Who wants to live
in the past?
If they had a time
machine, who would go back to the medieval India or ancient India and decide to
stay there instead of coming back to modern times?
From what I can
see of the reactions to the month Supreme Court verdict and the comments on
news items relating to the ban on homosexuality in India, many would.
Numerous are the
comments that say that the Supreme Court has upheld Indian culture by striking
down the Delhi High court verdict which favoured homosexual acts between
consensual adults.
For now, let us
forget the fact that ancient India had a much higher tolerance towards
homosexuality. Let us also forget that Indian mythology and scriptures have
examples of Lesbian,
Gay and transgender people.
Let us consider
instead how life would be like if you were to go back to medieval India and be
a Hindu.
Whatever the
profession of your caste,
you were supposed to stick to that. Let all men born to Brahmin families be
teachers and priests, let all male kshatriyas join the army, let all vaisyas be
merchants, and let all shudras be servants. Let other castes do jobs that the
four castes won’t touch. Let anyone who doesn’t practice this be cast out or
killed.
Oh,
you like physics and want to be physicist? Are you a male Brahmin? No? Then you
are not entitled.
What?
You want to become a police officer? Wait? Are you a male Kshatriya? No, then
you cannot join the police.
Goodness,
you are a shudra and you want to become a doctor? How dare you? It doesn’t
matter if you have the brains; you need the birth.
Oh
no Ma’am! If you are a woman,
what is in your head doesn’t matter. Are you a virgin? Can you give birth to a male
child? That is the only thing that matters where you are concerned. [Though it
seems depending on the region, higher class women were allowed to have an
education. And there were exceptional women in Indian history, Rani Lakshmi Bai
being a prime example. However, they had no status independent of their
husband, father or brother.]
The
widows were either burnt or were social or familial outcastes. Let us bring back the sati, shall we?
Oh
come on, go ahead and burn your widowed daughter… or, relegate her to the
darkest corners of your house clad in white. Let us forget that she is human. After
all, we want to follow the highly exalted Indian culture.
Marriages
were based on castes and economic status. Let love have no place in society
because all men should marry within their castes, irrespective of the fact that
they may fall in love with someone of an upper or lower caste.
Oh,
you fell in love with a woman of a lower caste or another religion? Bad luck
buddy. Just have an illegitimate liaison with her. We don’t mind that. We mind
only marriages and sharing of wealth and name. Let her bear the fruits of your passion
and shame along with that. Not your fault.
No
lady. You cannot fall in love with anyone. Not even a man of your own caste.
Your elders will decide what is best for you. Yes, that will be based on what
will best benefit them politically or economically, but then, that is our
culture, isn’t it? Women exist to serve men.
Domestic violence,
murder for caste, economic and religious reasons, and exploitation were all but institutionalised.
Let women be beaten and raped. Let the higher caste youth who dared to love a
lower caste girl be cast out. Let the lower castes do all the work while the kshatriyas
or rajputs relaxed.
Oh
dear! You are falling ill because of back breaking labour? I am so sorry to
hear that. However, there is nothing that can be done. You are doing your duty
for your Zamindar. It is up to your Zamindar to help you or not. Don’t worry
lad, I will pray for you. May you be born to a higher class in your next birth.
So, commenters, politicians and bloggers, highly educated
Indians, are you willing to pay the price to go back to the past? Are you
willing to give up your freedom to choose your career, your life partner, your
economic situation?
Or, have you got
tunnel vision when it comes to our culture? How do you decide which part is
right and which part wrong? Those parts that you are uncomfortable with are
wrong and everything else is right?
Our culture
neither ancient nor medieval was perfect. It promoted a lot of discriminatory
practices based on nothing but birth. When it came to women and lower castes,
these discriminatory practices bordered on cruel.
Why would you, why
would anyone who is educated decide that another discriminatory practice of
those times is good, just because it concerns a much misunderstood minority?
Note: I
know that many of these abhorrent discriminatory practices against women and
lower castes are prevalent in India, even today. However, many educated Indians
agree or pretend to agree that discrimination based on caste or gender is
wrong. There are laws, at least on paper, which protect victims of
discrimination. There are Bollywood movies that spread the message enthusiastically
that Romantic Love between a man and a woman is wonderful, no matter which
caste, class or religion they belong to. Unfortunately, these courtesies are
not extended to the LGBTs. (I know, I know, when it comes to safety of women,
the economic situation of lower castes in rural areas, the question of inter
caste/inter religious or even inter class marriages, things are far from
perfect. That is beyond the scope of this article. So, please don’t say, hey
but this happens to these people. I know it does, and I hope they protest. I am
with them.)
