Essays on Untouchables and Untouchability: Religious _______________________________________________________________
Contents
Chapter 1 : Away from the Hindus
Chapter 2 : Caste and conversion
Chapter 3 : Christianizing
the untouchables
Chapter 4 : The condition of the convert
Religious
(1) Hinduism as a Missionary Religion.
(2) Christianising the Untouchables.
(3) The Condition of the Convert.
(4) The Eternal Verity.
(5) The Untouchables and Their
Destiny. From these essays, Sr. Nos. 2 and 3 have been received from Shri S. S. Rege and Sr. No. I has
been found in our papers under the title ' Caste
and Conversion ', which was originally published in
the Telagu Samachar Special
No. of November 1926. One more typed essay entitled "Away from the Hindus ", which also deals with religious conversion of
the Untouchables, has been found and included in this Book. Rest of the titles
mentioned in the above scheme have not been found.)
AWAY FROM THE HINDUS
A large majority of Untouchables who have reached a capacity to think out their problem believe that one way to solve the problem of the Untouchables is for them to abandon Hinduism and be converted to some other religion. At a Conference of the Mahars held in Bombay on 31st May 1936 a resolution to this effect was unanimously passed. Although the Conference was a Conference of the Mahars1, the resolution had the support of a very large body of Untouchables throughout India. No resolution had created such a stir. The Hindu community was shaken to its foundation and curses imprecations and threats were uttered against the Untouchables who were behind this move.
Four principal objections have been urged by the
opponents against the conversion of the Untouchables:
(1) What can the Untouchables gain by
conversion? Conversion can make no change in the status of the Untouchables.
(2) All religions are true, all
religions are good. To change religion is a futility.
(3) The conversion of the Untouchables
is political in its nature.
(4) The conversion of the Untouchables
is not genuine as it is not based on faith.
It cannot take much argument to demonstrate that
the objections are puerile and inconsequential.
To take the last objection first. History abounds
with cases where conversion has taken place without any religious motive. What
was the
1[f1] The Conference was confined to Mahars
because the intention was to test the intensity of feeling communitywise and to
take soundings from each community.
The typed pages with Sr. Nos. from 279 to 342 have been found in this script which is titled as Chapter XX under the heading 'Away from the Hindus nature of its conversion of Clovis and his subjects to Christianity? How did Ethelbert and his Kentish subjects become Christians? Was there a religious motive which led them to accept the new religion? Speaking on the nature of conversions to Christianity that had taken place during the middle ages Rev. Reichel says:[f2]
" One after another the nations of
Europe are converted to the faith; their conversion is seen always to proceed
from above, never from below. Clovis yields to the bishop Remigius and forthwith he is followed by the Baptism
of 3,000 Franks. Ethelbert yields to the mission of Augustine and forthwith all
Kent follows his example; when his son Eadbald
apostatises, the men of Kent apostatise with him. Essex is finally won by the conversion of King Sigebert, who under the influence of another king, Oswy, allows himself to be baptised. Northumberland is
temporarily gained by the conversion of its king, Edwin, but falls away as soon
as Edwin is dead. It anew accepts the faith, when another king, Oswald,
promotes its diffusion. In the conversion of Germany, a bishop, Boniface, plays
a prominent part, in close connection with the princes of the country, Charles Martel and Pepin; the
latter, in return for his patronage receiving at Soissons
the Church's sanction to a violent act of usurpation. Denmark is gained by the
conversion of its kings, Herald Krag, Herald Blastand and Canute, Sweden by that of the two Olofs; and Russian, by the conversion of its
sovereign, Vladimir. Everywhere Christianity addresses itself first to kings and princes; everywhere the bishops and
abbots appear as its only representatives.
Nor was this all, for where a king had once been
gained, no obstacle by the Mediaeval missionaries to the immediate
indiscriminate baptism of his subjects. Three thousand warriors of Clovis
following the example of their king, were at once admitted to the sacred rite;
the subjects of Ethelbert were baptised in numbers after the conversion of
their prince, without preparation, and with hardly any instruction. The Germans
only were less hasty in following the example of others. In Russia, so great
was the number of those who crowded to be baptised after the baptism of
Vladimir, that the sacrament had to be administered to hundreds at a time."
History records cases where conversion has taken place as a result of
compulsion or deceit.
Today religion has become a piece of ancestral
property. It passes from father to son so does inheritance. What genuineness is
there in such cases of conversion? The conversion
of the Untouchables if it did take place would take after full deliberation of
the value of religion and the virtue of the different religions. How can such a
conversion be said to be not a genuine conversion? On the other hand, it would
be the first case in history of genuine conversion. It is therefore difficult to understand why the genuineness of the
conversion of the Untouchables should be doubted by anybody.
The third objection is an ill-considered
objection. What political gain will accrue to the Untouchables from their
conversion has been defined by nobody. If there is a political gain, nobody has
proved that it is a direct inducement to conversion.
The opponents of conversion do not even seem to
know that a distinction has to be made between a gain being a direct inducement
to conversion and its being only an incidental advantage. This distinction
cannot be said to be a distinction without a difference. Conversion may result
in a political gain to the Untouchables. It is only where a gain is a direct
inducement that conversion could be condemned as immoral or criminal. Unless
therefore the opponents of conversion prove that the conversion desired by the
Untouchables is for political gain and for nothing else their accusation is
baseless. If political gain is only an incidental gain then there is nothing
criminal in conversion. The fact, however, is that conversion can bring no new
political gain to the Untouchables. Under the constitutional law of India every
religious community has got the right to separate political safeguards. The
Untouchables in their present condition enjoy political rights similar to those
which are enjoyed by the Muslims and the Christians. If they change their faith
the change is not to bring into existence political rights which did not exist
before. If they do not change they will retain the political rights which they
have. Political gain has no connection with conversion. The charge is a wild
charge made without understanding.
