India is perhaps the world’s most complex nation. There
was no nation of India until 1947, but the history of the Indian subcontinent
is a long and complex one. There were numerous empires, kingdoms, and
sultanates that ruled various parts of the area over the centuries.
The subcontinent was (and is) populated by a host of
different ethnic groups. Even today India has 22 separate official languages and
at least 121 languages altogether.
India is also quite complex religiously. The major religion,
of course, is Hinduism. But “India” was also the birthplace of Buddhism,
Sikhism, and Jainism. There are also a large number of Christians in India; for
example, there are only two countries in the world with more Methodists than in
India.
India began to come under greater and greater European
influence/rule after about 1500, first by the Portuguese followed by the Dutch
and then especially after the formation of the English East India Company in
1600.
After the short-lived independence movement of 1857, “India”
was under the British Raj, the rule of the British Crown, from 1858 until 1947,
when it finally achieved its independence.
India will soon become the world’s most populous nation. India
is projected to surpass China as the world’s most populous country just next
year, according to the 27th edition of the United Nations’ World
Population Prospects, released about a month ago.
The population of China was 1,144 million in 1990 compared
with India’s 861 million. But with the continuation of India’s rapid growth
rate causing its population to surpass China’s, next year nearly 19% of the
people in the world will live in India.
With nearly one out of five of the world’s population living
in the one nation, India will increasingly have significant impact on the world
as a whole.
Is India still the world’s largest democracy? As
India celebrates its 75th birthday today, there will be those who
will again point out that, among other things, it is the “world’s largest
democracy.”
On January 26, 1950, when the Indian constitution took
effect, the Republic of India did in fact become the most populous democracy in
the world—and it has been so regarded until the present. But there are some who
now question whether India, in fact, is still a democracy.
In The World Ahead 2022,
published in Nov. 2021 by The Economist, the first article about Asia is
regarding India, and it was titled “A museum for democracy?”
Democracy is in danger there as in other places in the
world, including the U.S. That danger both there and here is rooted largely in
religious nationalism.
Hindu nationalism (Hindutva) in India and Christian
nationalism in the U.S. are both linked to religious fundamentalism—and both
are a real danger to the perpetuation of democracy.
In my book Fed Up with Fundamentalism (2007, 2020), I
have a short sub-section titled “Hindu Fundamentalism.” There I briefly
introduce the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). That is the Party of Narendra Modi,
the current Prime Minister of India, who was first elected PM in 2014.
Under Modi, the BJP is now much stronger than when the first
edition of my book was published.
Hindutva is an ideology that disregards Indian Christians
and other religious minority believers as true Indians because they have
allegiances that lie outside India, and it asserts the country should be
purified of their presence.
To be real democracies, both the Republic of India (75 years
old today) and the USA (which turned 246 years old this July 4) must accept the
diversity and the equality of its citizenry, seeking the greatest good for all
citizens regardless of ethnicity or religious affiliation.
Christians in India, of course, oppose Hindu nationalism
there. Many progressive Christians in the U.S. also oppose Christian
nationalism here (see Christians
Against Christian Nationalism).
_____
** On Aug. 12, The
Washington Post posted “As
India marks its first 75 years, Gandhi is downplayed, even derided.” I was
sad to see that.
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Thanks, Leroy, for the focus on the threats to democracy in both India and the USAmerica. When I taught courses on the philosophical and religious history of India, I was always struck by the similarities between Hinduism and Christianity, especially Catholicism, in spite of their obvious differences. These are most peculiar times in which we live, whereby the world's oldest and biggest democracies are threatened by religious fundamentalism, and the former by a purportedly "democratic" evangelical Christianity. My argument, though, has been (perhaps you've heard me make it) is that in spite of Southern Baptist and other fundamentalistic, Protestant denominations being in theory "democratic," when they are fundamentalist, there is set in motion a socio-political process whereby they instill and maintain an anti-democratic authoritarianism.
ReplyDeleteNot sure I have observed authoritarianism in fundamentalist protestantism, would like to hear about some examples. But I do observe authoritarianism on the rise in America, but I think it is from christians-in-name-only like a neighbor of mine who never attends church. Well, I'm basing my opinion on ONE EXAMPLE! I've found healthy debate in all the protestant churches I've attended. (Many examples.) Thanks, Leroy, for the historical perspective and the link to the statement we can sign!
DeleteI'm guessing, Pip, that you and I are operating with different understandings of authoritarianism. I'd like to know what, more precisely, do you mean by authoritarianism and by "healthy debate." Also, perhaps you've never been in a fundamentalist church, at least not for any length of time?
