When sacred becomes scared

Hindus need to think why is living in the Hindu fold a humiliating experience for Dalits

Aam Aadmi Party leader and former minister in the Delhi government, Rajendra Pal Gautam, showed political wisdom after a moment of valour. He apologised to those whose religious sentiments were hurt in some way because of him. Gautam said he is deeply religious and respects all gods and goddesses. That didn't save him his job. But why did he have to apologise?

Gautam was the main organiser of the programme of about 10,000 people to embrace Buddhism in Delhi on the occasion of the Ashoka Vijayadashami. This day is of Ashoka's adoption of Buddhism. It was on this day that Dr B R Ambedkar adopted Buddhism. With him, 3,65,000 people left the Hindu fold and accepted Buddhism.

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It was not only an act of accepting a religion. It was primarily a rejection of Hinduism. It meant breaking free from one's religious past. Some vows had to be made to make it effective. Twenty-two such vows were made with Dr Ambedkar by all those who renounced Hinduism. Being Hindu also means having faith in Brahma, Vishnu, Mahesh, Rama and Krishna. If you are no longer a Hindu, apparently, you have to get rid of this belief as well. Is it so easy to get rid of what has been the practice of a lifetime? That is why perhaps the idea of a public pledge must have been conceived so that the individual feels bound by these vows in front of society. And behave accordingly.

These vows have been repeated every year in the programmes organised in memory of this initiation, especially at the Deekshabhoomi of Nagpur. Leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party have also been attending these programmes. To date, none of them objected to the public declaration of not worshipping Rama or Krishna. But this time, BJP leaders attacked Gautam. The event was declared to be anti-Hindu. A video clip of this pledge of not worshipping Ram and Krishna is being circulated as proof of this. It is being asked why the Aam Aadmi Party and Arvind Kejriwal hate Hindus so much.

Initially, Gautam bravely faced this attack. He reminded his critics of Ambedkar's embrace of Buddhism. He reminded them of his 22 vows at the time of this initiation. He told them that this initiation has nothing to do with politics and happens every year. These 10,000 people were taking initiation of their own free will. But the BJP's attack continued. Eventually, political realism won, and Gautam had to declare himself religious and explain that he respected all gods and goddesses. Religious in what sense? What happened to the vow, then? Did he not renounce the gods and goddesses?

The reason for this 'cowardice' is apparent. The assembly election in Gujarat is looming large before him and his party. There he and Kejriwal cannot risk being shown as anti-Hindu. It could prove very costly to them. They should be prepared that this BJP campaign with the video clip will continue even after Gautam's apology. It is better that they prepare their own arguments.

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From this episode, it becomes clear that the ability to introspect in Hinduism, which was not there 60 years ago when Dr Ambedkar decided to renounce it, has not yet been developed by the Hindus. Or perhaps it is true of all religions. After all, Babasaheb had given up Hinduism only after severely criticising it. It was hell to him. His decision was taken not in a moment of excitement or because of a single event. After some 20 years of deep contemplation, he decided to leave the realm of Hinduism and adopt Buddhism.

Gandhi, who was committed to keeping Dalits in the Hindu fold, had to admit that in view of the experiences that Ambedkar and the rest of the Dalits have been going through, his bitter words were very light. After all, why should anyone worship that deity whose official worshipers skin a Dalit alive if they dared to touch the deity's statue? Have Hindus stopped doing it? How many incidents happen every day in which Dalits are beaten up just because they want to enter a temple or touch the idol of the deity as the caste people do? Then why should you have reverence or affection for this goddess?

But Gautam or any political leader can no longer argue this publicly. Whether he does it or not, the truth does not change.

Leave aside Gautam. Why is none of the people involved in this initiation ready to answer the BJP? Why are all those who claim to be Babasaheb's successors silent? Harish Wankhede has written about the petering out of the promise of the Neo-Buddhist movement in India.

The Buddhist population in India is tiny. The Neo-Buddhist movement has not been able to provide any effective challenge to the Hindu social system. It is most effective in Maharashtra. Still, the truth is that only the people of the Mahar community have invested their lives in it, along with a tiny number from the Matang and Maratha communities. The rest of the Dalits are still hesitant to adopt Buddhism. Although symbols associated with Babasaheb can be seen everywhere, in Bengal, Odisha or Punjab, where Dalits are in large numbers, Buddhism is not seen as a spiritual alternative. Wankhede has also pointed to the interesting fact that even India's neighbouring Buddhist-majority countries have not shown interest in this neo-Buddhist movement. They are busy constructing temples and pagodas at Buddhist sites like Gaya.

The Neo-Buddhist movement had to challenge the social and political views of the dominant Hindu class. It couldn't do that. Hinduism itself tried to usurp it by calling it a part of the Indic civilisation and another variant of Hinduism. There are a large number of people who consider Buddha as an avatar.

Buddhism was once a revolutionary idea. Its emancipatory promise attracted Dr Ambedkar. But gradually, it too became ritualistic and only formalistically revolutionary. What was the difference between this Buddhism and dominant Hinduism?

Now few people have the courage to say that the constitution made under the chairmanship of Dr Ambedkar has given everyone the right to convert. The flag bearers of Hinduism cannot forcibly keep anyone imprisoned in the Hindu religion. They cannot question anyone's right to convert and move to another religion where she finds solace. She can even criticise what has hurt. Hindus also need to think about why it is only Hindus who feel compelled to convert. Why is living in the Hindu fold a humiliating experience for Dalits? Why does a Hindu, on being reminded of this, pick up a stone to break the head of the questioner instead of looking inside themselves?

(The author teaches at Delhi University)

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are the author's own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of DH.