From Coolies to TV anchors, columnists to sociologists, people of all sections of society bemoan about the rampant corruption, lack of ethics and morality in our social society. But this is not a new phenomenon, people do complain. However, have you ever thought why moral and ethical considerations play so inconsequential a role in our personal decision making?
A society is network of Individuals that operate on some rules or values. Our Etihaas (History) and literature is primarily concerned with morality and ethics in action! No known civilization appears so much preoccupied with Dharma (morals and ethics). Lives and messages of Rama, Krishna, Manu and all great heroes and saints etc are nothing but manifestation of Dharma in action. Even foreign travelers and scholar visitors from distant lands (who followed different moral values and religion) have paid glowing tributes to the unblemished moral character and ethical conduct of inhabitants of India. What went wrong then!
The Sanatana Dharmic psyche has suffered a great loss of confidence and self esteem since its thought, culture and values lost political supremacy to the barbarous clans unified under flags of exploitative religious cults. The continuous onslaught destroyed traditional knowledge systems, dharmic social fabric and economic well being. Surviving under ill-willed and exploitative rule over such prolonged period mutilated Dharmic psyche. The dominant tone of moral discourse of the republic of India is shaped by progressive rationalism. It failed to connect with native value paradigm, thus alien values and cultural memes continued to dominate mainstream.
The modern republic of India carried the baton of power and rule from British who had snatched it from the decadent Moghul. The historical events during the struggle of independence were such that Sanatani dharmic Indians didn’t get full opportunity to resuscitate the dharmic value universe and regain the control of dominant discourse; making it truly democratic and representative.
Even the new republic of India and its limbs the executive, judiciary and legislature in a way represented the interest of old colonial order. The impressionable minded and compromising leaders who held their allegiance to the constitution took progressive rationalism as the basis for moral and ethical character. Its seeds lie in utilitarianism, anthropomorphism and equality, liberty and remnant religious thought of Abrahamic tradition and experiences of Western civilization like renaissance, French revolution, Protestantism etc. This is the reason they bore visceral hatred to Khap panchyats, princely states, institutions and structures which they rightly perceived as competing power structures.
The progressive rationalist movement In India was an imitation of Western rationalism where they gained freedom from the clutches of organized religion and their cohort states after a prolonged struggle. The progressive thinkers who were educated either in western universalities or their Indian counterparts were greatly impressed by the progress of Western civilization, everything native, to them was superstitious and obscurantist. They were impatient revolutionaries who wanted radical changes overnight. For them, study of the local tradition of such a vast civilization was neither necessary nor feasible. To build new building dismantling of the old was felt to be necessary.
Another important development taking place as outcome of new education was development of new compartmentalized identities which were largely framed by arrogant outsider’s hostile view of traditional values and social life. Identities of ancient continuing communities were redefining their place in relation to the others based on vague conception of half-baked ideas of freedom, equality and fraternity.
Readymade solution from the Western experience was available to the progressives who take them with alacrity. To them political social and economic power was the new God. Sri Ram became a colonialist Vaidic Aryan supremacist; hitherto unknown virtues of Ravana and other historically wronged ‘real’ heroes were discovered. Hatred blinded them to wisdom and logical inconsistencies. They replaced Church with Varnasharma dharma, Christianity with Hinduism, untouchability with slavery and so on. It is also worth noting that such progressive-rationalists always found favor, right from Shaka-Kushana Shatraps to the Mughal courts; the British throne looked at them as agent of transformation and the republic of India empowered them with all facilities to achieve the egalitarian society. The vanguards of tradition face an unenviable situation wherein they were left to defend the tradition against numerous attacks with least resources at their disposal. Not only this, their traditional patronage and resources are misappropriated most brazenly by so called secular governments and they are continuously demonized for real and imaginary atrocities of their forefathers. The enemies in contract were well organized, better funded with international collaborations.
The progressive protagonists in pre and post independent era included communists, socialists and reactionary leaders of the so-called lower Varnas who wanted to destroy the traditional social order to achieve social, political and economical powers for their societies. The Abrahamic streak of thought made them see the so-called upper Varnas as exploiters; conveniently burying sacrifice and contribution to their own betterment. The bitterness and revengefulness along with demand for affirmative action stunted the natural wholesome growth of dalit psyche. Its early signals were more prominently visible in the rabid and destructive Anti-brahmanism of dravidian parties. The corrupt republic and vote-bank politics ensured that hitherto more logical elements of Maharashtra and dalit leadership of north India assumed all vices of so-called privileged classes. The artificial political consciousness based on ignorance and envy lead to the failure of Buddhism in investing Arya (noble) values among its new found followers!