Author: Mohan Ashtakala
Publication: Denver Post
Date: April 30, 2004
URL: http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36~158~2117105,00.html
It was disappointing to read Pius
Kamau's comments regarding Hinduism in Thursday's Denver Post, not only
for the lack of knowledge about this religion that he displayed, but also
because he confuses the reader on the whole issue of racial tension between
Asians and Africans in Africa.
India was the first of Great Britain's
colonies. As such, it was the scene of many social experiments by the colonialists.
One such experiment was to create a class of bureaucrats or administrators,
who would run the vast country, on a day-to-day basis, on behalf of the
comparatively small number of English overlords. This experiment was such
a success that the British decided to import Indian administrators to almost
every colonial government that they established around the world, including
Africa.
Thus, the Indians became the face
of colonial administrations around the world and, in some ways, bore the
brunt of anger against the oppressors, where the real perpetrators of injustice
- the European colonialists - escaped with little blame. Indians, being
part of the establishment, naturally became successful in other areas,
as Kamau mentions, such as banking and commerce.
Unfortunately, Kamau, instead of
giving the historical and rational analysis to this problem, indulges in
a long and unfortunate diatribe against the world's oldest universal religion,
Hinduism. In this, he mouths the same old tired clichés that the
old-time missionaries used against Hinduism. It is obvious where Kamau
got his education: in one of the citadels of Western education in Africa,
the mission schools. These, too, are a product of colonialism: English
education in Third World countries has been in the hands of the religiously
motivated, who used their positions to spread ignorance and bigotry about
any religion or culture other than their own.
Here are some of Kamau's charges
against Hinduism: In it, "lower castes are enslaved"; "humanity exists
in a rigid chamber in Hinduism"; and it "consigns a vast number of its
children to slavery and bondage."
Kamau should study the history of
the religion he so disparages. If he did, he would find that in the past
several hundred years, practically every movement within Hinduism has fought
to reform the social ills that crept into the body of Hinduism, especially
the caste system. The caste system was originally meant to create respect
for a natural division of labor in society, to give each person his place.However,
over time, it became an oppressive system which prevented social mobility.
The past several hundred years or
so have found that Hindu society has undergone vast changes, a kind of
reformation, which have made it adaptable to the modern world without giving
up its core beliefs or values. Most prominent of these movements were the
Brahmo Samaj of Bengal, the Bhakti (devotional) movements that swept throughout
India, and in South India, the Veershaivas.
In fact, Hinduism has survived more
than 700 years of foreign occupation, first by the Moghuls and then by
the Europeans. Maybe Kamau could explain why such an "oppressive" religion
has commanded so much loyalty from its followers, and continues to inspire
its adherents both in India and newcomers from around the world. Hindu-majority
India is one of the few countries where pluralistic and democratic political
and social systems exist in the world today. In this, it is very much like
America.
It is good that Kamau has brought
the racial tensions in Africa to the attention of his readers. This tension
requires dialogue, reconciliation and proper policy by African governments
for a change. It would have been more instructive if he had presented the
real reasons for it, instead of having indulged in unwarranted religious
bigotry. This leads nowhere, especially not to any dialogue, reconciliation
or change.
Mohan Ashtakala is publisher of
The Himalayan News, a southeast Asia community newspaper based in Denver.
