write a case study on hindu culture

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By: History.com Editors

Updated: November 16, 2023 | Original: October 6, 2017

Hinduism is the world’s oldest religion, according to many scholars, with roots and customs dating back more than 4,000 years. Today, with more than 1 billion followers , Hinduism is the third-largest religion worldwide, after Christianity and Islam . Roughly 94 percent of the world’s Hindus live in India. Because the religion has no specific founder, it’s difficult to trace its origins and history. Hinduism is unique in that it’s not a single religion but a compilation of many traditions and philosophies: Hindus worship a number of different gods and minor deities, honor a range of symbols, respect several different holy books and celebrate with a wide variety of traditions, holidays and customs. Though the development of the caste system in India was influenced by Hindu concepts , it has been shaped throughout history by political as well as religious movements, and today is much less rigidly enforced. Today there are four major sects of Hinduism: Shaivism, Vaishnava, Shaktism and Smarta, as well as a number of smaller sects with their own religious practices.

Hinduism Beliefs, Symbols

Some basic Hindu concepts include:

Hinduism embraces many religious ideas. For this reason, it’s sometimes referred to as a “way of life” or a “family of religions,” as opposed to a single, organized religion.
Most forms of Hinduism are henotheistic, which means they worship a single deity, known as “Brahman,” but still recognize other gods and goddesses. Followers believe there are multiple paths to reaching their god.
Hindus believe in the doctrines of samsara (the continuous cycle of life, death, and reincarnation) and karma (the universal law of cause and effect).
One of the key thoughts of Hinduism is “atman,” or the belief in soul. This philosophy holds that living creatures have a soul, and they’re all part of the supreme soul. The goal is to achieve “moksha,” or salvation, which ends the cycle of rebirths to become part of the absolute soul.
One fundamental principle of the religion is the idea that people’s actions and thoughts directly determine their current life and future lives.
Hindus strive to achieve dharma, which is a code of living that emphasizes good conduct and morality.
Hindus revere all living creatures and consider the cow a sacred animal.
Food is an important part of life for Hindus. Most don’t eat beef or pork, and many are vegetarians.
Hinduism is closely related to other Indian religions, including Buddhism , Sikhism and Jainism.

There are two primary symbols associated with Hinduism, the om and the swastika. The word swastika means "good fortune" or "being happy" in Sanskrit, and the symbol represents good luck . (A hooked, diagonal variation of the swastika later became associated with Germany’s Nazi Party when they made it their symbol in 1920.)

The om symbol is composed of three Sanskrit letters and represents three sounds (a, u and m), which when combined are considered a sacred sound. The om symbol is often found at family shrines and in Hindu temples.

Hinduism Holy Books

Hindus value many sacred writings as opposed to one holy book.

The primary sacred texts, known as the Vedas, were composed around 1500 B.C. This collection of verses and hymns was written in Sanskrit and contains revelations received by ancient saints and sages.

The Vedas are made up of:

The Rig Veda
The Samaveda
Atharvaveda

Hindus believe that the Vedas transcend all time and don’t have a beginning or an end.

The Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita, 18 Puranas, Ramayana and Mahabharata are also considered important texts in Hinduism.

Origins of Hinduism

Most scholars believe Hinduism started somewhere between 2300 B.C. and 1500 B.C. in the Indus Valley, near modern-day Pakistan. But many Hindus argue that their faith is timeless and has always existed.

Unlike other religions, Hinduism has no one founder but is instead a fusion of various beliefs.

Around 1500 B.C., the Indo-Aryan people migrated to the Indus Valley, and their language and culture blended with that of the indigenous people living in the region. There’s some debate over who influenced whom more during this time.

The period when the Vedas were composed became known as the “Vedic Period” and lasted from about 1500 B.C. to 500 B.C. Rituals, such as sacrifices and chanting, were common in the Vedic Period.

The Epic, Puranic and Classic Periods took place between 500 B.C. and A.D. 500. Hindus began to emphasize the worship of deities, especially Vishnu, Shiva and Devi.

The concept of dharma was introduced in new texts, and other faiths, such as Buddhism and Jainism, spread rapidly.

Hinduism vs. Buddhism

Hinduism and Buddhism have many similarities. Buddhism, in fact, arose out of Hinduism, and both believe in reincarnation, karma and that a life of devotion and honor is a path to salvation and enlightenment.

