Proceedings of 1st World Asian Studies Conference WASC-2015

11th -12th -13th August 2015

The International Institute of Knowledge Management (TIIKM)

Colombo, Sri Lanka

Committee of the WASC- 2015

The International Institute of Knowledge Management (TIIKM)

Tel: +94(0) 11 3132827 [email protected]

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The responsibility for opinions expressed, in articles, studies and other contributions in this publication rests solely with their authors, and this publication does not constitute an endorsement by the WASC or TIIKM of the opinions so expressed in them

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Proceedings of the 1st World Asian Studies Conference

Edited by Dilan Rathnayake and Others

ISSN: 2424-676x

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Organized by:

The International Institute of Knowledge Management (TIIKM)

WASC-2015 Committee

DR. SUREN RĀGHAVAN (Conference Chair, WASC -2015)

Centre for , University of Oxford, United Kingdom

PROF. RUSSELL BOWDEN (Session Chair, WASC-2015)

Sri Lanka Association of Buddhist Studies – SLABS

MR. ISANKA. P. GAMAGE (Conference Convenor, WASC-2015)

The International Institute of Knowledge Management

MR. OSHADEE WITHANAWASAM (Conference Publication Chair, WASC-2015)

The International Institute of Knowledge Management

MISS. LUKSHANI INDRACHAPA (Chief Conference Coordinator, WASC-2015)

The International Institute of Knowledge Management

MR. CHANDRANATH GAMAGE (Conference Organizing Committee, WASC 2015)

The International Institute of Knowledge Management

MISS. THULAKSHANA DILRUKSHI (Conference Organizing Committee, WASC 2015)

The International Institute of Knowledge Management

MR. LAKSHAN DARSHANA (Conference Organizing Committee, WASC 2015)

The International Institute of Knowledge Management

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EditorialEditorial BoardBoard--ICOM WASC 2013- 2015

Editor in Chief

Dr. Suren Rāghavan, Centre for Buddhist Studies, University of Oxford, United Kingdom

Editorial Board

Dr. D.A.C Suranga Silva, Department of Economics, University of ,Sri Lanka

Mr. D. T. Rathnayake, Faculty of Management studies and Commerce, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka

The Editorial Board is not responsible for the content of any research paper.

Prof.Scientific Oyaziwo Committee Aluede, Department- WASC - 2015 Of Educational Foundations And Management, Ambrose Alli

Dr. Franklin Thambi Jose, Faculty of Languages &Communication, Sultan Idris Education University, Malaysia

Dr. Barbara Watson Andaya, Asian Studies Program, University of Hawai'i, USA

Dr. Nerisa N. Paladan, Ateneo de Naga University, Philippines

Prof. Sangita Rayamajhi, Asian University for Women, Bangladesh

Prof. N. S. Cooray, International University of Japan, Japan

Mr. Dale Konstanz, Fine and Applied Arts Division, Mahidol University International College, Thailand

Dr. Ramir Philip Jones, Mindanao University of Science and Technology, Philippines

Prof. John C. McDowell, University of Edinburgh, Australia

Dr. Ruth Kattumuri , Asia Research Centre, The London School of Economics (LSE), India

Dr. (Mrs.) Ravinder Kaur Cheema, Department of History, G.N.Khalsa College, University of Mumbai, India

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Table of Contents Page No

01. Dhamma’s Transmission and The Pāli Theravāda Canon 01

Prof. Russell Bowden

02. Revisiting the Recent Inclusiveness of the Women’s Rights in India 10 and Bangladesh – A Human Rights Perspective

Dr. Lopamudra Sengupta 03. Between Tradition and Post-Modernization: Japanese Local 19 Community

Prof. Bedros Keliyan 04. A Comparative Study on the Case of Buddhist Nationalistic 27 Movements in and Sri Lanka: A Case Study on the 969 Movement in Myanmar and the in Sri Lanka

Mr. Yifan Zhang

05. The Concept of the Nāga in Society 37

Assistant Professor Dr. Chanchai Khongphianthum

06. Workplace Interaction among the Sinhalese (Buddhists) and the 43 in Sri Lanka

Ahamed Sarjoon Razick, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ahmad Sunawari Long, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Kamarudin Salleh 07. The Belles-Lettres of Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay: The Image 48 of The West in The Counter-Discourse

Ms. Nandini Ganguli

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Proceeding of 1st World Asian Studies Conference, Vol. 1, 2015, pp. 1-9 Copyright © TIIKM ISSN: 2424-676x online DOI: 10.17501/ wasc2015-1101 “DHAMMA’S TRANSMISSION AND THE PᾹLI THERAVᾹDA CANON” Bowden, R

Sri Lanka Association of Buddhist Studies, Sri Lanka

Abstract

This study presents a contrastive study of nasal sounds in Tamil and Sinhala languages on a structure framework. Tamil and Sinhala languages are the major languages in Sri Lanka. Both languages are the official languages in Sri Lanka. These two languages belong to different language families. Tamil belongs to the Dravidian language family, while Sinhala language family to the Indo- language family. This paper involves a contrastive and descriptive methodology. This research describes the place of articulation, manner of the articulation, distributions of sound and clusters of both languages. The main objective of this research paper is find out the similarities and dissimilarities and point out the specific features in both languages. Data was collected through self- observation and personal interviews. The important sources such as related books and article of the journals were used. This study will be helpful in second language teaching and learning and translation studies.

Keywords: Dravidian language, Indo-Aryan language, contrastive study, articulation, translation studies.

INTRODUCTION intact - of all the Buddhist schools “The significance of the Theravāda canon for us today is that it is the A history is required of the creation and development only canon preserved as part of an unbroken tradition of the Pāli Theravāda Canon created in India and Sri of practice, study and interpretation.” (Tilakaratne. Lanka in the period roughly preceding the 2000). Concentration will be on the activities that led parinibbana up to the unification of the Saṅgha in Sri to its creation. These are unique in comparison with Lanka in 1164/5 A.D – covering approximately 1,655 the scriptures of other Buddhist schools and with the years. In this period more than thirty major events or canonical literatures of other religions - Judaism with incidents occurred each of which contributed its Torah, Talmud and Mishnah; Islam the Koran and significantly to the creation of this particular Tipiṭaka. its tafsirs and hadiths; Christianity with its Bible, This history will seek to answer Hallisey’s question gospels and countless commentaries. This Tipiṭaka “How did the teachings of the Buddha, given over a has heretofore never possessed a comprehensive long period of time in many places, come to be history [in English]. This Pāli Theravāda Tipiṭaka collected into what eventually became the stands uniquely on its own. canon?” (Hallisey. 1991) It will not be unhelpful here to remind ourselves that the Buddha had no Two sets of metaphors are employed to facilitate ‘librarian’ and that he left his intellectual ‘estate’ – clarity. They require explanations. The entire set of his Teachings which were comprised of the words in the historical developmental processes that led to the which he communicated His Doctrine – in an creation of this Pāli Theravāda Tipiṭaka are envisaged unrecorded and haphazard state with no documented as a ‘chain of events’ with each ‘event’ compared to a canonical texts. ‘link’ in a chain. Just as a chain is only as strong as its weakest link so, by applying criteria to each, can the A history of this particular Tipiṭaka is important strength of the chain in conveying the Buddha’s because this Canonical text is the only one now teachings be reckoned. Each ‘link’ is adjudged known to be in existence – relatively complete and therefore by a set of stated criteria to be a strong or weak contributor to the entire strength of the chain. Corresponding Author Email: [email protected]

1 1st World Asian Studies Conference, 11th-13th August, 2015, Colombo, Sri Lanka R. Bowden/ Dhamma’s Transmission and the PᾹli TheravᾹda Canon

This then provides a judgment to the authenticity of assembled and compiled by the Indian bhāņakas prior this Canon as the conveyor of the truths of the to their being accepted as Canon? Which of the Buddha’s Word or Words – Buddha-vacana. Prakrits could be classified as dialects and which languages? Scholars differ greatly about the language The second metaphor has significance in relationship used by the Buddha. It is commonly believed that he to the concept and also correctness of the meaning of employed the Kośalan-Māgadhi idiom. This makes Buddha-vacana. It associates the very words of the sense because it would have been the language used Buddha with ‘coins’ which, like all coinage, represent when he was Prince Siddhartha at Court. Other values [which ought to be incorruptible!] and when scholars believe that it could have been Saurasenī but taken together form a currency here the ‘currency’ it had developed far to the west [in today’s being that truth associated with the Truth of the Rajasathan]. At the time of the Buddha Pāli Dhamma. apparently was in early development not as a popular language but a ‘construct’ [Gombrich prefers to use The time allocated in any Conference and the length ‘codification’ (1996)] employed by the educated and of the historical period to be covered are obviously in the ‘literati’ – one can presume Court and monks and conflict. Time constraints will require many of the priests. Pischel (1900) argued that there were at least details of the history of developments to be omitted twenty-two Prakrits in use in northern India then. and those being addressed being simplified to Some were major language groups like Saurasenī and respond with answers to such questions as – ‘what others small as with Kośalan and Māgadhi which happened?’, ‘why?’, ‘what was the contribution?’ and would have been little more than dialects. The ‘when? Thirty major ‘events’ or ‘incidents’ are significance between them is that a dialect would identified that assisted with this Tipiṭaka’s creation have been restricted to a locality in which local into the approximate form in which we possess it people would have had some measure of today - eighteen in India, before the Third Buddhist understanding of each other, whilst ‘language’ seems Council, and another thirteen similar events in Sri to denote geographical distance consequently with Lanka. Each is then assessed against criteria as a some measure of incomprehensibility between them. strong or weak ‘link’ contributing to this ‘chain’ of Whichever – dialect or language – these put into transmission enabling a judgment to be made of this perspective the amazingly difficult tasks facing the Tipiṭaka’s reliability as a vehicle to communicate the Indian bhāņakas monks when trying to assemble Truths of the Buddha’s Dhamma. spoken and heard texts into the suttas and nikayās which were to form the Canon. Further explanations are necessary. An ‘event’ is considered to be a closed ‘one-off’ activity usually ‘Intrusion of ‘vaitulya’ beliefs’ [2] These incidents dateable to within a specific time-frame with a occurred in Sri Lanka where these intrusions were relatively clear beginning and an end. In comparison considered to pose potential dangers to what was ‘incidents’ are considered to be less precise and may believed to be the integrity of the Pāli Theravāda be either pervasive and / or recurring and / or texts protected by the monks of the Mahāvihāra. They developing through many events and time scales averred that they contained concepts considered which, in most cases, have no clearly dateable heretical and imported from the Mahāyāna schools of commencements and finishes. This means that not all northern India. They seem to have begun to appear the ‘links’ in the ‘chain’ are single, closed one-off early in the take-up of in Sri Lanka events: nevertheless they may be recognised as reaching one of their apogees around the time of the ‘links’ by the descriptions / criteria just expounded. establishment of the Abhayagiri which Geiger dates [with unusual precision] to the end of March in There are six such ‘incidents’. 28 B.C. (Geiger. 1912. xxxv) Their continuing existence is evidenced by the definite references in ‘Languages’ [1] There are three issues related to the vaṃsas to the destruction of texts containing these ‘languages’ to be addressed: the first - in what vaitulya beliefs. language did the Buddha communicate His teachings? In what languages were the earliest texts

2 Proceeding of 1st World Asian Studies Conference, Vol. 1, 2015, pp. 1-9

‘Śrṭi restrictions’. Although writing was already ‘Manuscript ‘working collections’ metamorphosing practiced in earlier civilizations, Harrapa and into libraries’ [5] These individual collections of Mahenjo-Daro [2,600 to 1,900 B.C.] Sumeria, what today librarians and academics refer to as [circa 6th century B.C.] and the Persian ‘working collections’ would have been collected in Achaemenid Empire [stretching into India to the greater numbers. But rules make no mention Indus River] Vedic practices prohibited it for of any authority for monks to keep texts to religious texts which were intended to be spoken and themselves (Panabokke. 1993) so there is the heard only. [One cannot help but comment - thus likelihood that at some stage these could have ensuring power and influence to those monks who metamorphosed into collections within the temples possessed the texts in their memories over those who that would have resembled libraries. However no did not!!] Writing, as today an obvious means of proof exists even though during the centuries the communicating the canon across generational possibilities kept recurring. It is not until 420 / 430 boundaries was prohibited as being śrṭi [nisedheti]. A.D. with ’s reference to working in the The Buddha adopted similar practices. Consequences ‘ganthā pārivena’ of the Mahāvihāra that one can were to make even more difficult the works of the begin to date when Lankan libraries might have come Indian bhāņakas tasked by the First Buddhist Council into being. (Ňānamoli. 1956) Libraries having with the collection and protection of the teachings of significance because one of their functions is the the Buddha when they remained extant only as words protection of texts, ideas etc. “The ‘root’ concept of in the memories of the monks who had heard him ‘library’ is deeply embedded in our ways of thinking preach throughout his forty years as Teacher. These about the world and coping with its problems.” people would have had to have been discovered by (McGarry. 1997) the bhāņakas before they could themselves learn the words and then, through remarkable feats of the ‘Liberalisation of meanings of words’ [6] Words are mind, assemble them into verses [gāthās], then the like coins in a currency: to alter their meanings is to suttas and finally the nikayās. These were amazing devalue them and that in turn debases the currency. intellectual and scholarly exercises that have unjustly When the currency represents the Truth of the gone almost unnoticed and unrecognised in the world Buddha’s words, as in his Dhamma, that currency today. should never be so debased. Yet that happened, for example in the Vinaya [see Petra Keiffer-Pulz ‘Education for monks’. [4] With no written texts (2007)], and with the sense of Buddha-vacana. from which to learn the Buddha’s inherited Doctrine for about 165 years after the arrival of Buddhism in This ends considerations of the ‘incidents’ interfused Sri Lanka with Arahant paramaparā with other activities. practices, adherence to the Mahāpadesas and education were the only ways of reliably continuing Pre-First Buddhist Council texts. [7] A controversial it. Large monasteries’ ruins such as the Western and subject even without subscribing to the notion that Eastern in still bear witness today to many questions concerning the management of the this fact. Practices were thought to centre on cohorts Council by Mahākassapa remain unanswered. Only of students visiting the kuti of a senior monk expert in the existence of what Levy and Lamotte have referred a particular aspect of the canon and then moving on to as ‘Ur-Kanon’ or ‘textes pre-canoniques’ provide to a similar experience with another teacher. some answers as does the Cullavagga. Both also Although canonical texts remained prohibited it is not assist in answering Hallisey’s “how did the beyond the bounds of possibility that ‘professor teachings of the Buddha given over a long period of monks’ kept notes as sorts of ‘crib sheets’ or time, in many places, come to be collected in what ‘working tools’. After the safe preservation of the eventually became the Pali canon?” (Hallisey. 1991) canonical texts into writing [circa 83 – 77 B.C.] more To this he correctly responds “something like the first texts would have been generated for the safer saṅgāyana must have taken place, otherwise there protection of the Doctrine. would be no corpus of scriptures”. This provides a convincing answer to scholars like Oldenberg [1863- 1934] and Frauwallner [1898-1974] who doubted its

3 R. Bowden/ Dhamma’s Transmission and the PᾹli TheravᾹda Canon very existence. Criticisms firmly put to rest by - on the adoption of writing by śrṭi restrictions on the “there is a substantial core of evidence for the Canon’s contents how were they to be passed on from historicity of the First and Second Buddhist one generation to another? Answer - by word of Convocations.” (Karunadasa. 1999) mouth to the ears of listeners and across generation gaps employing the practice of ṡisyā paramparā Bhāņakas [8] – whose function, ordered by that First which had been devised and apparently worked Council, was “two-fold 1) To decide what, out of the successfully for generations associated also with the vast store of material at hand, should be given the application of the Buddha’s own advice contained in protection of formal organization: and 2) To set up a the four great ‘indicators’ – the Four Mahāpadesas. mechanism to preserve this material.” (Bodhesako. 1984) As a consequence the tasks of these earliest Four mahāpadesas [11] – found in the Indian monks were unbelievably enormous. With the Mahāparinibbānasutta (D.N. II 124-126) they were Buddha having left with nothing written down their intended by the Buddha as the criteria to ensure that only sources, from which to collect His Teachings, the Buddha’s Words were not changed, reduced or were through the mouths of the monks who had added to and they clarified ‘’the procedures that retained in their minds the Teachings that they had should be followed in determining whether or not a heard [some decades earlier] and who after the particular statement belongs to the word of the Council would have scattered to their sīmās and Master” (Tilakaratne. n.d.). Their intention was to viharās throughout the length and breadth of the protect the authenticity of His Teachings although in Gangetic and Yamuna plains. Thereafter, still without later centuries their purposes were not entirely writing, the bhāṅakas would have had to have conformed with when some of the strictures were retained passages in memory and from these classify ceded to the Nettippakaraņa but “the Sinhalese them by subject bringing together like with like to tradition does not include this in the Tipiṭaka. In create gāthās, collect these in turn to form suttas and Burma it is considered a text of the thereafter gather them into the four nikayās. Their Khuddakanikāya.” (Jayawardhana.1994) magnificent works, without which the Tipiṭaka in its current form would not have existed today, has gone Canon’s authenticity [12] The excellence of the almost unnoticed. Yet for 236 years – about eight works of the Indian bhāņakas over the two hundred generations of monks - must have so laboured. In and thirty-six years between the First and Third world literature there can have been no similar task so Councils [in 247 B.C.] when [virtually – with the successfully achieved as was theirs yet it has gone exception of Moggaliputta Tissa’s ] the un-sung and un-appreciated. Pāli Theravāda Canon had been completed in accordance with ṡisyā paramparā practices and Protection of the Words [9] As noted above this was adherence to the instructions in the mahāpadesas. an objective successfully achieved by the Indian Both these ensured that the Canon that Arahant bhāņakas then transferred and continued at first in Sri Mahinda brought to Sri Lanka, six months after the Lanka especially before the decision to commit to conclusion of the Third Council, was as authentic as writing the canonical texts and the translation of it had been possible to get it in preserving the certain suttas but thereafter however less so. “It authenticity of the words used by the Buddha in his appears that the number of the bhāņakas at the time in Teachings and in producing his Dhamma. question [circa 430 A.D.] was comparatively small, so limited in number that it was possible to reach The Canon from India to Sri Lanka [13] On first them all”. (Samantapāsādikā II. 339 cited by acquaintance this, understandably, could be assumed Adikaram. 1946) to have represented a weak link in this chain of transmission in that the entire, almost completed, Preservation [10] of the Buddha’s Words Canon had moved from the memories of hundreds of [expounding His Doctrine] was a priority from bhāņakas and monks into those of only five people. Parinibbana through the First Council’s deliberations But the vaṃsas indicate that the enthusiasms of king and [as we have noted] so superbly achieved by the Tissa and the likelihood that the basic tenets of the Indian bhāņakas. But with the prohibitions imposed Teachings had already in some form and to some

4 Proceeding of 1st World Asian Studies Conference, Vol. 1, 2015, pp. 1-9 degree preceded Mahinda’s arrival, prove this not to against and killed each other. Simultaneously a have been so. Venerable Ariṭṭha’s ordination must disastrous famine occured that caused monks to have gone some way to supporting Mahinda’s earlier empty their monasteries and flee south to Ruhana or answer “Great king, the sāsana is established but it into India. With the return of king Vaṭṭagāmini [89 has not taken root”. With this event one can argue B.C.] the monks returned. However with them the that the transfer had been successfully completed. realization had dawned that had any monks died then portions of the Dhamma held in their memories Lankan Saṅgha and new bhāņakas [14] One would also have been lost: hence the radical decision significance of Ariṭṭha’s Ordination was that an order to overturn śrṭi strictures. It took place between 83 of monks could now be selected, educated and trained and 77 B.C. at the Ᾱloka Vihāra outside Mathale to create a new Lankan Saṅgha. That, in turn, allowed under supervision not of the Mahāvihāra monks but the re-establishment in Sri Lanka of the bhāņakas’ those from the newly-established Abhayagiri practices. However, because the collected canonical monastery who were more liberal. Thus “Manuscripts texts had grown too large to be held with ease in the of the Alu-vihāra edition were soon made and were memories of ordinary monks, they were divided up deposited in the Mahāvihāra and other principle for safe-keeping by individual groups. Unfortunately temples of the island.” (Malalasekera. 1994) this led to arguments and disputations so that by the 5th century the Lankan bhāņakas had virtually Reliability of manuscripts [18] The exact processes disappeared. (Adikaram. 1946) by which words kept in memories were transferred to written documents are not today known although it is Aṭṭhakathās [15] Although not part of the Canon the assumed that the monks employed scribes to write. aṭṭhakathās [‘aṭṭha’= ‘reach, attain, to proceed’ – Comprehension of Pāli by the Lankan monks was ‘kathā’ = ‘talk, conversation’ hence ‘exposition of weakening so errors there may have been. However meaning’] these ‘Commentaries’ provide large few scholars have ventured to challenge the reliability amounts of valuable historical information and of the texts and, indeed, given the monks continuing therefore cannot be ignored. They contributed strong responsibilities to protect the authentic of the ‘links’ to the ‘chain’ particularly because some had Buddha’s Works, one can remain reliably assured that had their genesis earlier in India whilst others were these processes in no way undermined the integrity of significantly Lankan in origin. the new texts.

