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Re: BRIDE BURNING IN INDIA: A SHAME FOR HINDUISM: ACT NOW
Partha,
Instead of responding to your article one line at a time, I would
like to your assertion that the dowry deaths are tied to Hinduism,
caste system, etc. The fatal flaw in your argument is that CORRELATION
DOESN'T IMPLY CAUSATION.
There is a very serious problem with bride burning in Pakistan, which
is 99% Muslim. There are numerous instances in Pakistan, where the
bride is burnt "accidently" by an "exploding stove". But you don't have
to take my word for it. You can read the archives of soc.culture.pakistan
and find out for yourself. Dowry is as prevalent in Pakistan and the
Indian Muslim community as it is in the Hindu Indian community. But don't
take my word for it. Read yourself.
The cause of bride burning is very simple - our society has become
more materialistic. We are slowly becoming a "consumer culture"
oriented society. The reason for this is that our exposure to the
Western culture has grown a lot during the last 10 years. Unlike 20
to 30 years ago, today most Indians feel that they have to have a
color TV, VCR, microwave oven, a car (or at least a motorbike), a stereo
system, expensive perfume, brand name jeans, Rayban sunglasses,
Reebok/Nike shoes, Revlon cosmetics, cordless phone, Pierre Cardin,
etc. In today's India, it is almost humiliating for a middle class
Indian to have to admit that he doesn't own a VCR. It is more fashionable
to drink Coke/Pepsi instead of plain water. There is a tremendous amount
of pressure to acquire these things by hook or crook. As long as you
have money people don't care how you got it. Thanks to satellite TV,
Indians now want to live like Westerners - that is how success is
measured in our society. (We are a part of the problem too - it is the
material wealth of the US that attracted us to this country.)
Unfortunately, our economic growth rate is very slow and not enough to
satisfy the higher expectations that most people in today's Indian
society have.
Therein lies the cause of a tragedy called "dowry deaths" or
"bride burning".
It is not at all surprizing that the problem is more prevalent among
the (relatively) affluent. Many middle class and educated Indians
are affluent enough to be exposed to the Western culture and Western
products and lifestyle, but too poor to afford most of those products.
If you were a poor landless laborer working on a farm in a village, it
is highly unlikely you will kill your bride for a Maruti car or an
Armani suit since your expectations and exposure to the consumer culture
will be a lot lower.
Just because the upper caste Hindus used religion to justify
oppression in the past, what has that got to do with dowry deaths,
which is a very recent phenomenon? And since when did Congress,
which has ruled "the chauvinistic Hindu heartland" most of the
time, become a "conservative Hindu" party? BJP has ruled UP for
a very short time. And just because BJP supports Mayawati's government,
how does it imply that they control Mayawati? And if they had not
supported Mayawati's government you would have accused them of
casteism, right? And do you have any evidence to support your
assertion that dowry deaths are soaring in Maharashtra and Gujarat?
Since when? Are they soaring more or less when compared to other
parts of the country, like say Tamil Nadu? Did they start soaring
before or after the BJP was voted into power? And if Hindu religious
conservatism, caste system, etc. were responsible for this tragedy,
why wasn't it prevalent many decades ago when these factors were
a lot stronger?
I once read somewhere that the people who are most indifferent to
human suffering are the ones who use it to further their agenda.
It is sad that you should use this tragedy to bad mouth Hinduism,
upper caste Hindus, BJP, etc. As a matter of fact the only solution to
this problem is for Hindus to return to Hinduism and resist the
influence of foreign values.
I have said all I wanted to say on this subject. Partha, you may have
the last word.
Suyog
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