The second objection rests on the premise that
all religions teach the same thing. It is from the premise that a conclusion is
drawn that since all religions teach the same thing there is no reason to
prefer one religion to other. It may be conceded that all religions agree in
holding that the meaning of life is to be found in the pursuit of ' good '. Up to this point
the validity of the premise may be conceded. But when the premise goes beyond
and asserts that because of this there is no reason to prefer one religion to
another it becomes a false premise.
Religions may be alike in that they all teach
that the meaning of life is to be found in the pursuit of ' good '. But
religions are not alike in their answers to the question 'What is good?' In this
they certainly differ. One religion holds that brotherhood is good, another
caste and untouchability is good.
There is another respect in which all religions
are not alike. Besides being an authority which defines what is good, religion
is a motive force for the promotion and spread of the '
good '. Are all religions agreed in the means and
methods they advocate for the promotion and spread of good? As pointed out by
Prof. Tiele[f3], religion is:
" One of the mightiest motors in the
history of mankind, which formed as well as tore asunder nations, united as
well as divided empires, which sanctioned the most atrocious and barbarous
deeds, the most libinous customs, inspired the most admirable acts of heroism, self renunciation, and
devotion, which occasioned the most sanguinary wars, rebellions and
persecutions, as well as brought about the freedom, happiness and peace of
nations—at one time a partisan of tyranny, at another breaking its chains, now
calling into existence and fostering a new and brilliant civilization, then the
deadly foe to progress, science and art."
Apart from these oscillations there are permanent
differences in the methods of promoting good as they conceive it. Are there not
religions which advocate violence ? Are there not
religions which advocate nonviolence ? Given these
facts how can it be said that all religions are the same and there is no reason
to prefer one to the other.
In raising the second objection the Hindu is
merely trying to avoid an examination of Hinduism on its merits. It is an
extraordinary thing that in the controversy over conversion not a single Hindu
has had the courage to challenge the Untouchables to say what is wrong with
Hinduism. The Hindu is merely taking shelter under the attitude generated by
the science of comparative religion. The science of comparative religion has
broken down the arrogant claims of all revealed religions that they alone are
true and all others which are not the results of revelation are false. That
revelation was too arbitrary, too capricious test to be accepted for
distinguishing a true religion from a false was undoubtedly a great service
which the science of comparative religion has rendered to the cause of
religion. But it must be said to the discredit of that science that it has
created the general impression that all religions are good and there is no use
and purpose in discriminating them.
The first objection is the only objection which
is worthy of serious consideration. The objection proceeds on the assumption
that religion is a purely personal matter between man and God. It is
supernatural. It has nothing to do with social. The argument is no doubt
sensible. But its foundations are quite false. At any rate, it is a one-sided view
of religion and that too based on aspects of religion which are purely
historical and not fundamental.
To understand the function and purposes of
religion it is necessary to separate religion from theology. The primary things
in religion are the usages, practices and observances, rites and rituals.
Theology is secondary. Its object is merely to nationalize them. As stated by
Prof. Robertson Smith :[f4]
" Ritual and practical usages were,
strictly speaking the sum total of ancient religions. Religion in primitive
times was not a system of belief with practical applications; it was a body of
fixed traditional practices, to which every member of society conformed as a
matter of courage, Men would not be men if they agreed to do certain things
without having a reason for their action; but in ancient religion the reason
was not first formulated as a doctrine and then expressed in practice, but
conversely, practice preceded doctrinal theory."
Equally necessary it is not to think of religion
as though if was super-natural. To overlook the fact that the primary content
of religion is social is to make nonsense of religion. The Savage society was
concerned with life and the preservation of life and it is these life processes
which constitute the substance and source of the religion of the Savage
society. So great was the concern of the Savage society for life and the
preservation of life that it made them the basis of its religion. So central
were the life processes in the religion of the Savage society that every thing
which affected them became part of its religion. The ceremonies of the Savage
society were not only concerned with the events of birth, attaining of manhood,
puberty, marriage, sickness, death and war but they were also concerned with
food.
Among the pastoral peoples the flocks and herds
are sacred. Among agricultural peoples seedtime and harvest are marked by
ceremonies performed with some reference to the growth and the preservation of
the crops. Likewise drought, pestilence, and other strange irregular phenomena
of nature occasion the performance of ceremonials. As pointed out by Prof. Crawley, the religion of the savage begins and ends
with the affirmation and consecration of life.
In life and preservation of life therefore
consists the religion of the savage. What is true of the religion of the savage
is true of all religions wherever they are found for the simple reason that
constitutes the essence of religion. It is true that in the present day society
with its theological refinements this essence of religion has become hidden
from view and is even forgotten. But that life and the preservation of life
constitute the essence of religion even in the present day society is beyond
question. This is well illustrated by Prof. Crawley, when speaking of the
religious life of man in the present day society he says how:
"man's religion does not enter into his
professional or social hours, his scientific or artistic moments; practically
its chief claims are settled on one day in the week from which ordinary worldly concerns are excluded. In fact, his life is in
two parts; but the moiety with which religion is
concerned is the elemental. Serious thinking on ultimate questions of life and
death is, roughly speaking, the essence of his Sabbath; add to this the habit
of prayer, the giving of thanks at meals, and the subconscious feeling that
birth and death, continuation and marriage are rightly solemnized by religion,
while business and pleasure may possibly be consecrated, but only metaphorically or by an overflow of religious
feeling." Students of the origin and history of religion when they began
their study of the Savage society became so much absorbed in the magic, the
tabu and totem and the rites and ceremonies connected therewith they found in
the Savage society that they not only overlooked the social processes of the
savage as the primary content of religion but they failed even to appreciate
the proper function of magic and other supernatural processes. This was a great
mistake and has cost all concerned in religion very dearly. For it is
responsible for the grave misconception about religion[f5] which prevails today among most
people. Nothing can be a greater error than to explain religion as having arisen
in magic or being concerned only in magic for magic sake. It is true that
Savage society practises magic, believes in tabu and worships the totem. But it
is wrong to suppose that these constitute the religion or form the source of
religion. To take such a view is to elevate what is incidental to the position
of the principal. The principal thing in the religion of the savage are the
elemental facts of human existence such as life, death, birth, marriage, etc.,
magic, tabu and totem are not the ends. They are only the means. The end is
life and the preservation of life. Magic, tabu, etc. are resorted to by the
Savage society not for their own sake but to conserve life and to exercise evil
influence from doing harm to life. Why should such occasions as harvest and
famine be accompanied by religious ceremonies ? Why
are magic, tabu and totem of such importance to the savage ? The only answer is that they all affect the
preservation of life. The process of life and its preservation form the main
purpose. Life and preservation of life is the core and centre of the religion
of the Savage society. That today God has taken the place of magic, does not
alter the fact that God's place in religion is only as a means for the
conservation of life and that the end of religion is the conservation and
consecration of social life.
