Dear Mr. Datta-Ray,
It was heartening to see the volley of letters responding to my article "Tyranny of the Elect?" that was published earlier in The Statesman (of 5th November, 1987). While some arguments were to be taken less seriously than others, it was still a clear demonstration (esp. the letter from Amalendu Das Gupta) that scholarship and critical thinking are alive and well amidst the very elect who were singled out for attention in the original article. As the culprit who wrote the piece, my inadequacies are abundantly evident (for the record: I am not a teacher, but a student of your poetry). The profusion of excellent points and counterpoints that were raised tend to further suggest that there is justification for a full public appraisal of such issues as sati. But do let us listen to the meek and humble as well, who so often are not heard until it is too late. As a self-confessed foreigner, I can only point out that there are many indeed whose views do not receive consideration. This is my small service to you the educated and uneducated alike, who may question my integrity.
The writers to the editor deserve a full response to the questions they have raised. Their sheer numbers, however, place such a task outside the scope of this letter, which aims for a reconciliation of the two sides of the issue. Leaving questions of historicity (an imported concept, let us recall) to the historians, we are left with the fundamental social phenomenon of a privileged elite that has grown alienated from the masses by way of its radically different set of values. You, the privileged, have availed yourselves of the international marketplace of ideas, thereby both distinguishing yourselves from the masses and alienating yourselves at the same time. In this respect I am quite like you: privileged and alienated. This has not stopped me from striving for meaning and balance in human affairs, just as it is not stopping you. If our God-given (or ‘naturally-endowed’, if you prefer) intelligence were employed properly, much of this suffering would be unnecessary. The analogy to the American struggle to end slavery in the last century is useful: do you wish to repeat their mistakes and live to witness bloody civil conflict on your own soil?
And yet, that is precisely the ugly scenario that has become common in this part of the world. And how? In the name of democratic principles, and with the very best intentions, privileged people like you and I have placed the educated opinion of the few above the sentiments of the many. Democracy, like it or not, is trust in the rule of the majority. When such trust is not found, then where is democracy? There are ways for social transition to occur happily: the imposition of conformity through threats and intimidation is not one of them. Resentment festers, until it becomes an open wound. Painful divisions follow.
In the case of India, the alienation and indoctrination of modern-educated urban dwellers makes it all but impossible for them to conceive of a grown woman freely consigning herself to the flames. They can only insist to themselves and others that the woman had to be forced or duped into doing it. It is a human marvel, both that such a woman is still seen to exist and that thousands, upon hearing, refuse even to admit its possibility. Let us repeat, for the sake of those who did not read the article carefully, that we are not discussing forced ‘sati’, which is not sati at all, but a form of homicide.
I am indebted to Dr. S.K. Chakraborty for the following observations. First, it is pointed out that we are fettered in our understanding by our total conditioning based upon a body-centered self-identification, a notion that is universally rejected in traditional thought. Secondly, in the sacred rite of marriage (what matters if it is Vedic, or not?) man and woman are said to be united as one soul in two bodies. And yet we are horrified when we see an actual example demonstrating deep conviction to principle. Thirdly, Indian womanhood is still, despite agitation in certain quarters, the embodiment of lofty spiritual values such as nishkam karma, total selflessness. They are admired and highly esteemed for just this reason. With the gradual vanishing of such living examples, India’s secret strength may also disappear.
The traditional rural mentality is so far removed from that of modern-indoctrinated society that it appears incomprehensible. As such, we tag it with labels such as ‘retrograde’ and ‘superstitious’. There is simple wisdom to be found in grass-roots village India. But we are blind to it, held in the grip of our own convictions. Do we know what evils villagers see or hear of when they come to the city? Violence and degradation of women in the cinema and elsewhere, eve-teasing on the public buses, terrorism and bride-burning, to mention but a few. Shall we expect villagers to respect moral injunctions issued from communities that spawn and nurture such evils? Let us try to see it from their perspective, just for once. We must put our own houses in order first, if we would have others behave as we do.
To those who say that sati is an aberrant custom, let it be pointed out that as long as it is felt to be an embarrassment in the eyes of the world, it must be regarded as aberrant. But when it is looked upon as a matter of pride, as much of the nation does that still understands, then who will object to a genuine sati? The greatest aberration of all that Indian civilization has ever had to face is the invading mentality that covertly subverts traditional values at the same time that it ridicules them. Why should it need a foreigner to remind you of this? Your own teachers have been warning you for long.
Twenty years ago, the world was shocked when Vietnamese Buddhist monks, out of principle, immolated themselves in public. Although the act finds no support in Buddhist doctrine at all, the Vietnamese people were not ashamed in the least; quite the contrary. But here in India, English schoolmasters did their job thoroughly, such that their morality perpetuates itself in succeeding generations of elite citizens, who thrust the same upon others in the sincere belief that they are the custodians of truth. But is not the mark of an education the ability to sympathize with and understand the views of others? Or is education only competing systems of indoctrination?
Regarding the incident at Deorala, well-intending people have smeared Roop Kanwar by bringing into question, nay, by refusing even to admit the possibility of, her capability of rising to such a sublime level of courage and idealism. Is it because they feel incapable of it themselves that they deny its possibility to others? And what about the hundreds of principled men and women of Deorala who say they saw Roop Kanwar die a heroine’s death? Was it greed that motivated them, or are we projecting our own priorities onto others? We have so lightly brought into question the integrity of an entire community. What qualifies us to make such judgments? Certain interests have solemnly told us that there were no “objective witnesses” present, for they could find no one who would agree with them. Now that threats and intimidation have muzzled one side, we are told that objective witnesses have been produced after all who will echo allegations made by people who were not there. Are we to believe that they are conducting a search for truth, when the verdict was issued long ago? Shades of witch-hunting!
In conclusion, I would like to apologize again for the unavoidable circumstance of my not being Indian by birth. But how foreign to India are the thoughts that have been given expression here? There may be harm found in modern ideologies, and there may not, but what harm is there in experiencing the world as Indians have long seen it? Modern technology has brought us to this advanced state, but it is blind. It is not weaponry, but moral bankruptcy, that has pushed the world to the brink of annihilation. A happy synthesis of East and West is possible, but the mentality of the West persists in dictating terms to the East. Therefore, India, I beg of you: please solve this challenge yourself.
‘Friend of India’
11, New Natham Road, Madurai