Actually this blog – not me necessarily – is in favour of Manu Smriti. And that includes caste. Basically I am saying that the system we inherited for the British – with a westernised Constitution and equality for all – is not in tune with Indian culture.
Actually what I am saying should be obvious to all. Indian culture – or at least Hindu culture – is not based on equality for all. It is authoritarian, feudal and hierarchical and is based on caste.
Before going further I will quote Bertrand Russell’s comments on China (of the 1920s):
… In spite of barbarian invasions, Mongol and Manchu dynasties, and occasional longer or shorter periods of chaos and civil war, the Confucian system survived, bringing with it art, literature and a civilised way of life. It is only in our own day, through contact with the West and with the westernised Japanese, that this system has begun to break down.
A system that has had this extraordinary power of survival must have great merits, and certainly deserves our respect and consideration …
Sceptical Essays : Amazon.in: Books
I think that Russell’s comments above apply almost fully to the Hindu way of life and to Islamic civilization as well.
Just think for two minutes. Whether you like it or not all of these ancient civilizations had survived for millennia without climate change or depletion of the planet’s natural resources, and without genocide or mass murder (for most part). It was a sustainable way of life. And I should think it also gave its people a life satisfying to instinct.
I am not sure if all the comments above apply to Western civilization.
All this is just by the way. I am not advocating a revolution and changes in the Constitution and the legal system. I don’t think there is any person or organisation in India with the stature and clout to bring about these changes anyway.
My point here is that because the laws of the country do not reflect the ethos and the culture of most of the public, people take matters into their own hands. I have myself faced harassment because I behaved in ways that Hindu culture would not have approved of. Disrespect for my elders and parents and ogling for example. I was not breaking the law as it stands. But society thought I had committed serious crimes and thought it fit to punish me severely in an unofficial way.
I think the following things were wrong about this series of events:
- The police were not involved. They are trained to hand out punishments; they have checks and balances on their power and will not make you suffer beyond a point. They know what they are doing.
- The people who punished me themselves broke the law as it stands in the statute books. So morally what they did was questionable.
- And lastly it is a wretched way for the public to live – to take responsibility to punish people who behave in ways you don’t like. It is not a constructive way to live life. The scriptures of almost religions would tell you to leave vengeance and justice to God.
But as long as people value their culture more than the Constitution this state of affairs will continue.
I would advise one change in the social contract. Be very clear about what it is that society is not prepared to tolerate and make sure that youngsters and the general public understands what is expected of them. As Sun Tzu said in the military classic, The Art of War:
If the words of command are not clear and distinct, if orders are not thoroughly understood, then the general is to blame..
THE ART OF WAR : Clavell, James, Tzu, Sun: Amazon.in: Books
As far as revolution or changes in the Constitution or laws of the country are concerned we can leave that to fate or destiny.
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