How to protect and strengthen India’s amazing cultural diversity

An aerial shot of the 2019 Prayagraj (Allahabad) Kumbh Mela. Source: Kumbh: A Meeting Ground | INDIAN CULTURE

“India is merely a geographical expression. It is no more a single country than the Equator”

— Winston Churchill (Tharoor 2006)

The above quote of the former two-time British Prime Minister, who was known for his intense dislike of India and Indians that bordered on hatred, can evoke different kinds of emotions in different people.

Some may feel angry, somewhat justifiably so, connecting his disdain for the idea of India with his criminal inaction in containing the Bengal famine of 1943 which resulted in up to 3 million deaths (Sen 1981). It has been argued that his animosity against India had in them the seeds of one of the relatively undervalued but worst violations of human rights in the history of humanity (Mishra 2019 and Mukerjee 2011). Even the brutal repression of the Quit India movement of 1942 (Bhavnani 2014), when British fighter aircraft were horrifyingly used to fire on unarmed crowds, can trace its ideation to Churchill’s abhorrence of India and Indians.

“I hate Indians. They are a beastly people with a beastly religion.”

— Winston Churchill (Guha 2018)

Indeed, examples abound in history, where the detestation of a people by a powerful person or a group of powerful people, has led to the most tragic genocides in human history. The Holocaust during World War II, the massacres during the Japanese occupation of China between 1937 to 1945, the Tutsi massacre in Rwanda during the summer of 1994, as well as the Bengal famine of 1943 are some of the most horrific recent examples.

These tragedies convey the absolutely critical necessity of actively sensitizing citizens to be not only tolerant, not only accepting, but welcoming of diversity in all its varied forms. This is quite important for all countries and citizenry throughout the world, but it assumes a far greater significance in a country like India, with its legendary, almost unbelievable diversity.

“No other country in the world embraces the extraordinary mixture of ethnic groups, the profusion of mutually incomprehensible languages, the varieties of topography and climate, the diversity of religions and cultural practices, and the range of levels of economic development that India does.”

— Shashi Tharoor (Tharoor 2011)

To me, Churchill’s loathing of India has always been a source of much amusement. It is symptomatic of how little, even lifelong learners like Churchill, a 1953 Nobel Laureate in Literature awarded “for his mastery of historical and biographical description” (NobelPrize.org 2019), were able to understand India.

What, then, is India? The question may seem naïve, for every nation and every people in the world are a product of long and convoluted histories, complex cultural interactions and even the local geography and climatic conditions. And yet, the bewilderment called India is clearly special and unique, even to a cursory look.

For one, the structure and organization of Indian society is by far the most complex in the world, not in small measure due to the diversity of thousands of Jaati. Each of the Jaati have their own traditions, customs, and knowledge systems uniquely developed and enriched over thousands of years.

Contrary to the popular conception, the Jaati do not yield to rigid hierarchical structures; rather they are dynamic, fluid, diverse constructs of Indian society with their roles depending on the social, historical and geographical contexts (Dirks 1992 and Dirks 2001). As an example, members of the Naaee Jaati could take the role of barber in some social setting, while be worshiped in another social setting.

A large number of Jaati have been found to have their own elaborate legends and myths, identifying their unique qualities over other Jaati, and thus becoming a source of pride (Michelutti 2004 and Narayan 2004). Tellingly, such legends and myths establishing identity and pride also abound in the so-called ‘backward’ Jaati (Michelutti 2004 and Narayan 2004), thus sapping credence from the orthodox scholarly narrative of rigid and established hierarchy. Indeed, it has been found that the formalization of simple hierarchy among the Jaati was an invention of the British administration, borne out of convenience (Risley 1999, Dirks 1992 and Dirks 2001).

People’s identification with their Jaati was so strong that it was retained even across religious conversions, a phenomenon unique to India. Thus, the system of Jaati remained established and continued to evolve even through numerous invasions and political, social and cultural upheavals.

What is the reason behind such highly complicated structures being found uniquely in the Indian society? An important factor towards this end, as we shall see, is the antiquity and continuity of the Indian civilization.

Archaeological, anthropological, and genetic studies in recent times have well established the antiquity of Indian civilization. Civilizational activities like agriculture, the domestication of animals, the art of ceramics, and even dentistry were found to have been practiced in the Indian subcontinent as early as 8th millenium BCE (Trigger 2007, Kennett 2006, Coppa 2006 and Wright 1990).

Archaeological studies in Bhirrana in Haryana (Dikshit 2013), Lahuradewa (Joseph 2018) and Jhusi (Renfrew 2014) in the Gangetic plains, and Mehrgarh in Balochistan (Coppa 2006), are adding to the increasing evidence that civilization in the Indo-Gangetic plains was at least as old as, and potentially even older than the Mesopotamian civilization, the erstwhile accepted ‘Cradle of Civilization’.

[It must be mentioned, however, that the phrase ‘Cradle of Civilization’ is a misnomer, since it is becoming clear in recent times that the activities of human beings that are normally associated with civilization, developed independently in different parts of the world at the end of the Last Glacial Maximum, the start of the Neolithic period, beginning about 12000 years before present (Trigger 2007, Kennett 2006 and Wright 1990).]

Early neolithic civilizations seem to have taken root quite independently in the following regions (Trigger 2007, Kennett 2006 and Wright 1990):

• Mesopotamia, on the banks of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers
• Indian subcontinent, on the banks of the Indus, the Ganga, and the Ghaggar-Hakra rivers
• Northern China, on the banks of the Yellow and the Yangtze rivers
• Mesoamerica

The thing that makes the Indian civilization unique, however, is that it is the only one that has continuously survived for more than 10,000 years, surviving all natural and human crisis and catastrophes.