‘Open’ and ‘closed’ texts [16] Today scholars [like Arahats [19] Some sources have alluded to the Norman, von Hinuber and Abeynayake] refer to the protection that arahants provided for these processes. ‘stratification’ of texts [based on phonetics, language, These need to be viewed with skepticism. No one has grammatical and other differences] in efforts to had the distinction of knowing an arahant and discover dates for their inclusion into the Canon. therefore of their powers. Malalasekera suggests the Important though these are more significant is it to be last to be recognized was Ven. Malaya-Mahādeva able to date when the Canon was finally closed [thus circa 161-137 B.C. (Malalasekera. 1983) ensuring authenticity of contents and accord with definitions of ‘canon’], what were its last admitted ‘Learning’ versus ‘Practice’ [20] This controversy contents, why were other texts refused admission and, centred around a debate in Vaṭṭagāmani’s reign [89- most importantly, who took these decisions and 77 B.C.] between monks who held to the opinion that founded on what criteria? ‘learning’ [‘pariyatti’] was of greater importance than ‘living the life’ [‘patipatti’] i.e. catering to the Writing down of the Canonical texts [17] This was people’s needs. “After arguments had been adduced by far one of the most important events to occur in on both sides the ‘dhammakathīkas’ gained victory the development of this Tipiṭaka. Consideration over the ‘paṃsukῡlikas’: practice was relegated to the became necessary after Tissa, a Brahmin, had tried to background and preaching gained supremacy. The seize king Vaṭṭagāmini’s throne resulting in his Sutta defeated the Vinaya.” (Manorathapῡraņī. I. 92, fleeing leaving the country instead to be ruled for 93. [Buddhaghosa - 428-440 A.D.] - Adikaram. thirteen years by seven Indian damilas who fought 1946) The significance of this decision is two-fold: it

5 R. Bowden/ Dhamma’s Transmission and the PᾹli TheravᾹda Canon completely changed the priorities and practices of the ‘burning of books’ is hard to come by. Geiger [in Theravāda Buddhism and, importantly from our his 1912 translation of the Mahā-vaṃsa] translates perspective, this without a single word of the texts of simply - ‘suppressing the Vetulya doctrine’ (M-v the Canon being changed. XXXVI 40) or ‘katvana niggahaj tesaj’ literally ‘putting down’ without explanations. Later Pāli Translations from Pāli into Sinhala [21] The second however is specific using the gerund ‘vaitulya rada most important event in these transmission processes genra dava’ (Nikayā-saṁgrahaya but in 1330 A.D) so was the translation of certain suttas, 450 years later, in what manner they were ‘put down’ is not clear. out of the Pāli that was increasingly difficult for the Similarly the number of times these events occurred new Lankan Saṅgha members to understand and use, is confused. The first [possibly] was by king by Mahādhammakathī between 340 and 368 A.D. Kuṅcanāga [193/4 A.D.]; the second [indisputably] The entire canon was not translated only certain by king Vohārikatissa [214-236] “Suppressing the selected suttas [never identified nor the authority for Vetulya-doctrine and keeping heretics in check by his such actions known] into Sinhala. It made available minister Kapila he made the true doctrine to shine the Buddha’s words to any who wished to avail forth” (M-v. xxxvi 41) Adikaram continues “The themselves and in so doing represented a further king, thereupon, caused the Vaitulya books to be reduction of the authority of the monks as well as burnt” quoting the same authority for this statement removing another obstacle to the free-flow of the [but as it was written 1,094 years after the event it Dhamma. cannot but be suspect]; followed by king Goṭhābaya [254-267] who excommunicated and banished the Heresies and ‘vaitulya’ texts [22] Heretical ideas, monks in the Abhayagiri (M-v. xxvi 111-2); finally and later texts primarily from the northern Mahāyāna by the maverick king Mahāsena [276-303 A.D.] schools, had always been relatively readily accessible Ironically such destructive actions do serve to suggest given their proximity. The Mahā-vihāra had always that collections of documents had become, if not seen itself as the ‘protector’ of the ‘purity’ of the commonplace by the 3rd century A.D., at least Theravāda doctrine hence its antagonism towards common enough to have been able to collect vaitulya what it regarded as heretical ideas and texts. But with texts together for destruction with some facility. the establishment of the monasteries of Abhayagiri and later the [in the grounds of the Mahā- Five ‘Great Commentators’ [24] Three of the five vihāra] - both with far more liberal policies towards ‘Great Commentators’ arrived on the island to assist new ideas than the conservative Mahāviharā monks - eventually with the re-establishment back in India of the disputes increased in number even though few of the commentaries to the Theravāda canonical texts them, if any, were concerned with doctrinal matters which had still continued to exist in Pāli although the but more with relatively small differences in commentaries to them had been lost. The motives for interpretations of practices or discipline. These three their works in Sri Lanka could in no way originally nikayās gave rise over centuries to eight āyatanas – have had as its objective any pursuance of the “The significance of this institution was reflected in continuation of the transmission of the Pāli the role it played in the religious as well as in the Theravāda Canon on the island which, by this time, political affairs of the time and the deference and some half a century after Mahādhammakathī’s respect accorded to it by the rulers and dignitaries of translations of selected texts out of Pāli, had, to a the land.” (Gunawardana. 1979) It was these and their great extent, fallen into dis-use. Nevertheless this, nikayās’ feudings that eventually persuaded king unwittingly, they accomplished through their Parakrāma Bāhu I to ‘unite’ the Lankan Saṅgha in completion of twenty-four commentaries on twenty- 1164/5 A.D. eight canonical texts. Their works have never been considered to be canonical but, as justification for the Book burnings [23] Such strong antagonisms activities of these monks’ and the works completed towards heretical ideas and vaitulya texts that entered by all of them, being considered here is because of the Island are alleged to have resulted in their the light that the results of their scholarships throw on physical destruction by fire. On close examination the transmission processes. Their primary concerns however pictures are not clear. Definite mentions of

6 Proceeding of 1st World Asian Studies Conference, Vol. 1, 2015, pp. 1-9 were never solely with developments of the canonical Jetavanarama of Polonnaruwa [28] This ‘missing texts [even though they made, incidentally, such link’ could be the first clear and indisputable contributions] but, as in Buddhaghosa’s case at least, reference to Libraries - “thirty-four gate towers and it was simply to adhere to Revatā’s instructions to do two houses for books” (Cula-v. II. 78. 38). This no more than translate and bring back to India the vaṃsa report records Parakrāma Bāhu’s magnificent aṭṭhakathās in Pāli. Jetavana Monastery - “Thus there were in Jetavana in all five hundred and twenty buildings” (78. 47) Libraries developing transmission responsibilities “Creating out of bricks and stucco an elixir for the [25] The significance of libraries as transmission eyes [he built] the Tivaṅka house for the Tivaṅka agents is often overlooked. They are often commonly image.” (78. 39). Today, unexcavated, this monastery referred to as ‘store-houses of knowledge’ and as lies disguised and buried by jungle even outside the such they serve for the protection for records and boundary fence of Unesco’s Cultural Triangle site documents. So in Buddhism, where the earliest opposite the Tivaṅka statue. By this period – mid documents containing canonical texts were created in 1160’s - Godakumbura (1955) and others have made 83 / 77 B.C. to be distributed around the island’s clear Sinhala literature, much of it Buddhist and monasteries, one could reasonably have expected this based on the contents of the Canon and the to have resulted in the creation of libraries specially aṭṭhakathās, had increased in quantity and had [as already noted] ‘professor monks’ were likely to become rich in quality. The Paṃsῡkulikā monks too have stored in their kutis ‘working tools’ for teaching from Dimbulāgala, who had played such a significant to which canonical texts in writing could have been role in the king’s Saṅgh ‘re-unification’, were known added. None were established. There are no to be prolific authors of texts so there is much that references to them in the Canon, in the vaṃsas or the might have been stored in these ‘two houses for aṭṭhakathās until Buddhagosa’s reference in his books’. to the ‘ganthā pārivara’. Presumption suggests, therefore, that they Unification of Lanka Saṅgha [29] This unification metamorphosed from ‘working collection’ and / or of the three originally Anuradhapura-based came into existence at some time in the fifty-nine to monasteries and their later developed eight āyatanas, eighty-seven years between the translation of some that had feuded together for more than one thousand suttas, circa 340-368 A.D., and Buddhaghosa’s years, that Parākrama Bāhu in 1164/5 A.D. brought reference circa 427 A.D. together, is only of significance for us in the context of the transmission processes of the Canon and that Libraries – storage of the Words and roles in only in a minor way because from the doctrinal transmission [26] Once collections in libraries had perspective, it is believed that neither the come into existence they could be organized thus Mahāvihāra, the Abhayagiri nor the Jetavana facilitating access to the Buddha’s Words. In this possessed canons that differed from one to the other manner the truths of the Dhamma could have been in any major way. The differences concerned even more securely protected as well as transmitted relatively minor issues of discipline and practice. For with greater facility. us, therefore, the importance of this ‘unification’ was the raising of the question - what happened to the Transfer of manuscripts – Anuradhapura to manuscripts that the eleven institutions are likely to Polonnaruwa [27] Between about 1055 and 1130 have possessed before the ‘unification’ and after it A.D. the court and the king moved frequently was completed? between the capital and the fortified city of Polonnaruwa as attacks from southern India became Loss of Libraries and their Records [30] After more frequent until Anuradhapura had to be Mahākāśapa’s and Sāriputta’s guidance of the Saṅgha abandoned almost entirely as the seat of the king. and the unification of these eleven institutions what What happened to manuscripts and their collection is, happened to their collections of manuscripts? The unfortunately, nowhere recorded. This represents a answer is not known but there are two pointers. The gap that might possibly be filled by a missing link. first – one can guess at with reasonable accuracy – that because the Mahāvihāra remained intact after the

7 R. Bowden/ Dhamma’s Transmission and the PᾹli TheravᾹda Canon unification so would its collection of manuscripts. total of ten or an ‘A+’ or a ‘B-’. Using the Canon’s But what would have happened to the other own stated criteria ie the Four Mahāpadesas, the collections that the Mahāvihāra monks had always credibility and reliability of monks in their collection, claimed included vaituya texts? One can reliably preservation and ordering of words etc. from these a guess that they would have been un-welcome in that total of twelve criteria was evolved. Briefly listed monastery’s library collection. One fact is known. these were – Authenticity; Plausibility; Authority and Parākrama Bāhu did not descend to book burning. Reliability of Sources – scholars and authors; Given his construction in the Jetavanarama of ‘two Scholars’ Opinion; Motives of Authors; Accuracy – houses for books’ it is possible that they were descriptions and dates; Sources and Timescales donated there. However, alas, proof there is not. between Events; Placements of Texts; Eligibility as Canon; Integrity of Words – ‘meanings of meanings’. In conclusion to this section it must be recalled that the purposes of libraries throughout their long Detailed examinations of each of these thirty links histories, of nearly eight thousand years, were [and against these twelve criteria - recalling that the today still remain] “the guardian of the social strength of a chain is always reliant on its weakest memory [because] there are many parallels with the link – indicated that six were not strong; three were ways in which the human memory stores and indeterminate and twenty-one were assessed as retrieves information necessary for survival”. strong. The entire chain of transmission of the (McGarry. 1997) This serves to reinforce the close Buddha’s doctrine was strong. relationships between bhāņaka monks and their prodigious works and the libraries that eventually In conclusion - at the end of this exercise what have followed them. Despite such purposes libraries we learned? I suggest that it is that through all these appear to have scarcely manifested themselves in Sri centuries of wars, famines, corruptions, fratricides, Lanka. This in spite of the existence to the north in monks’ and scholars’ concerns for the ‘true’ texts of India of the famous libraries of Nālandā, Vikramasilā the Pāli Theravāda Canon and the Words in it - this and Takkasilā [the first university’s library dating unique Tipiṭaka - have been conveyed with far more back to the first century B.C. (Dutt. 1956) and the reliability, integrity and authenticity, over one second university pre-dating the Buddha] as well as thousand and six hundred years, than we had any knowledge that must have travelled along the Silk right to expect: the Words and the Teachings of the Road and its off-shoots (Whitfield & Sims-Williams. Buddha are, in this Canon, the Words and the 2004) not only about the library of the Lyceum circa Teachings of the Buddha! 335 B.C. in Athens and of Alexander the Great’s [circa 367 B.C.] and, even earlier, the two libraries of REFERENCES AND CITATIONS kings Sennacheri [706 – 681 B.C and Ashurbannipal Adikaram, E. W. 1946 Early in [668-627 B.C.] in Assyria as well as that of Ceylon. Or “State of Buddhism in Ceylon as Revealed by Persepolis in the Aechaemenid Empire of Persia the Pāli Commentaries of the 5th Century A.D.” Dehiwala. [550-330 B.C.]. [It represents a strange lacuna that Buddhist Cultural Centre. 32. 90. requires further investigation.] Bodhesako, (1984) Beginnings: the Pāli Suttas. Kandy. Buddhist Pubs Society. 29 This completes a brief review of the ‘incidents’ and Dutt, N. (1956) ‘Buddhist Education’ In 2500 years of Buddhism. Delhi. Ministry of Information and events’ except that each was evaluated to assess its Broadcasting. strength or weakness as a ‘link’ in this one thousand Geiger, Wilhelm (1929) Cῡlavaṃsa being the more six hundred years ‘chain’ of transmission that recent part of the Mahāvaṃsa. Trans. By Wilhelm Geiger represents the communication of the Buddha’s and from the German into English by C. Mabel Rickmers. spoken Words employed to convey His Teachings to New Delhi. Asian Educational Services. 1992. form the Dhamma and the creation of this Pāli Geiger, Wilhelm (1912) Mahāvaṃsa. The Mahāvaṃsa or the Great Chronicle of Ceylon. Trans into English by Theravāda Tipiṭaka. Wilhelm Geiger assisted by . New Delhi. Asian Educational Services. 1986. It would have been far too shallow and lacking in Godakumbura, C.E. (1955) Sinhalese Literature. credibility to simply have awarded numbers from a Colombo Apothecaries.

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Gombrich, Richard (1996) How Buddhism Began. The Malalasekera. G. P. (1983) Dictionary of Pāli Names. 2 Conditioned Genesis of the Early Teachings. London. vols. Delhi. Munshiram Manohalal Athlone Press. Ňānamoli, (1956) ‘Introduction’. In The Path of Gunawardana, R.A.L.H. (1979) Robe and the Purification (Visuddhimagga) by Bhadantācariya Plough. Monasticism and Economic Interest in Early Buddhaghosa. Translated from the Pāli by Bhikkhu Medieval Sri Lanka. Assocn. for Asian Studies. Arizona. Ňānamoli. Singapore. Centre. xvii University of Arizona Press. 310-311 Nikayāsaṅgraha (mid-13th century) 11 Hallisey, C. (1991) ‘Councils as ideas and events in Panabokke, G. (1993) History of the Buddhist Theravāda’ In Buddhist Forum. Vol. II London. SOAS. Saṅgha in India and Ceylon. Colombo. Post Graduate 133-148 Institute of Pali and Buddhist Studies. University of Jayawardhana, S (1994) Handbook of . Kelaniya. Colombo. Karunaratne . 100 Pischel, R. (1900) A Grammar of the Prākrit Karunadasa, Y. (1999) ‘The Third Buddhist Languages. Delhi. Motilal Banarsidas. 1981. Convocation: historical fact or pious fabrication?’ In Samantapasadika II. 339 Journal of Post Graduate Institute of Pali and Buddhist Studies. University of Kelaniya. 1 106-128 Tilakaratne, A. (n.d.) ‘On the Very Idea of the Pali Canon- Again’. Unpublished paper. Keiffer-Pulz, P. (2007) ‘Stretching the Vinaya Rules and Getting Away With It.’ JPTS. XXIX. 1- Tilakaratne, A. (2000) ‘Authentication of the 49 Scriptures: a Study in the Hermeneutics’. In Wilhelm Geiger and the Study of the History and Culture of McGarry, K. (1997) ‘Libraries’. In International Sri Lanka. Eds. Ulrich Everding and Tilakaratne. Encyclopaedia of Information and Library Science edited Colombo. Goethe Institute and PGIPBS. by John Feather and Paul Sturges. London. Routledge. 254 Whitfield, S. & Sims-Williams, U. The Silk Road: trade, Malalasekera, G.P. (1928) The Pāli literature of Ceylon. travel and faith. London. British Library. (2004) Kandy. Buddhist Pubs Society. 1994. 47.

9 Proceeding of 1st World Asian Studies Conference, Vol. 1, 2015, pp. 10-18 Copyright © TIIKM ISSN: 2424-676x online DOI: 10.17501/ wasc2015-1102 REVISITING THE RECENT INCLUSIVENESS OF THE WOMEN’S RIGHTS IN INDIA AND BANGLADESH -A HUMAN RIGHTS PERSPECTIVE Sengupta, L

Bangabasi College, India

Abstract

The need to embark on a comparative study of the Women’s Rights in India and Bangladesh necessitates out of the socio cultural complexities of South Asian countries which try to apply Human Rights framework to study the position of women in their society cutting across various lines of caste, class, ethnicity gender etc. In this article the position of women, the nature and trend of women rights in the postcolonial society of India and Bangladesh is studied from the perspective of dominant Human Rights discourses. Located at the intersection of community and nation, public law and private personal laws, women are simultaneously included and excluded from the enjoyment of equal rights and dignity due to the continuance of cultural traditions. Drawing instances from both India and Bangladesh this paper seeks to analyze how far the Human Rights framework in has been able to act as an “emancipatory” potential in redressing the “contextualised” discriminations, and its role in bridging the gap between formal clauses of equality in the Constitution and the continuance of cultural aberrations. The purpose of the study is to find out how far the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) can prove to be an effective panacea for resolving socio cultural issues in multi religious, multi ethnic, multi lingual region of South Asia and secondly whether it has any bearing on the role of the State and Civil Society both in terms of policies and activism as major result implications. The methodology followed in this paper is mainly qualitative research and secondary data from books, magazines, newspapers, various publication of Central, State, Local and Foreign document are used.

Keywords: comparative study, human rights discourse, community, nation, public laws, personal laws, cultural traditions, emancipatory

INTRODUCTION and human rights are supposed to be inalienable because they flow from and protect human existence, Human Rights which originated in the Universal which cannot be taken away without endangering the Declaration of Human Rights in 1948 burgeoned value of that existence (Bagchi, 2009, p-4). The enormously in terms of its content seeking to redress fountain head of human rights rests on the concept of human misery and human suffering. After the 2nd ‘human dignity’ which has been mentioned in article world war, the traditional of human rights has 1 of the Universal declaration of human rights. been repeatedly challenged. Consequently, through various instruments, charters and declarations the Article 1 announces that all human beings are born basic civil and political rights have been expanded to free and equal in dignity and rights. They are include crucial social, economic and cultural rights. endowed with reason and conscience, and should act In spite of considerable debates between towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood. Universalism and Cultural relativism it has been agreed that human rights are considered universal as This paper seeks to examine how far the Universal they are said to belong to all human’s in every society Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) can prove to be an effective panacea for resolving socio cultural Corresponding Author Email: [email protected] issues in multi-religious, multi ethnic multi lingual

10 1st World Asian Studies Conference, 11th-13th August, 2015, Colombo, Sri Lanka L. Sengupta / Revisiting the Recent Inclusiveness of the Women’s Rights in India…. region of South Asia. Drawing instances from both by the Hindu Succession Act(1956) the Dowry India and Bangladesh this paper seeks to analyze how Prohibition Act(1961) are some of the landmark far the human rights framework in south Asia has decisions which the State undertook to ensure been able to act as an ‘emancipatory’ potential in protection for women. redressing the ‘contextualised’ discriminations, and its rule in bridging the gap between formal clauses The government also ratified some of the important equality in the Constitution and the continuance of decisions that were undertaken by the United Nations cultural aberrations. It tries to find out whether the sponsored women’s conferences, which took place in quest for dignity is being maintained in the case of Mexico City in 1975, Copen Hagen in 1980, Nairobi inclusiveness of women’s rights in both countries in 1985. It also accepted the Vienna declarations and India and Bangladesh. programmes of action from the world conference on Human Rights held in Vienna in 1993 and the United Situating India and Bangladesh in the Historical Context Nation’s declarations against violence against women. For decades cultural practices which have The rationale for choosing India and Bangladesh rests been physically and psychologically damaging to on the fact that while India is the largest democratic women and have been ‘Protected’ under the rubric of country in the world Bangladesh is largely noted as religion, tradition or culture have come under strong an Islamic Country. A comparative study of the socio criticism. Thus a global campaign for women’s cultural aspects of both the countries will help us to human rights became the major focus of this determine how far the emancipatory nature of human conference. rights has enabled in raising consciousness and has been able to usher in major inputs in the women’s If we look at the historical background of rights movements. Bangladesh, we find that it emerged as an independent nation in 1971 committed to a secular Role of the State in India and Bangladesh liberal democracy. While its secular politics was Post independent India saw remarkable development compatible with ideas of gender equality, the new in granting legal status to women. The constitution government was too busy dealing with the ravages of incorporated article 14 (which guarantees equalities war to pursue this objective creatively. Nor was there between sexes) , article 15 clause 1 (the state shall not a significant women’s movement at the time of discriminate against any citizen on grounds of influence policy. A major concern of the state was to religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth), article 16 rehabilitate destitute or raped women (Birangana clause 1 and clause 2 (which prohibits discrimination ,meaning brave in English) attempted to give them in general and also discrimination because of sex in some status but more often marriage was regarded as offices and those employed under the state), article 15 the only means of social acceptance(Kabeer, 1989). clause 3 (it provides that the state is permitted to Subsequently government and non-government make special prohibitions for the benefit of women) , initiatives were focussed on securing gainful article 39 clause b (gives direction to the State for employment for such women. As a result, initiatives ensuring equal pay for equal work for men and such as skill- training and encouragement of cottage women). The State also seeks to protect the dignity of industries based on traditional crafts which could be women. Article 51A clause c states that the duty of marketed abroad where pursued. It was a time when every citizen of India is to renounce practices organisations such as Bangladesh Rural derogatory to the dignity of women. Apart from the Advancement Committee (BRAC), Ganaosharthya incorporation of Fundamental rights and Directive Kendra and Gramin Bank were established, principles of state policy the State gave special mobilising, educating, organising and conscientising attention to laws which helped in the protection of women in an attempt to help them throw off the women from eliminating discriminations based on shackles of subordinations and achieve some degree traditional practices. The Hindu Marriage Act 1956, of financial security that is, control over their own Hindu Widow Remarriage Act (1866), the Hindu earnings (Kabeer, 1994). women’s Right to Property Act which was repelled