But some key differences exist between the two religions: Many strains of Buddhism reject the caste system, and do away with many of the rituals, the priesthood, and the gods that are integral to Hindu faith.

Medieval and Modern Hindu History

The Medieval Period of Hinduism lasted from about A.D. 500 to 1500. New texts emerged, and poet-saints recorded their spiritual sentiments during this time.

In the 7th century, Muslim Arabs began invading areas in India. During parts of the Muslim Period, which lasted from about 1200 to 1757, Islamic rulers prevented Hindus from worshipping their deities, and some temples were destroyed.

Mahatma Gandhi

Between 1757 and 1947, the British controlled India. At first, the new rulers allowed Hindus to practice their religion without interference, but the British soon attempted to exploit aspects of Indian culture as leverage points for political control, in some cases exacerbating Hindu caste divisions even as they promoted westernized, Christian approaches.

Many reformers emerged during the British Period. The well-known politician and peace activist, Mahatma Gandhi , led a movement that pushed for India’s independence.

The partition of India occurred in 1947, and Gandhi was assassinated in 1948. British India was split into what are now the independent nations of India and Pakistan , and Hinduism became the major religion of India.

Starting in the 1960s, many Hindus migrated to North America and Britain, spreading their faith and philosophies to the western world.

Hindus worship many gods and goddesses in addition to Brahman, who is believed to be the supreme God force present in all things.

Some of the most prominent deities include:

Brahma: the god responsible for the creation of the world and all living things
Vishnu: the god that preserves and protects the universe
Shiva: the god that destroys the universe in order to recreate it
Devi: the goddess that fights to restore dharma
Krishna: the god of compassion, tenderness and love
Lakshmi: the goddess of wealth and purity
Saraswati: the goddess of learning

Places of Worship

Hindu worship, which is known as “puja,” typically takes place in the Mandir (temple). Followers of Hinduism can visit the Mandir any time they please.

Hindus can also worship at home, and many have a special shrine dedicated to certain gods and goddesses.

The giving of offerings is an important part of Hindu worship. It’s a common practice to present gifts, such as flowers or oils, to a god or goddess.

Additionally, many Hindus take pilgrimages to temples and other sacred sites in India.

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Hinduism Sects

Hinduism has many sects, and the following are often considered the four major denominations.

Shaivism is one of the largest denominations of Hinduism, and its followers worship Shiva, sometimes known as “The Destroyer,” as their supreme deity.

Shaivism spread from southern India into Southeast Asia and is practiced in Vietnam, Cambodia and Indonesia as well as India. Like the other major sects of Hinduism, Shaivism considers the Vedas and the Upanishads to be sacred texts.

Vaishnavism is considered the largest Hindu sect, with an estimated 640 million followers, and is practiced worldwide. It includes sub-sects that are familiar to many non-Hindus, including Ramaism and Krishnaism.

Vaishnavism recognizes many deities, including Vishnu, Lakshmi, Krishna and Rama, and the religious practices of Vaishnavism vary from region to region across the Indian subcontinent.

Shaktism is somewhat unique among the four major traditions of Hinduism in that its followers worship a female deity, the goddess Shakti (also known as Devi).

Shaktism is sometimes practiced as a monotheistic religion, while other followers of this tradition worship a number of goddesses. This female-centered denomination is sometimes considered complementary to Shaivism, which recognizes a male deity as supreme.

The Smarta or Smartism tradition of Hinduism is somewhat more orthodox and restrictive than the other four mainstream denominations. It tends to draw its followers from the Brahman upper caste of Indian society.

Smartism followers worship five deities: Vishnu, Shiva, Devi, Ganesh and Surya. Their temple at Sringeri is generally recognized as the center of worship for the denomination.

Some Hindus elevate the Hindu trinity, which consists of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. Others believe that all the deities are a manifestation of one.

Hindu Caste System

The caste system is a social hierarchy in India that divides Hindus based on their karma and dharma. Although the word “caste” is of Portuguese origin, it is used to describe aspects of the related Hindu concepts of varna (color or race) and jati (birth). Many scholars believe the system dates back more than 3,000 years.

