Role of Religion in Indian Politics - Article Example

Running head: ROLE OF RELIGION IN INDIAN POLITICS Role of religion in Indian Politics Religion has significant influence on most societies through the world. In this regard, numerous conflicts between religion, modern democracy policies and traditional electoral systems, especially in Asian nations such as India. Indian politics have been immensely influenced by religion and specifically the nation has faced civil conflicts because of political division on Islamic and Hindu religion. As a result, research on the impact of religion on Indian politics and government structures serves great importance in understanding the root cause of the civil wars as well as providing recommendations in ensuring peace and prosperity of the nation. Introduction India is an Asian nation that has the second largest population in the world. It is estimated to have more than one billion people, and it is estimated that there is one Indian in every six people in the world. Interestingly, more than 450 million Indian citizens earn less than 1 dollar and live below international poverty line. Approximately 85 percent of Indian population is Hindus, 9 percent are Muslims and 2 percent are Christians. The remaining percentage consists of minority religious groups that include Buddhists, Jains, Sikhs and Parsees. Though Hinduism consists of the largest religious group, there is no clear definition of Hinduism and as a result, anyone who does not belong to any minority religious group is considered a Hindu. Historically, Hinduism was the British understanding of India’s religion, with Vedas and Upanishads as its main religious scriptures, and Shankaracharyas as its leaders1. Historical transition of the Structural and Functional Perspective of Indian Society Historical transition of the Structural and Functional Perspective of Indian Society However, the perception of Hindu religion from the British point of view is very far from the truth, since Hinduism consists of a combination of numerous sub groups. The sub groups include religions of indigenous/tribal people as well as religions brought by Aryan invaders (which are divided into Vaishnavism and Shaivism Hindus).the Jainism and Buddhism criticized the Aryan and Brahminic Hindu religion. The Bhakti movements came in the medieval time that sought equality between the lower castes Hindus and upper caste Hindus. Later on, there emerged the Sikhism subgroup that appears to blend Hinduism and Islam teachings. Reformist movements such as Brahmo, Aryasamaj and Prarathana also emerged as a result of the British Colonization which transformed Hinduism. Currently, Hindus consider their religion to consist of Buddhism, Sikhism and Jainism2. There are numerous minority religions in India, Islam and Christianity constitutes 60 percent of the minority religion. In this regard, it is estimated that India contains the largest population of Muslims in the world of more than 177 million. In addition, Muslims constitute of 14.4 percent of Indian population and is the second largest religion. It is estimated that more than 36 percent of these Muslims live in urban towns and have spread out to different states and provinces in India. Christianity on the other hand only consists of approximately 2.3 percent of the Indian population and is therefore ranked second largest minority religious group in India3. Religion and civil violence Ethnicity and hostility among the castes Civil unrests in India are dated to the colonial period in which the British divide and rule policy resulted in the division of British India into the Muslim-majority Pakistan and the Hindu-majority India. Subsequently, during the partition of India, mass rioting between the Hindus, Muslims as well as other minority groups resorted to violence that led to the death of more than 500,000 people and migration of at least 12 million refugees. Currently, India continues to witness the massive violence that is attributed to the disparity between the Hindu and Muslim communities on the grounds of equitable opportunities, especially on the political field4. There exists a disparity in terms of unfair representation of the Muslim community in India’s legislature and other government organs. Moreover, India continues to experience increased politicization of religion, especially on lower caste population and high correlation to Hindu-Muslim civil violence. The Indian society constitutes of a caste system that forms a dimension where members of the society become differentiated on the basis of social class, religion, tribe, region language and gender5. Since the distinction overlap, a systematic ranking system results, especially in India (and other undeveloped/developing nations) where there exists inequitable access to resources. The caste system in India forms social stratifications where individual social status is limited to which caste he/she is born into, as well as limits his/her interaction with members of different castes. These castes classify individuals according to their occupations and determine their accessibility to power, wealth, prestige and privileges6.There are four distinctive castes. i) Pintane- these castes have adequate social skills, power and influence. They monopolize leadership positions within the society ii) Brahmans – these castes consist of scholars and priests. They have superior knowledge (well educated). iii) Kshatriyas – the caste consists of soldiers and political rulers. They have both physical as well as martial strength; essential qualities to protect their subjects. iv) Vaishyas- the caste consists of merchants who are involved in agriculture and trade. Their role is to ensure that their community prospers through growing crops, livestock husbandly as well as local and regional trade. The caste is considered as inferior to the other groups and has a lower social status. The latter on a new caste known as Shudras took over agriculture and livestock husbandry leaving the Vaishyas to concentrate on merchant activities and trade. The Vaishyas were economically stronger than the Shudras. They controlled commercial and financial activities. However, the caste system failed to acknowledge their social status. The caste, therefore, resented the two upper