11 Proceeding of 1st World Asian Studies Conference, Vol. 1, 2015, pp. 10-18

Sheikh Mujibar Rahman’s secular government was of the document. Article 13 laid down the principal overthrown in 1975 after a series of military coups where by women would have equal opportunities to Ziaur Rahman emerged as the next head of the state take out loans and mortgages, negotiate contracts and with strong army backing. Hussein Muhammad participate in sports and cultural activities. Article 16 Ershad, a repatriated military officer, became provided for equal rights and responsibilities of president after the assassination of Zia in 1981. Zia women in relation to the family which was in striking and Ershad pursued similar policies: Decentralisation contrast to the military regimes of Zia and Ershad. through the creation of gram sarkar and Upajila Parishad to gain new support bases in rural areas and The post colonial state of Bangladesh has thus played increase the influence of the rural rich; winning the a role in reinforcing gender inequality, the reasons support of the Islamic orthodoxy by institutionalising being both structural and normative. Islam at the state level, while subscribing to women Social Practices leading to Gender Discriminations and development(WID) policies. and Human Rights Violation

Both under Zia and Ershad state policy on women India pulled in opposite directions. At one level, it In spite of adoption of Equality, Liberty and Freedom supported development initiatives funded by foreign in the constitution about gender ‘just’ laws the plight donors which aim to empower women; at another, it of women in India is deplorable. In a country like capitulated to the forces of religious extremism which India where one woman is tortured at her in laws in sort to reverse this process. Kabeer has argued that every 20 minutes, a molestation occurs in every 22 both Zia and Ershad played a blatant balancing act minutes, a women kidnapped and raped in every 40 between the conflicting gender ideologies implicit in minutes, forced into prostitution in every 70 minutes different aid packages to accommodate the and dowry death takes place in every 106 minutes conflicting demands of the Saudis and Americans by there is very little that loss can do to bring in justice preaching Islam by practising population control. for these unfortunate victims. With the fall of Ershad and the resumption of the Gross disparities between laws and social attitude electoral process a civilian government was installed toward women reveals further abrogation on human in 1991. But the party in power, The Bangladesh rights, A woman has right to be maintained by her Nationalist Party founded by Ziaur Rahman husband(if she is not working) in case of a divorce. originated in the army continued to maintain strong But there is little she can do if the husband hides his links with it. Later crisis of governability faced by the actual income before the court. state under Khaleda Zia because of a non-functioning parliament and escalating political violence made it Marriage in fact is considered to be the destiny of all unlikely to deviate from the path of Zia and Ershad in women. Along with marriage goes the dowry burden. its internal and external policies. They urged people The whole paraphernalia of religious and cultural life to create a new culture based on Islam. Thus the post of a woman centres around marriage as she is takes colonial state of Bangladesh continued the patriarchal bows and undergoes fasts for the wellbeing of her policies which was not fully committed to the female husband. The culture of mythological figures like Sita equality. and Savitri exemplifies the role of a woman and wife in the Indian society. However due to social cultural In the 80’s, the women’s movement was only milieu women in India practically undergoes ‘civil partially successful in obtaining a commitment from death’ due to constant pressure of the social norms the state to eliminate inequality in accordance to UN inflected on her by her family and community Resolution number 180 of 1976, article 2, 13(A) and (Bagchi 2003). 16(D) were left out on the grounds that this were not in accordance to the Shariah . Article 2 stipulated that Violence in the family takes many forms from wife existing institutional structures such as the legal and beating to rape and bride burning for want of judicial systems as well as social norms and practises adequate dowry or a regular feature prevailing in the should be modified in conformity with the provisions entire landscape of the country. The dynamics of

12 L. Sengupta / Revisiting the Recent Inclusiveness of the Women’s Rights in India…. beating shows that the age of women can be anything PURDAH: A common form of denigrating women from 16 to 65 and the educational background of the through customary practices is the ‘Purdah’ or veil a women ranges from illiterates to post graduate. It is striking symbol of the heightened Islamic important to mention that though India has been a consciousness, involving a return to the fundamentals major signatory to the international human rights law of the Islam ,which emerged in the middle east during (article 51 clause c) yet its power of applicability is the 1960’s and 1970’s. The veil ranges in nature from greatly limited by the prevalent communitarian loose garments covering the hair and body to material practices and cultural rights. In spite of its obligation hiding the face (Badran, 1995). under CEDAW it is found this state often failed to enact remedial measures as were necessary to In an article on Islam and women’s rights; Abdullah promote women’s equality rights and save her Ahmed An Nain has shown how Islam control dignity. Noted amongst this is the controversial case women’s dress mode, movement and life outside the of Shah Bano a seventy three year old Muslim home. Verse 24:31 of the Quran states that women woman who was divorced unilaterally by her husband should lower their gaze and guard their modesty; and when she sued him for spousal support under the they should not display their beauty except to their general secular Indian law. He then appealed against husband, their father, their sons or their brothers. the order for spousal support. He claimed that is did not require him to comply with Alhajib, or the veil thus tense to reinforce women court order for support ,that as a Muslim he was not inability to hold public office and restricts their require to pay support for more than 40 days and the access public life. They were not supposed to mix religious law absolved him of all support duties with men even in public places. beyond this period. The supreme court, however, The process of Pardah or veiling implies communal ruled in Shah Bano’s favour, causing a strong control over women. reaction from religious leaders who eventually prevailed upon the government of that time. The TALAQ: Another common form of usage of custom religious leaders also convinced the government to that causes Immense suffering for women is the abrogate the Supreme Court decision and to enact a practice of uttering the word ‘talaq’ three times by the new law regulating Muslim women’s access to husbands. spousal support absolving husbands of the duty to support and moving Muslim women further away The Quaran clearly lays down that divorce could be 1 from equal citizenship. pronounced only twice and that a third pronouncement would result in irrevocable divorce Shah Bano raised questions of gender justice, after which marriage with a women would not be minority rights, and the accommodation of difference. possible unless she married someone else and It tested the limits of constitutional rights and the happens to be divorced by him. Only then she could commitment to the fundamental organizing principles marry her former husband again. of India’s multicultural democracy- , religious freedom, and women’s equality. The state As Ashgar Ali Engineer further pointed out that this absolved itself of the responsibility to enforce practice was adopted to prevent the abuse of divorce constitutional principles in the “Private sphere of the (Engineer, 1992 page-123). family”, abandoning Muslim women to greater control by male religious leaders (Narain 2013). FATWA: Among the social customs and usages that often results in violence on women is the use of Bangladesh ‘fatwa’ inflicted by village shalish. Marrital disputes in the village are often mediated by a conservative Some of the worst kind of human rights violation and biased local (Shalish council). Many of these however has been witnessed to emerge from the shalishes are dominated by orthodox religious leaders social and cultural practices which have determined or politically influential persons who have little concepts of gender roles which prevent women from sensitivity to women’s concerns. They tend to use becoming self reliant.

13 Proceeding of 1st World Asian Studies Conference, Vol. 1, 2015, pp. 10-18 religion or customary practice as sanctioned for feminist ideology. Students, intellectuals, illegal and inhuman punishments. This process not professionals and grass root activist joined these only denigrates a women’s dignity in the society it organisations to crusade against the pervasive power also perpetuates violence and force in submitting the of patriarchal institutions. women to accept this. This oppressive customary practices have often been too inhuman and have By the eighties there was emphasis on women’s claimed even lives. In a book ‘Adhikar o Bastobota’ development and emancipation and India experienced Sultana shows that women have been caned and an exponential growth of grass roots women’s beaten for their behaviour in having illicit relation collective- Mohila Somities, self-help groups, with other men resulting in unwanted pregnancies. savings, credit groups, women’s cooperatives, water Women suffer from humiliating treatment such as and forest usage group and the federal bodies of these shaving her head to scar her beauty and make her grass root initiatives. look ugly. What is particularly important in this cases is to note that this shalish council have not invoked Both autonomous women’s organisations and grass any punishment for those ‘men’ who also are root initiatives drew their strengths and support from involved in these very acts. the wider debates and events from international arena. The various United Nation’s conventions, in HILLA: Another degrading social malady is the particular the 1st , 2nd and 3rd world conferences on practice of ‘hilla’ (intervening marriage) which is women in Mexico (1975), Copen Hagen (1980), officially illegal in Bangladesh. Nairobi (1985), brought in funds for research on women and voluntary commitments by the national ‘Hilla’ is a demeaning treatment for the women government to advance the cause of women’s where the women who has once left her husband for development. Subsequently, the Vienna women’s someone else cannot rejoin her husband again if she conference ( 1993) and the fourth world women’s wishes to. She has to marry someone else live as conference of women in Beijing (1995) upheld married couple for some time before she can join her women’s rights as human rights gave a bold thrust ex-husband. for the empowerment of women.

DOWRY: Dowry is one of the commonest form of The Indian responses to these conferences by social practice that results in gender discrimination allocating quotas to women in the integrated rural and eventually leads to domestic violence like development Programme (IRD), Jawahar Rojgar physical and mental torture unilateral divorce, Yojana(JRY), by designing poverty alleviation habitual battering, non-maintenance and deprivation programmes aimed exclusively at women and of custody over children, marital rape, enforced children in rural areas. Thus women’s development pregnancy and abortion. took place in two directions 1) There was a fundamental change in the material conditions of Human Rights Activism and the Role of Various Non-governmental Organisations (NGO) women through income generation, asset-formation and ownership of property, secondly the change goes In recent years several non-governmental beyond economics and seeks to alter certain socio- organisations advocating women’s rights and human political aspects particularly the patriarchal fabric. rights have been enabled to play active role in the community in raising consciousness and legal By mid-eighties a few state development programmes awareness among the women in the society. in collaboration with NGOs were initiated to give women more access to power. Of these, the women’s INDIA development programme (Rajasthan) and Mahila Samakhya programme in a few state (Karnataka, From seventies and eighties significant changes were Gujrat and Uttarpradesh) were pioneering efforts to perceived in the role of women in the society and increase women’s knowledge base and political their contribution to the economy. The seventies participation in the development process. witnessed the emergence of vibrant autonomous women’s organisations espousing various trans of

14 L. Sengupta / Revisiting the Recent Inclusiveness of the Women’s Rights in India….

BANGLADESH consequences from the state and as she faced criticism from all quarters of the state and society. Bangladesh Nari Progati has taken active Ultimately she had to take to a foreign steps in empowering women giving legal awareness country. Not only Taslima Nasrin, Humayun Azad and legal aid. Its the then executive director Rockeya (1947-2004) a prolific writer and scholar with over 70 Kabir(Annual report of Bangladesh Nari Pragati titles to his name was severely criticised for his critic Sangha, Dhaka 2000), pointed out that their of what he perceived to be the degeneration of organisation has undertaken programmes both at Bangladesh civil society under the extreme influence micro and macro level with the view to facilitating a of communally minded Islamists and their dictator social transformation towards empowerment of the patrons. However, even in face of repression marginalised section of people particularly women. women’s overall development largely flourished with At the micro level women are organised to build their the active intervention of the nongovernmental institution for making them collectively stronger to organisations of which many are funded by foreign establish their rights by themselves. donors. Perhaps the most prominent Bangladeshi activist for the poor Muhammad Yunus(b-1940) who According to Maleka Begum significant works have was honoured with the noble peace price in 2006 for been done by NGOs from 1970s to 1980 in liberating his initiative in founding the Gramin Bank also women specially living in the villages. helped in empowering women in their overall development of their lives specially in regaining her According to poet Sufia Kamal who is one of the trust in herself that she too is of equal birth as that of foremost champion of human rights in Bangladesh men and can take decisions on her own. stated that human rights alone can make women rights possible. Relevance of Human Rights Framework

However, efforts of women and NGOs trying to A strange paradox surrounds the universal discourse expose women atrocities in family and society has not of human rights. It is for women that it sounds most been without resistance from the state. NGOs like promising but at the same time it is in the area of BRAC and their workers were attacked by Madrasah women’s rights that it faces the maximum resistance students for allegedly spreading Christianity. BRAC’s from different countries. Almost all the contractual schools for girls were burnt in protest against parties to the Convention for the Elimination of ‘Westernized female education’. Discrimination against Women have entered reservations for the 16. The Convention for the Forces of repression were also witnessed whenever Elimination of Discrimination against Women individuals of the civil society had raised their voices (CEDAW) is the most highly acceded to convention against injustices and atrocities done on women in the of the United Nations. name of cultural practices. The feminist writer Taslima Nasrin was severely accused of subverting However notwithstanding the limitation or the cultural and religious values of the state for her contestability of the human rights discourse one work ‘Lajja’ (a Bengali word meaning shame). She cannot overlook the fact that it has served an was depicted as a traitor to the state and religion, important purpose of drawing global attention Rashtradrohi and dharmadrohi. By challenging towards the worth of women as human beings (Fraser existing codes and superstitions, she earned the 1999). It has enabled women to reveal underlined censure of their upholders. Her provocative structures of domination hidden behind the apparently description of the ‘freedom of womb’, Jarayur natural reality. It has helped to uncover the Swadhinata in her book ‘Nashta Meyer Nashta hypocritical claims made in the name of cultural Gadya’ accused her of campaigning free sex. But she protection; it has provided women with the platform continued with her critics that were levelled against to voice their concerns and the possibility to create pirs, Mullahs and Razakaars where she scathingly space for themselves. It is this visible, though for the noted the image of pir as evil, worthless and moment limited potential of rights discourse, which tremendously lustful men. Taslima Nasrin faced dire makes the embracing of rights discourse an attractive

15 Proceeding of 1st World Asian Studies Conference, Vol. 1, 2015, pp. 10-18 option for women’s movement in all parts of the that is, the social practices that make up peoples’ world (Reddy 2010). everyday lives. And it is this kind of power- micro, capillary, every day, working through discourse- that The human rights discourse in general and produces you and me as subjects. specifically for women can be said to be universal in its objective of creating and maintaining the Postmodern critics of universal discourses of human conditions for the exercise of freedom to decide on rights worry that the re-emergence of the idea of one’s own hierarchy of needs. As far as human rights universality will result in a totalitizing essentialism of women are concerned, every woman needs to be regarding human nature. Not surprisingly, the dangers ensured the right to life. Thus, traditional practices of globalisation and the impact on human rights give like female foeticide, female infanticide and bride rise to anxieties about reinforcing homogenising Meta burning cannot be justified in any situation. In the narratives. area concerning family law constraint on the requirement of free consent for marriage, Upendra Baxi however is of the opinion that human discriminatory and derogatory grounds of divorce, suffering is a concrete reality to which the theorising denial of the right to maintenance, or to custard of multiple identities and the fluidity of identities may guardianship of children or to inheritance need to be have little relevance. For him despite charges of done away with. In the domain of criminal law no essentialism and universalism Baxi argues that human kind of violence in the form of witchcraft, female rights discourse contains an emancipator possibility circumcision, dowry deaths, honour killings, and the potential for struggle that postmodern domestic violence or sexual abuse can be excused discourses of identity do not have as yet. For Baxi (Reddy 2010). human rights matter only they can ameliorate suffering and give voice to human suffering. The It is therefore crucial to examine the socio cultural larger concern for Baxi is that human rights should be practices that are embedded within the threshold of used to forward the rights of the worst off (Narayan power. As Foucault has rightly argued the power in 2013). modern society (by which he meant the west since the end of the eighteenth century) inheres in a variety of Though human rights law has certain serious practices and institutions through which the human limitations as it primarily places to much emphasis on subject is constituted (Referred to Susan Kingsly legal strategies and thus encourages the idea that Kent 2012). He suggested that the human subject was human rights instruments are themselves a sign of made through a proliferation of practices and women’s improved status and secondly a related institution and techniques that together constitution difficulty is that legal strategies emphasize the what he calls ‘discourse’. homogeneity of women as an undifferentiated group (Kapur 2006). Thus resulting in reinforcing of Foucault conceived of power not simply as cultural essentialism than focusing on law as a means decentralised he also saw it as diffuse. Foucault to ameliorate women’s status. argued that power in pre-modern western regimes derived from the king’s authority- that is, the Baxi however contends that human rights have authority of the State- to punish by taking human life. emerged as ‘the only universal ideology in the Power in the modern world operates at the furthest making, enabling both the legitimation of power and reaches of society and it does not rely on such a threat the praxis of emancipatory politics’. Although human as death. Using the metaphor of the human heart and rights laws has not traditional ameliorate the situation circulatory system, Foucault described this new of women, this norms and standards have served to power as ‘Capillary’ Power, working of power at the empower social justice movement and also to furthest remove from the heart and the centre. question political practices, and this according to him Capillary power affects people in the living of their is a remarkable contribution to the human rights. everyday life, in the practices they participate in as Thus the possible answer of how best to use human they go about the businesses of living. It is rights discourse lies not in engaging itself into a everywhere in what he refer to as ‘micro-practises’; Universalist / culturalist debate but need to adjoin an

16 L. Sengupta / Revisiting the Recent Inclusiveness of the Women’s Rights in India…. understanding individual narratives of disadvantage human rights of the women vis-a-vis the position of and contextualise them within the larger frame of the community and culture. Cultural tradition and global discourse. Human rights activism that works practices have played a major role in the violation of with the raw material of human suffering arising from human rights. In case of women’s rights a peculiar the denial of dignity, equal birth, and concern for all trend is witnessed in South Asian countries. In both human beings (Baxi 2008). Thus the impact of the countries, India and Bangladesh (to a limited extent), NGOs on the making and working of human rights is the states tried to adopt a liberal framework at the so considerable that Baxi contends that NGO- isation time of incorporation of women’s rights in the of human rights is a pervasive reality. constitution , and were largely influenced by GLOBAL HUMAN RIGHTS AND WOMENS Baxi draws a distinction between the catastrophic RIGHTS DECLARATIONS In fact Bangladesh imposition of suffering and the ‘everydayness’ of owing to global pressures was bound to set up Human human and human rights violation. Baxi points out Rights commission in 2009 However owing to that there is a need to unfold the lived experiences of pressures from communities based on personal law human suffering caused by human rights violation, the Indian state have been seen to revoke its decisions which often do not quite live in public memory. in the case of shah BANO.. In case of Bangladesh some of the laws in favour of the women were absent When suffering people take their human right from the very beginning as it contravened with the seriously enough to rebel, whether by everyday micro laws of . The state in Bangladesh is also seen and at times larger patterns of macro resistance, we to curb and repress strong voices advocating witness some radical assertions of human rights women’s human right. Though the role of the state in protection and implementation from below . As both countries seems ambiguous, yet human rights Michel Burawoy evocatively described this: State activism outside the purview of the state, ie in the politics does not hang from clouds; it rises from the civil society has largely enhanced the thrust of the ground; and when the ground trembles so does it. In movement in raisin g consciousness at the level of short, by production politics may not have a direct individual state and global concerns and invoked the effect on politics, it never the less sets limits on and legal means to alter their radical positions by ushering precipitates interventions by the state (Burawoy in movements of social justice. 1985). Indeed the role of human rights activists at the grass root level is of great importance. At the very Sammuel P.Huntington in his famous book The Clash least such grass root activist pose a challenge to the of Civilisations and the remaking of world order received binary categories such as local verses global (Huntington 1996) reminded us that cultures are and western verses traditional. Human rights activism relative; morality is absolute. Quoting from the words actually tries to pursue the task of bringing ‘voices’, of Michel Walzer he has pointed out that cultures of suffering to the reality of human rights and seek to “thick”; they prescribe institution and behaviour locate the areas of ‘transformation’. Though the task patterns to guide human in paths which are right in a of relating human rights suffering and human rights particular society. Above, beyond, and growing out of theory is complex, yet it is inescapable to understand this maximalist morality, however, is a “thin” the ‘realities’, ‘small voice of history’ conveying the minimalist morality that embodies “reiterated features tones of harassment and pain endured by the right of particular thick or maximal moralities”. Minimal less people some as their politically ordained fate moral concept of truth and justice as noted by Walzer which the larger theories failed to capture. are found in all thick moralities and cannot be divorced from them. Human society is “Universal CONCLUSION because it is human, particular because it is a society”. At times we march with others; mostly we A comparison of the women’s rights as part of march alone. Yet a “thin” minimal morality does broader human rights movement in both India and derived from the common human condition, and Bangladesh reveals that both the countries, in spite of “Universal disposition” which are found in all being democratic or Islamic have a limited practicability in the enforcement and protection of

17 Proceeding of 1st World Asian Studies Conference, Vol. 1, 2015, pp. 10-18 cultures.- and it is in this spirit lies the relevance of Engineer, Asghar Ali (1996) The Rights of Women in Islam, human rights. New Delhi, Sterling Publishers Private Limited. Naila Kabeer, The Quest for National Identity : Women, REFERENCES Islam and the State, Institute of Development Studies Discussion Paper, No. 268, Sussex, October 1989, pp. 19- 21. Donnelly, Jack (1989) Universal Human Rights in Theory and Practice , Ithaca, Cornell University Press. Huntington, Samuel P (1996) The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of world Order, New Delhi, Penguin Baxi, Upendra (2008) The Future Human right, New Delhi, Books. Oxford University Press. Journal: Bagchi, Subrata Sankar (2009) Expanding Horizons of Human Right , New Delhi, Atlantic. Narain,V (2013), ‘Muslim Women’s Equality in India: Applying a Human Rights Framework’, Reddy, D. Chenna (2010) Human Rights of Women National and International Perspectives, Delhi, Manglam Human Rights Quarterly, volume 35, No 1, February 2013, Publications. pp. 91-115. Motilal Shashi and Bijaylaxmi (2006) Human Rights, Gender and Environment, New Delhi, Allied publishers private limited. 1Refer to Shah Bano,2 s.c.c 556 (India) as discussed McDermott, Rachel Fell; Gordon, Leonard A; Embree, by Narain in Human Right Quarterly volume 35 no. 1 Ainslie T; Pritchett, Frances w; Dalton Dennis (2014) February 2013 page 95-96. For a full discussion of Sources Of Indian Traditions, India, Penguin books. the Shah Bano case see Narain, Gender and Kent, Susan Kingsley (2012) Gender and History, England, Community, supra note 5, 27-35. Palgrave Macmillan.