The four main castes (in order of prominence) include:

Brahmin: the intellectual and spiritual leaders
Kshatriyas: the protectors and public servants of society
Vaisyas: the skillful producers
Shudras: the unskilled laborers

Many subcategories also exist within each caste. The “Untouchables” are a class of citizens that are outside the caste system and considered to be in the lowest level of the social hierarchy.

For centuries, the caste system determined most aspect of a person’s social, professional and religious status in India.

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When India became an independent nation, its constitution banned discrimination based on caste.

Today, the caste system still exists in India but is loosely followed. Many of the old customs are overlooked, but some traditions, such as only marrying within a specific caste, are still embraced.

Hindus observe numerous sacred days, holidays and festivals.

Some of the most well-known include:

Diwali : the festival of lights
Navaratri: a celebration of fertility and harvest
Holi: a spring festival
Krishna Janmashtami: a tribute to Krishna’s birthday
Raksha Bandhan: a celebration of the bond between brother and sister
Maha Shivaratri: the great festival of Shiva

Hinduism Facts. Sects of Hinduism . Hindu American Foundation. Hinduism Basics . History of Hinduism, BBC . Hinduism Fast Facts, CNN .

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A case for Hindu Studies in Academia

The Hin du co mmun it y in India and globally have a dual role and respo nsibility: as direct inheritors of Hindu legacy and as its custodians. … The collective body of Hindu literature and writings is vast and rich, and merits a status of a world heritage and a study for its own sake.

Following the Roman empire’s decline and fall, European and Near East histories have been rife with accounts of hegemonic battles among the three Abrahamic civilizations. Islam overran nations at the point of a sword, crusaders inspired by the Popes attempted to wrest back control of their Holy Land, Christians’ inquisitions terrorized heretics, and their conquests decimated the indigenous cultures of the New World. And in the post-medieval world, while Islamic civilization remains stymied by nostalgia of its losses to Judeo-Christian rivals, there has been some moral redemption for the West through its science and material progress that have lifted millions out of poverty and the grips of disease. Yet, contemporaneously, many nations have been colonized and enslaved, pogroms unleashed and masses killed and nature’s ecological systems nearly destroyed in the pursuit of unbridled materialism and the imposition of a narrow and constipated set of religious doctrines and philosophical ideas. On balance, there has been material progress -- but, at a huge cost. It is, therefore, only natural to ask: “ Could a mindset different from a Western one, which dominates most of humanity today, offer a countervailing perspective and tend us toward a more balanced one? ” Yes, it is an idea worth studying – and, a contemplation of the Hindu mindset offers hope. Such a mindset, when rooted in a disciplined study and understanding of a Hindu perspective, promises that alternative to the world, outside of India. Equally, inside India, such a study of Hinduism is imperative for the curious Hindu as an inheritor and a custodian of its bequest so that it may reclaim, conserve and live its heritage – a heritage which faces a possibility of being lost to time. All this aside, the collection of Hindu ideas and all their accompanying disciplines merit a study for its own sake as a world heritage. Hinduism has created by far the longest surviving civilization, has offered a deeply contrasting set of views on life and post-life through a body of literature that is manifold vaster than the collective set of classical writings of the West, and in a language – Sanskrit – admired not just for its antiquity but also for its grammatical precision. Furthermore, in academia, there is a need to address a skewed discourse on Hinduism, led in large part by its detractors, by encouraging and fostering an exhaustive, well-researched, cogent and targeted body of academic writings grounded in the hermeneutics of shraddha . All in all, a disciplined and academic study of the body of Hindu literature and philosophy is essential and needed today to offer a counterpoint to an all-pervasive Western way of thinking, to safeguard, preserve and pass on Hindu philosophical thought, to study for its own sake an ancient, rich and vast body of world heritage literature, and to countervail against the predominantly outsiders’ perspectives in academia.