castes. In this regard anti-Brahminical sects emerged in early 6BC century in form of Buddhism and Gurjari (Jainism) additionally, there were resentments by the Shudras who consisted of laborers, artisans, servants and ordinary peasants. Since the Shudras were individuals who had no specialized skills and limited education, they were only considered as slaves of the upper three castes. They did not enjoy ordinary rights and privileges; they were also not allowed to perform prayer rituals or any sacrifices. Additionally, they were denied from entering religious temples7. They were regarded as slaves to serve the upper castes as slaves, blacksmiths, barbers or cobblers. Their non-inclusion in the Hindu castes resulted in the failure of their acceptance in the Indian society8. Caste and its effect on the traditional politics The Indian caste system highly advocates for three elements: hierarchy, hereditary specialization and repulsion. These elements integrate seamlessly together with religion in order to create a society consisting of a system of distinctive divisions of a population into large hereditarily specialized groups that are not only hierarchically superimposed, but are also mutually imposed. This means that the traditional Indian society did not tolerate the rising social status of a given caste, mixture of caste, or diversification of operations. In this regard, different castes developed strict and restrictive policies in which an individual would be shunned from their caste, his family or be punished according to Hinduism unfortunate after-life in case he violated these rules9. The rules maintained endogamy and restriction of social interaction and occupation within the castes. Members of a given caste were restricted to social association (such as marriages), restriction of food habits and dietary. In addition, Hinduism also dictated on the importance of cleanliness and the belief of self-purity. The perception was integrated within the caste system, resulting in social exclusivism. The caste system held that higher castes were more pure while the lower castes were more polluted. This resulted in the restriction of individuals from lower castes from religious participation as well as limiting their mobility and economic occupation. Influence from British colonization Though the British colonization occurred after criticisms of the caste system by the members of lower castes, it had immense effect on the caste system. First, the British colonial system brought its own form of government system and introduced Christianity a religion that had no sympathy on Hinduism as well as its institution. During the early years of colonization, the British rule encouraged the customs and privileges of different castes. The British law did not agree with social discrimination against lower castes by upper castes. However, the British policy of divide and conquer further worsened the ideology of the significance of identifying with a given caste. In this regard, British administration implemented numerous policies that favored the higher caste. The most notable examples include unequal tax rates for the canalization of water in which individuals from lower castes paid high taxes in order to consume tapped water from similar taps as those of higher caste. This served as reparation for the sins that the sharing of taps would expose individuals from higher castes. Moreover, the administration would import large amounts of manufactured goods that included caste made crafts. The importation meant that artisans from lower castes would not benefit from the sale of their crafts due to the substitution and as a result, the craftsmen would turn to agriculture or other occupation to earn a living. Interestingly, individuals from higher caste who did not practice artisanship were not affected by the importation. The introduction of factories also benefited them since they could use part of their leadership skills in running them10. Political resistance of caste systemand separatism in Indian succession Due to increased discrimination by the British administration, there were many government actions and social movements aimed at overcoming and ultimately eliminating social injustices and inequalities of the caste system. In this regard, Gandhi started using the term ”Harijans”(meaning God’s people) in national movements, in reference of untouchables with an aim of encouraging all individuals to have positive perceptions towards individuals belonging in lower castes. Though members of lower castes appreciated the campaign, they still felt the term as patronizing and insensitive to some degree. Additionally, in 1935 the British administration developed a list containing 400 groups who were considered as untouchable and also included numerous tribal organizations that would be awarded special privileges in the fight against social discrimination and deprivation. The groups contained in the list would later be renamed Scheduled Tribes and Castes11. Many leaders of the untouchables referred to themselves as Dalitis (in 1970s) and created the Anti-Caste Dalits movement that advocated for girl child education and uplifting the social-economic as well as political well-being of women in India. The movement not only abolished Gandhi’s ideology of “untouchability”, but also encouraged all Dalit leaders to distance themselves from Hinduism and advocated for a distinctive electorate system for the Dalits. However, Gandhi being a leader of the Indian National Congress encouraged the inclusion of the movement as part of Hinduism. Additionally, Gandhi’s perception that caste discrimination being a moral issue can be abolished by human goodwill as well as a change of heart by members of higher castes contradicted with the perception of the movement. The movement instead held that the subordination of lower castes was for the social-economic or political benefits of the higher castes12. The movement also believed that the subordination could be overcome by changing the entire social structure through educational, political and legal means. Though the Dalits were included in the government institutions, they received constitutional guarantees where a given percentage of electoral seats were reserved for them after independence13. However, there