Challenging the Challenge to the Idea of Bharat

Bharat is a melting pot of various cultures and traditions coming from all sides of the world and mingling into one broader identity. Speaking at the International Judicial Conference held at New Delhi on February 22, 2020 CJI Sharad Bobde echoed the same. In his influential book, Religious Thought and Life in India Monier-Williams, an eminent Oxford Sanskritist, writes, “based on the idea of universal receptivity”      Hinduism has “first born with and then, so to speak, swallowed digested, and assimilated something from all creeds.” The Shakas, the Kushans, the Parthians, the Huns etc. came in Bharat and became part of Bhartiya culuture.

In 1893 at the Chicago’s Parliament of the World Religions, Swami Vivekanand had invoked the same values from India’s age old philosophy of Vedanta. In yet another speech delivered in India he had said, “The problems in India are more complicated, momentous than the problems in any other country. Race, religion, language, and government all these together make a nation. One common ground we have is our sacred tradition, our religion. That’s the only common ground and upon that we shall have to build. The unity in religion, therefore, is absolutely necessary as the first condition for the future of India. There must be recognition of one religion throughout the length and the breadth of this land. Union of India must be a gathering of its scattered spiritual forces. Nation in India must be a union of those whose hearts beat for a nation in India to the same spirituality.”

Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore in his speech at Shantiniketan in September, 1932 had observed “Each country has its own inner geography where a spirit dwells and where physical force can never conquer even an inch of ground”. A week later while paying tribute to Gandhiji on his birthday he had said, “India is not merely a geographical entity but is a living truth which they (Indians) live, move and have.” The above observations of our great men in relation to Bharat lay emphasis on spiritual dimensions that have been conceptualized by our great sages and seers from time immemorial.

The adherents of this spirituality engage themselves in permanent quest for truth. This truth is not something revealed by God or a prophet, but something that is to be searched by prayer, meditation, good conduct and experience. This quest, for them, persists till the end of one’s life. Religion is an experience that reveals God to them. Swantatryaveer Savarkar had further explained this idea saying, “Let Hinduism concern itself with the salvation of life of the death, the concept of the God and the Universe. Let individual be free to form opinion about it. The whole universe from one end to the other is the real book of religion. But so far as the materialistic and secular aspects are concerned the Hindus are a common culture, common history, common language, common country and common region”.

Are Janjatis of Bharat the Part of this Spiritual Civilization?

The janjati communities are extremely diverse in many aspects of their social and community life as are other people in Bharat from north to south and east to west. Beliefs and ideas such as God, soul, living species, life-or-death, afterlife etc. found in Hindus also exist in janjatis. They consider their motherland a sacred land and worship her. Their life is influenced by Purusharthas- Dharma, Artha, Kama, Moksha the four objects of human pursuit. Dr. G. S. Ghurye, a renowned sociologist in his book, The Scheduled Tribes of India has observed, “Though for the sake of convenience they may be designated the tribal classes of Hindu society, suggesting thereby the social fact that they have retained much more of the tribal creeds and organization than many of the castes of Hindu society, yet they are in reality Backward Hindus.”

A careful look at the traditions and cultural ethos followed by the plane dwelling and forest dwelling communities does reveal that their exists diversity in the unity at the root. Janjatis worship nature, different animals, trees and mother earth so do the other Hindus. Their notions in relation to changes in the universe, nature cycles and seasons are intimately connected with different folklores and arts and festivals like other communities of Bharat. They too follow a lunisolar time reckoning system and have notions of a leap month and leap day like other Hindus. The practice of animal sacrifice can also be found in Hindus. The janjatis residing at far off places like on the borders of states of Mizoram and Assam worship Ganga, a sacred river of Bharat. So where does the difference exist?

Moreover, we can cite numerous examples of harmonious coexistence between and among various communities residing in planes, hills and forests from ancient time to the present one. The Vedas, Puranas, Upanishads, Ramayana and Mahabharata are replete with anecdotes that portray intermingling of these cultures. Acharya Vinoba Bhave held Rigveda as the text of the janjatis. Many scholars believe the ‘panchjanas’ mentioned in the Rigveda consisted of a person each from the brahmanas, kshatriyas, vaishyas, shudras and nishads- a janjati community and commanded equal status. The references of the the sabaras or the saoras could be traced to Aittareya Brahman. Many romantic and friendly descriptions of the janjatis can be found in the ancient Sanskrit literature like Panchatantra, Kathasarit Sagar, Vishnu Purarn etc.

Shabari, who offered fruits to Rama, has become in Verrier Elwin’s words, “a symbol of the contributions that tribes can and will make to the life of India.” The janjatis had a very important and honorable place in the Ramayana. Vali and Sugriva have been mentioned of as the most glorious kings of the janjati society in the Ramayana. Most of the then known janjatis have been described to have participated in the Mahabharata and its innumerable episodes. Eklavya, a Bhil, has been described as an ideal disciple and embodiment of sacrifice. The Mahabharata has ample descriptions of janjati kingdoms and warriors fighting both to the sides of Pandavas and Kauravas. Bhima’s son Ghatotkacha who performs prodigies of valor in the war is born of his janjati wife Hindimba; Arjuna marries Uloopi, a Naga princess.