Only a few limited concepts from the Hindu way have moved from the periphery and exotica to mainstream on the global stage – others remain untouched or confined to study by a coterie of scholars in Western academic institutions. Uniquely, it is Yoga which in the last several decades has been embraced by large numbers of people for its palpable benefits to the well-being of individuals and society. Vegetarianism and ahimsa toward all beings and nature – quintessential Indian and Hindu1 concepts – have also begun to gain currency.2 Yet, to an informed insider to Hinduism, these concepts are merely incidental outgrowths from a larger set of foundational philosophical ideas. Yoga, from an insider’s perspective, is just one among numerous ways to follow in the quest for answers to existential questions; its salutary effects, while important to prepare the body and mind for contemplative meditation, are only incidental to the larger goal of seeking Brahman. The larger body of Hindu thoughts has many other underlying principles that can benefit humanity: for instance, there are multiple ways to get to the same Truth (an absence of a singular doctrine), that an individual may see the same God in his/her own way but different from another individual, and that a path to spiritual goal traverses one’s inner self and doesn’t require an external and disassociated God (the concept of Advait ). Over millennia, these principles have permitted freedom of thought and expression, and created a civilizational mindset of accommodation and acceptance of different ideas quite in contrast to Abrahamic religions’ hegemonic belief of conversion to their form of the Truth. So, with time, Hinduism has responded to the new ideas and debates that have arisen from within and without, and spawned three other bodies of religious thought, viz. Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism; and these have brought forth distinct, and sometimes contrasting, positions to that of Hinduism itself. Ahimsa came from Jain philosophy of non-violence against all beings and living things – and, Hinduism, later, accepted and incorporated this as its own basic tenet. For the people beyond its boundaries, it has nurtured a civilization of refuge, which has made room for people persecuted elsewhere and accepted their religious ideas and manifestations as still a new set of perspectives, meriting respect and understanding. So, if a greater number of people are exposed to Hindu ideas by way of academic study and discourse, humanity could together, perhaps, find a middle path that offers hopes of a world more peaceful and of planet Earth more sustainable.

The Hindu community in India and globally have a dual role and responsibility: as direct inheritors of Hindu legacy and as its custodians. However, over the last thousand years and particularly in the last three centuries, Hindus have ceded control of their institutions of learning and grown diffident about their inherited knowledge. Pride, the sense of ownership and of responsibility to conserve and embellish this knowledge has given way to an ambivalence about their own inheritance and a consuming need to acquire outsiders’ systems of values and education. The historical discontinuities of conquests and forced arrogation of power by invaders and colonizers have diminished and interrupted the natural intergenerational flow of knowledge. It is therefore a challenge to resurrect a mindset of pride of ownership, of research and conservation. The challenges for the curious and academically inclined Hindus are further compounded because Hinduism resides not in any one book, but in a vast compendium of writings, discourses and commentaries. To string it all together without easy access to in-depth knowledge and the teaching methods of its living practitioners – gurus and acharyas – is a daunting task for most. Besides, an ecosystem of learning and livelihood to sustain a quest for its study is practically non-existent, even after seventy years of the end of colonial rule. As hopeless as it might seem, there are some green shoots of a growing awareness of this problem and the need to fix it. Against this backdrop, it is essential to create centers of learning within existing Indian and select foreign academic institutions that focus and engage in rigorous study and research into Hindu writings. Given the vastness and range of philosophical subjects and thoughts, the study must be undertaken by not a limited few, but a larger number of institutions – with each institution becoming a center of specialty of a unique school of thinking. This way a wide range of subjects and thoughts can be addressed simultaneously and collectively by a distributed and connected network of academic institutions. With time and focused curation, the overall standard of research and writing would improve and attract brighter minds, and livelihood opportunities would emerge in academia and beyond – the flywheel of Hindu studies would then begin to turn and gain momentum. From this ecosystem would emerge future scholars – gurus and acharyas – who would then propagate and sustain an academic study of Hindu writings within and without India and offer an intellectual and academic counterweight to balance the scale in debates on Hindu philosophy and schools of thought.

The collective body of Hindu literature and writings is vast and rich and merits a status of a world heritage and a study for its own sake. Greek and Latin writings – classical works of Western civilization transcribed in about 30,000 manuscripts – enjoy a disproportionate status in academia. In contrast, Hinduism’s Sanskrit, Tamil and other writings – estimated to be in many million manuscripts – are relegated as esoterica even before an impartial study and discourse are conducted. Hindu deliberations offer a very distinct set of points of view on life, death, co-existence with others and nature, health and well-being, and on the visible universe around us and what may lie beyond human perception. It is this combination of being distinct, multi-disciplinary and voluminous that makes a case for academic institutions to dedicate resources and study Hindu philosophies while maintaining a balance between the two approaches of academic study, viz. the hermeneutics of suspicion and hermeneutics of s hraddha .

