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This work is protected by copyright and other intellectual property rights and duplication or sale of all or part is not permitted, except that material may be duplicated by you for research, private study, criticism/review or educational purposes. Electronic or print copies are for your own personal, non- commercial use and shall not be passed to any other individual. No quotation may be published without proper acknowledgement. For any other use, or to quote extensively from the work, permission must be obtained from the copyright holder/s. MARGINALITY, IDENTITY AND POLITICISATION OF THE BHANGICOMMUNITY, DELHI. A Thesis Submitted to the University of Keele for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy. by RamaSharma March, 1987 Volume 2 BEST COPY AVAILABLE V 0m ri ble print quality i Vol. II CHAPTER CONTENTS PAGE 9. ReI igi on 224 10. Politics 300 11. Trade Unionism 408 12. Conclusions 481 13. Selected BibliographY 507 224 CHAPTER9 Religion 9.1. LEVELSOF HINDUISM Religion, to the anthropologist, -Is*the totality, of a society's beliefs and practices concerning the supernatural. Hinduism Is discernible at two planes, whether in towns or in villages. One is the ultimate literary Hinduism going back to the Vedas, commentaries on Vedas, later Sanskrit texts and the higher gods and goddesses of Hinduism. The other is the popular Hinduism, abounding in local deities that have no mention In the Sanskrit traditions. Both levels of Hinduism have their own complexes of beliefs and rituals. Mcklm Marriotthas called these two levels of Hinduism as the Great Tradition and Little Tradition. Mandelbaum has termed them as Transcendental complex and Pragmatic complex of religion. Both aspects of religion are Popularly considered to be complementary. The higher gods are Invoked In life cycle ceremonies, their power affects all and they are believed to sustain the social order, Local deities, sometimes under slightly different local names, are worshipped as they are believed to give protection against disease and other misfortunes. There are also ghosts and spirits. These supernatural entities cause and cure illness and other calamities. - These two religious systems exist In peaceful co-existence, thanks to Hinduism's tolerance. The higher universalistic gods are worshipped by all but more so by the higher castes who, until quite recent times had the monopoly of literacy to under- stia nd the ancient texts, whether in Sanskrit or the trans- lations In vernaculars. The lower castes found religious solace 225 in local deities whose tradition was verbal., and ritual simple and uncomplicated. The lower castes are aware of the univer- salistic gods, If only for the reason that until recent history, these castes were excluded, from the temples of these gods. The untouchables were understood to be permanently polluted and therefore excluded from the sanctums of these gods which could not be entered even by the Brahmin priest before he had under- gone the prescribed purity rituals. Looked at another way, 'Social' arrangements of rank and distance, privilege of birth and caste could be sustained If the Brahmins and other high castes Paid homageto super Brahmins, the transcendental gods. Presented thus, rank and privilege would appear to the under privileged God-ordained. While for reasons given above, the universal gods are worshipped more by the higher castes and the lesser deities by the lower, the demarcation Is not absolute. Lower castes regard the higher gods as their gods. The upper castes, especially the women, make vows and offerings to the local deities, even consult the Shamanswho are usually, but not always, from the low castes. The deities have thus provided a meeting ground for the upper and the lower castes. But the contact, In religious terms, is short and temporary. For all practical purposes, the two levels of Hindu society have re- mained socially segregated. There are different views about the culture and life Style of untouchables. According to Berreman, they are thought to be lazy. unreliable, dishonest, easy going, improvident, sullen, devoted to music, liquor and sex. They develop these characteristics Just to escape from the consequences Of their 226 caste identity and birth ascribed oppression. (Berreman 1972; 172). Others regard the 'untouchables' having their own culture systems. Their cultural system is sometimes described as 'little tradition' containing elements of a pre-Aryan and non- Brahminic value system. (Cohn 1955) According to others, the cultural system of untouchables stands In its own right, but distinct from the dominant Brahmanic culture (Miller 1966). 