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April      Last updated: April 29,  5:00 p.m.

Western challenges and India’s response-II

P. Parameswaran

(Contd. from last issue)

This dark and negative aspect of globalisation has been engaging the attention of the thinking people all over the world. People are realizing that globalisation is nothing but the second phase of colonialism imposed upon the developing world by the western countries which were forced to terminate the earlier one by massive freedom struggle. Like the first one, this also has its staunch supporters and powerful advocates within the clonized countries, says Valson Thomson: "In all these, the western strategy all along has been the successful cooption of the elite of the non-western society into their agenda, so that they become the most enthusiastic liaison officers for the western projects in their respective societies." In fact, the multi-national corporations and their supporters all over the world have formed into a privileged class to exploit the rest of the world and enforce their domination at the cost of the weaker sections everywhere. This is the grim scenario that confronts us.

Unless those people and countries who are at the receiving and come together and fight with determination the present colonialism will prove more disastrous than the earlier one. Fortunately, there is evidence of the realization of the need for such joint action as was proved in the recent WTO meet at Seattle, where the US and their allies could not have their way and push through policies which they wanted due to stiff resistance from the developing countries. There is no doubt that Globalisation has come to stay and it cannot be wished away. The need of the hour is for the affected countries to gear up themselves to meet the challenge effectively at all the various levels. India and Hinduism have a vital role to play in this regard, because she occupies a strategic position as the largest demcoracy in the world with a vbirant culture and glorious heritage. How shoud Hindus go about doing this task? One of the leading thinkers of the world who is also an ardent admirer of Hindu Culture, Shri Vamadev Shastri lays down the following perspective:

Hindus and globalisation

"If we look at the main areas of global advancement in science, technology and business we see successful Hindus in all these areas, who have not had to give up their religion in order to advance in the world. Hindu communities in the USA and UK are among the most affluent and well educated. Clearly there is no inherent contradiction between Hinduism and scientific and technological advancement. The global communications age is more favourable for Hindu Ideas than the previous colonial and industrial eras.

The richness of Hindu culture and all its pervasive spiritually give it an appeal; that few cultures can match, provided it is presented fairly in the media, which is seldom the case.

There has been little organized Hindu response to globalisation, Hinduism tends to be other worldly and not to react quick temporal changes. Hinduism also is not very organized socially or intellectually to tackle such an issue in a major way. Some Hindus think they need not make any response to globalisation other than to continue their spiritual practices. However, when they see their own children adopting a western commercial culture or changing to a hostile western religious belief they have a rude awakening.

Perhaps the most obvious Hindu response is that of the global evangelical movements. Movements like the Vishwa Hindu Parishad or its older prototype, the Arya Samaj have arisen to counter this trend, helping to reconvert Hindus who have joined other religions. Yet even this is more of a sidelight. Most Hindu groups make little effort in this regard.

Another part is the Hindu response to global business. One effort, going back to Mahatma Gandhi, is to try to protect the villages of India from global business and promote a Swadeshi movement. Another effort is to promote technological development but to try and avoid western commercial culture as in the BJP’s slogan "Computer chips, yes, potato chips, no", A social and spiritual effort is that of the Swadhyaya movement of Pandurang Shastri Athavale which aims at creating a more indigenious Indic model for the spread of spirituality and the protection of families and villages. A new effort to interpret the history of India in a post-colonical age has arisen are rejecting the Aryan invasion theory proposed by thinkers the Max Muller in the last century. Such revisions of history have happened all over the world. This can help build the foundation for a view of Hinduism not defined by Western cutlural interpretations and more suitable for a global age. The Hindu response to planetary concrns, particularly of an environmental and ecological nature has been weak. India has already been devasted in terms of its econology and this trend is increasing at an alarming rate. But there is little organized Hindu effort to counter this, the great Hindu tradition of Bhumi Pooja and love for Mother earth notwithstanding. The Hindu use of the media remains inefficient, with the notable exception of the Internet where the Hindu Universe (hindunet.org) is one of the best organized and most popular sites. India has more software technicians than any other country in the world so that this trend is bound to continue and usher it into a high-tech culture.

Magazines like Hinduism Today have arisen as an attempt to provide a modern voice for the Hindu community and its concern as well as to bring it together on a common platform. Though starting off from a very limited circulation base, the magazine continues to grow at a rapid rate. Unfortunately, there are a few efforts in this direction that get beyond promoting a particular sect.

Groups like VHP, not only in India but also in the West, have created meetings for religious leaders or Dharma Samsads, like the one in Ahmedabad in India to unite Hindus to face the challenges of the current era. However some Hindus, being suspicious of regimentation, have dismissed these efforts not as a real attempt to unite Hindu society but as having ulterior political motives. Perhaps the real question is what the Hindu response to globalism should be. Certainly Hinduism has a lot of offer the global age in terms of planetary wisdom and earth traditions. It carries the old pagan and indigenos religions of the world. It holds the world’s largest, oldest and perhaps best maintained mystical tradition. Yet it also has a futuristic vision with its view of consciousness as the supereme reality; and interfaces well with the modern sciences.

A new globally minded yet spiritually based Hindu intelligentsia is perhaps the need of the hour to deal with this challenge. One of the great debacles of modern India is that the Marxists captured the intellectual elite of the country and turned them into mouthpieces for anti-Hindu attitudes. This is particularly true in Bengal, perhaps the intellectual heartland of the country. This trend is slowly changing in India today.

The intellectuals of India seldom study the great modern teachers of India, even those who wrote in good English and addressed all modern concerns like Swami Vivekananda or Sri Aurobindo. They would like to view all of Hinduism like some of the vagaries of Manu Samhita, a medieval Hindu law book that few HIndus read today, much less follow. Changing this class of society is a key to bringing Hinduism into the coming millennium.

Perhaps the main conclusion of this article is that there should be a better Hindu response to globalisation. Different Hindu groups should work out their response in a typical pluralistic Hindu manner. They need not all agree with one another either. They can tackle the matter from different angles. But action of some sort, wherever one can start, is necessary.

As this action occurs, a new churning will take place within Hindu Dharma that should revitalize and transform it once more for this planetary age, in which it can again extend throughout the world and spread its benefits to all people.

(To be concluded)