Importance of Social Harmony

 

 

Importance of Social Harmony

The dichotomy between tradition and modernity in Indian society remains a major concern.The founding of Indian Republic on the ideals of Justice, Liberty and Equality has not resulted in smooth transition of a traditional society into a modern nation-state. The State has not succeeded in promoting the feeling of brotherhood among all it citizens, assuring the dignity of the individual, as enshrined in the Preamble to the Constitution, with social discrimination becoming a stumbling block  to securing justice-social, economic and political. Since the independence, India has never been more polarized on caste, religion and gender than today. The Indian society is regressing,threatening social disintegration.

The issues eroding the social harmony: 

Stranglehold of the caste system: The age old caste system has spread its tentacles on the society. No matter how educated a person may be he is unable to overcome the prejudices of birth. When the birth is accidental,why look down on fellow human beings? All human beings are created equal in opportunities and status. And yet, the SCs,STs,Dalits and marginalized sections continue to be victimized by the caste Hindus.The reservation policy- the affirmative action- though contributed to raising somewhat the social status of the poor, the weak and the deprived, it has not liberated them from the stranglehold of the caste system and they continue to suffer social discrimination. It is denigrating to carry the stigma of birth throughout the life.

The caste system in India is similar to the apartheid in the black majority South Africa, just as the racism in the white majority America. The apartheid is extinct thanks to the efforts of Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela, but the casteism, instead of consigned to history, is very dominant, deeply entrenched in the Indian society, igniting social frictions.Though the Article 17 of the Constitution abolished the untouchability, its practice is still widely prevalent across India, even among the educated elite. The former Lok Sabha Speaker Meera Kumar, in a shocking revelation in a TV interview, said that when she visited the high society people they refused to touch her tea cup.

Religious extremism: The fundamental right to freedom of religion guarantees to all citizens the right to profess, practice and propagate any religion, separating religion from politics. All religions are treated equally, making India a secular State.  Ancient India- a land of gods- that gave birth to four leading religions- Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism and Sikhism-is a very religious country where all the religions of the world are practiced. Therefore, the only way the people can live in peace is by respecting each other’s faith. The option before the people is peaceful co-existence or mutual destruction. Today Islam and Hinduism are producing the followers, who hold extreme views, preach hatred and promote violence. The Islamic extremism and the Hindu fundamentalism are the anti-thesis of India’s tradition of love, compassion and universal brotherhood. The religious bigotry is alien to Indian culture. The Ram temple in Ayodhya is not going to end the Mandir-Masjid disputes and resolve the Hindu-Muslim issue.

Gender discrimination: The fundamental right to equality means all men and women are equal before the law. But in society there is no gender equality and women continue to be discriminated. The pardha or burqa system is an insult to womanhood- a sign of servitude. It is paradoxical that at a time when girls are outperforming boys in public exams and women are competing with men in all walks of life, the social taboos are imposed on women to deny them the dignity of life. The violence against women is rising exponentially. The girls are gang raped, tortured and brutally murdered. What happened to a dalit girl of 20 years in Hathras (UP) is shocking and outrageous. Last year some 46000 cases of crimes against dalit women were reported.

Why should inter-caste and inter-religious marriages become a bone of contention? When two young people-man and woman- understand and know each other pretty well, and want to get married, why should anyone come in their way? What does it matter if a Hindu woman marries a Muslim man and vice versa? However, what is important for success of marriage is temperamental and mental compatibility. And after the marriage the  young couple should not insist on imposing one’s religion  and customs and  traditions on the other and live accepting as they are-the reason d’être for their tying up in a matrimonial alliance in the first place. There should be no conversion to the either faith. Surprisingly, the Bollywood, which is in the news these days for wrong reasons, has good examples of successful inter-faith marriages. Sunil Dutt didn’t change his religion after marrying Nargis. Nor did Nargis- a Muslim- convert to Hinduism. Shah Rukh Khan married a Hindu woman Gauri, and she remains a Hindu and didn’t convert to Islam. Similarly, the cricketer Zaheer Khan married a Hindu Sagarika Ghatge and she is a practicing Hindu.

Today,marriage is not something that elders arrange and a couple gets hooked. The young people should have the freedom to decide about their matrimonial alliance.  The marriage is a union of two minds; it can’t be forced. It is important for a woman not only to get good education but also work after the marriage to enjoy economic independence, and not depend on her husband for a living. The married men should share the household chores and assist the working wife. For it would be unfair for a married working woman to do all the household chores as well. That would be a double whammy. It is equally unfair to expect an educated married woman to sacrifice her career and identity for the sake of a family, making her education and knowledge redundant, besides wasting half the human resources. If husband and wife work, mutually respect and support and give space for each other they are bound to lead a happy married life together. The patriarchal male chauvinism has no place in the modern institution of marriage, based on equality of sexes. The marriage is as important to men as it is for women, though the marriage is not essential for a successful and happy living.

Toxic media: The social media and the electronic media have become a law unto themselves, resorting to slander, targeting people and damaging their image and reputation, and the viewers deriving pleasure by patronizing blatantly false and sensational news. The anonymous postings on social media platforms have become a part of concerted campaign to malign people. In the US, more than 600 companies, including some of the world’s largest advertisers, pulled advertising off Facebook as part of the “Stop Hate for Profit” campaign. In India, hyper-aggressive anchors, high-voltage drama news breaks, dissing rival channels’ stories have become the norm- all for an increased share of TRPs.  Some former top Mumbai cops, and prominent film producers and film associations have petitioned to Bombay and Delhi High Courts to restrain certain TV channels from carrying the vilification campaign to malign and defame them. The Bombay High Court hearing a bunch of PILs observed that “unless the electronic media is regulated, the entire system would break down”as“it takes years of hard work to build a reputation, but a single stroke is enough to damage it.” And “the cherished values of our founding fathers would become irrelevant.”

Archaic criminal justice system: People are arrested arbitrarily by invoking the sedition law, the NSA, and the draconian UAPA, in gross violation of basic human rights. In democracy, the people have a right to criticize the public polices and programmes, so as to prevent the abuse of executive power. And the courts are expected to intervene to protect the rights of people, ensuring checks and balances. Thousands of people are detained without assigning any reason, languishing in jails for years without trial, making a mockery of the rule of law. How can there be peace and harmony in such an environment? Our criminal justice system is archaic, wheels of justice moving at a snail pace. The powerful and influential people who commit crimes with impunity manage to go scot free. And unless the people responsible for crimes are investigated impartially, and put to free and fair trial and punished in a time bound manner, the common people will lose faith in the criminal justice system. 

The Indian constitution not only guarantees the fundamental rights to all citizens, but also mandates the people to perform certain Fundamental Duties. As per the Article 51A, “It shall be the duty of every citizen- to abide by the Constitution and respect its ideals and institutions; to promote harmony and the spirit of common brotherhood; to renounce practices derogatory to the dignity of women; to value and preserve the rich heritage of our composite culture; to develop the scientific temper, humanism and the spirit of inquiry... ”and the like. Unfortunately, our educational system has failed to make our youth aware of their constitutional rights and duties. Their mental horizon is not broadened.

As Pandit Nehru said:“narrow minded people are much more likely to be untruthful and violent.” It is the narrow minded people who resort to violent acts, creating social tensions to promote their sectarian interest. And unless these elements are restrained, we cannot have peace and security in the society. The social harmony is important to keep a vast diverse country together and to protect and preserve its freedom and constitutional democracy.

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