Gita Press and the Making of Hindu India by Akshaya Mukul

Author:Akshaya Mukul
Language: eng
Format: mobi, azw3, epub
Publisher: Harper Collins India
Published: 2015-08-14T18:30:00+00:00

Questions of Caste and Conversion

Much of Gita Press’s critique of the Hindu Code Bill stemmed from its opposition to lower castes gaining liberty of access to upper-caste homes through marital alliances that had the sanction of law. This would undermine the fourfold varna system that was the very basis of sanatan Hindu dharma. Right from its inception Gita Press had not wavered from its stance that the caste stratification not only had shastric sanction but also at a social level was responsible for peace and mutual respect among the four castes. The varna system was built into Gita Press by its managing trust, Gobind Bhawan Karyalaya, where membership was open to ‘any Sanatan Dharmi Hindu by caste brahmin, kshatriya and vaishya’110 and not to the fourth class—shudras—or to the ‘untouchables’ (Harijans) and tribals (adivasis) who were not among the ‘twice-born’.

The first test for Gita Press was the Poona Pact of 1932 negotiated between Gandhi and Ambedkar at Yerwada jail and signed by representatives of depressed classes and upper-caste Hindus, which promised increased representation to depressed classes. Poddar opposed it vociferously and engaged with Gandhi in a long argument in a series of letters, each refusing to budge from his position and trying to convince the other. Gandhi’s endorsement of inter-dining and temple entry for Harijans was something Gita Press could never come to terms with. Poddar pointed to Gandhi’s ambivalence on the caste question, quoting his old writings that justified varnashram dharma, but Gandhi did not budge.

In 1946, a Harijan called Prabhakar presided over a marriage as a priest. Gandhi blessed the married couple, and Kaka Kalelkar and Vinoba Bhave translated the Vedic mantras for the wedding into Hindi. A Kalyan reader brought news of this marriage to Poddar’s notice and asked his views, since he was a known follower of Gandhi. Poddar replied: ‘I consider him a saint and have always respected his truthfulness. I loved him and continue to do so. But as far as I know he is not a saint in the Indian tradition. More than the Indian saints, gods and their incarnations, Gandhi is influenced by Western saints and social reformers. Therefore, at times he does things that are strongly against Indian culture.’111 Poddar stated that ‘hating Harijans is a sin’ and ‘there is no difference between a brahmin and a Harijan’. He argued the atman (soul) is the same, be it of a well-educated brahmin, a chandal (worker at the cremation ground), a cow, an elephant or a dog. Therefore, the learned man looks at them all with the same eyes. ‘But this does not mean his behaviour towards all of them would be the same.’ He argued that a Harijan did not have the right to do what was designated for others, but ‘is best suited to do what his body is intended for. In this regard what Mahatma Gandhi has done is neither in tune with Hindu culture nor sanatan dharma. This is his free will and an assault on Hindu culture and varna dharma.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.