Before
the Sunrise
Over 2,500
years ago, Buddha’s enlightenment had triggered a metamorphosis in Indian
society, shattering the traditional structure that was based on inequality,
blind faith and violence. His wisdom ushered in a new way of life, providing
energy to people.
However, the
wisdom of equality, non violence and rational thinking invited the wrath of
orthodox people in the country who believed in the Varnasystem. Gradually,
Hindu religious heads titled Shankaracharyas launched a countrywide campaignto
stifle Buddhism and make it vanish. Though they managed to suppress those who
followed Buddhism to a large extent, they could not make it extinct in India. A
minority of people continued to profess it. However, by then Buddhism had
spread out of India to many countries not only in Asia but also lsewhere in the
world.
In Asia,
many countries accepted Buddhist doctrines and progressed, but the country of
the Buddha plunged into the dark ages. In the country of Indus valley
civilisation, inequality with divine sanction led to atrocious disparities
through the caste system. Eventually, the religious order that determined the
socioeconomic and politico-religious status of a person by virtue of his birth
in a particular caste came to be known as Hinduism.
Caste became an inherent part of the existence of a person in
India. A person born in a higher caste inherited a dignified life that provided
opportunities to achieve power and acquire wealth. In sharp contrast, a person
born in a lower caste led a life of penal servitude. The caste system did not
provide any opportunity for him to achieve power or acquire wealth. In the process,
people from the higher castes led a life of privileges, got educated, could get
dignified employment or do business. Being denied any such opportunities, the
lower castes languished in poverty and illiteracy.
Islamic invaders, who subsequently established their supremacy
in the country, did not bother to rectify the system. When the Peshwas came to
power in what is presently the Maharashtra state, they not only fortified the
caste system, but also made it more stringent. Those who were lowest of the low
in the caste stratification were isolated. They were prohibited from moving
around during the day, lest they could defile the upper caste people. To make
their identification easier, they were asked to tie small earthen pots around
their necks to spit, lest they would defile the soil by spitting on the ground.
In the country of the Buddha, people in the lower rung of the caste system
continued to live a life that deprived them of basic human dignity.
The tradition of splitting human beings on the basis of
castes and sub-castes, alongwith the existence of several religions and languages
divided Indians. When the British arrived on the pretext of conducting
business, they took advantage of the schism and eventually wrested power. To
assist in administering a huge country like India, the British preferred to
raise a battery of native clerks, than transporting their countrymen from far away
Europe. The first Indians to take advantage of the opportunity were from the
higher castes, who became servants of the British Empire. However, the eventual
liberalisation of education stirred Indian society and social reformers. While
most educated reformers were confined to issues concerning their caste and
religion, there were some who transcended these barriers. Like Mahatma Jotiba
Phule, who made efforts to reach out to the outcastes and the poor irrespective
of their castes.
Apart from opening his own well to provide water for the lower
castes, he pioneered education of women with the help of his wife Savitribai,
who defied the Hindu tradition that treated women as subordinate beings expected to serve men as wives and mothers.
Her persistent efforts, despite dung and dirt being pelted at her by orthodox
people, eventually enabled Indian women to cease to exist as secondary citizens
and scale new heights in all sectors of life. When Jotiba, who was a visionary,
began his social reforms, he faced stiff opposition from those who were averse
to changing the traditions. There were others who were into social reforms, but
they had not posed any challenge to exploitation in the name of divine
sanction. Jotiba showed the courage of challenging the Hindu religion. He also
had the grit to tell the British rulers that they were also responsible for the
exploitation of the natives, at a time when the upper caste people had accepted
servility of the British government. During the rule of the Peshwas, the
untouchables were persecuted the most.
As victims of the caste system, they were Dr. B. R.
Ambedkar’s Social Revolution waiting for an pportunity to retaliate.
Ultimately, they got it onbehalf of the British at Koregaon (near Pune in
Maharashtra state). It was a landmark battle in which the Peshwa army was miserably
defeated. An obelisk to mark the victory still stands at the site of the battle
at Koregaon displaying names of the brave soldiers who fought against the
Peshwas. With the defeat of the Peshwas and the British establishing their
hegemony, Indian leaders established the Indian National Congress on December
1885 with the help of British officers led by David Hume. The same Congress
party still continues to hold sway over the politics of the country and is
deceiving citizens. Some Indian citizens like Gopalbaba Walangkar were fighting
against the Congress, then, over issues like being pro-British and
anti-untouhables. However, the British, which had sought the help of the
untouchables to defeat the Peshwas, subsequently, proved to be ungrateful and
stopped recruiting untouchables in the Mahar Regiment in 1892. Walangkar
spearheaded a series of agitations against this policy. There were others like
Narayan Meghaji Lokhande, Savitribai Phule and Mukta Salve, who were continuing
with their work of ushering in social changes. Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar’s
predecessors were strong and committed and were paving way to remove inequality
in Indian society.
-
J. V. Pawar
No comments:
Post a Comment