My Thoughts on India, Independence, and Partition
When I first took Indian Rhetoric, Independence, and Partition, I did not expect much. All I knew about India was what I had read in the news and jokes I had heard in the Big Bang Theory. I had known nothing of the history and culture of India, nor understood what anything in the news meant. I took this class because I wanted to know more about India. A video we say early on in actually reinforced my reasoning. We watched a TED Talk about the dangers of a single story; when people only see one side of an issue, they cannot fully understand something.
The very first thing we did in class was watch a TEDx Gateway by Devutt Pattanaik about doing business in India. The first thing that stuck out to me was a story he told about Alexander the Great and a man meditating in the woods. When Alexander marched his army to Inia, he encountered this man, who asked him what he was doing. Alexander responded by saying he was conquering the world. The man said “Why, when you climb the highest mountain to plant your flag, you will find a thousand more, already planted.” Indians believe that you have multiple lives, instead of our belief that we only have one. Instead, Indians have multiple lives, and instead of focusing on one’s accomplishments they want to perfect themselves. That stood out to me, because I didn’t understand it very much. As the class went on it made more sense. Indian culture has been around for over 5,000 years and is based around Hinduism.
Towards the end of the semester, we read the Ramayana, an epic closely tied to Hindu beliefs. The main character is Rama, a young man from the second highest caste, the leader caste. Early in the book, Rama wants to do what he wants in life, but is conflicted by his duty to his caste, his dharma. At one point his father wants him to take over a king, because he is elderly and wants to focus his time on preparing his soul for reincarnation. Rama also must, as it is his dharma to lead India. To us, kings in the west hardly ever abdicate the throne, because in the west, we are focused on that we have, and never our “next life”. I never knew that focusing on different stages of life was a thing to Indians, as people in our society focus on youth, and do not embrace old age.
Kashmir has been making headlines recently, as conflicts between India and Pakistan has been on the rise. I had never heard of partition before this class, but that is the root of this conflict. Partition occurred in 1947, when Britain granted India independence. Conflicts between Hindus and Muslims were intense, as a debate over who would rule the new country raged in Parliament. Eventually, the country was split, with Hindus getting India, and Muslims getting Pakistan and Bangladesh. Even then, who controlled Kashmir was unknown, and no one group had a majority in the region. To this day, it is still disputed territory. This class gave me greater insight into the conflict, and what it means for each country.
Since taking Indian Rhetoric, Independence, and Partition, I have better understanding of India, and the type of culture it has.