18 Proceeding of 1st World Asian Studies Conference, Vol. 1, 2015, pp. 19-26 Copyright © TIIKM ISSN: 2424-676x online DOI: 10.17501/ wasc2015-1103 BETWEEN TRADITION AND POST- MODERNIZATION: JAPANESE LOCAL COMMUNITY Keliyan, M

International Research Center for Japanese Studies, Japan

Abstract

The goal of the paper is to study the particularities of Japanese local community, its post- modernization and the persistence of tradition in its organization, structures, and activities. In recent years a different type of sociality has been established in the local community; the ‘community spirit’ of the past is giving way under the new conditions to the increasingly public character of relationships but traditional elements are continuing to be very strong. The theoretical approach applied in the study lies within the research field of social stratification more precisely in neo- Weberian tradition in sociology. The empirical basis of the analysis are surveys carried out by the author in Japan. In depth interviews were conducted with leaders of the informal structure of the communities, with enterprising local actors, and local residents. Observations were made on number of events, activities and initiatives of the surveyed communities such as their religious festivals - matsuri and some of their volunteer activities and projects. As a result of analysis the conclusions will be made concerning formal and informal structures of the Japanese local community, about changes in local people identity and in their spirit of solidarity in the middle of first decade of 21st century.

Keywords: local community, post-modernization, tradition, identity, solidarity.

INTRODUCTION of the informal structure of the communities, with enterprising local actors, NGO activists, local The empirical basis of the theoretical analysis administrators, leaders of agrarian cooperatives, contained in the paper are fourteen empirical farmers, and local residents, and seventeen focus sociological surveys conducted by the author in group discussions were held with representatives of Japanese local communities during the period of 21 these same categories of respondents. A variety of years from 1994 until now. Among them I could other sources of information were also used: mention “Religious practices, rituals and festivals as statistical, economic, demographic, etc. Observations basis of identity and solidarity of Japanese local were made on a number of activities and initiatives of communities”, Local communities lifestyle in Kyoto: the surveyed communities: their traditional annual Traditions in postmodern society”, “Local festivals - matsuri, and some of their volunteer communities in Kumano: Local initiatives, traditions activities and projects. The investigations were based and protection from natural disasters”, “Informal on the case study method. The results are not structures of Japanese local communities”, representative and are by no means taken as such, but “Traditional forms of mutual help and cooperation in they do contain valuable information that may serve Japanese local communities”, carried out in different for drawing conclusions regarding the lifestyle of part of Japan as Shiga, Hyogo, Aichi, Mie, Gifu, local communities. Toyama and Kyoto prefectures. These research were dedicated on studying Japanese local communities Two third of all fifteen investigated communities is lifestyle, their traditions, structures, initiatives, located in villages, although some of them no longer religious practices, rituals and festivals. In all, ninety conduct agricultural activity, or if they do, it two in-depth interviews were conducted with leaders represents an insignificant portion of their economies. Corresponding Author Email: [email protected] Together with rural local communities five urban

19 1st World Asian Studies Conference, 11th-13th August, 2015, Colombo, Sri Lanka M. Keliyan / Between Tradition and Post-Modernization: Japanese Local Community local communities were studied in old Japanese derived from all these activities. Lifestyle also plays a capital - Kyoto city. Some of the surveyed rural local structure-determining role with respect to the local communities are situated far from the large economic community: ever since the emergence of postmodern and cultural centers, and this has an impact on their society, not only individuals but the organizations and general social-political, social-economic, and cultural communities formed by individuals have enjoyed development. Among the basic problems of these much greater freedom and have a growing possibility communities are depopulation, migration of young to choose their lifestyle; in turn, that lifestyle defines people to large urban centers, and population aging. their position in the social structure of society.

The goal of the paper is to study the particularities of Lifestyle acquires the characteristics describe above Japanese local community and the continuing at a definite stage of social-historical development, persistence of tradition in its organization, structures, more precisely, in postmodern society which and activities. distinctive features are presented in the works of authors C. Wright Mills (1951), Baudrillard (1981), The approach applied to the lifestyle of local Lyotard (1979), Jameson (1991), Featherstone (1991) communities lies within the research field of social and others. Postmodern society is based on a new stratification. In this study I proceed from the type of social structuring, in which lifestyle plays an traditions of the classical names in this problem field, important and decisive role, and local communities such as Weber (1978/1922) and Veblen (1994/1899), have an increasingly important presence and role in as well as on the work of Bourdieu (1984), public life in general. The process of important Featherstone (1991), Jameson (1991) and others. social-economic, structural, cultural, political and value changes through which society passes to its LOCAL COMMUNITY LIFESTYLE postmodern stage, is designated by the term ‘post- modernization’. The latter took place in the The author argues that, despite the close proximity developed Western societies and Japan in the 1970s. between the concepts of lifestyle and way of life, the two are not synonymous. Unlike ‘way of life’, Post-modernization poses significant challenges for ‘lifestyle’ emphasizes the activeness of the agent and local communities, but does not bring them to loss of the choices he/she makes among the various options identity and provides them with new means and at his/her disposal. Lifestyle is a characteristic and possibilities for dealing with their problems. For distinctive way of life. Since social-group formations instance, the development of technologies, especially are active in their lifestyle and can choose it, lifestyle information and communication technologies, which is a significant indicator of their status. In modern are making our societies increasingly global, can societies it is a result of their activity; through it they simultaneously be used as means for preserving local delimit themselves from some social-structure specificities, consolidating and even popularizing the formations and draw closer to others. The way of life, local lifestyle beyond the boundaries of the unlike lifestyle, is determined by the social-group community, thus effectuating a sort of ‘globalization status of individuals and groups, and is a result of that of the local’. But how and how much the local status (Keliyan 2010: 22-23). communities will inscribe themselves in the postmodern environment and cope with the It is assumed that lifestyle of the local community is challenges of that environment will depend on the an integral unity of specific, typical and distinctive social structures of the concrete society. activities carried out by the social actors (individual and collective) and structures of that community, JAPANESE LOCAL COMMUNITY activities carried out apart from paid labor (i.e. on a voluntary basis); some of these activities may be Local community is a form of coexistence, a form of freely chosen (preferred), others may be pursued out co-affiliation of individuals living in a network of of necessity (i.e. obligatory), still others may be social relationships; is has a specific social structure; initiated by its members and their organizations; it its members perform socially significant activities includes the evaluations, attitudes and satisfaction within a clearly defined territory that they inhabit.

20 Proceeding of 1st World Asian Studies Conference, Vol. 1, 2015, pp. 19-26

What is important here are not so much the physical as a tradition may in fact often be a reaction against and geographic characteristics of that territory, but the modern and postmodern, a display of flexibility the nature and quality of the social relationships that and on the part of the local community; define the local community. The boundaries of the many of the now existing traditions are, in fact, community, both real and symbolic, are especially innovations. important, for they serve to mark the membership and affiliation of the individuals included in it. The term In recent years a different type of sociality has been ‘community’, as likewise ‘local community’, may be established in the local community; the ‘community descriptive or it could refer to values and norms. The spirit’ of the past is giving way under the new distinction that Ferdinand Tönnies (1887/1957) made conditions to the increasingly public character of between ‘community’ (Gemeinschaft) and ‘society’ relationships (Shoji, 2006: 136). This transformation (Geselschaft) as two different types of sociality was is revitalizing the latter, not on the basis of at the core of the romantic notion of the community Gemeinschaft, but through the pervasive public as based on mutuality, cooperation, and mutual aid quality of their lifestyle. amongst its members. This is one of the views that contributed to the widespread, even mythical, STRUCTURE, CHARACTERISTICS, AND representation regarding Japanese society and its RESOURCES OF THE JAPANESE LOCAL unique difference from Western civilization, COMMUNITY regarding the specific feeling of community and The local community and its structures cannot be community spirit that make up the essential quality of studied and comprehended without clarifying the being Japanese. particularities of the traditional Japanese family The creation and spread of such highly ideological system. Ie literally denotes not exactly the family or and mythologized representations is certainly the household but rather the ‘home’, the ‘house’. Ie is connected to some real characteristics of Japanese the fundamental social and productive association in society. This society has a developed community traditional Japanese society. It is a perennial culture, which has been preserved over the centuries institution that continues beyond the lives of its and continues to perform an important role and members and includes the property, the family function even now, in postmodern society. In Japan business, the family name and registered code, the there are certainly strong social bonds between ancestors who lived in the home, and the future individuals within the framework of the group to generations. Ie is managed by its head, the kachou, a which they belong, between the communities and position that is inherited by the first-born son. The society at large. Japan is a communitarian society relations between members of ie are subordinated to (Etzioni, 1998), in which social responsibility and the Confucian principles of loyalty of those lower in duty towards the group and the community are of rank to those higher and the benevolence of the latter paramount importance, despite the intense current of to the former. In the traditional Japanese household, individualism that comes through Western influence. gender, age and order of birth are indicators that In fact, this trend is not only a result of foreign determine the status of each member. The position of influence but also of the impact upon society and its the head of ie is not for life: when the father reaches a structures of modernization, industrialization, certain age, he retires from the position of kachou and urbanization, mass culture, post-modernization, and his first-born son inherits it. Ever since the Meiji the social transformations all of these provoke. period, the ie institution has been assessed ambivalently: on one hand it has been viewed as a The concept of ‘innovation of tradition’ (Hobsbawm, basis of social solidarity, on the other, as an obstacle 1983: 1-12) designates the newly created values and to the establishment of a modern lifestyle. The 1947 norms of conduct that correspond to the arising Constitution deprived ie of the functions it had before requirements in period of considerable the war, but preserved its cultural and value contents. transformations of the community; it should be noted According to the census, conducted in 2005, in Japan that communities not only inherit but also create their are registered about 49,06 million ie (Statistical traditions (Matsuda, 1998: 18-21). What is presented Handbook of Japan for 2009, 2010: 17).

21 M. Keliyan / Between Tradition and Post-Modernization: Japanese Local Community

Apart from the formal, institutionalized, and legally The tradition in Japan is for several ie to be united in established structure, the local community also a group called kumi, which according to the size of creates a functioning network of informal structures, the settlement may include at least 2 and no more which build up, maintain, and develop certain types than 11 ie. Each household contributes the local of relationships between members. The informal informal membership fee, called chonaikaihi. The structures express the ‘moral rules’ of the community, sums are relatively modest by Japanese standards which the members are required to observe. These (5000 Japanese yen, which are about 40 US$) and are rules are an informal ‘institutionalization’ of its spent on the needs of the local community. They are principles, its tradition, which, due to the symbiosis collected by cashiers who represent the separate ie of the value aspect and the ‘semi-institutional’ aspect, and are changed every month. are passed on through the centuries and, today, acquire a modern meaning. Each household is obliged to keep clean the area around its home, and all ie have the duty, on a The informal structure of the local community, rotation basis, to maintain and take care of the local established in Japanese tradition and functioning Buddhist and Shinto shrines. today, is called chonaikai, which literally means ‘neighborhood association’. In some regions it is A bulletin, called kairanban, is published and known as jichikai, a designation that emphasizes circulated in the local community; this is an important autonomy, unlike the official administrative means for exchange of information. It periodically institutions established through law. In villages these announces news from the town hall, from the kuchou structures are known as shizenson, i.e. a natural san, or from any household that wishes to share village. In 2008 there were 300 000 such important family events with the neighbors. neighborhood associations in Japan (Pekkanen et al., 2014: 1); in the last 30 years 90% of the people The members of the local community are engaged in residing on their territories were taking part in their the numerous activities managed by the informal activities, and 14% of Japanese every day are council of the chonaikai, activities for which the engaged in activities in their local community kuchou san is generally responsible. In various fields (Statistical Handbook of Japan for 2008, 2009: 188). of activity the following organizations are created and function: The twofold social organization of the local 1. Groups for protection against natural communities is a unique mixture of traditions and disaster built on a volunteer basis. Their democratic principles. From village to megapolis, members generally meet once a month to such informal structures have been built in each check the condition of the fire-fighting settlement. Membership in chonaikai is not personal equipment and to carry out regular but through the ie, each of which sends its training. They train to react quickly in representative to the sessions. By tradition, this case of fires, earthquakes, floods, and representative is the head of the household, the other disaster, in order to restrict the kachou, but in present-day Japan, due to the fact that damage until professionals from the civic men are much occupied with their professions, the protection organs appear on the scene. wife performs these functions. If the local community Training is regularly organized for the is more numerous and has a large structure, five or neighborhood residents. ten households may elect a common representative to 2. Groups for maintenance and cleaning the chonaikai. The members of the ‘general of roads and local infrastructure; part assembly’ elect an informal council of the local of the activities of these has now been community, which manages all of its affairs for a transferred to the special community period of four years. The chairman of this council is services, but they are still important in called kuchou san or ‘community leader’. The council small settlements. Usually, part of the also includes a deputy chairman (fukuchou), a sub collected funds from chonaikaihi goes chairman (kumichou), an accountant, and a controller, for ordering the materials needed for the all of whom work on a voluntary basis, without pay.

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envisaged activities. Every ie must send community displays its distinctive one of its representatives on the features before outsiders. appointed date and hour; if not, a certain fee is paid for the work to be done by The leader of the local community, the kuchou san, is professional workers. This is how grass a very important figure for community activities and fields, parks, rivers, streams, canals and organization. He is responsible for collecting shafts are cleaned. In most cases the chonaikaihi, for conducting the above-mentioned work is completed within the day fixed activities of the chonaikai, for the work and results of for it, usually a non-working day. the neighborhood organizations; he arbitrates disputes 3. Groups ensuring security and safety of between neighbors. The chairman of the informal the residents of the local community; council also plays a very important role as these groups generally include young intermediary, as a contact and transmission agent men who perform the function of between the inhabitants of the region and the local volunteer patrollers. Their aim is to help authorities at municipal level. He receives 100 000 maintain peace and quiet for the yen (about 800 US$) per year from the municipality neighbors and protect the neighborhood and uses these funds for the needs of the community, from crime. foremost for organizing matsuri and for the work of 4. Groups ensuring the socialization of the various groups for civic protection, for cleaning the children of the local community. canals, rivers, and irrigation appliances, for road From the very first day of school the maintenance in the neighborhood, etc. first-graders are organized in groups for going to school and back. Analysis of different kinds of informal structures and 5. PTA (Parents and Teachers their groups in the local community shows that they Associations) groups are an important are a basis of community identity, solidarity, and part of the structures and activity of the integrity. Social control in the framework of the local community. They include the community is informal but very important for the parents of schoolchildren from members. Refusal to take part in the activities and elementary, primary, and secondary structures does not lead to administrative penalties schools, and their activity are related to but it does incur moral sanctions. Those who choose the scholastic performance, socialization, not to take part cannot rely on the support, friendship, and conduct of children. aid and cooperation of their neighbors. 6. Groups of people sharing common The typical characteristics of the local community – interests such as housewives, coexistence, and the harmonious combination of pensioners, youths, mothers, classmates, traditional institutions and values with a postmodern different hobby groups, consumers lifestyle and modern technology – are visible in the associations, etc. Cultural centers are rural regions. The differences between local built in the local communities, in which communities in large cities and those in small programs for lifelong learning are settlements consist above all in the way their implemented to train target groups of residents take part in the community activities and in adults, according to their needs and the meaning and functions for the life of the interests, in subjects like foreign settlement that these activities have. Naturally, in languages, sports, dancing, gardening, villages, interaction between neighbors occurs far cooking, computer skills, etc. more often; people there are far more interconnected 7. Groups organizing and conducting than in cities, especially large residential areas. local matsuri, which are part of Usually, the residents of villages and small towns traditional Japanese cultural and are held directly contribute labor to the various activities of in every neighborhood, village, small or their community, while those in cities mostly big city. They are emblematic for local contribute money for payment of specially hired identities; during these events the workers to do the job. In rural communities, farmer

23 M. Keliyan / Between Tradition and Post-Modernization: Japanese Local Community groups are active, while in urban ones various form of inhabitants, take care of the maintenance of those consumer organizations are more important. The spaces. latter prove a cross-point of interaction between local urban and local rural communities. An essential The informal structures and their activities promote difference between the activity of kuchou san and the collaboration and solidarity in the community and informal council in big cities on one hand and in serve as a basis for increasing and preserving social small towns and villages on the other is that the latter cohesion. The effectuation of their initiatives works are involved in activities aimed at ensuring more as a sort of response to the depersonalizing and jobs, at making the village more attractive for outside bureaucratic trends of postmodern society; visitors, for keeping the local residents in their native community members acquire the conviction that these settlements, and for attracting retired emigrants back negative processes are not so strong and pervasive, to their birthplace. that their own efforts are important and meaningful to themselves, to their communities, to the region and What is impressive in the local communities is the the country. spirit of enterprise, the numerous activities initiated by their informal leader, kuchou san. For centuries, On the other hand, under certain social conditions and the informal structures, councils, leaders, and their circumstances, some possible results of this activities have served as a resource for mobilization community system might include: of local communities and of Japanese society in general. These structures are informal but they are Social exclusion and moral penalties in the form of also semi-official, because they are recognized by the ostracism of those who refuse to participate in central and local administration and have established community life; relations with the latter. They fit in with the Japanese Growing mutual social control and mutual tradition of ‘duality’ and ‘multiplicity’, displayed in dependence between community members, limiting this case in the particularities of their status and their possibility for personal choice and violating nature. They fulfill the function of intermediary their individual liberties. between the local administration and the members of the local community and ensure regular The activities and organization of the local communication by maintaining the dialogue between community are a symbiosis between tradition and the them. The informal structures of the local related system of duty to the community on one hand communities are entirely based on volunteer work; and civil society on the other. the developed community culture and communitarian spirit are among the factors favorable to intense ENTERPRISING SOCIAL-GROUPS IN LOCAL volunteer activity, to the existence of numerous COMMUNITY volunteer organizations and high participation of the Japanese in those organizations. The enterprising local social actors, whether these be individuals or groups, can successfully realize their Intense civic activity and inclusion in the life of the initiatives because they have at their disposal the local community serve as a basis for the creation and resources of their community. Of course, this does development of various civic organizations. The not at all diminish the importance of individual informal structures of the local community are such activeness, experience, enterprise, etc., but the organizations, for they unite the members, express potential of the community adds strength and carries and protect their interests before the local authorities, with it energy needed for the success of personal perform the role of mediators between individuals initiatives. and families on one hand and the local authorities on the other. They are also a tool of public opinion in the An outstanding enterprising actor of the local community, for they set the principles and rules and community is its informal leader, kuchou san. It is on check how these are being observed. They devote his initiatives that the lifestyle in the chonaikai special attention to public spaces on their territory greatly depends, and the organization and and, together with the collective efforts of the

24 Proceeding of 1st World Asian Studies Conference, Vol. 1, 2015, pp. 19-26 effectiveness of the different structures and groups. communities, for the activity of the enterprising Another type of individual enterprising actors are social actors of those communities is the fundament volunteers, who could be members of the community of civil society. In postmodern society local people but also outsiders. Volunteers are at the heart of a have at their disposal much greater and more varied number of activities; they organize, or take part in, possibilities for choosing a lifestyle for themselves, already existing groups and structures. The their family, and for the neighborhood they live in. enterprising social-group subjects in Japanese local This is changing the importance of traditions in our communities can most generally be divided according times: traditions are no longer followed unswervingly to gender and age; each group, for its part, is devoted but, instead, are used as a resource for development to and ‘specialized’ in certain types of activities. of the local community. In Japan there are good Generally, women are active members of consumer possibilities for expanding such a potential: the groups attached to the consumer cooperatives or to informal structures of the local community, their community supported agriculture. Mothers are those established and time-tested functions and activities. who mostly take an active part in groups engaged in the socialization of children and in PTA groups. In The local community, thanks to its informal every local community there is a housewives’ structures and active personalities, appears as a organization, called fujinkai, which has structures at collective enterprising actor in contemporary the prefecture level and national level. Pensioners, Japanese society. The community relies on because of their growing interest in ecological traditionally inherited organizational forms and consumption and a healthy life style, in addition to structures, but these operate in today’s postmodern being occupied with farming in the local rural environment. With its environmental initiatives, communities, are also active in these consumer educational programs and activities typical for civil groups and in hobby clubs, where they are taught how society, the community has asserted itself as an to lead a ‘meaningful lifestyle.’ Generally they and important locus, resource and center of a postmodern housewives are more engaged with the matters of the lifestyle. Through this function and role it plays, it chonaikai than employed men and younger people. determines to a great degree the face of postmodern Japanese society. Young people, in addition to taking part in study groups and hobby clubs, traditionally participate in Today Japan is certainly a leader of postmodern activities requiring strength and endurance, such civil lifestyle: but the country is such not only due to its defense, the organizing and holding of matsuri developed urban culture, high share of consumption (traditional ones and newly created by them) and in of luxury goods and branded articles, its cleaning and maintaining the infrastructure, an digitalization, robotization, ICT boom, etc. An activity suitable for their age. important, distinctive trait of contemporary Japanese society is the enterprising lifestyle of its local The external volunteers included in the life of the communities, with their enterprising actors who use local community generally take part in the activity of the resources of tradition for achieving socially virtual communities functioning through the Internet, significant postmodern goals. in consumer groups, in groups engaged in community supported agriculture, eco-tourism, etc. Such groups ACKNOWLEDGEMENT are extremely helpful in activities to restore the damage caused by natural disasters. I respectfully acknowledge the generous support of The International Research Center for Japanese CONCLUSION Studies making possible my participation at TIIKM’s 1st Annual World Asian Studies Conference, August According to famous Japanese author and illustrator 11-13, Colombo Sri Lanka. I highly appreciate warm Taro Gomi “While the twentieth century was an age hospitality and excellent working conditions offered of nations, the twenty-first century is an age of me as visiting research scholar as well as a kind regions and local people” (2006: 3). I am following support and co-operation of my counterpart Professor the idea that the 21st century is the century of local Kazuhiro Kuramoto.

