RETRO-INTROSPECTION ON RELIGIOUS DEBATE AND CONFLICT IN POST-COLONIAL INDIA AND POSSIBLE SUGGESTIONS TO IMPROVE

Urgency of the research. India has a rich cultural heritage and diversity dating back to ancient times (before Christ) to contemporary times. The paper focuses on the era before Christ, medieval era and post independent to 21st century India that has seen many shades and colours; at the same time many upheavals. The most popular religion in India has always remained Brahmanism (popularly known as Hinduism), with its various sects and sub-sects. The introduction of Semitic religions to India, no doubt made India culturally exuberant and effervescent too, but its repercussions are still echoed today. Post-Colonial India suffers from communal conflicts; within the Hindu society and between the religious communities. And it has taken shape of riots, arson and extreme violence. The current situation needs lot of thinking about the problem; therefore there has to be retro-introspection on this topic.

Urgency of the research.In India philosophy is religion and religion is philosophy.Starting from pre-Upanishadic i.e.Vedic philosophy (c.1500-800 BCE) to Upanishadic or Vedanta philosophy (900-300 BCE), science, religion and philosophy has not been fundamentally opposed to each other and remained faithful to their predecessors; while in West philosophy had a revolutionary approach, analytical and often rejecting their predecessors.Therefore Indian philosophy has a synthetic outlook; every problem is discussed from all possible approaches.In fact the Indus Valley Civilization dates back to 3300-1300 BCE. A. L. Basham observes, «The ancient civilization of India differs from that of Egypt, Mesopotamia and Greece, in that its traditions have been preserved without a break down to the present day (Basham, A. L.; The Wonder that was India, 1989)…….Until the advent of the archaeologist, the peasant of Egypt or Iraq had no knowledge of the culture of his forefathers…….In each case there has been an almost complete break with the past» [1].
In fact much before Britishers came to India, almost from 4 th century BC, India saw two distinct traditions in religion and philosophy: 1.The Vedic or Brahmanical tradition, and 2. The Non-Vedic or the Shramana tradition.
The Vedic tradition comprises of six darshanas (schools) while the Shramana tradition comprises of two systems: i) The Bauddha System of Gautam Buddha; and ii) The Jaina System of Bhagawan Mahavir.
(The only extreme heterodox materialistic system in Indian Philosophy is the Charvaka/Lokayat system by Charvaka or Brihaspati.)The three main branches that make up ancient Indian philosophy/religion are metaphysics, epistemology and axiology.The ultimate goal was salvation, liberation from the cycle of birth, death and rebirth; to achieve the state of 'moksha' or 'nirvana'.
But medieval India saw a paradigm shift.This shift was drastic.This period saw revolution not only in the Hindu mainstream, but also Buddhism had many open branches and sub-branches.Jainism too did not remain unaffected.The rebellious movement in religion in India during this period was rise of Bhakti marga (the path of devotion).Though the period is marked by superstitious, dogmatic and orthodoxical approaches in philosophy/religion that ruled India; it was also an open era for new religious movements, occidental in nature.Indian society during this era saw the advent of foreign religions like Judaism, Christianity and Islam, also a curtain raiser to a complete new religion Sikhism (end of the 15 th century AD).As noted by Ellwood, if one peeps into the history of India, one realizes that most of the small states were following Brahmanism (popularly known as Hinduism).Well known personalities that came to the scene were Nagarjuna, a Buddhist scholar (c.150 AD); then came the decline of Buddhism, then rise of Bhakti movement (the path of devotion), followed by growth of Hindu Tantrism (interiorizing the Shiva (male)/Shakti (female) dynamism, then came great advaita (non-dualist) scholar Shankaracharya (c. 8 th century AD) and the complete well established school of Advaita Vendanta and this was followed by great Vishisthadvaita (Qualified Non-Dualist) scholar Ramanujacharya (d.1137) -were the remarkable features of the new religious and philosophical movements.In sacred literature -Laws of Manu, Bhagavad Gita, Lotus Sutra and other Mahayana Sutras (of Buddhism), Puranas and Tantras and Yoga Sutras -are brought together to form great literature [2].But the impact of the Bhagavad Gita (Lord's Song), the core of the gigantic epic the Mahabharata (c.400 BCE) and another epic Ramayana (pre-dates the Mahabharata) had tremendous influence on the lives of the people of India, in ancient, medieval and modern period, till date.
