The Hindu : Rationalising Hindutva

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Mar 20, 2003

Opinion

Opinion - News Analysis

Rationalising Hindutva

By Ravikumar

M.S.S. Pandian, in his article "Policing Hinduism" (March 9), has argued that in the name of science and humanism Hindu reformists are critical of the rituals and cultural practices of the "lower castes". Mr. Pandian's contention is that even if its objectives were praiseworthy, such reformism would only enable the fascist forces to construct a monolithic Hinduism. Mr. Pandian, for whom the Brahmin/Non-Brahmin binary forms the crux of the argument, is righteously critical of the denial of entry to Non-Brahmins into the sanctums of brahminic temples.

But is he not aware that in the temples controlled and managed by Non-Brahmins in the villages of Tamil Nadu, where the priests too are Non-Brahmins, the Dalits cannot even stand near the temple gate forget entering the sanctum?

While on the one hand, Mr. Pandian ignores a few recent "social rituals" such as two Dalits in Thinniyam, Tiruchi, being forced to consume human excreta by Non-Brahmin Thevars, on the other, he appears brahmanical in equating beef-eating with Dalits ("the culinary culture of the Dalits"). What then of Muslims, Christians, Adivasis and others who consume beef?

The rituals that Mr. Pandian refers to in Peraiyur and Periyanaickenpalayam were performed by "backward" castes which are powerful and wield authority in the local area. Mr. Pandian tries to characterise them as victims by referring to them casually as "lower" castes.

However, he conveniently suppresses the fact that Dalits are excluded from these rituals. Those who have been critical of the rituals in Peraiyur and Periyanaickenpalayam are not "Hindu reformists". There are no Hindu reformists in Tamil Nadu. These incidents were first reported by the print media.

How did this turn into such sensational news? How did human rights groups get involved? Why did the State initiate action? There are no simple answers. Is it humanism and science that inspire a small-time reporter or is it the pressure to produce a scoop? The proliferation of Tamil media, the competition among them, the "commodification" of news, and the fact that human rights has today become a profession under the stewardship of NGOs are factors that have to be reckoned with. Ignoring these, Mr. Pandian constructs an ideological universe of his own.

Mr. Pandian's approach would not be acceptable even to the father of "unrepentant atheists", Periyar E.V. Ramasamy. Not only did Periyar reject Deepavali and Saraswati Puja, he also rejected the Mariamman-type festivals. Periyar would never have considered Melmaruvathur's Bangaru Adigalar as an alternative to Kanchi Math's Sankaracharya. The "unrepentant atheists" have opposed both the rituals that reinforce brahminic hegemony and rituals based on rural/"lower" caste people's beliefs. Their rationalism was founded on science and humanism.

Therefore, Mr. Pandian's critique is appropriate more to the unrepentant atheist than to the non-existent Hindu reformists. The rituals of the "lower" castes that Mr. Pandian refers to were labelled "barbaric" by these very atheists. Mr. Pandian's understanding of the Hindu Right's fascist agenda is simplistic. According to him, under the guise of brahminic religious practice, the Hindu Right attempts to construct a monolithic Hinduism.

A similar position obtains also in the political realm. It was believed that Hindutva would create a strong, centralised state that would not give scope for other voices. However, Hindutva has put together a coalition of several parties — unprecedented in political history — and continues to triumphantly manage it. Mr. Pandian conveniently forgets that some unrepentant atheists are part of such a coalition. The cultural realm hosts a similar narrative. Everybody from film stars to pageant beauties service Hindutva.

Hindutva is neither rigid nor monolithic as Mr. Pandian characterises it. It has emerged as an evil that is perverse, transparent and lucid and without morals. Such fascism cannot be traced even to Germany or Italy.

The rural/urban binary that Mr. Pandian constructs is equivalent to the caste/religion binary. However, he must realise that the religious Hindu and the caste Hindu are no different. Today's Hindutva is a manifestation of the coming together of these two forces. And thus "Mandal" dissolved into "Mandir".

Mr. Pandian points to the "stony silence" on brahminical religious practices. When he was Chief Minister, M. Karunanidhi, called Minister Andhiyur S. Selvaraj "barbaric" for having participated in a fire-walking ritual. However, he maintained a stony silence over the Speaker, P.T.R. Palanivelrajan's "bhakti" in sporting sacred ash and "kumkum". By Mr. Pandian's yardstick, Mr. Karunanidhi was wrong, and even brahminical, in his criticism of Mr. Selvaraj. Hindutva spokespersons had then attacked Mr. Karunanidhi for disrespecting Hinduism's religious beliefs. Mr. Pandian's position will only strengthen such Hindutva voices.

Merely by critiquing modernity, which is premised on science and humanism, one cannot become a post-modernist. It could also lead to an anti-modernist position, which Mr. Pandian seems to move towards, reminiscent of Ashis Nandy's position during the Roop Kanwar sati debate. Here, anti-modernism forms the content of the Hindu Right. And Mr. Pandian's argument veers there.

(The writer is a scholar-activist based in Pondicherry who has written several books in Tamil on caste and Dalit issues.)

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