25 M. Keliyan / Between Tradition and Post-Modernization: Japanese Local Community

REFERENCES Mills, C.W. (1951). White Collar. New York: Oxford University Press. Baudrillard, J. (1981). Toward a Critique of the political Pekkanen, R., Tsujinaka, Y. & Yamamoto, H. (2014). Economy of Sign. St. Louis: Telos Press. Neighborhood Associations and Local Governance in Japan. London: Routlegde. Bourdieu, P. (1984). Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgment of Taste. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul. Shoji, K. (2006). Sociology. In: Togawa, Y., Uga, K. Omori, W., Ito, M, Shoji K., Ito, A. & Terasaki M. An Etzioni, A. (1993). The Spirit of Community. New York: Introductory Bibliography for Japanese Studies. Vol. XV, Touchstone. Part 1 Social Sciences 2002-03. Tokyo: Japan Foundation. Featherstone, M. (1991). Consumer Culture and Statistical Handbook of Japan for 2008. (2009). Statistical Postmodernism. London: Sage. Research and Training Institute at Ministry of Internal Hobsbawm, E. (1983). Inventing Traditions. In: Hobsbawm Affairs and Communication. Tokyo: Statistics Bureau E. & Ranger T. (еds.) The Invention of Tradition. Press. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Statistical Handbook of Japan for 2009. (2010). Statistical Interview with Mr. Taro Gomi. (2006). The Japan Research and Training Institute at Ministry of Internal Foundation Newsletter, vol. XXXI/No.4, pp. 1-3. Affairs and Communication. Tokyo: Statistics Bureau Press. Jameson, F. (1991). Postmodernism, or the Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism. London: Verso. Tönnies, F. (1887/1957). Community and Society. East Lansing, Michigan: Michigan State University Press. Keliyan, M. (2010). Stil na jivot na lokalnata obshtnost: Savremenna Yaponiya (Local community lifestyle: Veblen, T. (1899/1994). The Theory of the Leisure Class. Contemporary Japan). Varna: AlexPrint. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books. Lyotard, J. F. (1979). The Post-modern Condition. Weber, M. (1922/1978). “Classes, Status Groups and Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. Parties”. In: Runcinan, W.G. (ed.). Max Weber: Selection in Translation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Matsuda, M. 1998. Urbanization From Below: Creativity and Self Resistance in the Everyday Life of Maragoli Migrants in Nairobi. Kyoto: Kyoto University Press.

26 Proceeding of 1st World Asian Studies Conference, Vol. 1, 2015, pp. 27-36 Copyright © TIIKM ISSN: 2424-676x online DOI: 10.17501/ wasc2015-1104 A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF BUDDHIST NATIONALISTIC MOVEMENTS IN MYANMAR AND SRI LANKA: A CASE STUDY ON THE 969 MOVEMENT IN MYANMAR AND THE BODU BALA SENA IN SRI LANKA Zhang, Y

Chulalongkorn University, Thailand

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to find out the tendency of recent extreme Buddhist Nationalistic movements which have developed in some Theravadin Buddhist countries especially in Sri Lanka and Myanmar. Myanmar is a Southeast Asian country while Sri Lanka is actually located in South Asia but has lots of cultural and religious connections with the Theravadin Buddhist countries in Southeast Asia. As Theravada Buddhism is the predominant religion in mainland Southeast Asia and one of the most important religions in the whole of Asia, this Sri Lanka originated and Southeast Asian popular religion needs to be compared both in the context of Sri Lanka and Southeast Asian countries. Since in the modern era both Myanmar and Sri Lanka share significant experiences of Buddhist Nationalistic sentiments, and these two countries had over a millennium of religious contacts, we can find many similarities in both societies. Looking into the Theravada Buddhist traditions we can find in the records that there were also historical Buddhist nationalistic movements in both countries. Nowadays, modern technology and convenient travel has sped up the spreading of the phenomenon. The emergence of Buddhist nationalism and the Buddhist nationalistic movements with their anti-Muslim sentiments in Sri Lanka and Myanmar are related to the politicization of Buddhism in Southeast Asia and South Asia. In more detail, the differences of Buddhist nationalistic phenomenon are related to the different contexts of their societies. For example, the Buddhist monks in Myanmar have high levels of political influences but were not allowed to become parliament members or party leaders. On the other hand in Sri Lanka, Buddhist monks have participated in the political field for decades. The final phase of this case study involves field interview in different places throughout Sri Lanka. This provided information for more individual consideration of which including Buddhist nationalism and may direct future research on this issue

INTRODUCTION in the University of California, argues that both nationalism and religion evolve around the The evolution of Theravada Buddhism in Sri imagination of order and power and considerations of Lanka and Myanmar how one should relate to those1. Religious nationalism which includes Buddhist Nationalism is Nationalism is a double-edged sword. Dr. Hanz not a new phenomenon,; it derives from historical Schildberger from Thai studies section, sequences long before it came to recent prominence. Chulalongkorn University argued in the year 1996 ， that nationalism is one of the significant keys to the In recent years the Bodu Bala Sena of Sri Lanka success of a Nation. Nationalism can be described as and the 969 movement of Myanmar have become the patriotic feeling, principles, or efforts of the popular topics of the domestic and international people to go forward hand to hand together as a media. Against the bigger backdrop of anti-Islamic single body. On the other hand, in 2001 Professor extremism in the world, the rise of Buddhist Roger Friedland, a scholar who is held a high repute nationalism caught more attention from the public, partly because the authentic teaching of Buddhism is Corresponding Author Email: [email protected]

27 1st World Asian Studies Conference, 11th-13th August, 2015, Colombo, Sri Lanka Y. Zhang / A Comparative Study of Buddhist Nationalistic Movements……. all about the idea of peace. During my interview with Sukhothai and so on. It developed from there. The the Venerable Professor Uttarawala Dhammaratana way in which Buddhist orders are managed and how Thera from Buddhist and Pali University of Sri Lanka Buddhism has been practiced are still not very on May 18th, 2015, he insisted that the function of different when compared with early Sinhala Bodu Bala Sena in Sri Lanka is a politically related Buddhism. Strict Vinaya and close ties among organization which is involved in many different Buddhist practitioners still continues to manage the political campaigns in the country, while the 969 Buddhist Sangha until today. The main form of movement of Myanmar is a civilian organized and the Theravadin Buddhist organization to deal with the relationship with the states in Southeast Asia is still the Maha Vihara Muslim community in the country. which originated in Sri Lanka.

As one of the main religions around the world, Doctor Heinz Bechert from the American Academy Buddhism plays an influential role in many countries of Arts & Sciences pointed out that during the early in Southeast Asia and South Asia. Myanmar and Sri period, the Sangha communities in India avoided Lanka appear as icons if anyone mentions Theravada getting involved in any forms of state and nation Buddhism. The Shwedagon in Myanmar and related issues2. However, according to professor the Temple of Tooth in Sri Lanka are considered the Guenter Lewy from the city college of New York, the landmarks of this significant religion. ties between Buddhism and Burmese or Myanmar identities could be traced back almost one thousand years ago3, and in Sri Lanka, for nationalists, Sri Lanka is destined as home for Sinhalese Buddhists (K.M.de Silva 1986:35). From Sri Lankan we could find out that Sri Lankan people believe the day the Lord Buddha attained enlightenment was the day prince Vijaya arrived the island of Sri Lanka, and moreover the Sri Lankan legends also told us about the Lord Buddha’s three visits in different areas on the island thus also blessed the island. Professor

James K. Wellman from Jackson School of Figure 1: Maha Mihintale, where is International Studies, University of Washington commemorated the meeting between Maha Mahinda mentioned that the modernization process around the Thera (Thera is a title specially used for these world stimulated the growing of Buddhist reverend monks) and King Devanampiyatissa in a nationalism, it’s ideology and violent approach are in mango forest, which is always interpreted as the first moment of Theravada Buddhism’s propagation on the the name of religion and use the religion to against island of Sri Lanka. 2015 religion4. Moreover, the two of the main recent Buddhist nationalistic movements in Sri Lanka and These Dhammaduta reached various areas. Based on Myanmar, Bodu Bala Sena and the 969 movement the teaching of the Lord Buddha, Buddhism with the have recently merged as good examples of Buddhist forms of Buddhism, Vijirayana Buddhism against Muslim. The sentiment of distrust and hatred and Theravada Buddhism spread in Sri Lanka and the towards Muslim shows itself in the form of Buddhist Southeast Asian area. The Mahavira Lineage of Sri nationalism as shown in the 969 Movement and the Lanka Theravada Buddhism became influential in the Bodu Bala Sena. Bodu Bala Sena, literally means, 13 century with the strong and dedicated support “the power of Buddhism”, is a leading Buddhist from the King Parakramabahu II. Sinhala Buddhism nationalistic organization in Sri Lanka. And the 969 was famous for its strict Vinaya and knowledgeable Movement, the leading Buddhist nationalistic theras. Upon the request from the noble class in counterpart in Myanmar has chosen, from its various kingdoms in Southeast Asia, Sinhala inception, the organisation’s three digit number ‘969’ Theravada Buddhism was introduced to Mon and to represent the three Buddhist gems: the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Sangha. In the Myanamr Buddhist

28 Proceeding of 1st World Asian Studies Conference, Vol. 1, 2015, pp. 27-36 tradition, the first 9 stands for the nine special dramatically. After Sinhala people regained power on attributes of the Lord Buddha, the 6 for the six special the island, it was the from Arakanese attributes of Dhamma and the last 9 represents the kingdom and the Rammana kingdom who saved the nine special attributes of the Buddhist Sangha5. U Sangha order in Sri Lanka. Then during uring the Kyaw Lwin, a religious official in the Burmese colonial era, when the Portuguese power first landed military junta remarked that across South Asia, on this islandm they considered themselves as the Muslims represent the phrase, “In the Name of Allah, protector of the Holy Catholic faith and charged with the Compassionate and Merciful,” with the number propagating Catholicism around the world - this deed 786, and businesses display the number to indicate was approved and supported by the Holy See. When that they are Muslim-owned. The 969’s proponents the Portuguese arrived Sri Lanka, they gradually took see this as evidence of a Muslim plot to conquer control of the coastal area, and began to stop the Burma in the 21st century, based on the implausible popular practice of Buddhism by forcing monks to premise that 7 plus 8 plus 6 is equal to 21. The un-robe, destroying monasteries and preventing number 969 is intended be 786’s cosmological Buddhist activities. As a result, Buddhism was opposite in the traditional numerological beliefs in brought to a dangerous situation. This time with aid Myanmar. from Siam and Burma, the Sangha order was thus saved again. Background of Theravada Buddhism in Sri Lanka and Myanmar In 1817, the British annexed Kandy kingdom, ending the monarchic system in Sri Lanka. During the Mahinda and Sanghmitta, the son and daughter of British colonial period, the British brought a large King Asoka, were sent to Sri Lanka and warmly Tamil population from Southern India to work in Sri received by King Devanampiya Tissa of Sri Lanka Lanka’s tea plantation, thus the proportion of non- and this was a central historical event in Buddhist Buddhist Tamil population increased. Sri Lanka history. Dr. Madhukar Piplaya from the University of declared independence in 1948 and shortly after Delhi, the author of ‘Asoka the Great’ pointed out independence, Sinhalese Buddhist Nationalism that “Sri Lanka has played a major role in preserving dominated the nation’s main ideology. The civil war Lord Buddha’s law and Sri Lanka is also credited of Sri Lanka which was a byproduct of the Sinhalese with first inscribing the whole of Buddha’s sermons and creating and preserving the Pali Atthakathat-s”6. Buddhist Nationalism uprising in 1983 and finished in 2009. Soon after the demolishing of Liberation Tiger of , the Sri Lanka government moved the spearhead to another non-Buddhist group- the Muslims. Since 2012, there have been violent attacks against Muslim and Christian communities by Buddhist extremists. On June 12th, 2014, a massive Buddhist-Muslim conflict took place in Aluthgama, Western Province, Sri Lanka. However, the Sri Lankan president at the time, while visiting Bolivia Figure 2: The , Kandy, Sri stressed that he won’t “allow anyone to take the law Lanka, 2013 into their own hands”. Since 2013, the Bodu Bala Sena raised a campaign to boycott Halal food However, Theravada Buddhism in Sri Lanka certification in Sri Lanka, argued that the All Ceylon experienced ups and downs throughout history. The Jamiyyathul Ulama is not authorized to certify Halal Chola (a South Sub-continent based Tamil kingdom) label, and got support from the Sri Lankan th invasion of Sri Lanka in the 10 century brought government, with a result that the government Theravada Buddhism into darkness and during that announced the All Ceylon Jamiyyathul has no power period, the Hindu power pushed Buddhism into the to issue Halal label any longer. While randomly margins. The number of Sanghas decreased talking with both Sri Lankan monks and laymen in

29 Y. Zhang / A Comparative Study of Buddhist Nationalistic Movements…….

Sri Lanka or overseas, the author noticed that some general spirituality, the current nationalistic problems Sinhalese people are concerned about about Muslims in Sri Lanka can be solved easilyMore practically, rather than hating them. In the Rotary Peace Fellows Professor Siri Hettige from the Faculty of Arts at the Class 18 Public Seminar which organized by University of Colombo said that obviously the Bodu Chulalongkorn University on March 25th, 2015 , Mr. Bala Sena is not a right thing but Sinhalese Buddhist Antony Suthan and Mr. Udayakantha Suraweera from nationalism is rooted in the Sri Lankan educational Sri Lanka gave public speeches named Challenges to and political systems. The top politicians in the Peace-building in Postwar Sri Lanka and Peace country always consult Buddhist monks when they Education in Sri Lanka after they completed the need advice instead of the intellectuals such as course, in the end of the talk, a female member of the university professors and researchers. Buddhism is a audience asked Mr. Udayakantha Suraweera, that must study subject in the Sri Lankan educational while living in Sri Lanka for many years, did he system despite the certain percentage of religious witness the aggressive behaviour of Buddhist monks. minorities in the class such as Tamil Hindus, Mr Udayakantha Suraweera refused to answer her Muslims and Christians. He also stated briefly that questions directly while Mr. Antony Suthan admitted Sinhalese Buddhist nationalism is still significant no that in Sri Lanka some Buddhist monks have matter who is the current president. After the defeat aggressive attitudes towards Tamil and of the Tamil Eelam Tigers, the Sri Lankan civil war finished, and the once popular anti-Tamil emotion Muslim people, but he never saw any of these monks lost it’s market, therefore the nationalistic object has apply their aggression physically. At Dekanduwala been transferred from the Tamil group to the Muslim Dhamma Training Center near Horana, the leading group. From another viewpoint, the Sinhalese race is Buddhist nun training center in Sri Lanka, the head the majority group in Sri Lanka, so the politicians nun Dhammashanti Theri, also expressed her concern made use and propagated Sinhalese Buddhist that the population of Muslim people is getting higher nationalistic feelings for the convenience of and higher year by year. she told the author that she is electioneering. He also indicated that language worried that even within 50 years Sri Lanka will education is another cause for the unrest. In Sri Lanka become a Muslim country as once Buddhist Sinhala language is a language for the majority and Bangladesh and Indonesia experienced. On the other Tamil is a minority language. In primary and higher hand, some people were disgusted by what the Bodu education which language should use to deliver the Bala Sena did in Sri Lanka. They even blamed the lecture is another important issue that needs to be close relationship between Bodu Bala Sena and solved by the talented Sri Lankan people. In a former president Rajapaksa. At the more than 700 conclusion, he did support the action of the Sri years old Lankatilaka Temple, a monk, who didn’t Lankan government granting a visa for the visit of want to share his name, said that Rajapaksa had Myanmar’s key figure of the 969 Movement - U strongly supported the development of the Bodu Bala Viirathu thera. Sena. Whether what he said is true or false, it represents the complicated situation in Sri Lanka.

The author interviewed some scholars with high reputations in the University of Colombo. Doctor Farzana Haniffa from the Sociology Department of the University of Colombo argues that Bodu Bala Sena is not a friendly organization and therefore it’s functioning is not good for Sri Lanka. She is very confident about the new president Srisena. She believes that he is applying the right policy for the country and the trend is going to be positive. Doctor Figure 3: Shwe Dagon Pogoda in , Myanmar, Suren Raghavan from the History Department points 2013 out that the problems of nationalist inspired disorder have to be solved at the spiritual level. With a higher

30 Proceeding of 1st World Asian Studies Conference, Vol. 1, 2015, pp. 27-36

In the case of Burma, the story is slightly different. his post spread quickly on the internet, and Buddhist According to Sri Lanka’s Chronicle Mahavamsa, nationalistic feelings were dramatically heightened Sona thera and Uttara thera were sent to against the Muslim population in Mandalay. Group Suvarnabhumi to teach Buddhist Dhamma, a fights started on the streets and as a consequence 2 hypothesis was raised by many scholars originally people were killed and 14 injured. The government associated Suvarnabhumi with modern Myanmar’s had to stop the Internet in case hate speech would territory. The Mon people were the first to accept cause the situation to get out of hand. U Virathu Theravada Buddhism from Sri Lanka. Burmese, played a pivotal role in these conflicts. CNN Rakhaine and Shan people converted to Theravada observed that the Mosque where this incident took Buddhism after the Mon people. In the early and place is only 5 minutes driving distance from U middle Konbaung period, Mon, Rakhine and Shan Virathu’s Masoyein monastery. The CNN journalist territories were annexed by the Burmese, however, raised the idea that it was in his “heartland” that the Buddhism was still the predominant religion. In 1885, Buddhist-Muslim conflict began. When interviewed after 3 Anglo-Burmese Wars, Burma was by the New York Times in 2013, U Virathu transformed into a British colony and regarded as a announced to the public that “ he is proud to be a province of British India. A big population of Indian radical monk.” people voluntarily came to Burma, which were mainly Hindus and Muslims. The immigrants brought The Rohingya issue has long been recognized as an their faiths to their new homes. The growing number issue of concern for the international community. of non-Buddhist foreign-ancestral population That Buddhist Rakhine had conflicts with Muslim stimulated Burmese people’s religious nationalistic Rohingya could be reinterpreted as religious conflicts feeling. After the independence of Burma in 1948, rather than racial conflicts. Outwardly, Rohingya more than 0.5 million of Sub-continental originated people constitute one fourth of Rakhine State’s total population went back to where they came from, population. The Rohingya’s big population basis and leaving a small community of them in Burma. the increasing number of Rohingya people, their Moreover, shortly after the independence of Burma, a totally different physical features, their different Karen armed group began to fight with Burmese culture and language, their Indian look that always military force. Kachin, Chin and other various armed reminds of Bangladesh and Bengal - groups also started to fight with the military one after their neighbors to the west whom they confronted for another,; many of these groups are actually non- hundreds of years. Rakhine people claim that the Buddhist such as the Kachin and Chin. This Rohingya people are Bengali-originated and fled to phenomenon was also quickly incorporated into the Arakanese territory since 1950, and when they Ne Win military government’s Buddhist Nationalistic arrived they grabbed lands from indigenous Rakhine campaign. people. Since the Independence of Myanmar in 1948, unlike Kaman Muslim who had been recognized as In early July of 2014, an incident of a Buddhist - full citizens of the country, the Rohingya have been Muslim conflict in Mandalay broke the peaceful denied citizenship by both the authorities and the atmosphere of the city. The trigger point was a false local Rakhine people. report posted by a blogger on the Internet that a Buddhist women had been raped by a Muslim man. Rohingya people, with their habitations mainly Earlier in the January, U Virathu posted a photo- located at the Bangladeshi-Myanmar border, are shopped picture of a child monk with a gun, that said facing difficult challenges. With a forefront location “ You can be full of kindness and love, but you near heavily populated Muslim majority Bangladesh cannot sleep next to a mad dog. If you are weak, our and causing insecure feelings amongst Rakhine land will become Muslim.” In the beginning of the Muslim, the Bangladeshi government denies to conflicts, U Virathu again reposted the false report of accept Rohingya refugees by giving the reason that this sensitive rape case on his Facebook page, the Rohingya belongs to Myanmar not Bangladesh. simultaneously calling for a harsh government Meanwhile Buddhist nationalistic movements are reaction to the “Jihadist Muslim”. Shortly after this, fermenting fierce opposition in Myanmar especially

31 Y. Zhang / A Comparative Study of Buddhist Nationalistic Movements……. in Rakhine State against the Rohingya people. In June the medieval era, and Drepung and October in 2012, two riots took place in Sittwe monastery had big groups of militant monks in the Rakhine State, Buddhist Rakhine and Muslim name of protecting Dhamma and the glory of the Rohingya continued to attack each other. In early great monasteries. Dr Matthew J. Walton and Dr 2014, angry rioters attacked the UN office for the Susan Hayward from the East-West Center, reason that a UN staff member relocated the Buddhist University of Hawaii, pointed out that when flag on the building. According to the investigation of considering the various of Theravadin Buddhist an organization network “ Burma Partnership” that U corpus wholly, there is actually no Virathu has been whipping up anti-Muslim fever mentioned in the doctrines. Instead, [it seems among the local Arakanese Buddhist population, necessary to defend violence for the sake of demanding that the UN-census be changed. “defending Sasana. (Buddhist religion)”. All in all, the short-termed violence was considered a righteous One important core of the Buddhist Noble Eightfold goal for self-defense7. Path is right action - action which won't harm any other living beings and dedicated practice of Noble Myanmar has 80% of Buddhist population and Sri Eightfold Path will lead to the cessation of Dukka. Lanka has even less of a Buddhist population at 70%. However, the reality is that alongside modernization In Sri Lanka, Muslim people are around 9.7% of the and globalization, the latest Buddhist Nationalistic whole population according to 2012 data, and in movements against non-Buddhist groups proves that terms of Myanmar, the data for Muslim people which many people in Sri Lanka and Myanmar seem already was released by the government is around 4%. to have forgotten the primary teachings from the Lord However, the International Crisis Group believes that Buddha. It is indeed a dangerous signal! the actual portion of Muslim people in Myanmar is about 10%. Compared with major Buddhist population in both countries, the Muslim populations are still relatively much lower. Geographically speaking, Sri Lanka and Myanmar are much closer to Muslim concentrated Middle- eastern countries and Bangladesh. The images Islam extremist groups such as the al-Qaeda and the badly infected the perceptions of the Islam and the Muslim population in Buddhist majority Myanmar and Sri Lanka. However, this kind of interpretations were also mixed with images of domestic Muslim population in Sri Figure 5: U Virathu thera’s picture on the Time Magazine Lanka and Myanmar. Faster birth rate of Muslim babies and the dominant of some business fields are Parallel with Theravada Buddhism, Mahayana evoking the Buddhist nationalistic sentiments in both Buddhism and Tibetan Vijirayana also play relevant countries. In reality, the 969 Movement and the Bodu roles in the Buddhist world. Throughout history, Bala Sena’s perception of Muslim is violence, despite the recent increasing militant tendency of radical, dangerous, exclusive society and fast growing Theravada Buddhism, historically Mahayana and population. Globally the fear of Muslim that flies Tibetan Vijirayana also have had militarization around the world, not only in the Christian Western experiences. It was the strong assistance from Shaolin countries but also in Buddhist Sri Lanka and militant monk which helped Taizong Emperor Myanmar. successfully overthrew the power of his brothers and his father through a coup. Militant monks also existed in the great temples around and Bhutan during

32 Proceeding of 1st World Asian Studies Conference, Vol. 1, 2015, pp. 27-36

Figure 6: Myanmar Buddhist monks demonstrating in Figure 8: The logo of the 969 Movement Yangon with anti-Muslim slogans

The Buddhist Nationalistic couple - Sri Lanka and Myanmar. Sri Lanka and Myanmar are not the only Theravadin Buddhist countries in this world. In the area, Thailand, Cambodia and Laos are also countries with the same belief system - the difference is that these countries have less of a Buddhist nationalistic atmosphere.

