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.
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.
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 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.
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