Western academia, while being an outsider to Hinduism, is ironically the largest producer of commentaries and research on the latter. And, not surprisingly, given its Abrahamic roots, the balance of writings tends to have a preponderance of hermeneutics of suspicion. Such an academic environment has its own dynamics, which essentially regurgitates and validates a prevailing point of view from one writing to the next. The voice of an insider scarcely finds a set of sponsors and supporters. This lopsidedness is self-perpetuating. An externally originating thrust which pushes against this imbalance is therefore imperative to reclaim space and control the narrative. Only a deliberate plan and action to address this need can succeed in the academic world. Indian institutions, alongside some other sympathetic places of learning could be encouraged and fostered to develop a veritable counter narrative. Such an effort must lay down and adhere to the most rigorous academic standards for the evaluation of research which rival those of eminent academic institutions anywhere in the world.

While it may seem that Hindu studies have a very arduous climb up the academic hill, its success is achievable, for there is a reassuring confidence in an informed insider rooted in the durability of Hindu ideas, which have endured the longest journey of many millennia and created a civilization that has given the world alternative perspectives through the wisdom of Gita, Buddha, Mahavir, Nanak and Gandhi, of yoga and ahimsa to name a few – and, all this with the power of thought, appeal and debate, and without violence and without being an existential threat to fellow beings and nature itself.

This paper speaks of Hindu philosophy and ideas in a broader sense, embracing with it ideas found in other Indic traditions, like Jainism and Buddhism.
Unlike Yoga in the West, these concepts are generally not directly attributed to the Hindu way, but as ideas emanating from the need to have a healthier life and a sustainable planet.

Who speaks for hindu studies, better understanding of hinduism requires a multi-pronged approach, importance of hindu studies in universities.

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Pollution and india's living river.

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Note on This Case Study

Global anthropogenic—or human caused—climate change has deeply impacted the ways that religions are practiced around the world. At the same time, religions have also played major roles in framing the issue among their believers. Some Hindus work tirelessly to change their habits and mitigate human impact on the climate. Others ignore the crisis, or do not believe in Hindu environmentalism. Read this case study with this in mind: the Hindus described here show a range of reactions to climate change, but all of them are Hindu.

As always, when thinking about religion and climate change, maintain a focus on how religion is internally diverse, always evolving and changing, and always embedded in specific cultures.

While Hinduism is a global religion, most Hindus—nearly one billion—live in India. In fact, Hindu goddesses are often a part of the Indian geographical landscape. This includes the deified river: the Ganges.

The Ganges River, also known as Ma Ganga (or Mother Ganges), flows from the glaciers of the Himalayas and crosses much of the subcontinent before flowing into the Indian Ocean. The religious origins of this goddess are varied, and devotees of different Hindu gods often believe in different stories about her. One of the more common stories comes from followers of the god Shiva. Many Shiva devotees believe Mother Ganges offered to descend to earth to purify the burning coals of the ancestors of the Hindu sage Bhagiratha. However, she was concerned that her fall from the cosmic realm would destroy the earth, so Shiva offered to catch her in his hair. Her waters ran in rivulets through his hair and onto the earth, where she purified the remains.

The Ganges River is therefore not only a waterway, but a goddess from heaven. Thus, many Hindus believe that the river has incredible healing powers. It is a common belief that bathing in the Ganges washes away a person’s bad karma and is like being in heaven. Some Hindus even believe that being brushed by a breeze which contains a single drop of the Ganges will absolve the impurities of multiple lifetimes. To most Hindus, dying in the holy city of Varanasi, on the banks of the Ganges, is said to result in moksha—a release from the endless cycle of suffering and rebirth. It is estimated that 32,000 corpses are cremated each year in Varanasi, after which their ashes are given to the Ganges. Others who cannot afford cremation simply wrap and float the body down the river. To access her healing waters, Hindus travel from all over the world on pilgrimages, often filling containers with water to bring back to their homes for rituals or healings. In fact, the largest gathering of human beings in the entire world regularly occurs on the banks of the river at the city of Allahabad. Every 12 years, the city hosts the Kumbh Mela, a religious festival during which the central ritual is bathing in the Ganges to achieve moksha. In 2001, over 30 million pilgrims attended, making it the largest gathering in human history. Unfortunately, the river has also become one of the most polluted bodies of water in the entire world, due to India’s exploding population and rapid industrialization. Over 450 million people live in the Ganges river basin, and human waste is the cause of most of the pollution. Almost five billion liters of sewage flow into the river every day, only a quarter of which is treated. By Varanasi, the Ganges is an open sewer. Fecal bacteria at this point is 150 times higher than the safe level for bathing, let alone drinking. Over 300,000 Indian children die annually from drinking contaminated water. Industrial effluent also pollutes the river, particularly from tanneries in Kanpur. Indian industries dump nearly a billion liters of waste into the river daily. Climate change has worsened the problem: water flow has decreased as Himalayan glaciers shrink.