The point to which it is necessary to draw
particular attention and to which the foregoing discussion lends full support
is that it is an error to look upon religion as a matter which is individual,
private and personal. Indeed as will be seen from what follows, religion
becomes a source of positive mischief if not danger when it remains individual,
private and personal. Equally mistaken is the view that religion is the
flowering of special religious instinct inherent in the nature of the
individual. The correct view is that religion like language is social for the
reason that either is essential for social life and the individual has to have
it because without it he cannot participate in the life of the society.
If religion is social in the sense that it
primarily concerns society, it would be natural to ask what is the purpose and
function of religion.
The best statement regarding the purpose of
religion which I have come across is that of Prof. Charles A Ellwood[f6]. According to him:
" religion projects the essential
values of human personality and of human society into the universe as a whole.
It inevitably arises as soon as man tries to take valuing attitude toward his universe,
no matter how small and mean that universe may appear to him. Like all the
distinctive things in human, social and mental life, it of course, rests upon
the higher intellectual powers of man. Man is the only religious animal,
because through his powers of abstract thought and reasoning, he alone is
self-conscious in the full sense of that term. Hence he alone is able to
project his values into the universe and finds necessity of so doing. Given, in
other words, the intellectual powers of man, the mind at once seeks to universalise its values as well as its ideas. Just as
rationalizing processes give man a world of universal ideas, so religious
processes give man a world of universal values. The religious processes are,
indeed, nothing but the rationalizing processes at work upon man's impulses and
emotions rather than upon his precepts. What the reason does for ideas,
religion does, then, for the feelings. It universalizes
them; and in universalizing them, it brings them
into harmony with the whole of reality."
Religion emphasizes, universalizes social values
and brings them to the mind of the individual who is required to recognize them
in all his acts in order that he may function as an approved member of the
society. But the purpose of religion is more than this. It spiritualizes them.
As pointed out by Prof. Ellwood :[f7]
"Now these mental and social values, with
which religion deals, men call 'spiritual'. It is something which emphasizes as we may say,
spiritual values, that is, the values connected especially with the personal
and social life. It projects these values, as we have seen, into the universal
reality. It gives man a social and moral conception of the universe, rather
than a merely mechanical one as a theatre of the play of blind, purposeless
forces. While religion is not primarily animistic
philosophy, as has often been said, nevertheless it does project mind, spirit,
life, into all things. Even the most primitive religion did this; for in ' primitive dynamism '
there was a feeling of the psychic, in such concepts as mana or manitou.
They were closely connected with persons and proceeded from person, or things
which were viewed in an essentially personal way. Religion, therefore, is a
belief in the reality of spiritual values, and projects them, as we have said,
into the whole universe. All religion—even so-called atheistic
religions—emphasizes the spiritual, believes in its dominance, and looks to its
ultimate triumph." The function of religion in society is equally clear.
According to Prof. Ellwood1[f8] the function of religion: " is to act as an agency of social
control, that is, of the group
controlling the life of the individual, for what
is believed to be the good of the larger life of the group. Very early, as we
have seen, any beliefs and practices which gave expression to personal feelings
or values of which the group did not approve were branded as ' black magic ' or
baleful superstitions; and if this had not been done it is evident that the
unity of the life of the group might have become seriously impaired. Thus the
almost necessarily social character of religion stands revealed. We cannot have
such a thing as purely personal or individual religion which is not at the same
time social. For we live a social life and the welfare of the group is, after
all, the chief matter of concern." Dealing with the same question in
another place, he says[f9]:
" the function of religion is the same
as the function of Law and Government. It is a means by which society exercises
its control over the conduct of the individual in order to maintain the social
order. It may not be used consciously as a method of social control over the
individual. Nonetheless the fact is that religion acts as a means of social
control. As compared to religion, Government and Law are relatively inadequate
means of social control. The control through law and order does not go deep
enough to secure the stability of the social order. The religious sanction, on
account of its being supernatural has been on the other hand the most effective
means of social control, far more effective than law and Government have been
or can be. Without the support of religion, law and Government are bound to
remain a very inadequate means of social control. Religion
is the most powerful force of social gravitation without which it would be
impossible to hold the social order in its orbit."
The foregoing discussion, although it was
undertaken to show that religion is a social fact, that religion has a specific
social purpose and a definite social function it was intended to prove that it
was only proper that a person if he was required to accept a religion should
have the right to ask how well it has served the purposes which belong to
religion. This is the reason why Lord Balfour was justified in putting some very
straight-questions to the positivists before he
could accept Positivism to be superior to Christianity. He asked in quite trenchent language.
" what has (positivism) to say to the
more obscure multitude who are absorbed, and well nigh overwhelmed, in the
constant struggle with daily needs and narrow cares; who have but little
leisure or inclination to consider the precise role they are called on to play
in the great drama of 'humanity' and who might in any case be puzzled to discover its
interest or its importance? Can it assure them that there is no human being so
insignificant as not to be of infinite worth in the eyes of Him who created the
Heavens, or so feeble but that his action may have consequences of infinite moment long after this material system shall
have crumbled into nothingness? Does it offer consolation to those who are
bereaved, strength to the weak, forgiveness to the sinful, rest to those who are
weary and heavy laden?"
