2. SECULAR HINDU.

I am a Hindu. What do I have to do to be a Hindu or to remain a Hindu? Do I need not pray to 330 million Gods?  Do I need to pray Shiva or Vishnu or Brahma or the trinity? Actually most Indians just pray to his Guru, who can be any religious man, living or posthumously. Some do not believe in any God. But generally a Hindu believes everything that he is exposed to. A Hindu goes to any religious place to offer prayer. There is no specific rule to be a Hindu. I need not visit any temple at all. Or I may not drink water in the morning without visiting a temple. I will remain a Hindu whatever I do or do not do. Surprisingly even if I go to church or mosque and pray, I do not cease to be a Hindu. Therefore, Hindus flock to Dargas or Muslim religious places or churches or Buddhist temples without inhibition. He participates in Christian or Muslim festivals with ease. Only when one identifies oneself with a religion which excludes Hinduism then only he is not Hindu.  Hinduism does not prohibit anybody to be a Hindu. At the same time Hinduism is not propagated. Anybody wants to become Hindu or learn about Hinduism he himself has to make efforts. He is welcome to any Hindu congregation though he may be refused entry to a particular temple on caste consideration. But one need not go to particular temple to be a Hindu. Everybody is free to live his way of life in Hinduism as long as he does not force his ideas on others. Hindu religionists also do not try to convert anybody. Because nobody can covert anybody into Hinduism. It has to come from within. At the most these bigots try to prevent conversion from Hinduism due to poverty and ignorance.

But if you are Hindu you have a caste. Today, significance of caste has diminished. Still you need a caste. Any community following Hinduism has a caste. But there are numerous castes.  If you belong to a tribe, a community, a profession or any distinct identity, then that is your caste. Caste system determined social position in olden days. But today it has become slack and practically all castes are equals. Brahmins are still considered at the top of caste system but no real privilege is now accorded to them. Inter-caste marriages and changing profession are breaking caste system in Hinduism. Movement of people has also reduced caste distinction. But Hinduism still comes with caste.

If anybody wants to be Hindu, he needs to join a group or caste. It may be through a marriage or through friendship or just association. He does not need to declare or profess or do anything. I have seen a Christian girl married into a Hindu family and accepted as Hindu while professing Christianity. Similarly Muslim girl transformed to a Hindu housewife without murmur from any quarter. But these happen in educated Hindu society. Uneducated rural mass will take time to understand spirit of Hinduism. Still if anybody considers himself Hindu, he is Hindu. No approval is required. Any person is Hindu until he considers himself otherwise.

There is no concept of conversion in Hinduism. Hinduism absorbs. Thousands of races, tribes, communities inhabited India when Aryans came. All these races, tribes, communities were absorbed into Hinduism over years. These people were absorbed with their Gods, beliefs and culture. Hinduism also enriched in the process. No race, tribe, community had to sacrifice their way of living and yet they became Hindu. All these groups were to become different castes. That is why it is easier for a group to become Hindu. Any group of people can assign themselves a particular caste and become part of larger Hindu community. Jain, Sikh, Zoroastrian and Buddhist communities are considered Part of Hindu diaspora. Almost entire scheduled caste community of Maharashtra converted to Buddhism under influence of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar just before independence. It did not create any social problem. These communities actually changed some social practices and maintained their caste identity within larger Hindu identity.

The unique caste system makes Hinduism humane. When entire world followed slave system, when Arabs used to attack Southern Africa and coastal Europe for capturing slaves and when new world prospered with the labour of African slaves, then Hindu India followed caste system. Concept of slavery was unheard of in India. All men of all castes were free men. There was no compulsion for any person to work without wage. There was no sex slavery, widely practiced in Muslim world. There was no castration of human beings to work as guards of female sex slaves, regularly practiced by Muslims.  Neither field were ploughed by unpaid labours who could be sold or bought.

The caste system also makes Hinduism secular. A Hindu child grows up with an understanding of diversity. He can accept another group as another caste. Muslim Bengalis were never considered a different people in undivided Bengal. They were part of Bengali diaspora. There was no ill feeling towards Muslim Bengalis. Eating separately was a treatment practiced due to tradition and not out of hatred. That is why Muslim Bengalis stayed back in West Bengal and in fact grew in number (19% to 28%) despite settling down of large number of Bengali refugees from East Bengal.). But Muslim Bengalis were only Muslims. In East Bengal, they destroyed Bengali homes, looted their property and killed them with support of state, society and religion. Bengali population in East Bengal reduced from 28% to 9% today.

 Diversity in Hinduism can be understood if we compare regional variance among Hindus. Hindus of different region of India are different kind of Hindus. They worship different Gods. They celebrate different festivals. They have different food habits. They dress differently. Brahmins of Kashmir and Brahmins of Kerala are so different that Keralite Brahmins may refuse consumption of food In Kashmiri Brahmin’s residence.

 For example take the case of celebration of New Year.