was the slow implementation of the reservation of these seats. As a result, Ambedkar, the leader of the movement resigned his government position and recruited more Dalits to join the fight for political rights. Moreover, he encouraged more than 6 million Dalits to convert to Buddhism, a religion that had no social stigmatization of untouchable members in lower castes14. In the 1970s, younger members of Dalits in conjunction with numerous Indian social movements created the Dalit Panthers, a movement that campaigned for speedy implementation of government policies regarding fair inclusion of Dlitis in the national politics in an effort to minimize civil violence between Dalits and upper class Hindus within India. Resource allocation and Preferential treatment in India In India, there exists three classifications of people who are identified and subsequently considered eligible for the preferential reservations of legislature seats, positions in the public sector, percentage of special programs(such as legal assistance, and healthcare, allotment of grants, loans, scholarships and land), positions in government jobs and positions in state operated learning institutions. Additionally the individuals are protected against social discrimination in terms of untouchability, forced labor and debt. These proportions are based on the population proportions of these groups as well as their geographical coverage. The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes form the first and second largest groups respectively. The group consists of communities that do not recognize the caste system15. These groups reside far away from populous pars of India such as in deep forests, jungles as well as near Indian hills and mountains. The Other Backward classes have the third largest proportion and consist of lower castes that converted from Hinduism to religions like Islam and Christianity. The group consists of mostly nomads as well as other tribes that earn their income from criminal acts therefore experience economic and social disadvantages. The reservation system in India started in 1960 where positions were reserved forthe Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. However, individual states were given the authority to determine the Other Backward Classes16. Though many southern states considered the economically disadvantaged castes as Other Backward classes, there was considerable resistance in implementing the reservation policies in other states within India. As a result, the Indian central government appointed a commission to solve the issue. The commission recommended that the caste system has significant contribution towards economic and social backwardness. The commission also recommended the reservation of 27 percent of the seats for Other Backward classes, 15 percent for the Scheduled Castes and 7 percent for the Scheduled Tribes. However, the government failed to implement the policies in fear of massive public protest. In 1990, the government attempted to implement the recommendation. As a result, India experienced high protest, especially by the higher caste youths elites and intellectual. To date individuals from lower castes who do not follow Hinduism (especially majority Muslims) often feel under represented, especially in the Indian government in proportion to their population share. Moreover, religion plays a salient role on political preference and due to strong political affiliations between politicians and the voters no grounds of religion. The social- economic status of a voter can be directly be linked to their political affiliations and ultimately to their religious identity17. Modern Indian caste system The relationship between different social castes in India currently are more relaxed currently compared to traditional period in this regard, there is more social interaction among individuals of different castes in terms of sharing different foods in restaurants with minimal distinctions of individuals based on their castes. Moreover, the caste system has integrated occupation transition where men (and women) can pursue different occupations without he traditional limitation of the caste. Currently, individuals are free to take up different occupations that are not related to their caste for example taking up government jobs, teaching, engineering jobs and entrepreneurship. As a result, wealth and power are not limited by the caste and land ownership is much diversified. Though purity and endogamy has decreased in public, some families still observe purification rituals as well as ceremonial occasion. However, most families are not as strict as before. Additionally, the society has embraced women empowerment, awareness, and equalization through education. However, the woman remains tied to the status of the male. The biggest challenge for the modern Indian caste system is accessibility to resources, especially from the lower states especially individuals living in rural areas. Furthermore, in spite of caste discrimination being outlawed in India the competition for limited resources such as education opportunities, employment and improved living standards the caste discrimination still occurs18. Though India’s implementation of the preferential policies continues to face criticisms debates and controversies, the implementation has brought significant impacts on individuals belonging to a lower caste. In this regard, the policies have increased the representation of the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward classes in government offices as well as legislative positions. The policies have enabled the Indian government to attain local support from the public and improved the democracy of the nation by encouraging individuals to form strong political parties in different regions, thereby benefiting individuals from rural regions to acquire a fair participation in government institutions, and enable them access basic resources19. However, the preferential policies have only benefited a small proportion of individuals from a lower caste. Additionally, despite an overall increase in the general acceptance of the policy and members of the lower caste individuals of the society, there exist numerous cases of civil violence and hostility by members of the higher castes