The Untouchables can very well ask the
protagonists of Hinduism the very questions which Lord Balfour asked the
Positivists. Nay the Untouchables can ask many more. They can ask: Does
Hinduism recognize their worth as human beings? Does it stand for their
equality? Does it extend to them the benefit of liberty ? Does it at least help to forge the bond of
fraternity between them and the Hindus? Does it teach the Hindus that the
Untouchables are their kindred? Does it say to the Hindus it is a sin to treat
the Untouchables as being neither man nor beast ? Does it tell the Hindus to be righteous to the
Untouchables ? Does it preach to the Hindus to be
just and humane to them ? Does it inculcate upon
the Hindus the virtue of being friendly to them ?
Does it tell the Hindus to love them, to respect them and to do them no wrong.
In fine, does Hinduism universalize the value of
life without distinction?
No Hindu can dare to give an affirmative answer
to any of these questions? On the contrary the wrongs to which the Untouchables
are subjected by the Hindus are acts which are sanctioned by the Hindu
religion. They are done in the name of Hinduism and are justified in the name
of Hinduism. The spirit and tradition which makes lawful the lawlessness of the
Hindus towards the Untouchables is founded and supported by the teachings of
Hinduism. How can the Hindus ask the Untouchables accept Hinduism and stay in
Hinduism? Why should the Untouchables adhere to Hinduism which is solely
responsible for their degradation? How can the Untouchables stay in Hinduism? Untouchability is the lowest depth to which the
degradation of a human being can be
carried. To be poor is bad but not so bad as to be an Untouchable. The poor can
be proud. The Untouchable cannot be. To be reckoned low is bad but it is not so
bad as to be an Untouchable. The low can rise above his status. An Untouchable
cannot. To be suffering is bad but not so bad as to be an Untouchable. They
shall some day be comforted. An Untouchable cannot hope for this. To have to be
meek is bad but it is not so bad as to be an Untouchable. The meek if they do
not inherit the earth may at least be strong. The Untouchables cannot hope for
that.
In Hinduism there is no hope for the
Untouchables. But this is not the only reason why the Untouchables wish to quit
Hinduism. There is another reason which makes it imperative for them to quit
Hinduism. Untouchability is a part of Hinduism. Even those who for the sake of
posing as enlightened reformers deny that untouchability is part of Hinduism
are to observe untouchability. For a Hindu to believe in Hinduism does not
matter. It enhances his sense of superiority by the reason of this
consciousness that there are millions of Untouchables below him. But what does
it mean for an Untouchable to say that he believes in Hinduism? It means that
he accepts that he is an Untouchable and that he is an Untouchable is the
result of Divine dispensation. For Hinduism is divine dispensation. An
Untouchable may not cut the throat of a Hindu. But he cannot be expected to
give an admission that he is an Untouchable and rightly so. Which Untouchable
is there with soul so dead as to give such an admission by adhering to
Hinduism. That Hinduism is inconsistent with the self-respect and honour of the
Untouchables is the strongest ground which justifies the conversion of the
Untouchables to another and nobler faith.
The opponents of conversion are determined not to
be satisfied even if the logic of conversion was irrefutable. They will insist
upon asking further questions. There is one question which they are always
eager to ask largely because they think it is formidable and unanswerable; what
will the Untouchables gain materially by changing their faith? The question is
not at all formidable. It is simple to answer. It is not the intention of the
Untouchables to make conversion an opportunity for economic gain. The
Untouchables it is true will not gain wealth by conversion. This is however no
loss because while they remain as Hindus they are doomed to be poor.
Politically the Untouchables will lose the political rights that are given to
the Untouchables. This is, however, no real loss. Because they will be entitled
to the benefit of the political rights reserved for the community which they
would join through conversion. Politically there is neither gain nor loss.
Socially, the Untouchables will gain absolutely and immensely because by
conversion the Untouchables will be members of a community whose religion has universalized and equalized all values of life. Such a
blessing is unthinkable for them while they are in the Hindu fold.
The answer is complete. But by reason of its
brevity it is not likely to give satisfaction to the opponents of conversion. The
Untouchables need three things. First thing they need is to end their social
isolation. The second thing they need is to end their inferiority complex. Will
conversion meet their needs? The opponents of conversion have a feeling that
the supporters of conversion have no case. That is why they keep on raising
questions. The case in favour of conversion is stronger than the strongest
case. Only one does wish to spend long arguments to prove what is so obvious.
But since it is necessary to put an end to all doubt, I am prepared to pursue
the matter. Let me take each point separately.
How can they end their social isolation? The one
and the only way to end their social isolation is for the Untouchables to
establish kinship with and get themselves incorporated into another community
which is free from the spirit of caste. The answer is quite simple and yet not
many will readily accept its validity. The reason is, very few people realize
the value and significance of kinship. Nevertheless its value and significance
are very great. Kinship and what it implies has been
described by Prof. Robertson
Smith in the following terms1[f10]:
"A kin was a group of persons whose lives
were so bound up together, in what must be called a physical unity, that they
could be treated as parts of one common life. The members of one kindred looked
on themselves as one living whole, a single animated mass of blood, flesh and
bones, of which no member could be touched without all the members
suffering."
The matter can be looked at from the point of
view both of the individual as well as from that of the group. From the point
of the group, kinship calls for a feeling that one is first and foremost a
member of the group and not merely an individual. From the point of view of the
individual, the advantages of his kinship with the group are no less and no
different than those which accrue to a member of the family by reason of his
membership of the family. Family life is characterized by parental tenderness.
