Skip to main content

Hindu community worst victim of vote bank politics: Caste, parochial leaders mushroom

By Sudhansu R Das 

India’s largest community, the Hindus are facing many problems which were created by them only. The community is divided and subdivided on the basis caste, sub-caste, language, dialects, regions and sects etc. As a result, the community’s social, economic and cultural growth is badly affected. The community is also divided on the basis of wealth and status; there are divisions within the families. How to address the problems of the community is the biggest challenge before the Hindu leaders.
The Hindu community is the worst victim of the vote bank politics. There is mushroom growth of caste and parochial leaders across the country. Even National parties passionately cling to the caste equation. The caste factor in UP, Bihar, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Gujarat etc influence the election results. In the 2024 Lok Sabha election, it is expected that caste would play a dominant role and block the door for many deserving candidates. 
The caste and language divides among the Hindus adversely affect their economic, social and cultural life. Small farmers, traders and entrepreneurs find it difficult to sell their products outside their states as they fail to communicate in mother tongue Hindi; they fall into the hands of the middlemen and lose their profit margin. If you go to any pilgrim place you will find Marathi Dharmasala, Rajasthan Bhawan, Marwari Dharamshala, Gujarati Dharamshala, Kanada Bhawan or Bengali Dharmasala etc. Nowhere one will find a nameplate showing Hindu Dharmasala; the divisions are glaringly visible.
It is necessary for the Hindus to have physical, intellectual and spiritual growth which will bring the community together. 
The common man always finds it difficult to understand the scriptures clearly due to the absence of an adequate number of Sanskrit scholars. In the past, the Hindu scholars used to explain the scriptures to people in common man’s language. It helps people live in harmony and peace; it develops love for other human beings irrespective of his religion or place of birth. Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam (the world is one family concept originates from the Hindu philosophy). 
In the past, the fear of God kept people away from greed and heinous crimes. The Hindu leaders lament over population growth and rapid change in demographic composition in some states. India has failed to take strong measures in order to control its population which is growing at an alarming pace; India creates one Australian population every year and is far behind the developed status of Australia.
Today, the subject Sanskrit is no longer studied by the majority of the school students; they are now opting for German and French. There is tardy research on ancient scriptures and manuscripts. As a result the Hindus fail to find the traces of history in their mythologies. A few years back South Korea established that their history is more than 2000 year old. 
With systematic research they established the fact that 2000 years back, the legendary queen Suriratna, a princess of Ayodhya had married to King Suro of Korea. The queen Suriatna was also known as Queen Heo Hwang-ok as mentioned in "Samguk Yusa," a 13th-century Korean chronicle written by Buddhist monk Il- yeon. Way back in 2001, the Korean ambassadors came to Ayodhya to unveil the Queen Hwang-ok's memorial on the bank of the river Saryu. There is a need to discover India’s history and heritage with scientific research only.
The biggest threat to the Hindu community is the growing idle energy among the Hindus which has been created due to loan waivers and distribution of free food and freebies. There is massive loss of entrepreneurship due to those freebies; people don’t like to do physical work and love to do sedentary office jobs. Thousands of Hindus from North East India, Odisha, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra prefer to work as typists, security guards, hotel boys, cooks and drivers etc than to work in their own agriculture fields with a sense of ownership. 
 The concentration of jobs in big metro cities has disintegrated the Hindu middle class families and it gives mental and physical stress to elderly people in the Hindu families. The Hindu middle class who played a crucial role in economic, social and cultural development of the county are no longer active due to various reasons.
Societal behavior change among the Hindus is very rapid. The youth no longer wake up early in the morning as they go to bed late at night. Eating homemade nutritious food has become a taboo. Disappearance of community playgrounds and pressure of studies keep them away from sports which create physically weak generations. 
Disappearance of public libraries and dedicated teachers has stunted intellectual growth among the people. Liquor addiction among the daily wagers and landless laborers is growing very fast in the villages of Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra. It erodes their income, gives them misery and spoils their family life. The governments should look for alternate sources of revenue other than the revenue from liquor sale.
Today, the majority of the Hindus do not go to the temples regularly. A large number of temples across the country are not maintained properly; they remain unclean due to the littering habit of the Hindus. Ancient temples, Ghats, pilgrim places, festivals, folk dance, music, handicrafts and a gamut of economic activities are enshrined in the Hindu culture which have immense potential to boost an inclusive economic growth. 
 But, there is little effort to tap those potentials. There is an ancient Ram temple in the historic Cuttack city which is famous as the Raghunath Jew temple. One will come across a garbage dump at the temple entrance and the contractor who sells Arna Prasad in the temple dumps the leftover Prasad in the municipality drain. Local people report he does it daily. 
This happens to many temples in Odisha. The Endowment Commission does not show much interest in physically monitoring the temple. In the past centuries, the Hindus have contributed to the phenomenal prosperity of the country due to hard work, discipline, cleanliness, mental and physical ability. What they desperately need today is the same qualities which help the community to flourish again.

