By: Shreepal Singh
As Christians or Muslims are communities bound by their common interests, so are Hindus in India a community bound by their common interests. It is a commonsense hard fact, which needs no proof. All the laws put together, along with Constitution of India, cannot nulify this fact. This fact is founded on the science – the science of psychology and of biology. Humans as individuals and as communities formed by these individuals, which are bound by their common interests, they are driven by basic instinct – the instinct to survive and dominate in the inter se struggle and competition among them.
It is not necessary that such common interests binding a community are always in harmony with the rival interests of another community of people. Rather, more often, they clash with each other. In India it is particularly so. India is a house to multitude of rival communities with conflicting ideals and interests. It looks poetical and charming to declare a unity in diversity but it becomes bitter to identify and point out a diversity.
Though communities are formed of individuals but fortunately individuals are independent units. Individuals are guided by their own interests, perceptions and circumstances and based on those considerations they tend to migrate from one community to another and change sides. This creates a sort of equlibrium and homogenity in an otherwise rift-torn society of any country.
In India, there are many communities bound by their religion – Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists (which are all Indic faiths), Muslims, Christians, Parsees, Bahais and Jews (which are Abrahmic in their origin). Out of all these religious communities, none except Muslims and Christians seek conversion of persons belonging to other faiths to their own faith. At this time, Hindus are in majority in India but as they do not seek conversion of others – and these two other religions seek and actively work to convert from others – Hindu are going to become less and less in the course of time. Statics show that, in fact, the percentage of the population of Hindus in India in comparison to these two religious communities has been steadily going down since 1947. It would not be wrong to label these two communities as the predetory ones.
But despite following an active program to convert others to one’s own faith, it is not necessary that such other individuals would be willing and ready to so convert themselves. This is the age of knowledge and people are intelligent and educated. People in India have freedom of conscience guaranteed by its constitution. They would prefer to choose and migrate to other faiths dictated by their intelligence.
One may say that, perhaps, Hinduism is intellectually the most appealing faith and very many people – Indians and non-Indians both – feel eager to join Hindu way of life and beliefs. But Hinduism has a problem here – this problem is not the intellectual one but of the selfish and petty vested interests of the so-called higher castes of Hindus, particularly Brahmins and Kshtriyas.
Hindus’ religious leaders – who traditionally come from Brahmin caste – love to inherit their alleged superior caste by birth as against allocated to them on the consideration of their Karmas (vocation). Any new immegrant to Hindu faith from other – and rival – faiths face the toughest problem of finding his caste in the new faith. A new entrant finds that here in Hinduism surnames, suffixes and prefixes are inherited by birth and recognised in Hindu society. This practice stinks and puts off the new immegrant. He or she finds that this Hinduism – its sacred books and its religious leaders – preach that a caste is determined by one’s Karma or avocation but practice it in the reverse direction by making a caste inheritable by birth. He or she finds that even within the Hindu community itself, a supposedly lower caste member cannot get promoted to a supposedly higher caste, to which he or she may be entitled because of his or her ‘Karma’ or avocation – simply because castes in today’s Hindus are not allocated based on one’s avocation but are inherited by birth. In his or her eyes Hinduism becomes a mere hypocrisy. Because of this hypocricy, not only the willing new entrants to Hindu fold are put off in their new-found love for Hinduism, but even within the Hindu community itself an exodus of supposedly lower caste people to other faiths takes place in large number, which inflicts a mortal blow to the numerical superiority of Hindus in Hindustan.
This Hindu India has already suffered such mortal blows in North-eastern States, Kerala, South India States and in other places. For the great exodus of the so-called lower caste people from Hindu fold to Christian or Muslim faiths, these faiths cannot be blamed so much as Hindus themselves. Whatever Christians or Muslims are doing to convert Hindus to their faiths, is understandable – they are serving the interests of their religions. Much blame is laid at the door of the Hindus themselves; they have virtually closed their doors for the new entrants and opened their doors for leaving some of their members.
Caste by birth is a death-trap for Hindus in India. The world is moving very fast in 21st century and Hindus cannot afford any longer to do what they have been doing for thousands of years – inheriting castes by birth.
Hindus have almost already lost North-East India, South India, Kerala etc. and they are on the fast spree to lose their Hindu India bit by bit, because they refuse to outlaw the allocation of caste by birth. This vice – the death-trap of Hindus – is also reflected in the ‘Law of the Land’, i.e. Constitution of India. If any one defect in this Constitution is found, it is: Caste in India is a reality and the Constitution dles not recognize this reality. Abolition of Castes on paper is one thing and recognizing Castes and reforming them is another thing.
How can this situation be remedied? Is there any way out of this sorry state of affairs aflicting the Hindu community for thousands of years? Here is a proposal. It is a program of ‘Citizens’ Initiative for Hindu Caste Reform’. It is proposed this way. Is anybody listening?
A draft concept paper:
A Hindu Castes Commission should be LEGALLY constituted. It should be a widest group of highly respected Brahmins:
Hindu Castes Commission:
THIS COMMISSION SHOULD BE CONSTITUTED BY HAVING ONE REPRESENTATIVE EACH FROM THE HINDU ESTB. ORGS OF BRAHMINS. THE SUGGESTED LIST IS:
1) 5 shankaracharyas
2) Kashi temple representative
3) Mathura temple representative
4) Ayodhya temple representative
5) All famous temples representatives
6) Jytotirlingas
7) All Akharas
(Number of members may be 100, 500 or 1000. The function of this Commission will be to issue):
Karma Caste Certificate: (KCC)
Basic rules:
- Caste is equivalent to Varna and will be only four in number.
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Caste is accepted a valid social division.
3. Caste is determined by Karma and not by Birth and liable to be changed several times in one’s life depending on the times one makes changes in his or her vocation.
4. Entry and expulsion from one caste of Sanatan Dharma into another caste is applicable to all persons following this Dharma.
5. Entry into Sanatan Dharma from any other religion, whether originating out of the Indic faiths or of the Abrahamic faiths, is open to all.
6. Caste confers benefits of social status but not any legal benefits.
7. Holding of a particular caste will only be testified by a certificate issued by the Hindu Castes Commission.
8. Putting a surname, suffix or prefix denoting a caste of Sanatan Dharma by any person to his name shall be a crime pùnishable by law, except using a caste denoting surname as granted by the the Commission.
9. Holder of a Caste Cerificate shall be subject to certain duties and obligations and confer certain privileges on that person.
10. The Caste Certificate shall be based on one’s Karma or avocation only and not by virtue of being born in his or her parents’ family.
11. The Caste Certificate shall be issued by the Commission to a person after passing a simple test of “Dos and Dont’s” assigned by Dharmic shashtras for that Caste.
12. Benefits of certificate: Social expectation and status; social respect; privileges; duties and rights.
13. Caste Handbook for Hindus and Rules for Hindu Castes Commission will be prepared.