As pointed out by Prof. McDougall [f11]:
" From this emotion (parental tenderness) and its impulse to cherish and protect, spring generosity, gratitude, love, pity, true benevolence, and altruistic conduct of every kind; in it they have their main and absolutely essential root, without which they would not be."
Community as distinguished from society is only
an enlarged family. As such it is characterised by all the virtues which are
found in a family and which have been so well described by Prof. McDougall.
Inside the community there is no discrimination
among those who are recognized as kindred bound by kinship. The community recognizes that every one within it is
entitled to all the rights equally with others. As Professors Dewey and Tufts have pointed out:
" A State may allow a citizen of
another country to own land, to sue in its courts, and will usually give him a
certain amount of protection, but the first-named
rights are apt to be limited, and it is only a few years since Chief Justice Taney's dictum stated the existing legal theory of the
United States to be that the Negro ' had no rights which the white man was
bound to respect'. Even where legal theory does not
recognize race or other distinctions, it is often hard in practice for an alien
to get justice. In primitive clan or family groups this principle is in full
force. Justice is a privilege which falls to a man as belonging to some
group—not otherwise. The member of the clan or the household or the village
community has a claim, but the Stranger has nothing standing. It may be treated
kindly, as a guest, but he cannot demand 'justice' at the hands of any group but his own. In this
conception of rights within the group we have the prototype of modern civil
law. The dealing of clan with clan is a matter of war or negotiation, not of
law; and the clanless man is an 'outlaw' in fact as well as in name."
Kinship makes the community take responsibility
for vindicating the wrong done to a member. Blood-flood which objectively
appears to be a savage method of avenging a wrong done to a member is subjectively speaking a manifestation of sympathetic
resentment by the members of the community for a wrong done to their fellow.
This sympathetic resentment is a compound of tender emotion and anger such as
those which issue out of parental tenderness when it comes face to face with a
wrong done to a child. It is kinship which generates, this sympathetic
resentment, this compound of tender emotion and anger. This is by no means a
small value to an individual. In the words of Prof. McDougall:
"This intimate alliance between tender
emotion and anger is of great importance for the social life of man, and the
right understanding of it is fundamental for a true theory of the moral
sentiments; for the anger evoked in this way is the germ of all moral
indignation and on moral indignation justice and the greater part of public law
are in the main founded."
It is kinship which generates generosity and
invokes its moral indignation which is necessary to redress a wrong. Kinship is
the will to enlist the support of the kindred community to meet the tyrannies
and oppressions by the Hindus which today the Untouchables have to bear
single-handed and alone. Kinship with another community is the best insurance which
the Untouchable can effect against Hindu tyranny and Hindu oppression.
Anyone who takes into account the foregoing
exposition of what kinship means and does, should have no difficulty in
accepting the proposition that to end their isolation the Untouchables must
join another community which does not recognise caste.
Kinship is the antithesis of isolation. For the
Untouchables to establish kinship with another community is merely another name
for ending their present state of isolation. Their isolation will never end so
long as they remain Hindus. As Hindus, their isolation hits them from front as
well as from behind. Notwithstanding their being Hindus, they are isolated from
the Muslims and the Christians because as Hindus they are aliens to all—Hindus as
well as Non-Hindus. This isolation can end only in one way and in no other way.
That way is for the Untouchables to join some non-Hindu community and thereby
become its kith and kin.
That this is not a meaningless move will be
admitted by all those who know the disadvantages of isolation and the
advantages of kinship. What are the consequences of isolation? Isolation means
social segregation, social humiliation, social discrimination and social
injustice. Isolation means denial of protection, denial of justice, denial of
opportunity. Isolation means want of sympathy, want of fellowship and want of
consideration. Nay, isolation means positive hatred and antipathy from the
Hindus. By having kinship with other community on the other hand, the
Untouchables will have within that community equal position, equal protection
and equal justice, will be able to draw upon its sympathy, its good-will.
This I venture to say is a complete answer to the
question raised by the opponents. It shows what the Untouchables can gain by
conversion. It is however desirable to carry the matter further and dispose of
another question which has not been raised so far by the opponents of
conversion but may be raised. The question is: why
is conversion necessary to establish kinship?
The answer to this question will reveal itself if
it is borne in mind that there is a difference between a community and a
society and between kinship and citizenship.
A community in the strict sense of the word is a
body of kindred. A society is a collection of many communities or of different
bodies of kindreds. The bond which holds a community together is called kinship
while the bond which holds a society together is called citizenship.
The means of acquiring citizenship in a society
are quite different from the means of acquiring kinship in a community.
Citizenship is acquired by what is called naturalization. The condition
precedent for citizenship is the acceptance of political allegiance to the
State. The conditions precedent for acquiring kinship are quite different. At
one stage in evolution of man the condition precedent for adoption into the
kindred was unity of blood. For the kindred is a body of persons who conceive
themselves as spring from one ancestor and as having in their veins one blood.
It does not matter whether each group has actually and in fact spring from a
single ancestor. As a matter of fact, a group did admit a stranger into the
kindred though he did not spring from the same ancestor. It is interesting to
note that there was a rule that if a stranger intermarried with a group for
seven generations, he became a member of the kindred. The point is that, fiction though it be,
admission into the kindred required as a condition precedent unity of
blood.
At a later stage of Man's Evolution, common
religion in place of unity of blood became a condition precedent to kinship. In
this connection it is necessary to bear in mind the important fact pointed out
by Prof. Robertson Smith[f12] that in a community the social body
is made not of men only, but of gods and men and therefore any stranger who
wants to enter a community and forge the bond of kinship can do so only by
accepting the God or Gods of the community. The Statement in the Old Testament
such as those of Naomi to Ruth saying: " Thy sister is
gone back into her people and unto her gods " and
Ruth's reply "Thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God " or the calling of the Mobites
the sons and daughters of Chemosh are all evidences
which show that the bond of kinship in a community is the consequence of their
allegiance to a common religion. Without common religion there can be no
kinship.