There are many evidences in the medieval and modern history of Bharat when people of the janjati communities fought shoulder to shoulder with Maharana Pratap, Chatrapti Shivaji Maharaj and Tatya Tope in defense of Dharama and Rashtra. How can we forget the contributions Mahadev Kolis in various battles fought by the soldiers of Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. Furthermore, in many parts of India they rose up against British and joined the India’s struggle for independence. To name some of the heroes of uprisings against British are Bhagwan Birsa Munda from Jharkhand, Umaji Naik from Maharashtra, Tantya Bheel from Madhya Pradesh, Alluri Sitaram Raju from Andhra Pradesh, and Rani Gaidinliu from Nagaland, Matmur Jamoh from Arunchal Pradesh, Pa Togan Sangma from Garo Hills, Meghalaya.

The Challenge

The lynching of Kalpvriksha Giri Maharaj and Sushil Giri Maharaj along with their driver Nelesh Telgade in Gadhchinchale village in Palghar district of Maharashtra primarily inhabited by janjatis is a wakeup call. However, this is not isolated or sporadic incident. As per the observations of some local residents the violence in certain parts of Palghar district is looming large since 1980s. Many recently conducted ground zero reports have revealed that the left wing and Christian Missionary organizations such as Adivasi Ekata Parishad, Bhumisena, Kashtkari Sanghtana etc. have been unleashing violence against Hindu organizations and individuals for a long time now. To name few- in 1980 the anti-social elements connected to such tendencies attacked Hindu Seva Sangh in huge numbers.  In the same way the gang of some 700-800 people attacked the Vishwa Hindu Parishad Vanvasi Kalyan Kendra, Talasari on August14, 1991. In both the incidents many activists associated with both the organizations were gravely injured. In yet another incident, Pathalgarhi stones were erected on the entrances of Chikhale and Kosbad villages in the Dahanu tahsil as recently as in 2019 proclaiming those villages don’t recognize India’s constitution and provisions in the criminal law; neither would they cooperate with officials.

In Jharkhand the Pathalgarhi extremists kidnapped and later killed seven villagers in West Singhbhum district on January 21, 2020. This kind of barbarism associated with the Pathalgarhi movement is not first of its kind. In June 2018, five women of an NGO, who were in Khunti district to raise awareness against human trafficking were abducted and raped by these so called activists. The Pathalgarhi movement was started with the intention of spreading awareness about the Panchayat (Extension of Scheduled Area) Act of 1996. But unfortunately the movement seems to have fallen in the hands of anti-Bharat elements that are challenging the sovereignty of the state.

Similarly many such incidents have taken place in the east and north east parts of Bharat. Swami Lakshmananand Saraswati was assassinated by Cristo-Maoist gangs on August 23, 2008 in Kandhmal district of Odisha on the auspicious of day of Janmashtami. Bah Rijoy Singh Khongshah from Khasi Hills of Meghalaya was abducted and murdered on March1, 2001 by Christian terrorist associated with HNLC for his attempts to serve the Niam Tynrai faith. Recently on May 27, 2019 Christian miscreants associated with Presbyterian Church vandalized the Niam Khasi place of worship at Khongthong village under Shohra Police station in the East Khasi Hills district of Meghalaya. Swami Shanti Kali Maharaj of Tripura was killed in the same manner on August 27, 2000 by Christian militants belonging to the separatist organization NLFT.

The above incidents do have parallels to be drawn and therefore the urgency of the situations demands immediate attention. Evangelical missions in India in collaboration with the leftwing extremists are hell-bent upon disturbing the harmonious social life of Bharat thereby weakening its cultural fabric. As a part of their dubious conspiracy they are working overtime to create fissure between different communities to weaken the Bharat that’s diverse still united with its age old cultural values. For that the cristo-leftist gangs are using social media applications such as whatsaap and spewing venom against Hindu faith, its saints, organization working for Hindu cause and their activists.

They project Rawana and Mahishasura as the cultural icons of janjatis and say that their Gods are different. Then how come nobody is named after these so called heroes?  On the other hand janjatis in Palghar, for example, name their sons and daughters like other non-janjati communities. Their traditional dance forms and folklores depict Ram, Lakshman, Shankar, Mahadev, Ganga Gouri and so on. The main Pujari of the Lord Shiva’s temple in the tahsil is from the janjati community. The main priests of the two temples of Goddess Mahalakshmi in the district are from janjatis.

It is therefore while we device mechanisms to counter the incumbent challenge, it’s equally important to redress the injustice that the janjatis of Bharat have been subjected to even after so many years of independence. That only will prevent the gulf from taking monstrous shape in future.