My letter published in the Statesman Kolkata today
First the oribinal article and then my rejoinder
Spotlight: State Power, Religion And Social OppressionThe book is a must for all sections of the reading public... A review by Suranjan DasClass and Religion in Ancient India By Jayantanuja Bandyopadhyaya Anthem South Asian Studies, Anthem Press We have known Professor Jayantanuja Bandopadhyaya as an expert in international relations and contemporary affairs. But this book has proved his scholarship and expertise in ancient Indian history as well. Based on such Sanskrit classics as the Vedas, Upanishads, Manusmriti, Ramayana, Mahabharata, Arthasastra, Kamasutra, Gita and Puranas, he has ably demonstrated 'the dynamic relationship' between religion and ancient Indian society. Using the methodology already developed by Debprasad Chattopadhyay, R.S. Sharma, Romila Thapar and Irfan Habib, Bandopadhyay shows how the ancient Indian state played a crucial role in upholding, propagating and enforcing a particular form of religion in the interests of the ruling class. In doing this he questions the notion of 'unparalleled religiosity and spirituality' of ancient Indians, developed by orthodox Hindu scholars, as well as the thesis of the spiritual foundations of Hindu nationalism, promoted by the classical protagonists of the Indian renaissance. The basic argument that runs through the book is the role of religion in sustaining an oppressive and highly stratified social structure in ancient India. Bandopadhyay contends that unlike in other ancient societies, as in Greece or Rome, in India it was primarily religion, rather than primitive accumulation and brute force, which played a crucial role in class formation. The first chapter of the book outlines the process of class formation in the Vedic age.Contradicting the popular notion of the Vedas being divine revelations, the author argues that the Vedas were composed by the priestly class of the Aryas and reflected the material and worldly aspirations of the contemporary ruling class. By the time the 10th Mandala of the Rig Veda was composed a four-tier class structure in an embryonic form came into existence. ThePurusha Sukta of the 10th Mandala of the Rig Veda essentially sought to sanctify this emerging class structure by imparting it a divine origin. The second chapter argues that the Advaita philosophy was an ideological instrument to preserve the exploitative class structure in the name of the eternal creator. The subordinate members of the society were taught to accept the divine social order and not to covet the wealth and power of the powerful. The third chapter views the composition of the Bhagavad Gita by 'successive writers' in the context of the challenge posed to the Vedic religion and social order by the foreign invaders, the rationalist philosophies of Lokayata, Sankhya, Nyaya and Vaishseshkia, and the rise of Buddhism and Jainism. Brahminical hegemony was now given a new form to preserve the Vedic social order. In the fourth chapter the author demonstrates how such Hindu mythological theories like yugas or time cycle, envisaging the return of the avatar to counteract any threat to Vedic religion, constituted 'a religious instrument of political control in the hands of the ruling class in ancient India'.The author entitles the fifth and final chapter of the book `State and Counter-Revolution' where he unfolds the decisive role of the ancient Indian state to organise the Brahminical counter-offensive against the entire range of anti-Vedic forces. To support this counter-revolution the state encouraged the composition of the dharmasastras and the Puranas, the Brahminisation of atheist philosophies and texts like the Ramayana and Mahabharata, and the large-scale revival of Vedic sacrifices. Individuals or social groups opposing the Vedic religion were also subjected to state persecution. The state thus systematically used its power to 'preserve and perpetuate the predatory class-caste structure of ancient Indian society'. Consequently, the society in ancient India became 'more oppressive and exploitative' than any of its contemporaries. The author shows how by the time the Upanishads was compiled the ancient Indian society had experienced class polarisation. But this exploitative Vedic religion and social order also evoked opposition, as Bandyopadhyay indicates, in the form of the intransigence of indigenous Anarya tribes, emergence of Buddhism, Jainism and various atheist philosophies and the rise of Shudra kingdoms. The capture of state power by the Sungas and then the Guptas represented a Brahminical counter-revolutionary process which saw a close class collaboration between the Brahmanas, Kshatriyas and the state and coincided with the compilation of the Manusmriti and Dharmasastras, the expansion of the Mahabharata and Ramayana, and composition of many Puranas. Besides, Bandyopadhyay demonstrates how the ruling classes utilised such texts as the Gita and Puranas to present the image of a common Brahminical religion in the face of the prevalence of plurality of gods and goddesses in India's cultural tradition. The author draws a parallel with emperor Constantine's attempt to replace Greek and Sumerian gods and goddesses by Christianity to assert political control over an ethnically heterogeneous population. The ruling classes in ancient India were engaged in their pursuit of artha and kama with the support of the Brahminical texts. Religion, as the author contends, was used for "purely demonstrative and exploitative purposes".Jayantanuja Bandyopadhyaya's reflections on ancient Indian society have great contemporary relevance. His findings throw light on the historical roots of a fundamental contradiction in our country's political economy: a functional democracy, a pluralistic society and economic attainments coexisting with the traditional rigid class-caste structure of Vedic origin and a dominance of 'metaphysical and mythological' Hindu belief system. The author correctly notes that emancipation of the millions of the dalits and subordinated groups in our society, who comprise the overwhelming section of the Indian population, depends on the destruction of this repressive social structure.In fact, the survival of the Brahminised hierarchical and exploitative social structure has provided the fundamentalist political forces in contemporary India an adequate space for working The relationship between state, religion and social structure in India that is underlined in the book, has also an international relevance. Violent fundamentalist assertions in West Asia, the rising force of rightist politics in the USA, and the use of religious justification for interventionism in international politics - all these are indications of this relationship in the global sphere. We hope that the author will enrich our understanding of this international process in a separate volume.The author admits that dissection of the ancient linkage between religion and class-caste convergence in India had been his academic zeal. The present book is a testimony to the fulfilment of the author's passion. Based on a sound analytical framework and an interpretative reading of ancient Indian texts, the book makes a fundamental contribution to a better understanding of the evolution of Indian society in terms of continuity and change. The Select Bibliography is extremely rich and lends an additional value to the book for scholars interested in pursuing further the line of thinking delineated by Bandyopadhyaya. The book is a must for all sections of the reading public. (The reviewer is the Vice-Chancellor, University of Calcutta)
To
The Editor
The Statesman
Kolkata
Sir
The leitmotif of Prof. Jayantanuja Bandyopadhyaya’s book, as is evident from the review by Suranjan Das, ‘STATE POWER, RELIGION AND SOCIAL OPPRESSION’ in the 8TH DAY in yesterday’s Statesman is the same as the theme of Babasaheb Ambedkar’s pioneering work ‘Who were the Sudras?’. The great Tamil thinker and iconoclast Periyar held similar views. He was a true revolutionary can be understood by the fact that he questioned the patriarchal concept of a ‘woman’s virginity’ labeling it to be a mischievous attempt of the upper castes to enslave women.
Emperor Constantine, after embracing Christianity, persecuted the non-believers on the advice of the Church and the whole Empire became monotheistic. According to the historian, Edward Gibbon, Christianity was the chief cause of the decline and fall of the Roman Empire.
Thanking you
Sincerely
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