9.2. LOWERCASTE PROTEST Whatever the theories about the cultural tradition of the untouchables, one thing Is certain that they have suffered exploitation at the hands of the upper %castes,both socially and economically. The lower castes did not accept their low economic and social position without protest. Several times they have tried to assert their social and political Identity. The anti-Brahmin revolts In Indian history, Buddhism and Jainism, Bhakti movements, the social and political movementsof modern times, they all have a commontheme - the struggle of these groups to reassert their dignity and equality vis-a-vis the upper castes. Much has been said about the process of Sanskritization which Irl Is defined as: the process by which a 'low' Hindu caste, or tribal or other groupo changes its customs. ritual, Ideology and way of lifd in the direction of a high and frequently, 'twice born' caste. " (Srinivas 1966;6) This process was adopted by low castes as a means of enhancing status, within the caste hierarchy. Sanskritization never 227 worked for untouchables, because they were below the ritual barrier. Bhakti sects led by social reformers and saints like Tukaram, Chokha Mela, Kabir and Raidas in medieval times stressed the social injustices to which the lower strata of Hindu society were subjected. They rejected some elements of the Sanskritic religion, and ceremonial practices of Hinduism like caste- distinctions, idolatory, pilgrimages, vows, fasts. Their funda- mental teaching was love, devotion and the equality of all men regardless of their birth or status. Bhankti movements enhanced the self-respect of the low castes. Emulation of upper caste culture was one way for achieving status and dignity. Bhakti sects which existed as a protest against the Sanskritic religion of the twice-born castes were seen by lower castes as the other route to achieve that dignity and self- respect. consequently a few lower castes are followers of Raidas, Kabir and other Bhakti Imarg' saints. As in case of other movements, Bhakti sects rose and perished leaving the caste system intact. 9.3. RELIGIOUSCONVERSIONS Large scale conversions of lower castes Into non-Hindu religions Is another Indication of the struggle of these castes for human dignity and self-respect. Conversion is a voluntary change of religion from one faith to another. But conversion under threat (as in the case of Islam) and inducements (as In the case of Christian conversion) Is not a change of religion in truth. It Is a corruption imposed by the Institutions or 228 individuals. In any conversion movementof lower castes the issue was not only economic, but also one of humandignity and social acceptability. But conversions did not have significant effects on the life of the converts. Caste system has seeped deep into the life of Individuals in India. Converts retained their caste distinctions in their new religions. The new religions had their Pre-existing status gradations. Islam In India has Ashrafs and non-Ashrafs, the Christians had their divisions: the white missionary, the local upper caste convert and the more numerous lower caste converts. These latter retained their marginal position In the new set up. Their poverty and Illiteracy ensured their Ignorance of the literary tradition of the new religions. The result was a thin layer of hearsay Islam or Christianity. For all practical purposes, the lower castes continued observing their age-old beliefs and practices. Hindu religion, threatened by these conversion movements, defended itself. The defence was spearheaded by Arya Samaj. Through 'Shuddhil or purification, Arya Samaj sought to win back the untouchables who had embraced Islam or Christianity. Hundreds of thousands of untouchables were, brought back Into the Hindu fold. Bhangis' excursion into Islam had not changed their economic or social position. Delhi's 'Shehril Bhangls had noted that their caste fellows In the rural areas of Paniab and Western U.P. who had becomeChristian converts.. had not fared any better. Consequently, not many changed their religion from nominal Islam to nominal Christianity. Those who had, were soon won back by ArYa Samaj, whose Shuddhi attracted even 229 the Muslim converts among Bhangis. Islam had pursued the policy of stick and carrot in the service of Allah, the Christian miss.ionaries had more subtle governmental backing and economic inducements. Bhangis returned to Hinduism out of their own free will when they reallsed that they were Hindus before their conversion to Islam, or more recently, some conversion to Christianity. The upper caste Hindus won them back when they reallsed that their treatment of untouchables was wrong In every sense of the word. The Bhangis returned to Hinduism as a matter of right because it was the religion of their forefathers, and not because It was the religion of any new masters. Arya Samaj accomplished the Shuddhi mission when Hindus along with the others were a colonial people; add even before Mahatma Gandhi stepped into the field. The Balmiki tradition among the Bhangis which lay covered under the dust of time was revived by Arya Samaj. It was not a new identity but re-discovery of the forgotten identity. The close and in- separable link of the Bhangis with the Hindus was established through Balmiki or Valmiki, the saint of the Bhangis and the author of the Hindu epic Ramayana.

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