When Hindus Converted to Islam in Mughal India They Often Continued
LOWLY HINDUS IN INDIA SEE ISLAM AS THEIR SALVATION
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August 14, 1981
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In many villages in southern India, Hindu untouchables have begun staging large-scale conversions to Islam to escape what their leaders say is oppression by higher castes.
The conversions have so far involved about a dozen villages and a few thousand people, but scores of communities have announced an intention of turning to Islam and have notified the upper-caste elites that they will reject Hinduism unless their grievances are redressed.
In a country in which 12 percent of the population is Moslem and where untouchables account for another 15 percent, the reports of the conversions have awakened deep-rooted anxieties and guilt within the upper ranks of the Hindu hierarchy.
There have been accusations that the untouchables were being enticed with promises of money from Persian Gulf countries. There have also been new demands for the elimination of all caste discrimination.
Hoping for Equality
Some intellectuals describe the conversions as another assault on the secular ideals of the Indian state. And the untouchables themselves say they hope Islam will give them equality with neighbors who they say still scorn and snub them.
Untouchability as it was historically practiced is illegal in India. Children from all castes sit together in schools and drink from the same fountains. There is no discrimination on trains and buses and in other public places. Even the word untouchable is no longer used, having given way to the term used by Mohandas K. Gandhi - harijan, or children of god.
Despite the changes, Indians thinking of conversion to Islam tell of an oppressive society that keeps them on the bottom socially and economically.
In the village of Villupuram, about 100 miles south of Madras, community leaders said almost all 5,000 harijans there were planning to convert. They said they were delaying the ceremony only because of a plea by a Hindu holy man who wanted a last chance to dissuade them. The total population of the village is 80,000. Converts Take Islamic Names
Among the most vocal advocates of conversion is Munsamy Jothilingam, a prosperous 50-year-old builder whose large and attractive home contrasts with the mud and straw cottages around him in the Peria harijan colony. He said that the harijans in his village and in 360 other settlements nearby would convert to Islam, receiving Islamic names. The men and boys will be circumcised.
''What we are seeking is social status, nothing else,'' Mr. Jothilingam said. ''It is not available in Hinduism. We will never be accepted as proper Hindus. I am a rich man. People from upper castes come to me for favors. They come and take cola but would never dine with me. My son goes to convent school in a cycle rickshaw alone because no upper-caste boy will sit with him. In school, there are taunts but no overt discrimination.''
In an incident two years ago, he said, 12 harijans were killed and hundreds of houses burned in an attack by members of an upper caste. Mr. Jothilingam said his neighbors had been considering conversion long before the harijans in the village of Meenakshipuram became the first to convert in a large ceremony two months ago. He said that village representatives visited the converted harijans and found that other Moslems accepted them as equals. He said harijans who converted to Christianity were still snubbed by other Christians. Conversion to Buddhism Proposed
Social scientists and others have often proposed conversion as a solution to the problem of untouchability. Dr. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar, the late harijan leader who helped write India's Constitution, advocated large-scale conversion to Buddhism. This was opposed by Mahatma Gandhi, an upper-caste Hindu, who pleaded with the harijans to remain Hindu. He said their rise to equality in Hinduism would give the religion a chance to redeem and renew itself.
The new dimension to the issue is that the casteless people considering conversion are looking for the first time to Islam rather than Buddhism or Christianity. Because of the wars with Pakistan and the rising wealth of the Gulf countries, many Hindus regard Islam as the most threatening force from outside.
Mr. Jothilingam said that suggestions by upper-caste Hindus that the conversions were being paid for by Gulf money were false. ''No Moslem has approached us, but of course there will be help from Moslems, from Moslem countries, once we become Moslems,'' he said. ''There is nothing wrong in it. Christian missionaries help Christians. Their money comes from foreign countries.''
Most of the harijans in the village are poor. Dorai Danapalam, a cycle rickshaw driver who supports his family of seven on a daily wage of 60 cents, said he believes that conversion to Islam would be economically rewarding. Some Say It Is Apostasy
''That is the only hope for our miserable plight,'' he said, adding that he was eager to undergo even the rigors of circumcision. A handful of the harijans oppose conversion, regarding it as apostasy. Outsiders have always wondered why the people at the very bottom of the Hindu hierarchy elected to remain there. One answer has been that if they converted they were still at the bottom, viewed as either Christian or Buddhist untouchables. The lack of geographic mobility also makes it difficult to start anew.
Additionally, Hinduism provides a role for everyone, and belonging to any category, no matter how low, has always been thought better than being a pariah. The concept of ''dharma'' established the idea that enduring one's lot in life with grace was the most moral way to live.
The explanation Kumaran Murugesan, a bill collector, and his wife gave for their unwillingness to join their neighbors in converting reflected all of these reasons, but they raised pragmatic considerations as well. Mr. Murugesan said untouchables would remain untouchables no matter what they did, but that once they changed religions they would lose Government privileges assigned to untouchables. Special Openings for Harijans
Two of the couple's daughters are now doctors; they had qualified for university and medical school openings reserved for untouchables. A son is the manager of a nationalized bank, holding a Government job designated for untouchables. Mr. Murugesan said he had serious doubts that many of his neighbors would actually convert to Islam when the time came.
Like some politicians in the capital, the bill collector said he believed that some of the militancy was simply an attempt to pressure the elite to change its ways. But those who favor conversion say they are serious and refer to a circular that was distributed to each family as the summary of grievances.
''Though we were born as human beings, for thousands of years we have been living as animals,'' it says. ''The reason is our social system. Our country attained freedom 33 years ago. After all these years, our poverty is still there. The basic needs, food, clothing housing - even these we could not gain.
''Even under these circumstances, are we allowed to live with honor and self-respect? Is it not important to everyone to live with selfrespect? Do the caste Hindus give us proper respect? Does the Government treat us as humans? Still we are given houses outside the towns. Equality is a slogan to fool us. It is never practiced. Caste Hindus do not rent us their houses. Even in burning grounds there are separate places. Caste Hindus do not allow us to take our corpses through their street. For how long will we live like earthworms?
''Therefore, to rid us of all these indignities and live with honor and self-respect, all harijans consider conversion to holy Islam is the best way.''
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Source: https://www.nytimes.com/1981/08/14/world/lowly-hindus-in-india-see-islam-as-their-salvation.html
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