The Indic universe gave
birth to four major world religions, diverse tools of philosophical
thought and a variety of cultural traditions. It has witnessed
dramatic and sometimes cataclysmic encounters with non-Indic
religious traditions. The sub-continent also nurtured several
persecuted religious traditions (e.g., Jews, Zoroastrians,
Bahaiis) from different parts of the world. India is home
to virtually all of the contemporary religions of the world
and their interaction and dialogue has produced highly creative
cultural forms. Within the Indic world, the diverse communities
innovated their own different ways of relating to each other
and living together. In contemporary times these traditions
of co-living of communities are being reworked into new social-institutional
and legal-political forms, especially through state policies
and the working of democratic politics. This has radically
changed the relations among the ethno-religious communities,
making the traditionally established codes of co-living less
effective for a more modern, multi-cultural society. Consequently,
the old ritualistically and theologically determined boundaries
between various religious communities as well as between folk
and classical religious traditions are being transmitted into
ethno-political identities contending with each other for
power and hegemony rather than theological truth claims.
These developments have now begun to compel
different religious communities to engage in new modes of
religious dialogue and recover common civilisational ground,
often even bypassing the long held theological differences
among them. This has become necessary not just for the survival
of different communities but even more urgently for countering
the violence-prone agenda of global homogenization which is
distorting or destroying cultural-religious communities on
the course of self destruction.
The dialogic process, even if uneven and
tardy so far, has brought into existence many new political-cultural
symbols, socio-religious practices and codes of behaviour
transcending traditional boundaries of communities and bringing
them to deal with each other in trans communal spaces. The
challenges and conflicts thrown up through this process are
being handled mainly through the realm of politics or through
cinema. Unfortunately, the academic world has not engaged
with religious and cultural issues with the seriousness they
deserve because study of these two disciplines has not yet
found academic legitimacy. While many highly regarded universities
in various parts of the world contain well-developed departments
for the study of Indic religions, no university in India hosts
similar, rigorous programmes of religious studies. It is a
matter of great concern that the scholarly study of Indic
culture and religion has not become a well-established discipline
within the academic world in India. One of the consequences
of this failure is the continuing hold of misleading stereotypes
about the nature of Indic religious thought and practice and
about the interrelations of ethno-religious communities living
in the sub continent.
An important fallout of this neglect is that
in India people’s ignorance about their past heritage
makes it easy for unscrupulous politicians to manipulate religious
sentiments. Just as India’s Partition on religious lines
was the handiwork of secular politicians like Jinnah and not
of religious leaders, so also issues such as the Babri Masjid
Ram Mandir came to be raised by politicians of the Sangh Parivar
for electoral purposes rather than by religious leaders. Ignorance
about the history of Indic religions and cultures is widespread
even among the so-called educated elite. Politicians and bureaucrats
run most important Hindu temples and Sikh gurudwaras. Imams
have been reduced to the status of government employees. And
yet these statist political encroachments on religious institutions
are not the subject of study or discussion in India, even
among those who believe in the separation of religion from
State.
In order to fill this vacuum, the Centre
for the Study of Developing Societies, in collaboration with
Manushi, has initiated the Indic Studies Project. Our endeavour
is to encourage rigorous, study of diverse cultures and religious
traditions in India and their associated: Hinduism, Zoroastrianism,
Bahaii, Jainism, Buddhism, Neo-Buddhism, Christianity, Islam
and Sikhism, including their various sects and branches. Our
aim is to promote and encourage study of vital but neglected
issues, which have a profound bearing on the well being of
our society. We believe it is imperative to situate the study
of Indic religions at the interface of politics and culture.
The Indic Studies Project has so far organised
two International Conferences on Religions and Cultures in
the Indic Civilisation. This is the beginning of an important
new process, which has far reaching implications for the political,
cultural and intellectual future of India.
The most important contribution of this Project
is that it brings together on one platform a diverse range
of views and perspectives from otherwise often hostile camps.