Why mention of these two eras?The answer is what happened in these two eras had its repercussions felt very strongly in British rule and post-colonial India.The echo is also adversely affecting the political, economic, social and spiritual/religious lives of Indians -till this date, till this moment.Arson and riots are rampant.
Target setting.In post-colonial India Brahmanism (popularly known as Hinduism) has till date remained the popular religion of the people.It has undergone slow changes in modern times, as it has all through its long history.Just as the meeting of Aryan and indigenous cultures, and of Hinduism and Islam -were earlier problems, so the basic problem of 'thinking Hindus' in the 19 th and 20 th centuries has been the meeting of Hindu and Western values.Social reformers, influenced by Western thought and developmental sciences, and philosophical movements and various revolutions that took place in Western countries -had its impact on the minds of Indians.Though this thinking pattern Випуск 4 (3)(4) was limited in its scope as only the elite and educated lot could really internalize it; the masses also were under influence of Western thought.Dealing with these new diversified thoughts and philosophies at once led Hindu intellectuals to produce an array of fascinating philosophical and spiritual alternatives; some of which had considerable influence in the West too.
Indeed pre-British rule in India saw remarkable thinkers and activists like Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941), M. K. Gandhi (1869-1948), Ramkrishna Paramhansa (1836-1886), Swami Vivekananda (1862-1902), Sri Aurobindo Ghose (1872-1950), Dr. S. Radhkrishnan (1888Radhkrishnan ( -1975)), Vinoba Bhave (1895-1983) and many more thinkers, educationists and activists not only gave tremendous inputs in the field of politics, economics, social life but also had their take on religion.In fact they possessed all the characters that of a mystic/saint.They were 'activist type of mystics/saints' who worked for the betterment of people; but under British rule more for the people of India.Through them came metamorphosis in lives of Indians in all walks of life.
If post independent India saw revolutionary transformation, it also saw immense divide among people of India.Religion has tremendous power to change the lives of people; so making religion a source of divide, partition of India took place.The chasm became so wide between Hindus and Muslims that till date the gap is not filled.Therefore in former times if 'God' was the subject matter of discussion in religious philosophy, in post-colonial India 'religion' became the subject of discussion, controversy and conflict.
Actual scientific researches and issues analysis.Though India was divided, in post independent era, the divide in mind was and is still brewing up and getting deepened.In the name of religion can there be so much of bloodshed!! «Religious tensions between India's majority Hindus and smaller communities of Muslims and Sikhs divided India's political leaders in the 1930s and early 1940s; set off communal rioting that caused the deaths of tens of thousands in 1946; and ultimately led to the founding of two separate states, predominantly Muslim Pakistan and predominantly Hindu India, after the end of British rule in August 1947.In the year following independence, as many as 14 million Muslims, Hindus, and Sikhs crossed borders to escape entrapment in a state that was hostile to their faith.Newly formed government were unable to deal with migrations of such staggering magnitude, and massive violence and slaughter occurred on both sides of the border.As many as 500,000 deaths may have occurred» [3].Can one imagine the aftermath of partition; and the cause is said to be religion!So there were activists like Dr. B. R. Ambedkar , M. N. Roy (1887-1954), A. K. Gopalan (1904Gopalan ( -1977)), Periyar E. V. Ramaswamy (1879-1973) and many more who either opted for completely transformed religion or were atheist.So shun religious debate and dialogue!But is such a status possible in a country like India where all of established religions with their religious scriptures are practiced; with sects and sub-sects; along with primitive and pagan religions as well!Dr. B. R. Ambedkar was victim among others of his community of caste system; the most inhuman set-up in Hindu society.He adopted Buddhism to give a big blow to Hindu society.In fact the 'dalits' (or very crudely described as 'untouchables') is product of miscreant pseudo Hindu, the followers of Hinduism.Ambedkar made the 'dalits' realize the unworthiness of caste-system and Hinduism; and its extreme atrocities inflicted to the lowest strata of Hindu society.«Time lineage is perceived by the Dalit activists from the perspective of their suffering and oppression by the higher castes.Dalits themselves often refer to the Brahmanic scriptures that legitimize the caste system.The caste system is therefore something that has existed in the Indian sub-continent since the archaic past, and thus, their history is mythologized.The difference from before is that now they are engaged in social action and are struggling for a change.The history takes shape and becomes real and in Dalit activists' perceptions since the major Dalit history landmark, Ambedkar's movement in India during the pre-and postindependence periods.It divides the Dalit history into two periods, one being archaic and mysterious, vague and of an endless suffering, and the other one of self-awareness and struggle, although still, full of pain» [4].
