NYT has run this
myth peddling piece on India. It certainly reeks of very shallow journalism
and even hints at some prejudiced position. I am not saying that the story is a
lie, far from that. But to represent the worrisome situation, a wrong
counterfactual has been provided.
The news is about ‘Christmas
celebrations in India’ which are marred by fear. The news tries to capture
environment of fear by developing a suggestive narrative about how Hindu right
groups have been interrupting the Christmas celebrations that used to happen hitherto
without any trouble. I agree with this part. There is a quasi-state apparatus
functional in India for which every individual act is open for scrutiny, remedy
and punishment and this apparatus serves as in independent regulatory
institution, without any check from the state. In fact, current rulers owe a
lot to this apparatus and hence they pretend to check this apparatus only after
apparatus has served it’s goal. The goal of the apparatus is to spread an idea
of nation which is nothing but manifestation of organized religion. Anyone who
doesn’t fit to this idea will either must change or perish. But this is not the
point here.
NYT, in the article, has argued,
more in ‘as if’ manner, that prior to regulatory attempts of Hindu right
groups, there used to be wide-spread Christmas celebrations in India, even when
Christians in India are just about 3% of Indian population. I would like to
argue that it is a myth. Christmas was always a religious celebration in India,
and it was celebrated only where there were Christians. Christians in India
have been relatively better off than other communities, aided by the historical
fact that Indian colonizers were largely believers in Christian faith. Elites
in India send their children to missionary run convents, who till few decades
back, were openly defying secularism by making involving their students in
Christian prayers. It is from these schools that elite in India became part of
celebrations of Christmas, not by faith, but by association. So, elites in Indian
cities and their consumption places became part of Christmas celebrations. And,
that what NYT captures (in fact there is some candid realization of this fact,
ironically!). But large swathes of India had and even today has nothing to do with
Christmas.
In last few years, festivals have become
ruse for the marketing. The Santa that appears in some shops even when non-Christian
is running shop is a marketing gimmick, it has nothing to do with Christmas celebration.
Like Ganesh that will appear during Ganesh festival, Laxmi during Diwali, Santa
appears during last 2 weeks of December. It is an add, an appeal to come and
by, not a gesture of faith. And even this marketing strategy is limited to those
areas where imitation of convent going elites had been way of life.
Even if there would have been single
Christian in India whose celebrations would have been interrupted by anyone
else, it is wrong, and it must be stopped and corrected. There is no need to
peddle the myth of tolerant and secular India to rise against current atmosphere of quasi-state regulation. Such mythical India existed only in the minds of some intellectuals. This is not to say that India was always
radically religious. Hindu dharma, which forms unseen foundation of majority of
Indians is not evangelist in nature, but it is a strong system of belief built not
on communal actions but on individual code of conduct. It binds individual very
strongly to dharma and hence there was always resistance to any attack on dharma,
but it stopped as soon as Hindu individuals were free to follow their
individual codes without hindrance. There was never an imposition by Hindus
till last few decades. The organized radicalization is not even hundred years
old.
India has around 80% Hindus and hence
things concerning Hindus dominate the institutions and discourses. It is an
outcome and not a purposeful arrangement. But recently, monopolized imposition
of some form of ‘organized Hinduism’ has been championed by quasi-state actors
and state has been apparently playing a supporting role. But concern over the
same need not be based on myth of India that was secular or tolerant, one where
irrespective or religion everybody celebrated Christmas.