DeleteThanks for your initial comments, Anton, and for the ensuing comments by you and "Pip" (whom I know only as Phil).
DeleteI agree that there is an "anti-democratic authoritarianism" in Christian fundamentalism (aka conservative evangelicalism). But as our friend Charlie Broomfield often says, their ideal is not democracy but theocracy. They long for a society ruled by God's "law" as made known through the inerrant Bible and interpreted by God's ministers. Thus, fundamentalist pastors don't work for political democracy, based on the will of the people, but rather for the establishment of God's rule, based on what they consider God's Word.
A reminder as to why Baptists once held firmly to separation of church and state. Let us never forget!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the pertinent reminder, Charles.
Delete"A very timely piece, Leroy. We in America need to take note." (Thinking Fried Glenn Hinson in Kentucky)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Dr. Hinson, and, yes, I pray that the vast majority of USAmerican citizens will take note before it's too late.
DeleteBrief comments from Thinking Friend Eric Dollard in Chicago:
ReplyDelete"India is probably the most complex nation on the planet, as you point out, and "Hinduism is probably the world's most complex religion. Until recently under the BJP, India had been largely democratic under the Congress Party, except for the "state of emergency" under Indira Gandhi from 1975 to 1977, when democratic procedures were suspended.
"I strongly agree with your concerns about religious nationalism."
Local Thinking Friend Dennis Boatright sent these comments:
ReplyDelete"We have discussed before on this blog the similarities of India and the USA regarding castes as described in 'Caste' by Isabel Wilkerson. The process Anton describes is partially driven by a reaction to the fear of becoming just another minority, when they are sure they are supreme."
Thanks for your comments, Dennis--and for the intimation that there is a close connection between Christian nationalism and the acceptance or promotion of white supremacy.
DeleteVern Barnet, another local Thinking Friend, shares these comments:
ReplyDelete"The way things are going with Modi, the tradition of Gandhi's embrace of all of India's faiths is becoming a disrespected relic. It breaks my heart to see the degeneration in our lifetimes, with the hope that the disaster of the Partition would be a lesson guiding away from religion as an alienating force. And you remind us of the danger in our own country."
Andrew Bolton, a Thinking Friend who was once local but now lives again in his home country of England, writes,
ReplyDelete"Thanks for this informative blog.
"I was the church’s administrator for India for nine years, 2007-2016. In December 2007 and August 2008 our church members, along with other Christians were attacked and beaten in Orissa/Odisha, their homes set on fire and their churches destroyed. I interviewed 4 of those attacked. The earlier murder in 1999 of Australian missionary Graham Staines and his sons is part of this story.
"I agree that the secular constitution of India is under attack by Hindu nationalists.
"Christendom is the privileging of Christians and persecution of others. India is becoming a Hindudom.
"The militant Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) organisation fund raises here in Leicester, UK, where we now live, to help support its work in India to advance Hindu nationalism. Founded in 1925, Nathuram Godse, the assassin of Gandhi, was an RSS member.
"Thanks for another informative blog, Leroy."
Thanks for these helpful comments, Andrew--and for mentioning RSS (and Godse). I mentioned the organization and the assassin in my book "Fed Up with Fundamentalism, and I am glad you made reference to them here.
DeleteAs to Indian complexities, perhaps the USA exhibits such complexity even if not to the same degree—if each republic has reached a tipping point so as to seem unmanageable, citizens’ fears and authoritarian “solutions” could make matters deadly. If only the many churches were not so Balkanized, might healing come? Christian Nationalism, being anti-KOG, is no solution.
ReplyDeleteThank you for this blog post, Leroy. I would not call India a democracy for the reason you cited, Hindu fundamentalism, which endeavours to persecute, and basically declare war on all non-Hindu citizens. Modi and the BJP are, tragically destroying Gandhi's legacy. In our Canadian media, there have also been reports concerning oppressive agricultural legislation, threatening to make the poor farmers poorer.
ReplyDeleteWishing you a happy birthday, and hoping your year will be filled with blessings!
In yesterday's "Letter," Heather Cox Richardson wrote,
ReplyDelete"Today, President Joe Biden congratulated the people of India on their 75th anniversary of independence, calling out the relationship between 'our great democracies' and 'our shared commitment to the rule of law and the promotion of human freedom and dignity.'”
I'm afraid Pres. Biden may have been overly optimistic about India's democracy--and perhaps about democracy in the U.S.
Here is the link to an important article posted by an Indian journalist on the day before India's anniversary celebration:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/08/14/india-independence-75-years-flags-injustice/