UNIT 6 LANGUAGE AND RELIGION

 Religious and Linguistic Diversity in India: Key Points

Objectives

After studying this unit, you should be able to:

• Understand religious and linguistic diversity in India.
• Explain the interface between language and religion during the medieval period.
• Analyze how pluralism in religion and language was addressed during the colonial period.
• Examine the relationship between the Indian Constitution and India's pluralistic society.
• Elaborate on how language influenced the reorganization of state boundaries in India.

Introduction

• India's Religious Diversity:

  • India is home to a vast array of religions, each with its own customs, sacred beliefs, and taboos.
  • The country is the birthplace of major world religions such as Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, and Sikhism.
  • In addition to these, many indigenous tribal religions continue to thrive in India.

• Hinduism's Predominance:

  • Hinduism is the most predominant religion in India, with roots tracing back to the Vedic period.
  • Sanskrit was the primary language of religious practices during the early Vedic period.
  • Classical Hinduism, as known today, evolved through the interaction of Vedic Hindu thought with non-Aryan cultures and its politicization during the medieval and modern periods.

• Interplay of Language and Religion:

• In modern India, regionalism, ethnicity, and modernity influence the relationship between language and religion.
• For example, wedding rituals may be performed in Sanskrit, blessings in Hindi or regional languages, and invitations written in English.

India: The Land of Religious and Linguistic Pluralism

Key Objectives

• Understand religious and linguistic diversity in India.
• Explain the interaction between language and religion in different historical periods.
• Analyze how pluralism was addressed during the colonial period.
• Explore the relationship between the Indian Constitution and India's pluralistic society.
• Examine the role of language in the reorganization of state boundaries.

Introduction

• Pluralism in India:

  • In sociology, pluralism refers to the coexistence of diverse religious and linguistic traditions within the same cultural or social space.
  • India is a land of diverse religions, including Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, Jainism, Christianity, and Islam.

• Hinduism:

  • Hinduism is the oldest living religion in India and the world.
  • It originated during the early Vedic period, where Sanskrit was the dominant language.
  • Over time, Hinduism evolved through interactions with non-Aryan cultures and political changes in medieval and modern periods.
  • Key Concepts in Hinduism:
    • Brahman: The ultimate force or reality.
    • Dharma: Duty.
    • Karma: Good deeds and their consequences.
    • Aatman: Immortal soul.
    • Moksha: Salvation or liberation from the cycle of rebirth.
    • Bhakti Movements:
      • Nirgun Bhakti: Devotion to a formless God.
      • Sagun Bhakti: Devotion to a God in a definitive form.

• Hindutva:

  • A political ideology introduced by V. D. Savarkar in 1923, focusing on distinguishing indigenous Indian culture from non-Indian elements, especially in religion.

Religious Pluralism

• Buddhism and Jainism:
  • Emerged in the 6th century B.C. as a response to the rigid practices of Hinduism, such as Brahminical exclusivity and the caste system.
• Arrival of Other Religions:
  • Christianity: Arrived on the west coast of India in the first century C.E. with Syrian Christians.
  • Islam: Reached India through Arab traders before the Muslim conquest.
  • Sikhism: The newest religion in India, originating in Punjab around 1500 C.E. with Guru Nanak's teachings.

Linguistic Pluralism

• India's Linguistic Diversity:

  • India is home to a complex and diverse linguistic landscape.
  • The 2011 Census of India identified 57 regional variations of the Hindi language alone.

• Language Families:

• Indo-Aryan Family:
  • Widest coverage in India, primarily in the North, East, and West.
  • Rooted in Sanskrit; includes languages like Hindi, Bengali, Gujarati, Marathi, Punjabi, etc.
• Dravidian Family:
  • Predominant in South India.
  • Includes languages like Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and Malayalam.
• Tibeto-Burman Family:
  • Spoken in Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Sikkim, and the Himalayan regions.
• Austro-Asiatic Family:
• Found in Meghalaya, Orissa, and parts of Bihar.
• Includes languages like Samthali and Ho.

Interface of Language and Religion in Medieval India

1. Shift in Language-Religion Interface:

   • Pre-Medieval Period: Major religions were expressed in their respective classical languages:
     • Hinduism: Sanskrit
     • Jainism: Ardhamagadhi
     • Buddhism: Pali
   • These languages had the power to fully express their respective religions.

2. Challenge to Classical Languages:

   • In the medieval period, mystics and saints across India began advocating for the use of vernacular languages in religious expressions.
   • Key Figures:
     • Jnaneshwar (Maharashtra)
     • Basavanna (Karnataka)
     • Nammalvar (Tamil Nadu)
     • Tulsidas, Mirabai, Nanak, Kabir (North India)

3. Impact of Vernacular Languages:

   • These saints and mystics argued that vernacular languages could adequately express religious beliefs, challenging the hegemony of classical languages like Sanskrit.
   • Religious Reform: This movement helped liberate religious practices from the control of elites who were typically fluent in classical languages.
   • Accessibility: Scriptures and religious texts were translated into local languages, making them accessible to the common people.

4. Translation of Religious Texts:

• Reasons for Translation:
  • Accessibility: Making religious texts available to those who did not know classical languages (usually the masses and lower castes).
  • Missionary Influence: The growing influence of Roman Catholic and Protestant missionaries necessitated the translation of religious texts into vernacular languages to reach the local population.
• Examples:
• Jain scriptures were translated into Kannada and Hindi.