It is well known that long periods of undisturbed biological evolution can give rise to a large number of exotic, unique, and complex symbiotic species and systems (as has been observed in Papua New Guinea, Madagascar, and Borneo — islands with some of the most ancient forests on Earth). Similarly, long periods of enduring societal evolution can also give rise to a large number of exotic, unique and complex social relationships, systems, identities, and customs. This is what has happened in India, the most ancient surviving civilization (of those discovered so far).

One of the many unique, interesting, and amusing results of this plethora of individual social identities is that, very few identifications, if any, can claim to be a majority in India. In other words, every individual with her various social identities is a part of many minorities.

This rich diversity has many positive implications. It has led India and Indians to be more tolerant and accepting of differences in ideas, tastes, cultures, customs, traditions, and languages.

As an example, whereas sexual non-conformity has been historically frowned upon in most parts of the world, transgenders have been worshipped in India. The Kaamasootra of Vaatsyaayana describes in detail a great diversity of sexual pleasures, including homosexuality, trans sex, and fellatio. Amazingly, it even refers to a sex worker as a ‘स्वैरिणी’ (Swaerinee), literally independent or liberated woman.

In another example, while Jews have been mistreated throughout most of the world, they have enjoyed an unblemished existence in India since ancient times, more than 2400 years ago (Weil 2006 and Weiss 2007).

In yet another example, more than 5000 Polish children refugees of World War II lived and flourished in India during the war years, being provided for by the Indian King Maharaja Jam Saheb Digvijaysinhji of Jamnagar, Gujarat, as well as other princes following in his footsteps, after the imperial Government of British India refused to accept them (Kowalska 2016 and Wójcicka 2019).

One cannot help but compare this gracious act with the plight of the Jewish refugees on the ship named MS St. Louis, who were refused entry into the United States and were returned back to Europe. Of the 936 passengers on the returned ship, 254 perished in the Holocaust, most of them being murdered in Nazi death camps (Miller 2010).

“In the U.S., diversity is a politically correct slogan. In India it is a historical fact. Much as we in the West may resent it, India has a lot to teach us when it comes to religious tolerance.”

— Gary Weiss (Weiss 2007)

India’s rich diversity has made Indians more tolerant and accepting; because when you have thousands of social entities in your society, adding a few more does not seem like a threat. However, unfortunately, this same diversity can sometimes lead to insecurity among the peoples.

Since almost every social identity in India is in a minority, in adverse circumstances, people can feel their identities being threatened. This has been seen time and again in the many religious riots, caste violence, violence for and against reservation for a particular community or communities, violence related to language and its perceived imposition, the long standing violence between the many communities in the Indian North-East, etc. Thus, the great diversity of India is an asset in all ways, as long as people do not feel insecure and threatened.

Luckily, we have a very simple and potent way around this. It is well known that human beings are sensitive with their identities, which encompasses all the things they identify with, be it language, culture, tradition, beliefs, country, community, history, geography, etc. Therefore, it is easy for humans to feel offended and threatened when they feel that a part of their identities is being devalued or undervalued.

However, at the same time, the reverse is also true. People can be very easily endeared by attempting to attach oneself to things they identify with. This should become a matter of policy and an article of faith for India. Even small actions to promote the identifying aspects of all peoples will go a long way in strengthening the social and political fabric of our nation.

What can be such small actions? Take the example of Navodaya Vidyalaya student exchange program. In this program, 30% students of each of the about 600 Navodaya Vidyalaya schools throughout the country are sent to another linguistic region for one year. Furthermore, the language of that other region is taught as a third language in the original Navodaya Vidyalaya. Similarly, the pairing of states under the एक भारत श्रेष्ठ भारत (Ek Bharat Shrestha Bharat) initiative of the Government of India is also an excellent step in this direction. Even such simple initiatives go a long way in bringing about national integration, since they directly appeal to people’s sense of identity.

A master of the human mind, Mahatma Gandhi, understood the importance and value of such efforts. He urged all North Indians to learn at least one South Indian language while urging all South Indians to learn Hindi. He tried to learn Tamil, Telugu and Urdu himself (Gandhi 2019). Acharya Vinoba Bhave, inspired by Gandhi ji, developed an excellent command over several Indian languages including Marathi, Kannada, Gujarati, Hindi, Urdu, English, Sanskrit, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, etc.

Gandhi ji urged interfaith observation of festivals at the Naee Taaleem school at Tolstoy farm in South Africa. Hindu students were encouraged to fast in the month of Ramzan, whereas Muslim students were encouraged to celebrate Diwali and other Hindu festivals. At his evening prayer meetings, which became a daily occurrence in the later part of his life, he made it a point to recite hymns from all major faiths.

A section of our society considers such actions as unnecessary or even insincere appeasement. They feel that such attempts at endearment are hollow since they don’t bring any material difference to the lives of any of the peoples. While being factually accurate, they overlook another fact that the quality of lives of human beings depend much more on their emotional states rather than their material states. Such small actions of inclusion, while being materially indifferent, are emotionally potent. Hence, they should be adopted by individuals, groups, and Governments to inculcate a sense of mutual affinity and respect, and thus, national integration.

This is as much a responsibility of individuals as that of Governments. Acts like speaking a few, broken words of another’s language, referring to literature of another’s faith, recalling an event of another’s history, reading about and celebrating another’s heroes, remembering and wishing on another’s festivals: such small actions require little effort, but go a long way in strengthening the national character and identity.

References

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