Therefore, Ambedkar wanted to bring about a revolution in religious frame work of India; instead of displacing the traditional with the new was not his intention but to take resort to already co-existing religion, i.e.Buddhism and to place it at par with existing Hinduism in a popular framework.He found Hinduism degraded itself in all realms of Indian life, be it political, economic, social or spiritual; it needed an optional religion that was oriental in origin, that looked after the welfare of people in India without any distinctions of caste, class and race and that was Buddhism.
Therefore Ambedkar gave the possibility of ethical religion by consecrating himself and his community in Buddhism; this Buddhism took up the new garb of neo-Buddhism that was indeed a religio-socio-political in nature.This neo-Buddhism was also called Navayana.This form of Buddhism has been completely 'an engaged form of Buddhism' that showed a ray of hope to the dalits in postcolonial India.«Neo-Buddhist movement is not purely a religious movement.It is a religio-political movement» [5].
Among the minority communities in India those who are marginalized, the largest minority community is Muslims in India.The tension and conflict between the Hindus and Muslims in pre-and post-independent era has continued till date.The demolition of Babri Masjid in Uttar Pradesh (North India) in 1992 and the Gujarat riots of 2002 followed by riots, arson and bomb blasts and communal right wing parties i.e. the Hindus strongly feeling the rift that cannot be bridged.And the cause for this seemingly is blamed on religions of the two communities, Hinduism and Islam.The whole issue is not with regard to religion but the political agenda and the few involved in it.As noted by Priyanka Sen, «Thus, the minds and hearts of the average Hindus and Muslims are already pre-disposed to hate, and doubt each other.Communalism, the manifestation of what is politically motivated construction, that is, the necessary 'Clash of Civilization', thus becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy» [6].After partition of India, the Indian Muslims are till date considered as betrayers, anti-national and national enemies.But little thought put in, it is not religion that is the culprit; because religion without ethics is not possible.According to MacGregor, «Religion is commitment to a kind or quality of life that purports to recognize a source beyond itself (usually but not necessarily called God), and that issues in recognizable fruits in human conduct (example, law, morality), culture (example, art, poetry), and thought (example, philosophy)» [7].Then who is the culprit?The self-interested political parties who thrive on these conflicts like parasites for securing votes and remaining in power mesmerizing both the parties by giving absolutely out of context knowledge of these religions and let both the communities remain enemies.Unfortunately in the name of religion, India in pre-and post-colonization and till date is living in world of hatred.
Though Sikhism is devoid of class, caste and race distinctions, known to be religion of saints -too had problems.Sikhs have been the main protecting pillar of India; known for their valour and courage, generosity and hospitality.The whole of Granth Sahib (Sikhs' religious scripture) is the composition of many saints' inputs.How can such a religion give rise to militancy and demanding for a separate country Khalistan?According to Kulveer Singh, «Khalistan movement is a dormant movement in India.It does not hold much traction in the urban or local populace of Punjab.But it is not dead,.....A majority of Indian Sikhs love India and see themselves as proud Indians,.....There are some Sikhs in Punjab, however, that still dream of a separate homeland for Sikhs.[Like the one you have in Kashmir, those who want independent State of Kashmir.]The movement get ideological support from Sikhs living in Canada, UK or USA.They pump money; ideological support to the struggle, while bloating perceived discrimination out of proportion» [8].