Where people are waiting to find faults in the argument in favour of conversion it
is better to leave no ground for fault-finders to create doubt or
misunderstanding. It might therefore be well to explain how and in what manner
religion is able to forge the bond of kinship. The answer is simple. It does it
through eating and drinking together.[f13] The Hindus in defending their caste
system ridicule the plea for interdining. They ask: What is there in inter-dining? The answer from a sociological point of view is that is everything in
it. Kinship is a social covenant of brotherhood. Like all convenants it required to be signed, sealed and
delivered before it can become binding. The mode of signing, sealing and
delivery is the mode prescribed by religion and that mode is the participation
in a sacrificial meal. As said by Prof. Smith[f14]:
" What is the ultimate nature of the
fellowship which is constituted or declared when men eat and drink together? In
our complicated society fellowship has many types and many degrees; men may be united by bonds of duty and honour for
certain purposes, and stand quite apart in all other things. Even in ancient
times—for example, in the Old Testament—we find the
sacrament of a common meal introduced to seal engagements of various kinds. But
in every case the engagement is absolute and inviolable; it constitutes what in
the language of ethics is called a duty of perfect obligation. Now in the most
primitive society there is only one kind of fellowship which is absolute and
inviolable. To the primitive man all other men fall under two classes, those to
whom his life is sacred and those to whom it is not sacred. The former are his
fellows; the latter are strangers and potential foemen, with whom it is absurd to think of forming any
inviolable tie unless they are first brought into
the circle within which each man's life is sacred to all his comrades." If
for the Untouchables mere citizenship is not enough to put an end to their
isolation and the troubles which ensue therefrom, if kinship is the only cure
then there is no other way except to embrace the religion of the community
whose kinship they seek.
The argument so far advanced was directed to show
how conversion can end the problem of the isolation of the Untouchables. There
remain two other questions to be considered. One is, will conversion remove
their inferiority complex? One cannot of course dogmatize. But one can have no
hesitation in answering the question in the affirmative. The inferiority
complex of the Untouchables is the result of their isolation, discrimination
and the unfriendliness of the social environment. It is these which have
created a feeling of helplessness which are responsible for the inferiority
complex which cost him the power of self-assertion.
Can religion alter this psychology of the
Untouchables? The psychologists are of opinion that religion can effect this
cure provided it is a religion of the right type;
provided that the religion approaches the individual not as a degraded
worthless outcastes but as a fellow human being; provided religion gives him an
atmosphere in which he will find that there are
possibilities for feeling himself the equal of every other human being there is
no reason why conversion to such a religion by the Untouchables should not
remove their age-long pessimism which is responsible for their inferiority
complex. As pointed out by Prof. Ellwood :[f15]
"Religion is primarily a valuing attitude, universalizing the will and the emotions, rather than
the ideas of man. It thus harmonizes men, on the side of will and emotion, with
his world. Hence, it is the fee of pessimism and despair. It encourages hope,
and gives confidence in the battle of life, to the savage as well as to the
civilized man. It does so, as we have said, because it braces vital feeling; and psychologists tell us that the reason why it
braces vital feeling is because it is an adaptive process in which all of the
lower centres of life are brought to reinforce the higher centres. The universalization
of values means, in other words, in psycho-physical terms, that the lower nerve
centres pour their energies into the higher nerve centres, thus harmonizing and
bringing to a maximum of vital efficiency life on its inner side. It is thus
that religion taps new levels of energy, for meeting the crisis of life, while
at the same time it brings about a deeper harmony between the inner and the
outer."
Will conversion raise the general social status
of the Untouchables? It is difficult to see how there can be two opinions on
this question. The oft-quoted answer given by Shakespeare to the question what
is in a name hardly shows sufficient understanding of the problem of a name. A
rose called by another name would smell as sweet would be true if names served
no purpose and if people instead of depending upon names took the trouble of
examining each case and formed their opinions and attitudes about it on the
basis of their examination. Unfortunately, names serve a very important
purpose. They play a great part in social economy. Names are symbols. Each name
represents association of certain ideas and notions about a certain object. It
is a label. From the label people know what it is. It saves them the trouble of
examining each case individually and determine for themselves whether the ideas
and notions commonly associated with the object are true. People in society
have to deal with so many objects that it would be impossible for them to
examine each case. They must go by the name that is why all advertisers are
keen in finding a good name. If the name is not
attractive the article does not go down with the people.
The name 'Untouchable' is a bad name. It repels, forbids, and stinks. The
social attitude of the Hindu towards the Untouchable is determined by the very
name ' Untouchable '.
There is a fixed attitude towards 'Untouchables' which is determined by the stink which
is imbedded in the name ' Untouchable '. People have no mind to go into the
individual merits of each Untouchable no matter how meritorious he is. All
untouchables realize this. There is a general attempt to call themselves by
some name other than the 'Untouchables'. The Chamars call themselves Ravidas
or Jatavas. The Doms
call themselves Shilpakars. The Pariahs call
themselves Adi-Dravidas, the Madigas call themselves Arundhatyas,
the Mahars call themselves Chokhamela
or Somavamshi and the Bhangis
call themselves Balmikis. All of them if away from
their localities would call themselves Christians.
The Untouchables know that if they call
themselves Untouchables they will at once draw the Hindu out and expose
themselves to his wrath and his prejudice. That is why they give themselves
other names which may be likened to the process of undergoing protective discolouration.
It is not seldom that this discolouration
completely fails to serve its purpose. For to be a Hindu is for Hindus not an
ultimate social category. The ultimate social category is caste, nay sub-caste
if there is a sub-caste. When the Hindus meet ' May I know who are you ' is a
question sure to be asked. To this question ' I am a Hindu ' will not be a
satisfactory answer. It will certainly not be accepted as a final answer. The
inquiry is bound to be further pursued. The answer
' Hindu '
is bound to be followed by another; ' What caste ?'. The
answer to that is bound to be followed by question:
" What subcaste?" It is only when the
questioner reaches the ultimate social category which is either caste or
sub-caste that he will stop his questionings.
