LIBERATING THE INDIAN MAN AND WOMAN

 

Before I am a Christian, Catholic, I am a human being living in India within its socio-cultural reality. The past few years have proved that India is in the midst of political violence, killings, corruption, religious intolerance, bigotry, religions politicized, terrorism, poverty, injustice, inequality and social discrimination. Within a pluralistic setting of India, with its various religious faith expressions — diversities within one nation — one finds the national integrity, peace and unity is at risk. Religious pluralism is threatened. Religions often devalued the economic, social, political activities due to narrow vested interest. Men and women are not free. These paradoxical situation prompted me to reflect and give a possible answer to the total integral freedom of Indian men and women, from a Christian point of view.

The real peril India faces is majority communalism (Cf. Sunanda Datta-Ray, “Closed minds”, The Telegraph, Kolkata 11 June 2022.). Religious, political or social practices (even superstition) are mixed up for particular political agenda.  It becomes all the more difficult of separating the social from the religious. Secularism in its true sense is difficult in India. Traditional cultural rites are sanctified into rituals giving them religious overtone with the majoritarian ‘Brahmanical sanctions’ making others ‘non-Hindustanis’. Consequently, such majoritarianism makes the minority communities to assert their identities in this democratic republic India. The Gyanvapi mosque controversy, disrespect to Religious founders by the leaders of the ruling party, reduce the minorities to victimhood, just being ‘tolerated’ to live in India, faced with public humiliation. It exposes the closed minded, opportunistic and unprincipled majoritarian leaders, insensitive to all the rest of the minorities.  The lack of commitment to ethnic and cultural pluralism within India’s demographic reality, will only put India in peril and anarchy. The politicians at the helm of governance, go scot-free for their abusive and divisive remarks on media, the Cow-vigilantes, the ‘Love-jihad terrorism’, communalization of central institutions including education,  and the RSS-VHP-Bajrang- Sanghis’ ‘crusadic’ Dharma Sansads and venomous speeches, the rewriting of pro-Hindutva history, are all instruments of intimidation. The cultures of the Indian men/women, against the present Hindutva demagogues, have to be respected.

 India is passing through a time of tension. Today, we are fighting over collective history (objectively interpreted) and selective and personalized memory (subjectively owned) in India. The ruling political parte is engaged in an exercise of rewriting ‘memory’ and thus destroying the historical legacy. The fanatic Hindutva-ites, having politically identified themselves with particular religious narratives, are determined to reclaim their heritage, with the coercive path of uniformity of language, culture and economy (Hindurashtra) for electoral gain, through distorted memories and destructive violence. Paradoxically it breaks the cohesive bonds of the Indian men/women.

 

Following the Fascism ideology, the present dispensation, use manipulative strategies to win sympathy from the majority community, and denigrate and demonize minorities. The hatred and divisiveness incite people to violence in order to further their vested interests towards polarisation thus destroying pluralism and diversity. The Hindutva elements, for the past 20 years, have been disrupting the communal harmony in India, by accusing the Christians of forceful conversion and the Muslims of terrorist activities against India. Manipulative lies and divisive politics by the ruling regime have brought in anti-conversion laws in the states. It lacks the competency to deal with economy, inflation and unemployment. Outright, it is violating the rights and freedom of all minority citizens, to comply with the carefully planned Hindutva agenda.

 This multi-dimensional situation is the background to our reflection on the Christian faith and its contribution to liberation of Indian men and women. Christianity in a pluralistic India, through its belief in the triune leberative God (cosmotheandric and communitarian), has an answer to an integral living in freedom. Only a Trinitarian concept of Reality can make a synthesis of a multi-dimensional spirituality in India (Karma, Bhakti, Jnana).  Through this pluriform Trinitarian understanding, while taking Jesus of history and Christ of faith as a pathway, the Indian men and women could reach the integral freedom. An understanding of this Trinitarian structure of religious experiences offers a path for collaboration among all religions for growth and development. This liberation is possible only when we commit ourselves in transforming the present situation in India through communitarian living and communicative dialogue. 

I present here the Indian man and woman in his/her relationship with others and wish to confirm that Jesus is the path and mode to integral freedom with the India’s social-cultural, religio-spiritual settings. I have placed an understanding of the Trinitarian, Cosmotheandric vision of Reality — a closer relation of the Triune-God and Indian Pluralism. I propose a holistic approach to integral liberation. Certainly there is no one Indian understanding of men and women, or single understanding of various religions. Within a pluriform understanding of the Indian reality, being created in the image and likeness of God, a Christian has to be creative and liberative, opposing any dehumanizing force, and fight for equality and justice through the social and cultural praxis of love and solidarity. Integral freedom is the goal of Christian response to the Indian situation, following the “pedagogy of Jesus.”