Firstly, the ending of the civil war in Sri Lanka in 2009 and the opening up of Myanmar in 2013, brought about dramatic changes in these two Figure 9: U Virathu thera’s visit to Sri Lanka in 2014 countries. Mr. David Madden, the founder of Phandeeyar Innovation Lab argues that the recent Secondly, more and more, the focus of Buddhist hate speech waves on Facebook reflects that, when Nationalist attacks has moved to the Muslim facing the challenge of change within the country, population in both Sri Lanka and in Myanmar. some conservative monks and laymen prefer to Compared with Thailand and the other Theravadin behave more nationalistically to maintain the sole majority countries, some radical Buddhist in Sri authority of . This transitional Lanka and Myanmar pointed out that they time for Myanmar which started in 2013 could be geographically face the Muslim world. Moreover, considered as a fragile turning point. Careless Virathu thera says that Myanmar must learn from negligence will trigger numerous problems. Malaysia and Indonesia. These countries once were mainly Hindu/Buddhist but gradually transferred to Muslim-majority nations. Despite the real truth that Muslims constitute a very low ratio of total population in Sri Lanka and Myanmar, Galagoda

Aththe Gnanasara thera, the secretary general of Sri Lanka’s Bodu Bala Sena organization and Virathu thera, the head of the 969 movements, together with many young and senior monks, claim that Mulsim Figure 7: The logo of the Bodu Bala Sena people breed much faster than Buddhist populations, thus Buddhist culture and practice are in big danger.

33 Y. Zhang / A Comparative Study of Buddhist Nationalistic Movements…….

conditions which they didn’t experience until the modern era. When facing decolonization and

modernization, many countries faced severe problems, compared with the other Theravadin majority countries in the region, but Sri Lanka and Myanmar have more problems dealing with Buddhist nationalistic issues. It’s likely that these issues will not remain only particular to Sri Lanka and Myanmar’s special cases, the problems may spread if necessary attention isn’t applied.

In the end of May 2015, the General Secretary of the Figure 10: It is said that the former Sri Lankan controversial Bodu Bala Sena-Galagoda-atte president Rajapaksa had lots of connections with the Gnanasara thera was arrested for defying a court Bodu Bala Sena order and subsequently released on bail. Since the former president Mahinda Rajapaksa has been been In a word, the twisted relationship between the defeated in the vote in January, he claimed that the government and Sangha worsens the situation. In the Bodu Bala Sena’s extreme activity was one of the case of Myanmar, in 2007, ignoring the despotic reasons that he has been defeated. Maithripala power of Myanmar’s military government, to the Srisena, the newly elected president of Sri Lanka world’s amazement, the monks led the Saffron hasn’t show clear attitudes towards the Bodu Bala Revolution against the government. Nevertheless, Sena yet. In Myanmar, U Virathu thera still remains some Sangha members chose to embrace the active through different channel. In January 2015, U government after the quick opening up in 2013 and Virathu thera called Yanghee Lee - a UN’s reporter a part of the Sangha have been used by the strong “whore” after she highlighted the plight of the military power in Myanmar government for their Muslim minority during her visit to Myanamr. This political interests. remark shocked the UN and the world. At present, according to Myanmar's legal system, hate speech is If we pay attention to Sri Lanka, we will find that Sri not yet defined as a crime. Lankan monks are even allowed to be involved in the political field with many senior monks even becoming parliament members. Political Buddhism and Sinhalese Buddhist nationalism have playing significant roles in Sri Lanka. When Rajapaksa was the president of Sri Lanka, the government tightly embraced Sinhalese Buddhist Nationalism. During the civil war it became a national ideology and has maintained its strong influence up until now. The popular slogan in Sri Lanka is often heard - “ There is no Buddhism without the Sinhalese and no Sinhalese without Buddhism.” The link between the Sinhala Figure 11: The of Buddhism race and Buddhism is so close and inseparable that it led to the Maxism (Cyril Mathew, 1983) We must The author’s interview work among Sri Lankan face the fact that Buddhist monks will continue to general public indicates a good hope for a cessation take important roles in Sri Lankan politics unless the of this kind of extreme religious nationalism. The change takes place within the Sangha orders8. author interviewed more than 200 Buddhist individuals in different places around Sri Lanka. Throughout their long history to the present days, These interviewees belong to different social classes now two great Buddhist nations namely, Sri Lanka which included university professors, soldiers, civil and Myanmar, are experiencing the troublesome servants, shopkeepers, farmers and monks. 178 of the

34 Proceeding of 1st World Asian Studies Conference, Vol. 1, 2015, pp. 27-36 total 200 samples did not like the extreme Buddhist moments came, Buddhist nationalism became more nationalistic organizations such as the Bodu Bala significant. With more chances for free speech and Sena and also disagreed with the ideology and easier access to the technology, a number of extreme aggressive approaches of the Bodu Bala Sena. Many Buddhist interviewees claimed that Sri Lanka is a Buddhist nationalists thus made use of the country for all races who have lived here for opportunities for their secret purposes. The absence generations. Trying to divide people again right after of efficient management of this hate speeches and the a long-standing civil war is not a good idea. little effort made to create a peaceful atmosphere worsened the situations. While talking with some Myanmar interviewees both monks and laymen expressed similar attitudes. Many Buddhist nationalism is an important phenomenon in of them pointed out that with such behaviour, U these two countries, it originated in complicated Virathu thera shouldn’t be a monk. Because of what social and political backgrounds, professor Stephen he did and propagated, the image of Buddhism is C. Berkwitz from Department of Religious Studies, viewed with misconceptions. Missouri State University demonstrated that Buddhist nationalism can also interpreted as an essential To sum up, as more information has been exposed all combination to fight against external power which is around the world and a big progress of civilian 10 harming their existences in certain circumstances. education, the awareness of the people in Sri Lanka No matter what is the story behind the scene, it needs and Myanmar has taken a big leap. Thus extreme Sri Lanka and Myanmar people work hard to end this Buddhism nationalism and it’s related organizations problem at last, returning their precious religion to its cannot maintain it’s popularity amongst people as the original task of peacefully effecting spiritual and time goes by. Many Buddhists laymen are moral improvement of the individual and society. uncomfortable to see monks engaged in political activities. Many laymen raise strong criticism of the REFERENCE political monks in newspaper of the day9. Roger Friedland, Religious Nationalism and the Problem of CONCLUSION Collective Representation, Departments of Religious Studies and Sociology, University of California, Santa The rise of Buddhist Nationalism in Sri Lanka and Barbara, California, the USA. Myanmar represents a certain social problem in these Bechert H. Sangha, State, Society," Nation": Persistence of Traditions in" Post-Traditional" Buddhist Societies[J]. two countries. Buddhist Nationalism was first used to Daedalus, 1973: 85-95. fight against British colonialism and afterwards it was Lewy G. Militant Buddhist Nationalism: The Case of used by both of national governments to build a Burma[J]. J. Church & St., 1972, 14: 19. strong sense of national feeling. However, during this 2.Tessa J. Bartholomeusz, In Defense of : Just-war process, some minority’s rights and feelings were ideology in Buddhist Sri Lanka, P136, RoutledgeCurzon: neglected. Politicians who were concerned about their Taylor&Francis Group, London and New York,2005. own power desperately use religion for their personal 3. “ 969: The strange Numerological Basis for Burma’s Religion Violence”, Alex Bookbinder, The Atlantic, 2013- power struggle. General Ne Win and President 04-09, retrieved 2013-10-19. Rajapaksa are good examples. During the past 4. Edited by James K. Wellman Jr, Belief and Bloodshed: decades, Sinhalese Buddhist nationalism and the Religion and Violence Across Time and Tradition, P145- Buddhist nationalism in Myanmar have echoed each 146, Rowman&Littlefield Publishers, 2007, Plymouth, the UK. other. For example on September 27th 2014, when 5.“ 969: The strange Numerological Basis for Burma’s Myanmar’s 969 movement’s leader Virathu thera Religion Violence”, Alex Bookbinder, The Atlantic, 2013- arrived in Colombo airport, he was received warmly 04-09, retrieved 2013-10-19. and welcomed and honoured by Sri Lanka’s Bodu Madhukar Piplayan, Asoka The Great , p144, 2011,Samyak Bala Sena organization. Prakashan. Matthew J. Walton and Susan Hayward, Contesting After the civil war in Sri Lanka in 2009 and the Buddhist Narratives: Democratization, Nationalism, and opening up in Myanmar in 2013, when transitional

35 Y. Zhang / A Comparative Study of Buddhist Nationalistic Movements…….

Communal Violence in Myanmar, p25, 2014, University of 5. .“ 969: The strange Numerological Basis for Burma’s Hawaii. Religion Violence”, Alex Bookbinder, The Atlantic, 2013- 04-09, retrieved 2013-10-19. Neil Devotta, Sinhalese Buddhist Nationalism Ideology: Implications for Politics and Conflict Resolution in Sri 6. Madhukar Piplayan, Asoka The Great , p144, Lanka, P31 2007, East-West Center, Washington. 2011,Samyak Prakashan. K.N.O. Dharmadasa, Buddhist Resurgence And Christian 7 Privilege In Sri Lanka, P112-113, C.1940-1965, Ethnic Matthew J. Walton and Susan Hayward, Contesting Conflict in Buddhist Societies: Sri Lanka, Thailand and Buddhist Narratives: Democratization, Nationalism, and Burma, Westview Press, The USA, 1988. Communal Violence in Myanmar, p25, 2014, University of Hawaii. Berkwitz S C. Resisting the global in Buddhist nationalism: 8 Venerable Soma's discourse of decline and reform[J]. The Neil Devotta, Sinhalese Buddhist Nationalism Ideology: Journal of Asian Studies, 2008, 67(01): 73-106. Implications for Politics and Conflict Resolution in Sri 1 Lanka, P31 2007, East-West Center, Washington. Roger Friedland, Religious Nationalism and the Problem 9 of Collective Representation, Departments of Religious .K.N.O. Dharmadasa, Buddhist Resurgence And Christian Studies and Sociology, University of California, Santa Privilege In Sri Lanka, P112-113, C.1940-1965, Ethnic Barbara, California, the USA. Conflict in Buddhist Societies: Sri Lanka, Thailand and Burma, 2. Bechert H. Sangha, State, Society," Nation": Persistence Westview Press, The USA, 1988. of Traditions in" Post-Traditional" Buddhist Societies[J]. 10 Daedalus, 1973: 85-95. Berkwitz S C. Resisting the global in Buddhist nationalism: Venerable Soma's discourse of decline and 3. Lewy G. Militant Buddhist Nationalism: The Case of reform[J]. The Journal of Asian Studies, 2008, 67(01): 73-

Burma[J]. J. Church & St., 1972, 14: 19. 106. 4. Edited by James K. Wellman Jr, Belief and Bloodshed: Religion and Violence Across Time and Tradition, P145- 146, Rowman&Littlefield Publishers, 2007, Plymouth, the UK.

36 Proceeding of 1st World Asian Studies Conference, Vol. 1, 2015, pp. 37-42 Copyright © TIIKM ISSN: 2424-676x online DOI: 10.17501/ wasc2015-1105 THE CONCEPT OF THE NĀGA IN CAMBODIA SOCIETY Khongphianthum, C

Ubon Ratchathani University, Thailand

Abstract

In Cambodian culture, the fundamental beliefs in the Nāga stem from 1) the ancient belief that the Khmers are the descendants of Phra Thong and Nang Nāga 2) the belief in Hindu religion which uses the figure as part of their architecture and sculpture such as the Nāga in several Cambodian temples and 3) the belief in Buddhism which even the Buddha was once born as a Nāga and the Nāga is depicted as the protector of the religion. All these 3 beliefs have been blended, forming the belief in the Nāga of Khmer people.

The Nāga has been used as symbols in Cambodia society. For instance, it can be a symbol of Cambodian ancestors and reproduction. In the wedding ceremony of Khmer people, the groom has to hold the hem of the bride’s shawl. This symbolizes an event in the legend when Phra Thong holds the hem of Nang Nāga’s shawl while they are going down to the world of the Nāga. Both the wedding ceremony and the legend of Phra Thong and Nang Nāga imply the idea of reproduction of the Khmer. Further to this, the Nāga has also been portrayed as people born with luck and with special privileges. A case in point is the legend of Preah Sdach Kon who is believed to be supported by the Nāga until he is made king. Apart from this, the Nāga is also depicted as those who protect Buddhism. This can be seen when Buddhists uses flags with the Nāga in Buddhist ceremonies and rituals. Moreover, the Nāga is used as the symbol of fertility and a bridge connected between the earth and heaven. Therefore, the Nāga has been portrayed in paintings, sculpture, architecture, and traditions and has also been used by many companies and government departments.

Keywords: Nāga, belief, Cambodia Society.

INTRODUCTION apparent in Khmer society, from the past to the present. The word “naga” in Khmer is borrowed from Pali and

Sanskrit, meaning most sublime and pure. It is used Origin of Naga Folklore in Khmer Society to call Buddhas, private buddhas and because these persons are immaculate ones who have 3 streams of naga folklore are apparent in Khmer extinguished all defilements and do not have to enter society: 1) naga from the traditional belief of the the cycle of birth and death ever again. Ordinary Khmer, 2) naga from the Brahmanic belief and 3) people with shame and fear for evil deeds or those naga from the Buddhist belief, with details as follows. intending to receive Buddhist ordination are also Naga from the Traditional Belief of the Khmer called nagas. Naga also means elephant, big snake and Alexandrian laurel tree (Supreme Patriarch Naga is regarded a sacred animal revered by the Chuon Nath, 1967: 499-500). Nonetheless, on Khmer as their ancestor. This belief originated from hearing the word naga, most people think of the big the legend of the origination of the Khmer race, snake rather than the others. “Preah Thong - Neang Neak”, which says that a foreign king named “Preah Thong” travels by sea This article is aimed at examining the naga folklore from a faraway land until he meets “Neang Neak apparent in Khmer society, including the naga symbol Soma”. Afterward, she becomes his wife. The naga who is his father-in-law drains the whole sea, Corresponding Author Email: [email protected] resulting in the appearance of a land named

37 1st World Asian Studies Conference, 11th-13th August, 2015, Colombo, Sri Lanka C. Khongphianthum / The Concept of the Nāga in Cambodia Society

“Khokatholok Land”, for above that ground a Pipal bridge with images of nagas creeping on the ground tree has come up. The naga grants this land as a near the castle entrance was built. The construction wedding gift, which later on becomes Cambodia in of naga bridges shows the cleverness of the Khmer the present, and the descendants of Preah Thong and artisans, who rendered not only architectural beauty Neang Neak become the ancestors of all the Khmer but also an irrigational benefit, for in the construction (Prom Chinda, 2013: 11-25). of the castles, moats were usually required to be built around them. This is a principle in the cosmological This legend reflects the significance of the naga as tradition (Yian Chittai, 2010-2011: 115-116). the originator of the land of Cambodia and a being related to the Khmer regal lineage. There probably is some signification to this account for there is a legend that says that Phimean Akas is believed to be a sacred place where ancient Khmer kings had to come to sleep with the 9-headed naga for the abundance of the kingdom before they could go to sleep with their wives or concubines.

Figure 2. Vishnu asleep on the naga, Angkor Temple, Cambodia.

Naga from the Buddhist belief

In Buddhism, naga is a very important animal because the Lord Buddha once assumed an incarnation of “Naga Phurithat” who had excellent preceptive virtue, which is the sixth incarnation in the Figure 1. Phimean Akas Temple, Siam Riap, ten incarnations. Cambodia. Besides, in the 7th week after the Supreme Buddha Naga from the Brahmanic belief attained enlightenment, “Naga Muchalinda” crept up and spread his hoods to shelter the Supreme Buddha In Brahmanism, naga is a sacred animal. Indian from the sun and rain (McMeher, 2002: 54). This is mythology often mentions nagas, such as Naga the origin of the Naga-Sheltered Buddha image, the Ananta, who is the seat of Narayana, and Naga Buddha image of those born on Saturday and the Kaliya, who is subdued by Krishna. most important one revered by the Khmer. The belief about naga that came along with Naga symbol in Khmer culture Brahmanism has appeared in Khmer art since the Pre- Angkorian period, in narrative carved images and The naga symbol apparent in Khmer culture can component parts of religious places, such as bridge convey 4 types of meanings: 1) Khmer ancestors, 2) railings, especially during the Preah Ko, Koh Ker, identity of a blessed one, 3) the weather or the bridge Baphuon, and Bayon periods, in which between the human world and heaven and 4) guardian naga-related art was particularly profuse. For of Buddhism. The symbol functions as the example, at Bakong (built during the reign of King constructor of Khmer culture in different aspects as Indravarman I), a naga bridge was built at the follows. entrance to the castle, or at Thom Castle, Koh Ker (built during the reign of King Jayavarman IV), a

38 Proceeding of 1st World Asian Studies Conference, Vol. 1, 2015, pp. 37-42

Naga is the symbol of Khmer ancestors castles presenting the “Krishna-Subdues-Naga- Kaliya” scene are images of Preah Thong killing the When a man and a woman is bound in love, the naga who is his father-in-law, for instance. In the families of both will take the dates of birth of the story, after Preah Thong marries Neang Neak, he couple to a monk or someone with astrological takes her up to the human world. The father-in-law knowledge to help check their fortunes, which is naga orders Preah Thong that when building the called “naga compatability” reading, a method of castle, the creation of any image of the Garuda is telling fortune on the love and marriage relationship absolutely prohibited because the Garuda and nagas of a couple to be married. The reason the naga is are natural enemies. When Preah Thong has the used as a symbolic animal for this divination, in the Bayon Castle built, however, he orders a Garuda author’s view, is the naga is the symbol of the image to be made at the stairway because he does not ancestors in Khmer culture, a matter concerning wish for the father-in-law to pay visits. As the naga procreation. Divination with the aid of the naga to comes to visit his daughter and son-in-law, he sees check whether the fortunes of the man and the the Garuda image at the entrance at the front of the woman are compatible is a matter directly related to castle, so he cannot get inside and is obliged to creep procreation. in through the ancient well in the middle of the castle instead. As he sees the son-in-law, the naga is As the fortunes of the man and the woman are well delighted and hurries to wrap himself around him and compatible, the relatives of both partners will arrange squeeze him. Yet Preah Thong mistakes this for the a wedding ceremony. In a Khmer wedding father-in-law’s intention to kill him, so he rips the ceremony, which is regarded as a procreative ritual, naga’s body in two, splattering naga poison on his the bridegroom holds the edge of the bride’s breast body. It cannot be washed off no matter how hard he cloth while walking into the ritual hall where water is tries, which results in his leprosy. Thus, the Khmer poured from a conch shell over the couple’s hands. of later generations mistake the images of Preah Yom The custom of the bridegroom’s holding the edge of with lichen stains on him for those of Preah Thong the bride’s breast cloth while walking inside is having become leprous. As for the carved images of derived from a motif in the legend of Preah Thong the Krishna-Subdues-Naga-Kaliya scene, some and Neang Neak, which is about the origination of Khmer mistake them for those of Preah Thong killing the Khmer race, when Preah Thong holds the edge of the father-in-law naga (Uem Sokhonthea, 2006: 20), Neang Neak’s breast cloth while descending into the and this tale has been passed down and become underworld. considerably popular in Khmer society.

Figure 3. In Khmer wedding ceremony Figure 4. “Krishna-Subdues-Naga-Kaliya”, Wat Phu Moreover, the Khmer turned the Brahmanic and Temple, Laos. Buddhist nagas into a naga that is the Khmer’s Moreover, the reason the Khmer prefer making Naga- ancestor as seen in the explanation of the Khmer of Sheltered Buddha images to making Buddha images later generations that the carved images at stone of other modes is the naga is the representative of the

39 C. Khongphianthum / The Concept of the Nāga in Cambodia Society

Khmer ancestors. Paying homage to the Buddha images of this mode is tantamount to paying homage to their ancestors as stated above. No one thinks of Naga Muchalinda as apparent in the history of the Lord Buddha in any way.

Another major piece of evidence showing that the Khmer prefer creating Naga-Sheltered Buddha images to creating Buddha images of other modes is the “Ratnatraya Mahayana” worship tradition, the worship of 3 divine beings together as a triad, which Figure 5. Ratnatraya Mahayana, National museum has existed since the Pre-Angkorian period. The Surin, Thailand worshipped representation consists of the Naga- Naga is the symbol of identity of a blessed one Sheltered Buddha image, which is usually made in the middle and the representation of the Lord Dr. Ruah Cantriabot (2007) bizarrely talked about the Buddha, and the images of Avalokiteshvara history of Preah Sadechakorn who is an important and Bodhisattva or Vajrapani figure in Khmer history that he was one with great Bodhisattva on the sides. Later on, the image of deserving to be appointed king, for he had a started to be created in place of naga that was there to help him. For instance, when th Maitreya Bodhisattva around the 15 Buddhist Preah Srisukhonthabot had a dream in which a naga century and became most popular during the reign of blew fire to burn the city and then held a tiered King Jayavarman VII (Vanvipha Suneta, 2003: 26). umbrella between his teeth and flew eastward, as he Noticeably, the Khmer artisans choose the Naga- awoke from his sleep the next day, he summoned the Sheltered Buddha image as the representative of the court astrologer to tell his fortune in the throne hall. Lord Buddha. Although there are Buddha images of The astrologer divined that there would come a numerous modes, the others are not popular. blessed one to usurp his throne. As he turned his gaze to King Preah Sadechakorn, Preah Most of the Naga-sheltered Buddha images made Srisukhonthabot suddenly saw a miraculous vision; during the reign of Jayavarman VII hold some objects he saw two nagas spreading their hoods over Preah in their hands. This signifies the Buddha named Sadechakorn on his left and right. Bhaisajyaguruprabha, or Medicine Buddha. Usually this Buddha sits on a lotus without the sheltering naga When Preah Srisukhonthabot intended to kill Preah as seen in Khmer art. This characteristic is not found Sadechakorn by trickery, ordering Preah Sadechakorn in any other countries with the Mahayana Buddhist to dive and fetch a net and then commanding the faith, whether in China, Korea, Japan, or India, which nobles to help one another cast the net to catch Preah is the origin of Mahayana Buddhism (Seng Khonthee, Sadechakorn so as to hinder him from getting a 2009: 55-56). Subsequently, even though the Khmer chance to rise above the water surface to breathe, the have turned to Theravada Buddhism, Naga-Sheltered naga rescued him up from the water and brought him Buddha images are still popular due to the close ties to shore. Afterward, when Preah Srisukhonthabot’s derived from the belief that nagas are their ancestors. soldiers who followed Preah Sadechakorn found him and intended to kill him, the naga came to his assistance again, rescuing him from death.

