Hinduism 101

Lesson 8: Current Status.

Some Current Issues.

The Ram Janmabhoomi Issue:

This is one of the most contentious issues in relations between the majority Hindus and minority Muslims of India. Ram Janmabhoomi means the “Birthplace of Rama”.

Ramachandra, the seventh avatar of Vishnu, reigned in the Kingdom of Ayodhya, a place still distinguishable within the State of Uttar Pradesh in modern India. Within the small area that is signified as the avatar’s kingdom there is a special spot of land on which a very old Hindu temple stood. The temple was supposed to have been built on the very spot where Ramachandra was born. Unfortunately, in the 16th century Babar, who was the founder of the Great Mughal Empire, with proselytizing zeal, by his own accounts, had destroyed the temple and had a mosque built in its place.

Much later, after the fall of the Mughal Empire with the advent of the British in India, the Hindus began to consider possibilities of displacing the mosque and having their temple back on place in honor of their avatar and beloved Ramachandra. Negotiations did start with the Muslims in charge of the mosque and certain concerned Hindu groups but they failed to materialize any solution.

Nevertheless, the status quo was maintained for many years with the Hindus wanting their temple back and the Muslims half-heartedly willing to give way. India gained independence and time wore on and nothing much came of the discontent. It was a local issue tucked away in a corner of a large country like India. After the independence of India and Pakistan, with the mutual migration of Hindus from Pakistani areas to India and Muslims from Indian areas to Pakistan, certain Hindus placed idols and other religious artifacts near the mosque and started worshipping there. Ultimately, in the late 1980’s, the late Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, under intense pressure from Hindu groups associated with Hindutva, allowed worship within the mosque area.

There had always been pressure from Hindu extremist groups for breaking down the mosque forcibly. This terrible conception eventually materialized with rampant Hindu mobs tearing down the entire mosque in 1992. Even the foundations were not spared. The act flared off a series of communal riots across the country, especially in the city of Bombay (now Mumbai). Innumerable innocent lives, both Hindu and Muslim, were lost. The situation was brought under control by the Indian authorities with extreme difficulty and the site of the mosque was placed under control of the Supreme Court of India, the highest legal authority in India.

The Court set up a commission to explore possibilities of finding a solution to resolve the impasse between the two communities whereby both sides would be placated. It was proved by the Archaeological Survey of India, though controversially, that a Hindu temple had stood at the site of the mosque but this was mere academic fact for the Muslims wanted their mosque back while the Hindus wanted their temple in the same place. The Hindu side is led by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad while the Muslims are represented by the Babri Masjid Action Committee. The mosque was known as the Babri Masjid after Babar, its builder.

The situation fomented for many years till, in 2002, it flared up again when some volunteers of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, who had been to Ayodhya to help in work on building the temple, were burnt to death in the train carriage in which they were returning to their home town in the State of Gujarat. Riots broke out again in parts of the state and many Hindus and Muslims, who were larger in number among the dead because of their minority, died horrible deaths. Again the Indian authorities somehow stemmed the riots and brought the situation under control but the issue still fulminates beneath the surface of the national consciousness.

The Ram Janmabhoomi Issue has been the direct cause of over 10,000 deaths, most of them innocent and quite uninvolved in the issue, and it has become the top priority in India to resolve the issue competently so that the viability of India as a land of many religions is sustained. Rationalists from both sides, the Hindu and the Muslim, suggest that both a mosque and a temple be built side by side on the spot so that both communities are appeased. Such a solution has precedence most notably in Mathura, the birthplace of Lord Krishna, the eight avatar of Vishnu.

Hindutva:

Hindutva is a relatively new term coined in the 20th century by Vinayak Damodar Savarkar to define movements advocating Hindu Nationalism. It’s a right-wing movement that has recently attracted a lot of followers, including from the Hindu cognoscenti who had till then remained moderate. This attraction for the movement has been generated by what most followers believe is a slight to Hinduism in the form of the desecration of the Ram Janmabhoomi site and the supposedly unusual favor shown to minority religious communities in preference to the majority Hindus by the government in recent years.

In a recent judgment the Indian Supreme Court asserted that “no precise meaning can be ascribed to the terms “Hindu”, “Hindutva” and “Hinduism”” without taking into account the conglomeration of Indian culture and heritage. This is perfectly in rapport with this course which has throughout asserted that Hinduism is not only a religion but a way of life for its devotees.

Legal Definition of Hinduism:

In a 1966 ruling the Supreme Court of India defined Hinduism as a faith for legal purposes. The following points have been copied in toto from an article at the Wikipedia Free Encyclopedia for maintaining the exact legalese.

• Acceptance of the Vedas with reverence as the highest authority in religious and philosophic matters and acceptance with reverence of Vedas by Hindu thinkers and philosophers as the sole foundation of Hindu philosophy.
• Spirit of tolerance and willingness to understand and appreciate the opponent's point of view based on the realization that truth is many-sided.
• Acceptance of great world rhythm — vast periods of creation, maintenance and dissolution follow each other in endless succession — by all six systems of Hindu philosophy.
• Acceptance by all systems of Hindu philosophy of the belief in rebirth and pre-existence.
• Recognition of the fact that the means or ways to salvation are many.
• Realization of the truth that numbers of Gods to be worshiped may be large, yet there are Hindus who do not believe in the worshiping of idols.
• Unlike other religions, or religious creeds, Hindu religion's not being tied down to any definite set of philosophic concepts, as such.

Hindutva Central Beliefs:

The Hindutva Movement has some essentials beliefs which the followers adhere to for promoting their purpose of futhering the Hindu Nationalist Movement. These are:

• They define the homeland of the Hindus as the entire Indian Subcontinent comprised of the countires of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka and, sometimes, even Afghanistan.
• All religions originating from the subcontinent – Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism are parts of the same religion, namely, Hinduism. All followers of these faiths are in essence Hindus.
• An assertion that Hinduism originated entirely from the subcontinent. They discount the theory that the Aryans brought Hinduism from Central and Asia and propose that, instead, Hinduism traveled from the subcontinent to the Central Asian countries from which it was brought back by the Aryans. They propose that Hinduism was developed by the indegenous Indus Valley Civilization.
• The followers assert that Hindus have always been oppressed in their own land by foreign invaders like the Muslims and Christians.
• They also assert that the Hindu philosophy has been progressively weakened by British Colonial and Communistic thinking.
• They work towards a setting up of a Hindu State throughout the entire subcontinent to bring about a grand Hindu revival.

Hindutva Dissensions:

The followers of Hindutva maintain that the Indian legislation protecting the rights of minority groups like the Muslims and Christians and others are weighed heavily against the Hindus. They call the secularism of the Indian Republic Pseudo-secularism. They are in favor of a Uniform Civil Code under which there will be no disciminations based on religion.

Conclusion:

Hinduism has survived the turmoils of time for over 3500 years. It is still pre-eminent as the third most popular religion with over a billion followers. Its 3000 year old precepts are still being followed in this present 21st century when humankind is at the peak of civillized development. This is entirely because this unique religion has within its basic precepts a lasting quality which is undeniably true and, thus, imperishable. Whatever the momentary dissensions that run rifts within the religion Hinduism bounces back as is evidenced from its long historical vicissitudes. This course is an attempt to bring out this enduring quality within Hinduism and hold it up before students so that not only do they learn about the religion academically but that they are also presented with the opportunity to enhance their lifestyles both spiritually and materially through utilization of the pristine wisdom inherent within Hinduism. It does not matter what religion the student adheres to or not! Hinduism can benefit all who care enough to inquire and learn about it!

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