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._001.jpg) Further to our discussion about the status of
women in Hinduism mention must be made of sati, the burning of women on their
husband’s funeral pyre. Sati was prevalent in ancient India, when some women
deemed it a great honour to die in this way. By the 10th century sati, was
known across much of the subcontinent and it continued to occur, with regional
variations, into the 20th century. Wives would self immolate to cast away any
sins the husband had committed. This is a voluntary act; however widows were
put under a great deal of pressure to do it and were frowned upon if they did
not follow the custom.
Ibn Batuta (1333 A.D.) observed that Sati was considered
praiseworthy by the Hindus, without being obligatory. The Agni Purana declares that the woman who commits sati goes to
heaven. However, Medhatiti
pronounced that Sati was like
suicide and was against the Shastras, the Hindu code of conduct. This is
another example of Hindu scriptures seemingly contradicting each other.
The Islamic Mughal Empire of the 16th
& 17th centuries was the first to try to officially outlaw the practice of
sati. At first women were encouraged to leave the practice by offering gifts
and pensions to widows. Many obstacles to the practice were put in place but
sati continued, particularly outside the large cities. In 1663, an order was issued that
in all lands under Mughal control, officials should, under no circumstances,
allow a woman to be burnt. Despite attempts to eradicate it, the practice of sati
continued, especially during periods of war and upheaval. Sadly isolated
incidences of sati continue to exist, even though it was officially banned in
1829 and governments since then have continued to make the practice illegal.
Even without the pressure of sati generally Hindu widows
are faced with a number of taboos; the higher their caste, the more
restrictions a widow faces. When a man dies, his widow is expected to renounce
all earthly pleasures. She should no longer look attractive, and is expected
to wear a simple white sari for the rest of her life. On news of their
husband’s death, widows are expected to break their bangles and can no longer
wear jewellery or use sindhoor - the red powder women wear in their hair parting and on their
foreheads to denote their married status. Some are expected to cut their hair
or even shave their head. A widow from the south of India may not even be able
to wear a blouse under her sari.
This is in
complete contrast to what Islam says about the treatment of widows. Prophet
Muhammad, may God praise him, said that those who take care of the widows and the poor are like
those who spend their days fasting or nights praying. Widows are able to remarry and continue
to lead a full and complete life after a mourning period of four months and ten
days.
“And those of you
who die and leave wives behind them, they (the wives) shall wait (as regards
their marriage) for four months and ten days, then when they have fulfilled
their term, there is no sin on you if they (the wives) remarry.” (Quran 2:234)
The caste system exists throughout India, despite
being officially banned by India’s secular government in 1949. It still
permeates Indian society affecting the people both directly and indirectly. The
caste system is responsible for the often low status of women in Hinduism, and
the current level of violence between Hindus and other religions, particularly
Islam.
In the beginning, perhaps as early as 1000
BC, each Hindu belonged to one of the thousands of communities or sub-communities
(Jats) that existed in India. These communities were originally defined by a
person’s profession and they were organised into four social castes (Varna). A
fifth group called the “untouchables”(dalits) were outside the caste system. A
person’s caste determined the range of jobs or professions from which they
could choose. Marriages normally took place within the same caste or even sub
caste. Typically, parents passed on their professions to their children.
Originally people were able to move from
one caste to another. However, at some time in the past (estimates range from
about 500 BCE to 500 CE), the system became rigid, so that people lived and
died in the same group, with no possibility of upward mobility. “The caste
system splits up society into a multitude of little communities, for every
caste, and almost every local unit of a caste, has its own peculiar customs and
internal regulations.”
The Rigveda, a collection of ancient Vedic
Sanskrit hymns dedicated to the gods, defined four castes as, in descending
order; Brahmins (the priests and academics), Kshatriyas (rulers, military),
Vaishyas (farmers, landlords, and merchants), the Sudras (peasants, servants,
and workers in non-polluting jobs). The untouchables, not even considered part
of the caste system, work in what are considered polluting jobs and are
untouchable by the four castes. In some areas of the country, even a contact
with the shadow of an untouchable is considered polluting.
Nowadays practicing
untouchability or discriminating against a person because of their caste is illegal.
Due to repeated and enforced government warnings and education the caste
system has lost much of its power in urban areas; however the tradition is
largely unchanged in some rural districts. The secular government of India has
instituted positive discrimination in order to help the untouchables and lower
castes.
Many untouchables have converted to Islam,
in recent years. This has often been motivated by a desire to escape the caste
system. Islam is not founded on race,
nationality, locality, occupation or kinship. Muslims are bound together by faith and brotherhood. Islam
understands that whatever happens in one section of the community will affect
all and thus equality is nourished and fostered. In his final sermon Prophet
Muhammad, may God praise him, said, “Know that every
Muslim is the brother of another Muslim. You are all equal. Nobody has
superiority over other except by piety and good action”.
According to Gospel for Asia, untouchables
feel that: “The only way for our people to find freedom from 3,000 years of
slavery is to quit Hinduism and (the caste system) and embrace another faith.”
This has generated massive anger and even instances of violence and murder, directed
at other religions, particularly Islam.
Hinduism and Islam differ in the most
basic concepts; we have discussed some of the most obvious
differences, including the belief in One true God as opposed to belief in an
assortment of gods, and the differences between the status of women in Islam
and Hinduism.
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