The Untouchable who adopts the new name is a
protective discolouration finds that the new name
does not help and that in the course of relentless questionings he is, so to
say, run down to earth and made to disclose that he is an Untouchable. The
concealment makes him the victim of greater anger than his original voluntary
disclosure would have done.
From this discussion two things are clear. One is
that the low status of the Untouchables is bound upon with a stinking name.
Unless the name is changed there is no possibility of a rise in their social
status. The other is that a change of name within Hinduism will not do. The
Hindu will not fail to penetrate through such a name and make the Untouchable
and confer himself as an Untouchable. The name matters and matters a great
deal. For, the name can make a revolution in the status of the Untouchables.
But the name must be the name of a community outside Hinduism and beyond its
power of spoilation and degradation. Such name can be the property of the
Untouchable only if they undergo religious conversion. A conversion by change
of name within Hinduism is a clandestine conversion which can be of no avail.
This discussion on conversion may appear to be
somewhat airy. It is bound to be so. It cannot become material unless it is
known which religion the Untouchables choose to accept. For what particular
advantage would flow from conversion would depend upon the religion selected
and the social position of the followers of that religion. One religion may
give them all the three benefits, another only two
and a third may result in conferring upon them only one of the advantages of
conversion. What religion the Untouchables should choose is not the subject
matter of this Chapter. The subject matter of this Chapter is whether conversion
can solve the problem of untouchability. The answer
to that question is emphatically in the
affirmative.
The force of the argument, of
course, rests on a view of religion which is somewhat different from the
ordinary view according to which religion is concerned with man's relation to
God and all that it means. According to this view
religion exists not for the saving of souls but for
the preservation of society and the welfare of the individual. It is only those
who accept the former view of religion that find it difficult to understand how
conversion can solve the problem of untouchability.
Those who accept the view of religion adopted in this Chapter will have no
difficulty in accepting the soundness of the conclusion.
CASTE AND CONVERSION'
The instinct of self-preservation is responsible
for the present upheaval in the Hindu Community. There was a time when the
elite of the society had no fear about its preservation. Their argument was
that the Hindu community was one of the oldest communities that has withstood
the onslaught of many adverse forces and therefore there must be some native
strength and stamina in its culture and civilization as to make it survive.
They were therefore firm in their belief that their community was destined ever
to survive. Recent events seem to have shaken this belief. In the Hindu-Muslim
riots that have taken place all over the country in recent times it has been
found that a small band of Muslims can beat the Hindus and beat them badly. The
elite of the Hindus are therefore reflecting afresh upon the question whether
such a kind of survival in the struggle for existence is of any value. The
proud Hindu who always harped upon the fact of survival as a proof of his
fitness to survive never stopped to think that survival was of many types and
not all are of equal value. One can survive by marching against the enemy and
conquering him. Or one can survive by beating a retreat and hiding oneself in a
position of safety. In either case there would be survival. But certainly the
value of the two survivals is measures apart. What is important is not the fact
of survival but the plane of survival? Survive the Hindus may, but whether as
free men or slaves is the issue. But the matter seems so hopeless that granting
that they manage to survive as slaves it does not seem to be altogether certain
that they can survive as Hindus. For
they are not only beaten by the Muslims in the physical struggle but they seem also to be beaten in the cultural struggle. There is in recent days
a regular campaign conducted vigorously by the Muslims for the spread of
Islamic culture, and by their conversion movement, it is alleged, they have
made vast additions to their numerical strength by winning over members of the
Hindu faith. Fortunately for the Muslims there is a large mass of non-descript
population numbering about seven crores which is classed as Hindus but which
has no particular affinity to the ' Originally published in the 'Telugu
Samachar Special Number', Nov. 1926.
Hindu faith and whose position is made so
intolerable by that faith that they can be easily induced to embrace Islam.
Some of these are going over to Islam and yet more may go.
This is sufficient to cause alarm among the elite
of the Hindus. If with a superiority of numbers the Hindus are unable to face
the Muslims what would be their fate if their following was depleted by
conversions to Islam? The Hindus feel that they must save their people from
being lost to them and their culture. Herein lies the origin of the Shudhi Movement or the movement to
reclaim people to the Hindu faith.
Some people of the orthodox type are opposed to
this movement on the ground that Hindu religion was never a proselytising
religion and that Hindu must be so by birth. There is something to be said in
favour of this view. From the commencement of time to which memory or tradition
can reach back, proselytism has never been the practising creed of the Hindu
faith. Prof. Max Muller, the great German Savant and Oriental Scholar in an
address delivered by him in the name of the Westminster Abbey on the 3rd of
December 1873 Day of Intercession for Missions, emphatically declared that the
Hindu Religion was a non-missionary religion. The orthodoxy which refuses to
believe in expediency may therefore feel well grounded in its opposition to
Shudhi, as a practice directly opposed to the most fundamental tenets of the
Hindu faith. But there are other authorities of equally good repute to support
the promoters of the Shudhi movement, for it is their opinion that the Hindu
Religion has been and can be a missionary religion. Prof. Jolly in an article '
DIE AUSBREITUNG DER INDISCHEN FULTUR',
gives a graphic description of the means and methods adopted by the ancient
Hindu Rulers and Priests to spread the Hindu Religion among the aborigines of
the country. The late Sir Alfred Lyall who wrote in reply to Prof. Max Muller
also sought to prove that the Hindu religion was a missionary religion. The
probability of the case seems to be .definitely in favour of Jolly and Lyall.
For unless we suppose that the Hindu Religion did in some degree do the work of
proselytization, it is not possible to account for its spread over a vast
continent and inhabited by diverse races which were in possession of a distinct
culture of their own. Besides, the prevalence of certain YAJNAS and YAGA S cannot be explained except on the hypothesis
that there were ceremonies for the Shudhi of the Vratya. We may therefore
safely conclude that in ancient times the Hindu religion was a missionary religion.
