Protecting Our Culture

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.)