Those who are familiar with the academic scene in India recognise
that in practically all disciplines a sharp divide has come
to exist between those who see themselves as leftists and
all those who are dubbed as rightists. They seldom meet for
dialogue on a common platform and tend to attack each other
either through newspapers or in their respective enclaves
where the ‘other’ is critiqued in absentia. This
division of academics into two permanently hostile camps has
proved very harmful for academic institutions in India; it
even affects recruitment choices. In order to get a job, scholars
are forced to belong to one group or the other, promoting
a herd mentality. Each group is aligned, openly or covertly,
to either a national party or a regional party. The consequent
battle for control over academic institutions through patronised
appointments has played an important role in destroying the
academic health of our educational institutions. Even academic
issues are debated on party lines rather than on intellectual
merit.
This polarised situation must change if we
are to promote a spirit of genuine intellectual enquiry. Our
ability to deal with complex issues and find meaningful solutions
to many contentious problems will remain impaired if we do
not learn to engage with issues and academic pursuits in a
non-partisan manner. That is why the Programme Committee of
the Indic Studies Conferences worked hard to ensure that people
of diverse political views and social philosophies get to
hear and engage each other in meaningful dialogue. Lot of
people had expressed apprehensions that this unusual mix might
lead to fisticuffs and violence. We consider it a big achievement
that nothing of the sort happened. Barring a few voices of
disapproval, by and large this endeavour has received widespread
appreciation. For example, Paul Courtright, whose 20-year
old book on Ganesh has provoked a recent wave of outrage in
the US, was concerned about coming to the first Conference,
thinking he might even be physically attacked. We assured
him nothing of the sort would happen and that most participants
would respect our endeavour to provide a non-partisan forum.
I am happy that our faith has been justified by the way Marxists,
Maoists, liberals, scholars with known Congress leanings,
and members/sympathisers of the Sangh Parivar discussed contentious
issues with each other, as well as those scholars who avoid
being aligned with any political party, without creating an
unpleasant or violent atmosphere.
According to knowledgeable people, these
conferences brought together the largest ever gatherings of
social scientists in Delhi on any subject – perhaps
the first ever in India, which was not organised by a professional
association such as the Indian History Congress or the Association
of Indian Sociologists. Scholars from virtually every discipline
– sociology, anthropology, history, political science,
philosophy, literature, science and even information technology
– participated in the Conference. We hope that over
the coming years we can strengthen this multi-disciplinary
approach and create a larger academic space for those who
wish to remain unencumbered by party politics and ideological
battles and instead deal with each issue on merit and come
up with creative responses to the intellectual challenges
of our times.
Future Plans and
Possibilities
Apart from organizing the international conference
series that began in December 2003, we intend to organize
more in-depth workshops and dialogues as vehicles of intellectual
exchange on important issues that have major societal implications
and therefore require sensitive handling to break the existing
deadlocks between contending communities. For example, there
is a great deal of interest in carrying forward the process
set into motion during the Second International Conference
which hosted special sessions on the Ethics and Politics of
Conversions.
We are encouraged by the fact that some of
the participating scholars have expressed interest in bringing
in their respective institutions to collaborate with us in
an ongoing manner to give greater stability and continuity
to IsNEW. Some other scholars have also shown an interest
in exploring the possibility of institutional collaborations
through their respective universities for specific events.
There is also a great deal of interest in raising resources
for commissioning studies to develop an appropriate curriculum
for use in schools, as well as in undergraduate and post-graduate
classes.
These tasks can be performed effectively
only if a wide community of scholars and students participates
actively in formulating and guiding its agenda and course
of action.
We welcome your feedback and suggestions. Those interested
in joining the Indic Studies Network (Is New)
may contact us at madhupurnima@indicstudies.org
Our postal addresses are:
Madhu Purnima Kishwar,
Indic Studies Project,
Centre for the Studies of developing Societies,
29 Rajpur Road, Civil Lines,
Delhi 110054
Phone: 23978851
and
Manushi, C1/3 Sangam Estate, 1 Underhill
Road, Civil Lines, Delhi 110054.