But that owing to some reason it ceased to be so long back in its historical
course.
The question that I wish to consider is why did
the Hindu religion cease to be a missionary religion. There may be various explanations
for this, and I propose to offer my own explanation for what it is worth
Aristotle has said that man is a social being. Whatever be the cogency of the
reasons of Aristotle in support of his statement this much is true that it is
impossible for any one to begin life as an individualist in the sense of
radically separating himself from his social fellows. The social bond is
established and rooted in the very growth of self-consciousness. Each
individual's apprehension of his own personal self and its interest involves
the recognition of others and their interests; and his pursuit of one type of
purposes, generous or selfish, is in so far the pursuit of the other also. The
social relation is in all cases intrinsic to the life, interests, and purposes
of the individual; he feels and apprehends the vitality of social relations in
all the situations of his life. In short, life without society is no more
possible for him than it is for a fish out of water.
Given this fact it follows that before a society
can make converts, it must see to it that its c,onstitution provides for aliens
being made its members and allowed to participate in its social life. It must
be used to make no difference between individuals born in it and individuals
brought into it. It must be open to receive him in the one case as in the other
and allow him to enter into its life and thus make it possible for him to live
and thrive as a member of that society. If there is no such provision on
conversion of an alien the question would at once arise where to place the
convert. If there is no place for the convert there can be no invitation for
conversion nor can there be an acceptance of it.
Is there any place in the Hindu society for a
convert to the Hindu faith? Now the organisation of the Hindu society is
characterized by the existence of castes. Each caste is endogamous and lives by
antogony. In other words it only allows individuals born in it to its
membership and does not allow any one from outside being brought into it. The
Hindu Society being a federation of castes and each caste being self-enclosed
there is no place for the convert for no caste will admit him. The answer to
the question why the Hindu Religion ceased to be a missionary religion is to be
found in the fact that it developed the caste system. Caste is incompatible
with conversion. So long as mass conversion was possible, the Hindu Society
could convert for the converts were large enough to form a new caste which
could provide the elements of a social life from among themselves. But when
mass conversions were no more and only individual converts could be had, the
Hindu Religion had necessarily to cease to be missionary for its social
organisation could make no room for the incoming convert.
I have not propounded this question as to why the
Hindu Religion ceased to be missionary simply to find an opportunity for
obtaining credit for originality of thought by offering a novel explanation. I
have propounded the question and given an answer to it because I feel that both
have a very important bearing upon the Shudhi movement. Much as I sympathise
with the promoters of that movement, I must say that they have not analysed the
difficulties in the way of the success of their movement. The motive behind the
Shudhi movement is to increase the strength of the Hindu Society by increasing
its numbers. Now a society is strong not because its numbers are great but
because it is solid in its mass. Instances are not wanting where a solid
organised band of fanatics have routed a large army of disorganised crusaders.
Even in the Hindu-Muslim riots it has been proved that the Hindus are beaten
not only where they are weak in numbers, but they are beaten by the Muslims
even where the Hindus preponderate. The case of Moplahs
is in point. This alone ought to show that the Hindus suffer not from want of
numbers but from want of solidarity. To increase solidarity of the Hindu
Society one must tackle the forces which have brought about its disintegration.
My fear is that mere Shudhi, instead of integrating the Hindu Society, will
cause greater disintegration and will annoy the Muslim Community without any
gain to the Hindus. In a society composed of castes, Shudhi brings in a person
who can find no home and who is therefore bound to lead an isolated and
separate existence with no attachment or loyalty to any one in particular. Even
if Shudhi were to bring into the Hindu fold a mass like the Malkana catch of Shradhanand, it will only add one
more caste to the existing number. Now the greater the castes the greater the
isolation and the greater the weakness of the Hindu society. If the Hindu
society desires to survive it must think not of adding to its numbers but
increasing its solidarity and that means the abolition of caste. The abolition
of castes is the real Sanghatan of the Hindus and when Sanghatan is achieved by
the abolishing of castes, Shudhi will be unnecessary and if practised, will be
gainful of real strength. With the castes in existence, it is impossible and if
practised would be harmful to the real Sanghatan and solidarity of the Hindus.
But somehow the most revolutionary and ardent reformer of the Hindu society
shies at the idea of abolition of the caste and advocates such puerile measures
as the reconversion of the converted Hindu, the changing of the diet and the
starting of Akhadas. Some day it will
dawn upon the Hindus that they cannot save their society and also preserve
their caste. It is to be hoped that that day is not far off.
CHRISTIANIZING THE UNTOUCHABLES
1. Growth of Christianity in India. II. Time and money spent in
Missionary effort. III. Reasons for slow growth.
How old is Christianity in India? What progress has it made among the
people of India? These are questions which no one who is interested in the Untouchables
can fail to ask. The two questions are so intimately connected that the
endeavour for the spread of Christianity would be hopeless if there were not in
India that vast body of untouchables who, by their peculiar circumstances, are
most ready to respond to the social message of Christianity.
The following figures will give some idea of the population of Indian
Christians as compared with other communities in India according to the Census
of 1931.
INDIA AND BURMA
|
Population by Religion |
1891 Census |
1921 Census |
1931 Census |
lncrease# Decrease— |
|
Hindu |
|
216,734,586 |
239,195,140 |
#10.4 |
|
Muslims |
|
68,735,233 |
77,677,545 |
#13 |
|
Buddhist |
|
11,571,268 |
12,786,806 |
#10.5 |
|
Sikh |
|
3,238,803 |
4,335,771 |
#33.9 |
|
Primitive Religions |
|
9,774,611 |
8,280,347 |
—15.3 |
|
Christian |
|
4,754,064 |
6,296,763 |
#32.5 |