Different regions of India follow different calendars. Ugadi is celebrated as New Year's Day in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. The name Ugadi is derived from the name "Yuga Adi", which means 'the beginning of a new age'. It is celebrated on the first day of the month of Chaitra, which marks the onset of spring. It is believed that Lord Brahma, the creator began creation on this day. Gudi Padwa is celebrated as New Year's Day in Maharashtra. It is celebrated on the same day as Ugadi  i.e., the first day of the month Chaitra. Courtyards of houses are cleaned and plastered with fresh cow dung. Designs called rangolis are drawn on doorsteps. People wear new clothes and special dishes are prepared. Lord Brahma is worshipped on this day and the gudhi, Brahma's flag, is hoisted in every house as a symbolic representation of Rama's victory over Ravana. This day falls on middle of March. 

Bengali, Tamil and Keralite celebrate their new years in the middle of April. Bengalis celebrate New Year on 1^st day of Baisakh. Tamil celebrate New Year as Puthandu, on the first day of Tamil month of chithiraj. Women draw patterns called kolams. A lamp called a kuttuvilaku is placed on the center of the kolam, to eradicate darkness. A ritual called kanni takes place. Kanni means 'auspicious sight'. Keralite celebrate New Year as Vishu on first day of Malayalam month Medam.  All these New Year days fall on 14/15^th of April.  Even though Bengali, Tamil and Keralite celebrate New Year almost same day, but the concept and celebration are entirely different.

Gujarati New Year is celebrated on the day after Diwali. Since Gujarati follow lunar calendar, New Year can fall either in October or in November. It is celebrated as Vestu Baras.  Assameses have Rongali Bihu and so on and so forth.

New Year celebration is just one example. Each region has different days associated with different festivals. Holi is a major festival in North India but is not celebrated in South.  Onam is celebrated in Tamil Nadu but not known in north at all. Durga puja is Bengali puja cum festival. Others join. Similarly some people worship Vishnu, some Shiva and some Shakti with all kinds of variations. Buddhists and Jains are basically atheists. Brahmo-samaj or Arya-samaj  or Sikhs believe  in monotheism. But everybody is a Hindu. If you want to worship Jesus, you are free to do so. In fact, many Hindus place statue of Crucifixion of Jesus in home temple, the Puja-room, alongside deities of Vishnu and Shiva.

From ancient time people came to India to escape religious persecution. Jews were given shelter. Zoroastrians, popularly known as Parsi, sought and received shelter. Christians lived in India since the time of saint Thomas. There was no persecution. There was no hatred. Everybody lived their own life. In fact when first group Parsi refugees arrived in India to escape Muslim persecution, they promised to the then King Jodi Rana that they will mix with local populace like sugar in water. They adopted Gujarati language and Gujarati dress. They practiced their religion without interference for thousand years. True to their word, Parsis also became an asset to Indian diaspora and a part of greater Hindu people. Even Muslims were given protection in India. Small groups of Arab traders settled down in Indian ports, especially in Kerala and Bengal just after Islam was born, much before Muslim army attacked North India. In Kerala they are still called, Mappilas i.e sons-in-law. All these alien people stayed alongside Hindus for up to two thousand years. There was no persecution whatsoever by the majority community. That is the uniqueness of Hinduism. It will not be out of context to mention that the same Mapilla community massacred Hindus specially Nairs and Brahmins when Tipu Sultan conquered Kerala under Sultan’s guidance and protection. Hindus did not take revenge after defeat of Tipu Sultan at the hand of East India Company.

During partition of India, a lone Muslim family in a Hindu village was absolutely safe. But a lone Hindu family in a Muslim village had no chance to survive, then and now. Even today there will be thousand people coming out in India to protect any Muslim in danger due to communalism but nobody in  Pakistan or Bangladesh have courage to protect a person from minority community from religious persecution. Lot is written about partition of India. But tolerance of Hindu community is not clearly brought out. Hindus and Sikhs have fought only for self-defence, for survival and for protection of women but Muslims attacked for killing, rape, loot and conversion. Muslims were always aggressor and Hindu & Sikh were survivors. Millions of Muslims stayed back in India. They live in peace, with more than equal rights and flourishing economy. Still these people indulge in rioting whenever there is an opportunity.

In 2002, 58 people belonging to Hindu community were burnt down in a rail compartment by Muslim mob from villages near Godhra station.  Subsequently there were riots and both Hindus and Muslims suffered loss of life and property. Everybody, be it Press or NGO or political party, showered their sympathy for the Muslims. Nobody spoke about death of innocent train passengers neither about Hindu victims of riots. So much so, India was painted in black all over the world and Shri. Narendra Modi, the then Chief Minister of Gujarat was compared with Hitler. If Modi feels aggrieved for death of all Gujarati people in the twin incidents of burning of train compartment and subsequent riots then Modi is communal. Sympathising with death of a Hindu in a communal riot is considered meanness. But Killing of a Muslim terrorist before he could carry out his mission is communal. Our people believe in reservation. They enquire religion and caste of a criminal. If the criminal belongs to a fashionable religion or caste then his due punishment is opposed. Afjal Guru is one such case. Hindus are such people. They consider protection of minority community is more important than self-preservation.

India suffers from many ills. There is no place for caste system in modern India but it is continuing. Crime against women is a black spot in Indian character. Female child is killed in womb. Indians practice deceit and fraudulent companies regularly cheat common people. Indian administration indulges in all types of corruptions.  Nepotism rules Indian science, sports, culture and literature. But India is democracy by choice and is secular by inheritance, inheritance of Hindu concept.

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