Later on, Preah Sadechakorn assembled men and led them to seize Angkor. After killing Preah Srisukhonthabot, he had his coronation held to become king. His reign lasted only a short period of time, and not much is said about him in historical documents. However, his story seems to impress the

40 Proceeding of 1st World Asian Studies Conference, Vol. 1, 2015, pp. 37-42

Khmer and endure in their memory to a considerable Presently, Cambodia’s Ministry of Water Resources degree, as evident in the its appearance in the form of and Meteorology uses the image of entwined nagas children’s literature, printed in color in 2 languages, facing outward to the left and right with a star in the Khmer and English, by the Books World press in middle and the water below as its symbol. This is 2012. The impact of his story is also seen in the because the naga is the symbol of the weather. Any construction of his statue to be worshipped as a “holy year the naga brings much water, the water sources soul” by the sea in Kep Province in order to protect will be well abundant, whereas any year the naga the people living in that area from tribulations. brings little water, the nation will suffer drought.

Even Samdech Akeak Sena Padey Techo Hun Sen compared himself to Preah Sadechakorn for their being commoners and born in the year of the dragon or naga but being able to rise to the status of having power in the land because Preah Sadechakorn had a naga that was there to help him and so does Hun Sen. He said that he was born in the year of the dragon with flooding, that is, he was born in the greatest year of the zodiac cycle, the year of the naga, and the occurrence of a great flood in that year was a manifestation of the naga’s great power; he can bring about a great flood, which is an abnormal incidence that does not happen so often (Cannara, 2014: Figure 6. The sign of Cambodia’s Ministry of Water Interview). The matter about Hun Sen’s admiration Resources and Meteorology for Preah Sadechakorn seems to be true because Hun Furthermore, the naga is the symbol of the bridge Sen granted a fund to support Dr. Ruah Cantriabot in connecting the human world to the land of the gods in researching and publishing the book “Preah heaven, as seen in Khmer stone castles where there Sadechakorn”. Hun Sen also wrote a commendation usually are naga sculptures at the railings of the to exalt Preah Sadechakorn as a heroic king in this bridges or stairways leading into religious places book. (Arunsak Kingmanee, 2012: 51). Naga is the symbol of the weather and the bridge between the human world and heaven Naga is the guardian of Buddhism

At Khmer castles built in dedication to Brahmanic A man getting ready for ordination, after having his gods, a great number of naga-related carved images head shaved and putting on a white robe, is called are often seen, especially those depicting the “neak” or naga by the Khmer. Regarding the origin “Krishna-Subdues-Naga-Kaliya” scene. The reason of this designation, during a certain period of time is people during that time were afraid of water when the Supreme Buddha was staying at Chetawan scarcity, of having no water to use, drink, or farm, so Temple, a certain naga with great faith they had to carve these images, hoping to rely on the and delight in Buddhism came in disguise to receive a power of Krishna to subdue the naga, which is the Buddhist ordination successfully. One time when the symbol of the weather, as the myth says that after disguised naga was sleeping in his cell, being in his Krishna accomplishes the subjugation of Naga somnial unconsciousness, he turned back into a naga. Kaliya, the cowboys are able to use water as usual. A small novice came upon him, so the novice The Khmer in the past believed that these carved reported this to the Blessed One. The Lord Buddha images would help make the rain fall in due season, directed that the naga leave monkhood because he did so numerous images of this kind were carved as well not permit beasts to receive Buddhist ordination, so as those of Indra riding the elephant Erawan, or those the naga asked for a benediction that from then on of Krishna Govardhana (Sombow Sopia, 2006: 20). men who come to receive ordination may be called “nagas”. Thus, this has become a custom ever since (Khmer Custom and Tradition Group, 1994: 26-27).

41 C. Khongphianthum / The Concept of the Nāga in Cambodia Society

Noticeably, this tale is also widespread in Thailand, about naga in Khmer society derived from where men who are going to receive ordination are Brahmanism is the naga is the symbol of the weather called “nagas” no differently than in Cambodia. and the bridge connecting the human world and heaven together. As for the belief about naga Ordination is one manner of prolonging Buddhism. influenced by Buddhism, the naga is the guardian of Ancient people believed it to be a way to preserve Buddhism. Buddhism to last as long as to complete the span of 5,000 years. The practice of calling one coming to Naga is a sacred animal in Khmer society and will receive an ordination “naga” can be viewed always be so, no matter how much the world symbolically as being due to the fact that he is progresses, for the Khmer descend from nagas and coming to contribute to the preservation of Buddhism the land where they inhabit is also a gift from a naga. from vanishing, like the naga who guards Buddhism. WORKS CITED Moreover, even the component parts of Theravada Buddhist buildings are often made with naga designs. Suneta, Vanvipha. (2003). Ratnatraya Mahayana Tradition in Khmer Art during the 18th Buddhist Century Found in For example, on the roof of the ubosot or vihara, Central Thailand. Master’s thesis, Department of Art there are the parts called “chofa” (gable finial) and History, submitted to the Graduate School, Silpakorn “bai raka” (ridge on the gable edge). The chofa is the University. naga’s head, which is a third of the gable in size. At Kingmanee, Arunsak. (2012). Angelic Fiction from Stone Castles. Bangkok : Muang Boran. some monasteries the chofas are only carved images of naga heads whereas at others they are carved McMeher, A. (2002). Reading Buddhist Arts: An Illustrated Guide to Buddhist Signs and Symbols. London : Thames & images of nagas holding crystal balls in their mouths. Hudson. As for the bai raka, it represents the naga’s scales Khmer Custom and Tradition Group. (1996). Collected (Hok Sokol and Preap Chanmara, 2010-2011: 115- Khmer Folktales about Animals and Plants, vol. 7. 3rd 116), and the naga is the symbol of guardian of edition. Phnom Penh : Buddhist Institute. Buddhism. Nath, Chuon, Supreme Patriarch. (1967). Khmer Dictionary. Phnom Penh : Buddhist Institute. Chittai, Yian. (2010-2011). Naga in Khmer Art. Archaeological thesis, Faculty of Archaeology, Royal University of Fine Arts. Chinda, Prom. (2013). Preah Thong - Neang Neak. Phnom Penh : Books World. Cantriabot, Ros. (2007). Preah Sadechakorn. 2nd edition. Phnom Penh : Angkor. Sopia, Sombow. (2009). Carved Images of Krishna in Khmer Art. Archaeological thesis, Faculty of Archaeology, Royal University of Fine Arts. Khonthee, Seng. (2007). Characteristics of Preah Bhaisajyaguru Buddha in the Khmer’s Belief. Archaeological thesis, Faculty of Archaeology, Royal University of Fine Arts. Figure 7. Gable finial and ridge on the gable edge in Buddhism Temples Sokol, Hok, and Preap Chanmara. (December 2010 – December 2011). “Chofa - Bai Raka.” Collected Articles on Khmer Culture 6 : pp. 74-77. SUMMARY Sokhonthea, Uem. (2006). Functions of Naga in Khmer Art. Archaeological thesis, Faculty of Archaeology, Royal Regarding the belief about naga in Khmer society University of Fine Arts. derived from the traditional belief of the Khmer that Cannara, Ros. (2014, December 8). Interview. Khmer the naga is their ancestor, since the naga originated exchange student, Ubon Ratchathani University. the land of Cambodia and is related to the source of the Khmer regal lineage, the naga is also the symbol signifying the identity of a blessed one. The belief

42 Proceeding of 1st World Asian Studies Conference, Vol. 1, 2015, pp. 43-47 Copyright © TIIKM ISSN: 2424-676x online DOI: 10.17501/ wasc2015-1106 WORKPLACE INTERACTION AMONG THE SINHALESE (BUDDHISTS) AND THE MUSLIMS IN SRI LANKA Razick, A.S1, Long, A.S2 & Kamarudin, S3 1,2,3 The National University of Malaysia (UKM)

Abstract

The objective of this paper is to explore the level of interaction through measuring the workplace interaction among the Sinhalese and the Muslims in Moneragala, which is one of the 25 administrative districts in Sri Lanka. The Moneragala district consists of two major religions, Buddhism and Islam, forming two religious communities living side by side in a few traditional villages, namely Bakinigahawela, Godigamuwa, Kanulwela, and Medagama. This is an ethno- religious study of workplace interaction among the Sinhalese and the Muslims in the said location, and the ‘workplace interaction’ has been prepared as an indicator in order to measure the level of interaction among them. This was measured through a questionnaire survey on a total of one hundred respondents were drawn from the Sinhalese and the Muslims. The samples together with the above mentioned indicator showed that the Sinhalese and the Muslims in Moneragala were having positive workplace interaction. Therefore, the significance of the study lies mainly showing the level of interaction among the Sinhalese and the Muslims in Moneragala area.

Keywords: workplace interaction, Sinhalese, Muslims, Moneragala, Sri Lanka.

INTRODUCTION The Muslims settled down in Moneragala or Wellassa Moneragala is one of the 25 administrative districts of area during the time of Portuguese rule (1505-1656) onward from Central (Kandy) and Southern (Matara) Sri Lanka. This district was also called as Wellassa provinces of Sri Lanka and increased their by its ancient residents. It is located in the Uva settlements gradually during the Dutch (1656-1796) Province in the South Eastern region of Sri Lanka. It and British regimes (1796-1948) (Razick, 2007). At has a terrain extension of 5639 sq KM. The geographical land space is 2nd to the largest district present, they are spread out in 06 of total 11 Divisional Secretariat (D.S.) divisions, namely in Sri Lanka next to Anuradapura. In 2012 the total Medagam, Bibile, Badalkumbura, Wellawaya, population was 451058 in Moneragala. Of these Buttala and Moneragala, and the majority of the people there are 97.7% rural and 2.3% estate and most of them in the estate areas are Tamil people Muslims are living in Medagama division. In (Department of Census and Statistics, 2012). Moneragala district, there are 05 villages having Muslims in majority, namely Alupotha, Moneragala has been maintained as a separate district Bakinigahawela, Godigamuwa, Kanulwela and since 1958 (Gwillim Law, 2003). In Moneragala, the Medagama. Also there are many town areas and Sinhalese (Buddhists) are the predominant , consisting 426762 of the total population hamlets where the Muslims are living as minorities. (Department of Census and Statistics, 2012. They Very few Muslims live in other D.S. divisions namely Katharagama, Thanamalvila, Madulla, and speak Sinhala an Indo-Aryan language. The Tamils Siyamnbalanduwa. In Sewanagala D.S. division are second major ethnic group in Moneragala, Muslim settlements are not to be seen (Razick, 2007). consisting 11997 of the population including Sri Lankan Tamils and Indian Tamils (Ibid). The The Sinhalese are the majority in all of above mentioned D.S. divisions in the district. Muslims are the second largest minority of the district, consisting 9809 (Ibid).

Corresponding Author Email: [email protected] 43 1st World Asian Studies Conference, 11th-13th August, 2015, Colombo, Sri Lanka A.S. Razick, A.S. Long, S. Kamarudin / Workplace Interaction among the Sinhalese (Buddhists)…..

The history of Sri Lanka reveals that Moneragala actions by their interacting partners (ibid). In the (Wellassa) region was very popular in the ancient religious perspective, generally the social interaction time. The arrival of (06 B.C.), visits of king is a prominent role plays by all religions in order to Dutugemunu (B.C 161-137) (Educational be kind to the fellow beings (Alwi and Rashid, 2011). Publications Department, 1992) and the activities of All religions promote peace and harmonious life. Veddhas (Huntsmen) (Nur Yalman, 1971) are the One way to achieve it is through interaction among examples to support this view. Therefore, the history the believers and non-believers of their specific of Sinhalese in Moneragala district began with the adherence. With regards to Buddhism and Islam, arrival of Aryans who were the first to come to this both have their own perspectives of social interaction area. The Veddhas are the progenitors of the and their attitude towards other religions. Sinhalese and Dutugemunu is a well known Sinhala king in the history who visited to Wellassa in ancient Workplace interaction is considered by many authors time (Razick, 2007). to be the outcome of well-being between individual characteristics and is to be understood the There are evidences that the Sinhalese and the significance attributed to the idea of well-being in the Muslims have been maintaining a cordial relationship workplace by employees. Workplace is not merely in Sri Lanka along the history to date, including a place to work but rather a place where people Moneragala district as well (Razick, 2007). But in could interact and understand about others way of recent past years in Sri Lanka, the number of life. Hence, the Muslims in this study either directly religions such as Islam and Christianity have been or indirectly have to work with the Buddhists in few misinterpreted among the societies by a few third villages of Moneragala district. If they are working party Buddhists nationalist groups (Centre for under governmental sectors definitely there will be Policy Alternatives, 2013). Therefore, there is a Muslims working together with them. If they are suspicious situation developed that whether this self-employed, for instance, a farmer or a could be made the divisions among the societies, businessman, they still have to deal with the especially between the Sinhala-Buddhists and the majority Buddhists. So, when discussing sharing Muslims in terms of social interaction in Sri workplace, Muslims cannot isolate themselves from Lanka. Given the above backdrop, this paper their fellow Buddhists. Thus, measuring the sharing attempts to examine the workplace interaction among workplace includes the frequency of the fairness the Sinhalese and the Muslims in Moneragala district of people in their dealings with others. through a questionnaire survey, with giving emphasize to the current context of Sri Lanka. METHODOLOGY

CONCEPTUAL NOTE ON WORKPLACE The data were collected from the villages namely INTERACTION Bakigahawela, Medagama, Kanulwela and Godigamuwa which are located in Moneragala The word interaction has different meanings in district and two communities are living there mixed. various disciplines. In the view of Sociology, Altogether 100 informants have been selected as interaction is a mutual or reciprocal action between participants of this study from the above villages two or more individuals. Also it is a dynamic based on the convenience sampling technique. To interplay and relationship of joint determination measure the workplace interaction among them, between two or more variable (Borgatta and simple frequencies and percentages, as well as means Borgatta, 1992). In the book of E. Shaw (1981) are calculated. Based on responses of the interaction defines as when individuals emit questionnaire, 74% were Sinhalese and 26% were behaviour in each other’s presence, they create Muslims from those 100. The study shows that the products of each other or they communicate with Sinhalese male respondents were the majority with each other (Quoted by Alwi and Rashid, 2011). 55% followed by the Muslim males 18%, Sinhalese Social interaction is a process of changing sequence females19% and lastly Muslim females constitute the of social actions between individuals or groups who smallest number, 8%. The frequency for each sex modify their actions and reactions according to the group showed males were 73% followed by the

44 Proceeding of 1st World Asian Studies Conference, Vol. 1, 2015, pp. 43-47 females 27%. The detail explanation of the result is as 80% of respondents answered positively, whereas, follows: 20% negatively. It could be find that due to lack of information and knowledge of other religions WORKPLACE INTERACTION AMONG THE such as the issues of religious customs, rituals and SINHALESE AND THE MUSLIMS practices, the respondents tend to have bad feeling of sharing their work setting with other religious There were two types of questions designed to the believers. respondents when measuring interaction in the workplace in this study. The first, sought ‘yes’ and With item four, is to find whether adherents of other ‘no’ answers, while, the second type requested religious faiths understand the respondents religious the respondents to select a proper answer based on obligation. Generally, with the majority of 60%, five point likert scale. With these two types of indicated that both parties, Sinhalese and Muslims questions, there are six items to measure interaction did understand the religious obligations of the two in the workplace of the respondents. Items one to religions. 40% stressed that other religious five are using the ‘yes’ and ‘no’ options. Only item believers at their workplace did not know about six uses the scale. their religious duties.

The item one attempts to find whether there are non- The item five asked the respondents whether Sinhalese or non-Muslims in the workplace of all the segregation of religious groups exists in their job respondents, either Sinhalese or Muslims. Majority of settings. Almost all of them answered that there was 90% indicated that there were non-Sinhalese or non- no such group existed in their workplace. It can be Muslims in their job settings. There were 10% of observed that 92% of the respondents noted ‘no’ respondents who have no colleague of different while, 8% claimed negatively that there was religious faiths in their workplace. Interestingly all of separation of religious groups in their workplaces. these respondents were Sinhalese. It can be assumed that some of the Sinhalese were working among Item six is designed to ask the respondents whether their ethnic group without sharing the workplace religion guides it followers negatively like being with the Muslims. While, all the Muslims who are arrogant and ignorant as well as lazy, stupid and the minority, have to share their workplace with the backward. For the Sinhalese, the question was Sinhalese in Moneragala district. about whether the Muslims were arrogant and ignorant persons. Specifically, 70% strongly The item two seeks to examine whether the disagreed and 11% agreed with item six, 12% were respondents were having close relationship with uncertain and 7% strongly agreed. For the Muslims, non-Sinhalese and non-Muslims in their the question was about whether they agreed that the workplace. More than half of the respondents Sinhalese are lazy, stupid and backward persons. 77% answered that they have a cordial relationship with of the respondents strongly disagreed with this the people of different faith. In particular, 57% item, while 18% were uncertain, whereas only 5% positively responded, while, 43% negatively. strongly agreed. However, 06 of Muslim respondents and 37 Sinhalese respondents said that they have no close relationship CONCLUSION with non-Muslims or non-Sinhalese in their workplace. It might be due to religious differences, Based on previous discussions, there is no doubt for some strict Muslims and Sinhalese (Buddhists) that the residents of Moneragala district were were quite rigid about their faith and as a result they having positive interaction in their work settings. tend to have no close relationship to non-Muslims or This is because majority of them did not have any non-Buddhists either in their work setting. problem and even comfortable in sharing the same career and place of work with the other believers. The item three attempts to find whether the Another important point is majority of the respondents were comfortable to share work setting respondents reported that there is no such with the colleagues of other religious faith. About segregation occurs in their workplace. Above all,

45 A.S. Razick, A.S. Long, S. Kamarudin / Workplace Interaction among the Sinhalese (Buddhists)….. both groups either Sinhalese or Muslims insisted that the two groups-Sinhalese and Muslims. Even though their colleagues would help each other as a team in they have huge differences of religious beliefs, completing a task regardless of their religions. culture, norms and practices yet it could not break the closed relationship that they still have. Uniquely, Also it can be said that the Sinhalese and the there is no conflict or collision case reported by the Muslims in Moneragala were having positive history of Sri Lanka (Razick, 2007). It shows that relationship in their workplaces due to several they were having good interaction with each other. possible reasons. Firstly, the Muslims had no communication problem. The Muslims who live in REFERENCES everywhere of the Island are fluent in speaking Sinhala language except Eastern and Northern Borgatta, E. F. and Marie L. Borgatta. (1992). Improving inter-cultural interactions: models for cross-cultural training provinces (Hussein, 2010). By so doing, they are programs. California: Sage Publications easily accepted by the Sinhalese. This scenario could Department of Census and Statistics-Sri Lanka, Statistical make the process of communication smooth and Abstract of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri effective. Secondly, most of the Sinhalese in Sri Lanka, (2 011 ). Lanka are very kind and innocent from ancient time [Online]Available:http://www.statistics.gov.lk/PopHouSat/ onward (Kamalika Pieris, 2013). During the Kandyan CPH2012Visualization/htdocs/index.php?usecase=indicator &action=DSMap&indId=10&district=Moneragala&Legend kingdom (1469-1815) the Sinhalese kings and its =3# (April 25, 2015) people allowed the Muslims to settle down in Kandy Dewaraja, L., (1994). The Muslims of Sri Lanka One region and donated their lands to settle down and Thousand Years of Ethnic Harmony 900-1915, Colombo: even to build the mosques (Dewaraja, 1994). The Lanka Islamic Foundation. Therefore the Muslims normally assimilated by the Educational Publications Department, (1992). History, Text Sinhalese into their society irrespective of religion, Book, Colombo: Educational Publications Department. race and ethnic in every aspect of life. In case of Engku Alwi, E.A., & Mohd Rashid, Z.B., (2011). Cross Religious and Social Interaction: A Case Study of Muslims Moneragala, for many centuries the Muslims have and Buddhists in Kampung Tendong, Pasir Mas, Kelantan, been peacefully living among the majority Sinhalese. Asian Social Science, 1,112-128. In this way, they were living among the Sinhalese Gwillim Law, (2003). Districts of Sri Lanka. [Online] with mutual understanding and co-existence, also Available: http://www.statoids.com/ulk.html (May 26, 2015) with good will and tolerance (Razick, 2007). The result of the study yielded an affirmation towards the Hussein, A., (2009). ZEYLANICA. A Study of the Peoples and Languages of Sri Lanka. Pannipitiya, Sri Lanka: process of assimilation. The above two mentioned Neptune Publications (Pvt) Ltd. reasons are the best explanations of the Kamalika Peiris, (2013). The Muslims and Sri Lanka. assimilation process in Moneragala. They freely [Online] Available: interact with each other, because, their religious faiths http://www.sailanmuslim.com/news/the-muslims-and-sri- encourage them to do so. lanka-by-kamalika-pieris/ (April 20, 2015) Mallikai Publication, (1962). Maka Wamsam - Ilankai It is observable that, the Muslims in Moneragala used Theewin Purathana Waralaru Chennai: Mallikai Publication. to socialize and interact well with the Sinhalese in their daily life (Razick, 2015). They cannot avoid Nur Yalman, (1971). Under the Bo Tree - Studies in Caste, Kinship and Marriage in the Interior of Ceylon, London: themselves from interacting with the majority University of California Press. Sinhalese. This is perhaps, there are Sinhalese Nuhman, M.A., (2007). Sri Lankan Muslims, Ethnic neighbours in their settlements. The same thing Identity within Cultural Diversity, Colombo: international happens to their work life where there are Sinhalese Centre for Ethnic Studies. who work together with them regardless of their job. Razick, A.S., (2015). Social Interaction among the Even if they are self-employed, these Muslims still Sinhalese (Buddhists) and the Muslims in Sri Lanka (submitted for publication). have to deal and interact with the majority of Razick, A.S., (2007). Moneragalai Mawatta Muslimkalin Sinhalese. Waralaru - Kala Aiwu, Unpublished bachelor degree dissertation, South Eastern University of Sri Lanka, Oluvil, As a conclusion, we could say that the residents of Sri Lanka. Moneragala were having positive interaction among Gianluca Biggio, Claudio G. Cortese (2013). Well-being in the workplace through interaction between individual