Comments

TRENDING

Loktantra Bachao Abhiyan raises concerns over Jharkhand Adivasis' plight in Assam, BJP policies

By Our Representative  The Loktantra Bachao Abhiyan (Save Democracy Campaign) has issued a pressing call to protect Adivasi rights in Jharkhand, highlighting serious concerns over the treatment of Jharkhandi Adivasis in Assam. During a press conference in Ranchi on November 9, representatives from Assam, Chhattisgarh, and Madhya Pradesh criticized the current approach of BJP-led governments in these states, arguing it has exacerbated Adivasi struggles for rights, land, and cultural preservation.

Promoting love or instilling hate and fear: Why is RSS seeking a meeting with Rahul Gandhi?

By Ram Puniyani*  India's anti-colonial struggle was marked by a diverse range of social movements, one of the most significant being Hindu-Muslim unity and the emergence of a unified Indian identity among people of all religions. The nationalist, anti-colonial movement championed this unity, best embodied by Mahatma Gandhi, who ultimately gave his life for this cause. Gandhi once wrote, “The union that we want is not a patched-up thing but a union of hearts... Swaraj (self-rule) for India must be an impossible dream without an indissoluble union between the Hindus and Muslims of India. It must not be a mere truce... It must be a partnership between equals, each respecting the religion of the other.”

A Marxist intellectual who dwelt into complex areas of the Indian socio-political landscape

By Harsh Thakor*  Professor Manoranjan Mohanty has been a dedicated advocate for human rights over five decades. His work as a scholar and activist has supported revolutionary democratic movements, navigating complex areas of the Indian socio-political landscape. His balanced, non-partisan approach to human rights and social justice has made his books essential resources for advocates of democracy.

Right-arm fast bowler who helped West Indies shape arguably greatest Test team in cricket history

By Harsh Thakor*  Malcolm Marshall redefined what it meant to be a right-arm fast bowler, challenging the traditional laws of biomechanics with his unique skill. As we remember his 25th death anniversary on November 4th, we reflect on the legacy he left behind after his untimely death from colon cancer. For a significant part of his career, Marshall was considered one of the fastest and most formidable bowlers in the world, helping to shape the West Indies into arguably the greatest Test team in cricket history.

A Hindu alternative to Valentine's Day? 'Shiv-Parvati was first love marriage in Universe'

By Rajiv Shah  The other day, I was searching on Google a quote on Maha Shivratri which I wanted to send to someone, a confirmed Shiv Bhakt, quite close to me -- with an underlying message to act positively instead of being negative. On top of the search, I chanced upon an article in, imagine!, a Nashik Corporation site which offered me something very unusual. 

Will Left victory in Sri Lanka deliver economic sovereignty plan, go beyond 'tired' IMF agenda?

By Atul Chandra, Vijay Prashad*  On September 22, 2024, the Sri Lankan election authority announced that Anura Kumara Dissanayake of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP)-led National People’s Power (NPP) alliance won the presidential election. Dissanayake, who has been the leader of the left-wing JVP since 2014, defeated 37 other candidates, including the incumbent president Ranil Wickremesinghe of the United National Party (UNP) and his closest challenger Sajith Premadasa of the Samagi Jana Balawegaya. 

Unlike other revolutionaries, Hindutva icon wrote 5 mercy petitions to British masters

By Shamsul Islam*  The Hindutva icon VD Savarkar of the RSS-BJP rulers of India submitted not one, two,or three but five mercy petitions to the British masters! Savarkarites argue: “There are no evidences to prove that Savarkar collaborated with the British for his release from jail. In fact, his appeal for release was a ruse. He was well aware of the political developments outside and wanted to be part of it. So he kept requesting for his release. But the British authorities did not trust him a bit” (YD Phadke, ‘A complex Hero’, "The Indian Expres"s, August 31, 2004)

Outreach programme in medical education: Band-aids for compound fractures

By Amitav Banerjee, MD*  Recently, the National Medical Commission (NMC) of India, introduced two curricular changes in medical education, both at the undergraduate and the postgraduate levels, ostensibly to offer opportunities for quality medical education and to improve health care accessibility among the underserved rural and urban population.

Will Bangladesh go Egypt way, where military ruler is in power for a decade?

By Vijay Prashad*  The day after former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina left Dhaka, I was on the phone with a friend who had spent some time on the streets that day. He told me about the atmosphere in Dhaka, how people with little previous political experience had joined in the large protests alongside the students—who seemed to be leading the agitation. I asked him about the political infrastructure of the students and about their political orientation. He said that the protests seemed well-organized and that the students had escalated their demands from an end to certain quotas for government jobs to an end to the government of Sheikh Hasina. Even hours before she left the country, it did not seem that this would be the outcome.