Conversations on India—Staying Original : The Young India

Kartikey Sehgal

(In coffee shops, restaurants and elsewhere, a selection from conversations on India and its ancient culture. The author has connected the various thoughts as a story. Written in conversational style and the author addresses the reader at some places.)

How old are we (the ‘youth for new culture’ variety) to demand that we do not want the India of the past because we cannot connect to it. And hence we start movements and labels groups as superstitious and backward because we don’t want their thought to prevail. Because you cannot connect to the culture does not mean that the culture must not prevail or a new culture must be born.
(Culture, during the conversations, was understood as vedas, upanishads and ‘the old stuff’.)
If you cannot connect then it’s your problem. If I cannot connect then it’s my problem. Leave the nation and live among those whom you accept. You cannot live in a country and try to change its ideas to suit your ideas. I don’t, as a rule, worship snakes. I may even attempt to kill them. But if the inhabitants worship snakes then I don’t look down upon them. Should I have a problem with their snake worshiping or other aspects of their culture then I will leave this nation and relocate to a place where the people will join me in laughing at the snake worshippers. Or I will stay here and not bother them—and this is the grandness of India. I may not accept and yet be accepted. I can be an atheist and live easily among the believers—I will not join the snake worshipping clan. If snakes are being killed because of the worship then I will explain to the people ill-effects of forcing snakes to drink milk.

The people of this nation have every right to be themselves. Since they didn’t bother other nations with their ideologies, the other nations or cultures have no business trying to change this nation. Change is good but change within the culture, change to better the culture.

If tribal societies prepare their teen girls for healthy sexual affairs then I will tell them about HIV and give them condoms. I will not destroy or mock their culture or make them change. If I am not comfortable then I will refuse their invitation to join them. But in no way can I ask them or force them to change and then expect that they not get violent with me.

Similarly, you cannot look down upon the customs and traditions of the Indian people and expect that they treat you well. If you don’t like their Gods and songs then leave them alone. Don’t try to ‘correct’ them or convert them. They will hate it. They never converted or forced anybody into becoming like them and they don’t want you to do that to them.

We have people who want to disregard the ancient Indian culture and be modern so that women lead better lives. How exactly this modernity helps women they are not able to explain. But they put in feminism and corrective patriarchy. Tell them about Indian women in the past, that the Rig Veda had women authors and they bring to you female infanticide. Tell them that is not a product of following the Vedas and the conversation goes nowhere, because, they don’t give a damn about India as such. They are influenced by philosophies. Not Indian. They think that following Indian philosophy would mean the purdah system for women. It would mean that women would not work or study. Then tell them again about the Rig Veda and the women authors and it’s a cycle.

So what’s the solution to the pathetic state of women. Leave culture altogether or go back to culture. If there has to be a decision then it must be in favour of those who see Indian culture as a potent force. The proponents of this include M K Gandhi, Veer Savarkar, Swami Vivekananda who saw Indian civilization as a civilization. If Ambedkar believed that we must leave the cruel practices of Hinduism and adopt new religions, then Gandhi said that the cruelties in the first place were never a part of the Hindu fold and it would be wise to go back to what you were denied by the invasions.

Let me stop this. Let me first be clear if you actually know what you are talking. If your ideas about India come from biases or what someone has told you then it is useless to talk. You will forever believe that sati is sanctioned by the Indian system. Actually, even if it is, then you are not obliged to follow the order. You are free to reject. It’s not some dictum. But this would be far-fetched for you if you think that infanticide is a Hindu custom that needs to be eradicated and as such we should have a nation of Indians and the Hinduism part must be subsided. Unfortunately, this is what I was told, that the Hindu idea must be broken and we must have a nation that is not Hindu. We must celebrate the festivals because it’s fun but, like, not really be into them. As if Hindus are a dangerous world conquering race. Would the religions and other communities, in this new un-Hindu India, leave behind their religion and ideas?

The answer to this was absurd and none of the talkers could talk about it.

Share This Story

The Young India

Conversations on India—Staying Original

on November 7, 2009

Elsewhere

Site Navigator