British India and Language

Key Points:

1. Colonial Interest in English Education:

   • Purpose:
     • Low-Wage Labor: Educating Indians in English created a workforce for clerical jobs at reduced costs.
     • Political Control: English was used to create a class of British-loyal Indians.
   • Impact:
     • Class Divide: English education created a divide between wealthy urban dwellers and the rural poor.
     • Regional Disparities: Regions more influenced by the British saw more widespread adoption of English, furthering inequalities.

2. Loyalty to Mother Tongues:

   • Cultural Persistence: Despite the imposition of English, most Indians continued to use their native languages, especially at home.
   • Women's Role: As women often did not receive English education, the home language remained the mother tongue.
   • Religious and Cultural Practices: Religious rituals and texts, such as the Ramayana, were conducted and read in native languages, preserving linguistic diversity.

3. Failure to Establish English as the National Language:

   • Cultural Affinities: The strong ties between regional languages and local identities prevented English from becoming the national language.
   • Identity Assertion: Even English-speaking individuals often preferred to identify with their regional dialects to assert their cultural identity.

4. British Exploitation of Religious Pluralism:

   • Divide and Rule Policy:
     • Post-1857 Revolt: The British realized the potential threat of unity among religious groups after the revolt, where both Hindu and Muslim soldiers refused to use rifle cartridges greased with cow and pig fat.
     • Bengal Partition (1905): Bengal was divided along religious lines, creating Muslim-majority East Bengal and Hindu-majority West Bengal.
     • Separate Electorate (1909): The Morley-Minto Act introduced separate electorates for Muslims, further dividing religious communities.

5. Preferential Treatment to Sikhs:

   • Sikh Recruitment: The British favored Sikhs for army jobs, creating the notion of Sikhs as a "martial race."
   • Myth of Martial Races: The British also created the "martial race" identity for the Gorkhas, using loyal hill men for military purposes.

6. Seeds of Discord:

• Religious Discord: The British strategy of dividing religious communities, especially Hindus and Muslims, was crucial for maintaining control over Indian principalities by fostering mistrust and division.

The Constitution and India’s Plurality

1. Secularism in the Indian Constitution

• Undefined Term: The term "secular" is not explicitly defined in the Indian Constitution, though it was added to the Preamble by the 42nd Amendment Act of 1976.
• Amendment Attempt: The Forty-fifth Amendment Bill (1978) attempted to define "secular" as "equal respect for all religions," but it was not accepted by the Council of States.

2. Origins of Secularism

• Latin Root: The term "secular" comes from the Latin word saeculum, meaning "century" or "age," indicating institutions separated from religion.
• Secularism: Coined by George Jacob Holyoake in 1851, secularism emerged as a response to Enlightenment and Renaissance values, promoting the separation of religion from individual and state life.
• Secularisation: Refers to the process where social institutions gain autonomy from religious influence, marked by urbanization, pluralism, tolerance, and pragmatism.

3. Constitutional Safeguards for Religious Pluralism

• Equal Freedom: The Constitution guarantees the right to practice, propagate, and profess any religion (Articles 25-30).
• Institutional Rights: Religious organizations can establish and maintain institutions for religious and charitable purposes.
• Tax Exemptions: Article 27 exempts religious activities from taxation.
• Education: The state keeps educational institutions free from religious instruction while protecting the cultural and educational rights of religious and linguistic minorities.

4. Linguistic Diversity in the Constitution

• Scheduled Languages: The Constitution lists 22 Scheduled languages in the Eighth Schedule, originally 14 in 1950, with 8 added later, including Maithili, Santhal, Konkani, and Sindhi.
• Non-Scheduled Languages: 99 languages are recognized as Non-Scheduled languages.
• State-Level Diversity: Beyond the Scheduled languages, individual states have their own official languages, contributing to India's rich linguistic diversity.

Language as a Tool of Reorganising State Boundaries

1. Initial State Formation Post-Independence

• Temporary Arrangement: At independence, 571 princely states were merged into 27 states based on historical and political factors, not on cultural or linguistic grounds.

2. Need for Linguistic Reorganisation

• Linguistic Diversity: India's vast linguistic diversity highlighted the need to reorganize states on a more permanent, culturally sensitive basis.
• S.K. Dhar Commission (1948): Suggested reorganisation based on administrative convenience, rejecting linguistic basis.
• JVP Committee (1948): Formed by Nehru, Patel, and Sitaramayya; also rejected the idea of immediate linguistic reorganisation.

3. Creation of Linguistic States

• Andhra Pradesh (1953): First linguistic state created in response to the agitation by Telugu-speaking people.
• Fazl Ali Commission (1956): Recommended reorganisation on a linguistic basis, resulting in the creation of 14 states and 6 union territories.

4. Further State Reorganisations

• 1960: Bombay was split into Gujarat and Maharashtra after agitations and violence.
• Nagaland (1963): Created for Nagas.
• Punjab Reorganisation (1966): Based on the Shah Commission report, Punjab was divided into Punjab, Haryana, and Himachal Pradesh as a Union Territory.
• Uttarakhand (2000): Carved out of Uttar Pradesh due to the Pahari identity and distinct languages (Kumaoni and Garhwali).
• Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh (2000): Created from Bihar and Madhya Pradesh, respectively.
• Telangana (2014): Carved out of Andhra Pradesh.

5. Role of Language in State Boundaries

• Core of Reorganisation: Language has been a central factor in the reorganisation of state boundaries, reflecting the cultural and linguistic diversity of India.

6. Summary

• Religious and Linguistic Pluralism: India's Constitution safeguards both religious and linguistic pluralism, ensuring equal freedom for all religions and recognition for all significant languages.
• Historical and Modern Influence: Language has historically shaped religious consciousness and played a crucial role in modern state reorganisation, reflecting the intrinsic connection between language and identity in India.