throughout India. The most profound incidence is in Bihar, a state located in Eastern India, where higher caste landowners have private armies for protecting themselves against attacks by members of a lower caste in 1994. The army has conducted more than 20 massacres of Dalatis by 1999 before being outlawed. Moreover, members from higher caste have advocated for the removal of reserved positions in order to create fair opportunities for all members of the society. Integration of Religious Symbolism In India Indian politics as well as its government have integrated numerous religious symbols. Majority of the symbols are sourced from Hinduism and Islam since they are the major religions. The national frag has integrated the Ashoka Chakra 24 spokes blue wheels that is at the center of the flag. The country has also adopted the Lion Capital of Asoka as their national emblem. The emblem has an inscribed motto  "Satyameva jayate" which is a Devanagari script that means “Truth Alone Triumphs”, a quote from Hinduism. The country has also integrated numerous national symbols that have sacred meanings from Hinduism19. These include the Indian lotus (National flower), Ganga (National river), the Indian Bayan (National tree) and Gangetic Dolphin(national aquatic animal) and the swastika symbol that is also associated with Hinduism is found in ballot papers, major organizations as well as government buildings. Conclusion Indian politics immensely influenced by religion and specifically the nation has faced civil conflicts because of political division on Islamic and Hindu religion. In order to understand the issue, further research on the impact of religion on Indian politics and government structures serves great importance in understanding the root cause of the civil wars as well as providing recommendations in ensuring peace and prosperity of the nation. Approximately 85 percent of Indian population is Hindus, 9 percent are Muslims and 2 percent are Christians. The remaining percentage consists of minority religious groups that include Buddhists, Janis, Sikhs and Parsees. Though Hinduism consists of the largest religious group, there is no clear definition of Hinduism. The major assumption is that anyone who does not belong to any minority religious group is considered a Hindu20. Though there are numerous minority religions in India, Islam and Christianity constitute 60 percent of the minority religion. In this regard, it is estimated that India contains the largest population of Muslims in the world of more than 177 million. In addition, Muslims constitute of 14.4 percent of Indian population and is the second largest religion. The Indian society constitutes of a caste system that forms a dimension where members of the society become differentiated on the basis of social class, religion, tribe, region language and gender. Since the distinction overlap, a systematic ranking system results, especially in India (and other undeveloped/developing nations) where there exists inequitable access to resources. The Indian caste system highly advocates for three elements: hierarchy, hereditary specialization and repulsion. These elements integrate seamlessly together with religion in order to create a society consisting of a system of distinctive divisions of a population into large hereditarily specialized groups that are not only hierarchically superimposed, but are also mutually imposed. The perception of cleanliness and the belief of self-purity were integrated within the caste system resulting in social exclusivism. The caste system held that higher castes were more pure while the lower castes were more polluted. This resulted in the restriction of individuals from lower castes from religious participation as well as limiting their mobility and economic occupation21.Though the British colonization occurred after criticisms of the caste system by the members of lower castes, it had immense effect on the caste system. The British colonial system brought its own form of government system and also introduced Christianity a religion that had no sympathy on Hinduism as well as its institution. During the early years of colonization, the British rule encouraged the customs and privileges of different castes22. The British law did not support social discrimination against lower castes by upper castes. Their policy of divide and conquer further worsened the ideology of the significance of identifying with a given caste. Due to increased discrimination by the British administration, there were many government actions and social movements aimed at overcoming and ultimately eliminating social injustices and inequalities of the caste system. In 1935, the British administration developed a list containing 400 groups who were considered as untouchable and included numerous tribal organizations that would be awarded special privileges in the fight against social discrimination and deprivation. The groups contained in the list were later re-named as Scheduled Tribes and Castes. Many leaders of the untouchables referred to themselves as Dalitis (in 1970s) and created the Anti-Caste Dalits movement that advocated for girl child education and uplifting the social-economic as well as political well-being of women in India. Though the Dalits were included in the government institutions, they received constitutional guarantees where a given percentage of electoral seats were reserved for them after independence. However, there was the slow implementation of the reservation of these seats. As a result, Ambedkar, the leader of the movement resigned his government position and recruited more Dalits to join the fight for political rights. Moreover, he encouraged more than 6 million Dalits to convert to Buddhism, a religion that had no social stigmatization of untouchable members in lower castes. In India, there exists three classifications of people who are identified and subsequently considered eligible for the preferential reservations of legislature seats, positions in the public sector, percentage of special programs (such as legal assistance, and healthcare, allotment of grants, loans, scholarships and land), positions in government jobs and positions in state operated learning institutions. 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