46 Proceeding of 1st World Asian Studies Conference, Vol. 1, 2015, pp. 43-47 characteristics and organizational context. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Health and Well-being, Vol.8. [Online] Available: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3576478/

47 Proceeding of 1st World Asian Studies Conference, Vol. 1, 2015, pp. 48-54 Copyright © TIIKM ISSN: 2424-676x online DOI: 10.17501/ wasc2015-1107 THE BELLES-LETTRES OF BANKIM CHANDRA CHATTOPADHYAY: THE IMAGE OF THE WEST IN THE COUNTER-DISCOURSE Ganguli, N1 & Datta, R2

1,2 University of Calcutta, India

Abstract

“Laughter and its forms represent...the least scrutinized sphere of the people's creation.” Mikhail Bakhtin, Rabelais and His World. Condescension was considered to be the congenital trait of the Colonizers. Even a reference to Calcutta and its filthy ‘environs’ was accompanied by regular scornful snorts. James Hickey in his Bengal Gazette wonderfully expressed the situation of early colonial Calcutta through a satirical catechism, where ‘gambling’ was regarded as the most viable form of ‘commerce’ and ‘riches’, the highest ‘cardinal virtue’ of the day. But interestingly condescension did not follow a regular top- bottom model. Colonialism was paid back in its own coin by the colonized population. A series of ‘counter-discourses’ emerged, albeit, in a different form. The foremost among them was definitely Kaliprasanna Sinha’s Hotoom Pyanchar Naksha. A whole genre of literary burlesques developed, depending mostly upon scandalous and scatological outbursts. Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, emboldened by the ‘benevolence’ of the Western Colonial Education pursued a more subtle path. Slander was replaced by satire in his writings; humour and laughter were purged of the alleged obscenity which characterized the creations of the earlier times. This paper thus attempts to follow from the Bakhtinian notion “Certain essential aspects of the world are accessible only to laughter” and delves beyond the literary intricacies of the foremost Indian Novelist Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay to unveil the silhouetted times of ‘change’ when the ‘Colonial Time’ and the native ‘Kaliyuga’ were juxtaposed through a study of his unique ‘Belles-Lettres’, cumulatively regarded as the ‘Lokrahashya’ (Essays on Society, 1874).

Keywords: Lokrahashya, Colonial-time, Counter-discourse, Calcutta, Colonial-humour.

INTRODUCTION middle of the sixteenth century. Such were the vicissitudes of the land located in the eastern parts of The other side of the world, far away from the the yet to be formed Indian subcontinent, “Bengal”. enthusiastic and adventurous sea faring nations which Among the large array of ‘foreigners’ making their produced the likes of Columbus with their insatiable forays into India, the British succeeded in establishing a quests for conquest, was infested by people, mostly position of relative permanence. With the creation of landlocked and nourished by the bounties of a fertile the East India Company in the year 1600, started the natural environment. The lands there were longee duree of the 200 year long British Colonial rule agriculturally reaping the best of the gratuities of nature in India. The overtly commercial tones of the East India and the superfluity of rivers made the lands one of the Company gradually gave way to their covert tone of highest revenue yielding regions of the times. The settling an empire and eventually India was transformed marauding powers from the ‘adventurous’ part of the into a colony bearing the ‘enormous condescension’ of world, attracted by the materials gains scattered in this the Colonial powers. part of the world thus started intruding there since the The British rule in India was often regarded as one of Corresponding Author Email: [email protected] “the strangest of all political anomalies” without any

48 1st World Asian Studies Conference, 11th-13th August, 2015, Colombo, Sri Lanka N. Ganguli, R. Datta / The Belles-Lettres of Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay…. precedence and which “resembled no other in history”. rumblings within the psyche of the newly westernised Initially the British steeped in the ideas of liberty and resulted in a novel awakening often labelled as the equal rights justified their stay in India for uplifting the Bengal Renaissance. But without getting into the debate conditions of their unfortunate brethren, enmeshed in regarding the actual origin of the Bengal Renaissance or the recurrent cycles of despotic rule, unbearable the plausibility of the concept itself, an attempt should weather conditions and diurnal struggles for bread. be made to map the plethora of consequences which the Emboldened by the ‘White man’s burden’ the mighty phenomenon generated. As has been always said where servants of the British empire were set to malign their there is power there ought to be a counter power. hand for the lot of the ‘natives’ (the British would often Similarly the overarching British rule came to be disparagingly label the indigenous population by this challenged now and then. A series of counter discourses term) amidst the stench and filth coming out of the emerged. But an interesting novelty became visible environs of the native parts of newly forming Calcutta, here. Even in the wee hours of British colonialism also the Black Town. The geographical parameters of early there were various overt and covert protests against the colonial Calcutta was divided according to the racist introduction of British law and order, socio-cultural notions of the British, the White town inhabited by the rules and regulations and in a way the British way of British inhabitants and the almost ghetto like structures life altogether. The most prominent tool at their of the “Black Town’ infested by the filthy natives. disposal was humour, sarcasm and satire. A number of Initially this civilising mission of transforming the instances of ‘Sawngs’ or pantomime performances can condition of the natives was considered a temporary be cited here which developed from the streets of early task and the still aspiring British Empire was not colonial Calcutta infested by migrants from the confident enough to deal with the issue of direct outskirts of Calcutta in search of better economic governance of such a vast land. With the strengthening prospects.Mostly an entertainment form executed by of the monetary and financial gains of the British, their and for the lower strata of the society, the ‘Sawngs’ confidence grew and they started implementing the were parades of common people dressed in colourful reasons for their permanent existence in India through a attires accompanied by equally colourful models made strange notion of ‘illusion of permanence’. In their way of clay. The content of these parades consisted mainly of establishing this illusion of permanence the British of the mockery of the lifestyles of the elite. To make developed a proximate-distant relationship with the these mockeries more appealing the ‘Sawngs’ were natives of Bengal. The British started intruding beyond further sensitized by the particular usage of music, the economic confines of the society. The result was the doggerels, dramatic performances and a typical form of generation of a somewhat superimposed hybrid culture. music regarded as the ‘Sawnger gaan’. Apart from the Bengal, often rightly considered as the ‘Bengal ‘Sawngs’a series of literary burlesques also developed, Bridgehead’ was to experience this hybridism for the the pioneer among whom was undoubtedly first time. The introduction of British induced western Kaliprasanna Sinha. These texts or performances education (which was originally introduced to create a represented a plethora of instances of counter class of natives who would be natives in colour but discourses. A special form of counter discourse British in taste) acted as a boomerang for the British however developed with the writings of the foremost and a whole lot of scions of respected native families Bengali novelist Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay. emerged. They started scanning the world through the Humour and Counter-Discourse prism of reason; their own cultural and religious tenets were troubling them now. With their new found Laughter and its forms represent, writes Mikhail ideological and intellectual liberalism they developed a Bakhtin the least scrutinized sphere of the people's unique worldview which eventually culminated in the creation. But humour is a pervasive feature of human immense outpouring of cultural and literary activities, life. ‘We find it everywhere.’ Humour can also be religious and social reforms, questioning and criticising looked upon as laughter generating process, a subtle both the ‘self’ and the ‘other’. These incessant way of criticising by applying the tools of rhetoric,

49 Proceeding of 1st World Asian Studies Conference, Vol. 1, 2015, pp. 48-54 mockery, mimicry, irony, that certainly adds a comic developed by the colonised population albeit, in a element in interpreting the hitherto formal different form. A whole genre of literary burlesques realms/regimes of ephemeral conscience creating a developed, depending mostly upon scandalous and dialectical trajectory that enables ‘looking from scatological outbursts like Kaliprasanna Sinha’s without’ the iambic verses of silence episodically Hotoom Pyanchar Naksha. ( The Observant Owl- hidden through the lens of humour. The application of Hotoom’s vignettes of Nineteenth-century Calcutta)A humour pervades the regime of normativity into picturesque depiction of the Sawngs by Kaliprasanna creating what Thomas Hobbes called a feeling of Sinha illuminates the situation to a considerable extent. superiority or Hutcheson’s idea of incongruity as a source of humour to release pent up emotions/energy or “On either side of the image [of the goddess] there were Jean Paul’s way of looking into humour as the Sawngs-first the ‘religious hypocrite’ and second, ‘Weltanschauung’ where the aesthetics of humour lies the ‘pigmy nawab’ –both exquisitely done. The with the beholder and not the object of ridicule. In the religious hypocrite’s body was rolly-polly like a case of Colonial India, Condescension was considered cobbler’s dog-his belly round like a tomato-the pig-tail to be the congenital trait of the Colonizers. Even a on his shaven head tied in a tuft- a garland and a few reference to Calcutta and its filthy ‘environs’ was golden amulets like tiny drums hanging around his accompanied by regular scornful snorts. Thus Rudyard neck-amulets tied round his arms-his hair and Kipling explains the growth of Calcutta in the following moustache dyed in black-dressed in a black bordered manner. dhoti and a vest…giving sidelong glances at the housewives and whirling round his fingers the pouch of “Thus the mid-day halt of Charnock- his rosary beads… The pigmy nawab-looks quite more’s the pity! handsome-his skin as fair as milk with drop of lac-dye Grew a city in it-his hair parted in the albert-style-like a Chinese As the fungus sprouts chaotic from its pig-short-necked- carrying a red handkerchief and a bed stick- wearing a fine, transparent dhoti made in Simle So it spread- [Simulia in north Calcutta], tucked firmly behind.” Chance-directed, chance-erected, laid and built Kaliprasanna Sinha’s literary burlesque is also replete with remarkable accounts of such billingsgate of his On the silt- times: ‘In the Shobhabazar market of the Rajas, which Palace, byre, hovel-poverty and pride- was about to put up the shutters, the fisherwomen with Side by side; lamps in their hands were selling rotten fish and left- And, above the packed and pestilential overs, inviting the customer with endearing calls- “Hey, town you over there with the towel on your shoulders, want a Death looked down. good piece of fish?”, “You with your broomstick moustache! Shell out four annas.” Regarding the Lest the city Charnock pitched on-evil specific usage of ‘billingsgate’ Mikhail Bakhtin says: day!” ‘It is characteristic for the familiar speech of the -Rudyard Kipling (1891) marketplace to use abusive language, insulting words or expressions, some of them quite lengthy and complex. James Hickey in his Bengal Gazette wonderfully The abuse is grammatically and semantically isolated expressed the situation of early colonial Calcutta from context and is regarded as a compulsive unit, through a satirical catechism, where ‘gambling’ was something like a proverb. This is why we can speak of regarded as the most viable form of ‘commerce’ and abusive language as a special genre of billingsgate’ ‘riches’, the highest ‘cardinal virtue’ of the day. But (Rabelais and his times). interestingly condescension did not follow a regular top-bottom model. A set of counter-discourse

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Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, emboldened by the “Magistrate- What do you mean, Babu, ‘benevolence’ of the Western Colonial Education by convicting a European British pursued a more subtle path. Slander was replaced by subject? satire in his writings; humour and laughter were purged Deputy- What European British subject, of the alleged obscenity which characterized the Sir? creations of the earlier times. Here Bankim’s satirical Magistrate-…I am going to report you essays follow the pattern of Bakhtinian notion that to the Government for this piece of ‘Certain essential aspects of the world are accessible folly… only to laughter’. Bankim himself acknowledges the Deputy- Yes Sir, but this man was not a utility of laughter or rasikatha having a popular appeal European British subject. in displaying the perplexity of the modernism and used Magistrate- How do you know that? humor as alankaraor stylistic embellishment in the Deputy- He was very dark. form of ‘counterfeit praise’. ‘Lokrahashya’ (a series of Magistrate- Do you find it laid down in satirical essays published in the periodical the Law that a fair skin is the only ‘Bangadarshan’ in 1878) used humour not only to evidence by which a man shall be depict the anachronistic image of the Bengali middle adjudged to be a European subject? class through their unquestioned imitation of the ‘West’ Deputy- No Sir. but also meted out a discursive treatment of the Magistrate- Well, what other evidence imperialist apothecary through the eyes of the did you take? occidental natives’ culture. These essays therefore, Deputy- I do not presume to discuss the often, took a conversational patternwhere Bankim matter with you, Sir. I see I was wrong, himself took upon the role of speaking in defense of the and I am very sorry for it. unrespectable natives not in exalting the superiority or Magistrate- Very sorry for what? fame of the ancient culture of or Bharatbharsha of the mythical texts but through a Deputy- Because it is very wrong for a native to convict a European British heuristic analysis of the requirements in the formation subject. of the ideologies of the nation and nationalism that could counter the West but not essentially contradictory Magistrate- Why very wrong? to the utilitarian-rational-liberal West. Here the voice of Deputy- Because a European subject the author is both audible and visible as Bankim cannot commit a crime and a native cannot judge honestly. indulges in the mimetic pattern of storytelling rather than a conceptual representation of society and culture Magistrate- Do you admit that? and offers the reader a transmutable character in Deputy- I do not see why I should not. I evoking the experience of the ‘other’ without try to do my duty to the best of my depending much on the aestheticisation of the theories ability, but I speak of my countrymen generally. of subjugation, colonialism, imperialism but through the systematic representation of the causal relation of Magistrate- You don’t think your such subjugation defined in humour, without distorting countrymen ought to try Europeans? the essential knowledge of representing the Deputy- Most certainly they should not. ‘unrepresented’ by means of conceptual resources of The glorious British Empire will come to an end if they do. language which is limited/specific in both space and time with a contemporary appeal without being Magistrate- Well, Babu, I am glad to individualistic, but which forces the individual reader to see you are so sensible. I wish all your countrymen were equally so; at least be self-reflexive. An example from a passage on the that all native magistrates were like ‘Illbert Bill Controversy’ conforms to this particular you. pattern.

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Deputy- Oh Sir! How can you expect it; it is a very polished language. I presume you can talk a when there are men at the top of your little English.” service who think differently? Magistrate- Are you not yourself near Bahgracharaya Brihalangul exemplifies his experiences the top? You must have served long. of living a protected life in the captivity which he calls Deputy- Unfortunately my claims to the circus and the passer-by were amused to see a promotion have always been majestic tiger in a captivity living on the caress of his overlooked. I thought of speaking to masters rather than following his biological you, Sir, on the subject. carnivalesque instincts, until one day he fled away by Magistrate- You certainly deserve killing the his guards. It is here that Bankim tries to promotion. I will write to the awaken the conscience of the Bengal by applying slesh Commissioner and see what can be as an alter ego through the continuously using terms done for you.” like bishoykormo, bongshomondop etc like the The satirical alliteration of Lokrahashya, with a tone of Freudian technique of in analysing the mental state moralistic fabulism, thus creates an imagery of through dreams.According to Sudipta Kaviraj, Bankim juxtaposition of both the colonial-time and the Chandra’s uses of‘irony makes a transition from the conspicuous native-time/Kaliyuga moving on the same highly mannered and restrictive metric forms of verse continuum of a literary canvas leading to a composite to the free seriousness of prose. Earlier, verbal image of 19th century Bengal. Benedict Anderson writes playfulness was associated mainly with verse. Bankim about nations as communities that are imagined into demonstrated that many of the delectations of verse existence. Bankim analyses this cultural roots of writing could be captured in imaginative prose. But imagined communities into forming of a nation. prose could offer other pleasures which verse, at least of the traditional sort, could not. Most significant Another interesting feature of Essays on Society was among these new enjoyments was the attitude of the frequent use of animistic nationalism/rationalism in reflection prose expressed. From a vehicle of frivolous summarizing the role of civilization of the West and its enjoyment of insignificant objects in the world . . . articulate modulation on the modern educated Bengali irony came in Bankim to have a serious object, indeed vis-à-vis the West, as in Baghracharya Brihalangul (The an object beyond which nothing could be more serious Great Tiger), Gordhob ( donkey), to the modern consciousness. Instead of trivial things in Hanumadbabusambad (Monkey-Gentleman a world which is not fixed in a historically serious gaze, Conversation) where in a subtle variant the narrator it now reflected on three objects not entirely distinct often compares the situational variant with an animal from each other, all implicated with the historical highlighting its biological similarities with the bengali world. These are the self, the collective of which the babus in understating and overstating of the West. The self is a part, and the civilization of colonial India dilemma of the east encountering the west – civilization which formed the theatre in which this darkly comic vs. uncivilised- The comic/satiric pieces, as well as spectacle of the search for the self unfold.” dialogue spoken by women and people from the lower social strata, all have been showed by his virtuosity The futility of the newly imposed judicial system of the with the spoken informal style. British also found a classic expression in Bankim’s depiction of the Matrimonial penal code- “Hanumadbabusamvad “The Matrimonial Penal Code Babu- It seems most barbarous gibberish-that precious lingo of his; but I suppose I must put up with it. My Chapter I dear Mr Monkey, I am ashamed to confess that I am not Introduction quite familiar with your beautiful vernacular. I dare say Whereas it is expedient to provide a special Penal Code for the coercion of refractory husbands and others who

52 N. Ganguli, R. Datta / The Belles-Lettres of Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay…. dispute the supreme authority of Woman, it is hereby and transforming into a more effeminate colonial enacted as follows: bureaucracy. Inherent is the pejorative judgement of the conquered. Bankim harps on the fact that it is the This Act shall be entitled the “Matrimonial Penal Code” bounty of the mothernature in Bengal and easy and shall take effect on all natives of India in the availability of resources that attracted colonialism married state. leading to the drain of wealth which became the crux of th th Chapter II resisting colonialism in the late 19 & early 20 cent Definitions .

A husband is a piece of moving and moveable property The prosaic sagacity of Lokrahashya lies in the at the absolute disposal of a woman. highlighting the negative culture of babus as a way of Illustrations unfurling the critique of the west by tying the ends in a causal relation. The Essays offer not only an innate  A trunk or a work-box is not a husband, as it study of colonialism but also gives a picturesque is not moving, though a moveable piece of description of outwardly being ‘modern’ through property. imitation i.e. not only thinking modern or speaking modern but also eating modern and dressing modern  Cattle are not husbands, for though capable like a British, thus modernity being consummated in its of locomotion, they cannot be at the entirety. The role of divinity in interpreting popular absolute disposal of any woman, as they mind-set about colonialism also becomes evident from often display a will of their own. the “Ingraj-Stotra” (Hymn in praise of the English):  Men in the married state, having no will of Oh Englishman! I’m bowing in their own, are husbands. obeisance to you. … You are the  A wife is a woman having the right of incarnation of Krishna in the modern property in a husband. age. The plume on the head of the cowherd prince has become your hat; his waistband is your trousers, and his Explanations flute your whip. I therefore bow in obeisance to you…Oh the great The right of property includes the right of flagellation. benefactor! Grant me a boon. I’ll put on a cap and follow wherever you go, “The married state” is a state of penance into which but give me a job…award me the title of Raja, rai Bahadur, make me a member men voluntarily enter for sins committed in a previous of the Council…” life.” Lokrahashya thus, is a literature in the historical The irony of social mobilization under the sceptre of periphery where metaphors have been used for imaging western liberalism also includes allegorical reference to ideas of nationalist selfhood and for locating the the material objects in elucidating the continuous Bengali middle class in the imperial project by process of adjusting to the colonial culture. Bankim was highlighting their anxieties, in a pyramidal structure of not against the implementation of western education but working relation of colonialism with certain prescribed the complete refusal of vernacular mode of instruction categorizations where ‘babu’ is viewed as a social class and filtration theory in educating the masses that create aspiring for a status in an esteemed society of the a class of men indian in blood and colour but with the ‘bhadraloks’ or ‘intellectual class’, creating civil thought process of the west that result in creating a society and seeking distinguished status and can be babu culture that dwelled on the superiority of the easily distinguished from the manual labours. imperial gaze. The series of essays highlights the subjugation of the masculinity of Bengal’s chauvinism

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CONCLUSION The humorous writer has the absolute right to deal with matters of social ills but does not have any in matters of In conclusion it can be said that Bankim upheld a individual lapses; only rarely in specific circumstances particular time and space through the essays in Lokrahashya using humour and satire to depict the ills he gains such power, as for instance humour is appreciable in cases of erroneous activities of royal of Colonialism and Modernity and the views persons or stupid writers. This book does have no such proclaimed by him can be best understood in his own purpose; nor is there any hint towards individual beings language- barring particular classes of or common people” “An Announcement The sarcastic innuendos of Lokrahashya can be looked In this book several essays quoted from the first and upon as an ironic parody of the Raj and its collaborators second volumes of Bangadarshan are reprinted. In this –the babus. It is a complex amalgam of history, culture, regard the uttering of only a word is necessary, which is colonialism and nationalism where the power relation that the common readers of Bengal have such a belief between the signifier (British rule) and the signified that humour means nothing but abuse, and there is no (the colonised natives) achieves the formalization of joke sans abuse. And so they consider that whatever fictive foundation through a caricaturistic distortion of ridicule all these essays contain serves merely to abuse the innate realities by creating dystopic imageries of the an individual being. To such a class of readers it is a West in the Orient. humble statement that this book has not been written for them, and if only they kindly refrain from going through it, I shall be gratified.

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