Why retell Indian History and reinforce its Culture?
Why the fuss, in recent years, about retelling Indian History? And, why reinforce its ancient culture? After all, these are well in the past?
Because Indians have shied away from their culture, for long, developing a distaste for it and now suffer a loss of their ‘Cultural Identity’.
Due to this alienation from their ancient culture, Indians have sought refuge in different identities, making India a hotbed of ‘Identity Politics’.
In all of this India’s ‘National Identity’ has fractured which is why, a few years ago, there was even a proposal to place a battle-tank on a university campus to stir feelings of patriotism and nationalism.
Indirectly, India’s economy has suffered too due to lack of sufficient ‘Social Capital’ ( ie effective functioning of social groups). After all, the country has to dedicate resources to keep its house in order – a house that is continually afflicted by effects of ‘Identity Politics’ – social unrest, riots, mob lynching, loss of public property, court rulings and counter-rulings. Babri Masjid and Cow Politics are good examples.
If the above is not dismal enough, a fractured ‘National Identity’ has eroded India’s image in the eyes of the World Community. Also, she has become an easy target for inimical and anti-national forces.
This article talks about how retelling India’s History and Culture can minimize ‘Cow Politics’, a form of Identity Politics.
Historical fact 1 – One of the longest running anti-colonial movement was a revolt against the British practice of cow slaughter and that it lasted for 14 years (1880 to 1894)? More importantly, prominent Indian Muslims had participated in this movement?
Cows have been the backbone of Indian Agriculture and key to the Indian prosperity. Robert Clive, founder of the British Empire in India, realized this.
Historical fact 2 – Clive broke this backbone when he opened India’s first formal cow slaughter house in 1760 in Kolkata. He also removed the ban on cow slaughter, in practice, off and on, since the Mughal times.
Going a step further, he employed Indian Muslims to create a Hindu-Muslim divide and successfully seeded the thought in the minds of a few Indian Muslims that beef eating was their religious right.
Religious Right — maybe, Cultural Right — No!
Culturally Indians, be Hindus or Muslims, have never been beef eaters. Let us understand why?
Many aspects of Culture are influenced by topography, climate and natural vegetation. India, with one of the largest parcels of arable land in the world, historically has not relied upon a meat diet unlike a China or a Saudi Arabia.
And, Indians, exposed to a warm climate, did not shift from a primarily vegetarian diet to keep themselves warm unlike the Europeans.
Also, our ancestors may have realized that the cow is far more useful when alive than when slaughtered. Which is why, our ancient scriptures, the “Vedas” bestow upon the cow the status of the “Aghnya” - One that ought not to be killed; “Ahi” – One that must not be slaughtered; “Aditi”- One that ought not to be cut into pieces*.
So why did a section of Indian Muslims break away from the cultural practice of respect for the cow?
Culture emerges organically over thousands of years, when cultural practices become a tradition, some even turning sacred. However, over time, the logic of why a cultural practice originated may be lost. When this occurs, the practice may lose some of its followers.
Once there are enough non-followers, discord sets in between the followers and non-followers. This was seen in Medieval India when Islamic influence led to the cow being slaughtered on a visible scale for the first time in recorded history. Whether the cow was meted out a similar treatment in ancient India, as some interpretations (or mis-interpretations) of the “Vedas” indicate, is unclear due to lack of conclusive evidence .
Historical fact 3 – Even the invading Mughals understood the sanctity of the cow and desisted from violating it beyond a point. Cow slaughter was allowed but on special occasions of Eid. Not more than 20,000 cows per year were butchered, a figure that arose to 30,000 a day under the British, a comparison that Gandhi ji drew in a 1917 speech.
Author Dharampal, in his well researched book ‘The British Origin of Cow-Slaughter in India, clearly mentions that it wasn’t the ruling Mughals but the colonial British who first used the Cow to divide Indian Hindus and Muslims.
If there was an excellent opportunity to reinstate the ‘Cultural Identity’ of India and make it the foundation to ensure a rock-solid ‘National Identity’, for generations of Indians to come, it was when the Indian Constitution was being drawn in the early 1950s.
Alas, our founding leaders, despite pre-independence promises by Nehru and Gandhi ji, chose ‘Religious sentiments’ over ‘Cultural traditions’ to inspire the Constitution and did not pass a nation-wide anti-cow slaughter law.
They forgot that Culture emerges organically over centuries while Religion is man-made; That Culture can successfully over-arch multiple Religions; That Culture is larger than Religion and also includes Social Groups, History, Language, Government, Economy, and more; That Culture, even though continually evolving over time and with technology, never loses its essence unless seriously brandished by alien cultures that may or may not be conducive to the local land.
Most importantly, they forgot that those aspects of Culture that are rooted in the science of climate, topography and natural vegetation are secular and all pervasive while Religion is not !
Hence, India’s Constitution, like its school history lessons, fractured the ‘National Identity’ of an ancient Nation once again, last done by the British. The cow was only one of the mediums!
Ironically, Article 48 of the Constitution, a Cow Protection provision, is itself symbolic of a fractured ‘National Identity’ because it allows our federal states to ply different laws that keep changing under successive state governments.
If the cattle industry logistics are bothersome, then India should reproduce only the number of cows that its fodder supply and cow sheds can well support. Indians may use a ‘fallen cow’ for its hide but not slaughter one.
Furthermore, eating the cow (ie Animal Agriculture) is not conducive to the ecology as recent data from the Beef-eating West is beginning to prove.
To conclude, Indians are not meant to be beef eaters for Cultural reasons that are rooted in science and logic. And, Culture is bigger than Religion! If every Indian realizes this, then ‘Cow Politics’ can end.
In this realization lies the solution to bring our ‘National Identity’ closer to our ‘Cultural Identity’ . Gandhi ji was echoing a similar sentiment when he once said “Cow Protection is the greatest civilizational gift that Hinduism can give to the world.”
Finally, it is not so much about the Cow ! It is about delving deeper into our ancient culture, being proud of it, touting it as school lessons and imbibing it in our daily lives. In the process, Indians will gradually reclaim their lost ‘Cultural Identity’.
A natural ‘National Identity’ will then emerge, one that doesn’t need the Constitution to uphold it, and one that is less fractured.
A new India would be born then! All it needs is its ‘Cultural Identity’ back.