Again, Sikhism as a religion may also be seen as a product of an attempt at reconciling Hinduism and Islam.Much of Sikhism has to be understood and interpreted in terms of saints' religious philosophy.From the social context, it was founded on the rejection of caste and its promotion of egalitarianism.Therefore it was essentially a religious reformist movement.Then how can one blame "religion"?It is not the religion to be blamed but there are other social, political and geographical issues that provoked the Sikhs for separate country Khalistan.This was not religious problem but the problem of identity.As noted by Anushka Singh (in sub-topic, Punjab: Separatism, Sedition, and the Movement for Khalistan), «The demand for a separate state for Sikhs travels back to colonial history.With the advent of representative electoral politics in colonial India, the struggle for community representation began and escalated among all communities.The situation in Sikh-dominated areas of Punjab was no different.The key political actors that emerged on the scene around 1925 were the Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC) and the Akali Dal.Akali Dal, a political party (later known as Shiromani Akali Dal); was formed in 1920 and initially struggled with the Britsih government for legal control over Gurudwaras, the worship place of Sikhs.It resulted in the 1925 Gurudwara Act constituting the SGPC as the custodian of Sikh worship places (Mcleod 2005, xxv).Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and SGPC were instrumental in creating a discourse of Sikhs as a distinct nation (Shani 2008, Pp. 14) which entered the political scene of independent India despite Punjab opting in favouring India during partition» [9].
Випуск 4 (3)(4) Most of the minorities who remained as a marginalized community in post-Colonial India comprising of Dalits, Muslims, Sikhs, Christains, Buddhists, (to some extent Jains and Parsis -followers of Zoroastrianism) became conscious of their identity and rights in association to their respective communities and religions.
Statement of the goal and objective.Hindu fanaticism is on rise; and the minority religions have tremendous feeling of insecurity.As the world's well known artist Anish Kapoor writes, «India is being ruled by a Hindu Taliban».(The Guardian, 12 Nov. 2015).And the article in the same news paper says, «The country's openness to social and religious minorities (more than 500 million people) and regional differences is at serious risk.Of late, Modi's regime has effectively tolerated -if not encouraged -a saffron-clad army of Hindu activists who monitor and violently discipline those suspected of eating beef, disobeying caste rules or betraying the 'Hindu nation'» [10].
Even as Mahatma Gandhi's assassination is credited to Hindu fanaticism; as former prime minister of India Moraraji Desai believed the danger actually came not from refugees, nor from Muslims but Hindu fanatics, especially Hindu Rashtra Dal, Hindu Maha Sabha and Rashtriya Swayam Sevak (RSS) [11].
Can there be a solution to this? Mahatma Gandhi's concept of religion can be a possible solution to this crisis in post-colonial India.His philosophy comes at the pre and post threshold of independent India and therefore relevant in pre-and post-colonial India.Gandhi believed 'that a human being without religion is life without principle and a life without principle is like a ship without a rudder.'His voyage covered politics, economics and the social sphere where the underlying principle was 'religion'.For him truth is God and God is truth.The two core principles in his life were 'truth' and 'non-violence'.As Stephen Murphy writes, «For Gandhi, truth is the relative truth of truthfulness in word and deed, and the absolute truth is God (as God is also Truth) and morality -the moral laws and code -its basis» [12].
Conclusions.We may conclude the paper by the quotation from Bhikhu Parekh's article: Gandhi and Inter-religious Dialogue, where according to him 'three important concerns are to be addressed in contemporary times: 1.The need for intra-religious dialogue.
2. The need for inter-religious dialogue; and 3.The need for dialogue on conflicts between religious groups having complex causes -say political or economic interests.Gandhi tried to address these issues, though one can critique those arguments.But he tries to initiate the dialogue and address these fragile and intricate issues' [13].
So to say, Gandhi and Ambedkar aspired to have a complete egalitarian society based on ethical religion, and that form of religion is not segregated from human life but completely connected to social, political and economic life of Indians in post-colonial India.

УДК 37.014(092)(540) "1915/1948" MAHATMA GANDHI'S EDUCATION POLICY IN PRE AND POST COLONIAL INDIA
Education must aim at the integral development of personality and that we need to have complete education for the complete human being.The concept of the integral development of personality demands for the harmonization of the rational, ethical, aesthetic and spiritual.