in practiced largely undercover and openly in some places. I praise the author for his undaunting efforts to raise this issue nationally and Internationally. I fear from listening to people in India that there is a steady decline towards civil war, and hope the Indian government not only listens but puts into practice the outlawed segregation of people at local government level, where politicians, law enforcement and others assist in the subjugation of low caste people and their right to religeous practice, political and employment opportunities, as a basic human right. If this is not fully granted and excercised then India is going to decline into civil unrest at a time where she is enjoying economic growth. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ |
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