Impact of Hinduism on India's society

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RESPONSE:

1. What impact has Hinduism had on modern India's society?

Hinduism still impact India society directly. Historically, India has a very complex religious history, very rich in its spirituality, it is the home of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Sikhism, and has adopted the religions of Islam and Christianity to different degrees. The life of India is essentially its religion, Hinduism being the religion of the majority. Because of Hinduisms centrality to Indian culture, "religious considerations continue to play a major role in Indian politics, as well as in attitudes toward economic change and social reform" (Lamb, 97). "Underneath the surface events, the most significant single factor has been and continues to be the tug of war between the traditional and the modern elements of Indian culture" (Lamb, 97). Hinduism had to deal with the inflow of Western secular and religious thought, and grapple with the issue of how much could be incorporated as Indian, and how much should be rejected in light of Hindu tradition (as cited in http://home.snu.edu/~dwilliam/s97/india/religion.htm).

Indian and Hindu nationalism fueled many reforms. Hindu nationalism was aggressively promoted by freedom fighters like: Vinayak Damodar Savarkar - for the formation of a Hindu nation; Bal Gangadhar Tilak - promoted Hindu festivals like Ganesh Chaturthi, Diwali and Purushottam Das Tandon - promoted Hindi as the national language of India. Reform originated as a reaction to what was perceived as offensive propaganda of Christian missionaries and forcible conversion to Islam and Christianity (http://religiousstudies.uwaterloo.ca/courses/rs390/lecturenotes_week4.pdf).

Therefore, Hinduism influences India at every level (individual, familial, societal, spiritual and political). Even the caste systems are still lingering in modern India and social status, which are linked to Hinduism e.g., lower classes need to work hard and they might have a higher status in the next life. Also many of Hindu customs are part of every-day Indian life. See excerpt below.

EXTRA INFORMATION:

EXCERPT

India's caste system : India has a hierarchical caste system in the society. Within Indian culture, whether in the north or the south, Hindu or Muslim, urban or village, virtually all things, people, and groups of people are ranked according to various essential qualities. If one is attuned to the theme of hierarchy in India, one can discern it everywhere. Although India is a political democracy, in daily life there is little advocacy of or adherence to notions of equality.

Castes systems in India and caste like groups--those quintessential groups with which almost all Indians are associated--are ranked. Within most villages or towns, everyone knows the relative rankings of each locally represented caste, and people's behavior toward one another is constantly shaped by this knowledge. Between the extremes of the very high and very low castes, however, there is sometimes disagreement on the exact relative ranking of castes clustered in the middle.
Castes system in India are primarily associated with Hinduism but also exist among other Indian religious groups. Muslims sometimes expressly deny that they have castes--they state that all Muslims are brothers under God--but observation of Muslim life in various parts of India reveals the existence of castelike groups and clear concern with social hierarchy. Among Indian Christians, too, differences in caste are acknowledged and maintained.

Throughout India, individuals are also ranked according to their wealth and power. For example, there are "big men" (bare admi , in Hindi) and "little men" (chhote admi ) everywhere. "Big men" sit confidently on chairs, while "little men" come before them to make requests, either standing or crouching down on their haunches, certainly not ...