In fact, many Hindus continue to bathe in or even drink the Ganges regularly. Confident in the healing powers of the divine river, they believe nothing could compromise the purity of their goddess. For them, Mother Ganges exists to wash away the impurities and pollution of earth and thus can cleanse herself. Major cleanup efforts are thus a waste of money and effort. Some governments and industries have taken advantage of these beliefs, and have used confidence in the cleansing power of the Ganges to justify continuing to pollute the river. Other Hindus acknowledge the problem, but lay blame on Muslims. Because cattle are holy to many Hindus, Kanpur’s polluting tanneries—which create leather from cowhides—are all owned by Muslims. Many Muslims claim that they have been unfairly persecuted by Hindu nationalists, who they say would rather persecute Muslim businesses than address more expensive sewage issues.

In March 2017, as cleanup efforts continued to fail, the High Court of Uttarakhand state confirmed the deified status that Hindus have long given the river. They issued a judgment that the Ganges and the Yamuna river—a Ganges tributary—are “living entities” which are entitled to human rights. Those caught polluting the river could thus be charged with assault or even murder. A few days later, activists sought murder charges against several politicians on behalf of the Yamuna River, sections of which are no longer able to support life. However, on July 7, 2017, the Supreme Court of India struck down Uttarakhand state’s ruling, arguing that treating the rivers as living entities was impractical. The Ganges is still revered as a living goddess by Hindus across the world, but an effective solution to its pollution remains elusive. Hinduism Case Study – Climate Change 2018

Additional Resources

Primary sources:, secondary sources:.

• BBC in-depth reporting on “India’s Dying Mother”: http://bbc.in/2vBdlH3 • BBC video on the religious and geographic origins of the Ganges: http://bit.ly/2fnnhgD • NPR report on the Ganges as a legal “living entity”: http://n.pr/2sj02Ge • Financial Times video on pollution in the Ganges: http://bit.ly/2vyigrY • The Guardian video on pollution in the Yamuna River: http://bit.ly/2uAEIfD • PBS video on the Kumbh Mela festival: http://to.pbs.org/1EnPeeb • National Geographic video on cremations at the Ganges: http://bit.ly/2wo0SUm

Discussion Questions

This case study was created by Kristofer Rhude, MDiv ’18, under the editorial direction of Dr. Diane L. Moore, faculty director of Religion and Public Life.

1. World Religion Database, ed. Todd M. Johnson and Brian A. Grim (Boston: Brill, 2015).
2. Kelly D. Alley, On the Banks of the Ganga: When Wastewater Meets a Sacred River, (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2002), 56-60; David Kinsley, Hindu Goddesses: Visions of the Divine Feminine in the Hindu Religious Tradition, (Berkeley: UC Press, 1986), 188-189.
3. Kinsley Hindu Goddesses, 191, 193-4; Justin Rowlatt, “India’s Dying Mother,” BBC News, (London), May 12, 2016. http://bbc.in/21TmEJ6
4. Linda Davidson and David Gitlitz, Pilgrimage: from the Ganges to Graceland: An Encyclopedia, (Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 2002), 322-3.
5. Rowlatt, “India’s Dying Mother”; George Black, “What it Takes to Clean the Ganges,” The New Yorker, Jul. 25, 2016. http://bit.ly/29PUsCy
6. Krishna N Das, “India’s Holy Men to Advise Modi’s Ganges River Cleanup,” Reuters, (New Delhi), June 12, 2014. http://reut.rs/2vnJFKN
7. Rowlatt, “India’s Dying Mother.”; Black, “What it Takes to Clean the Ganges.”; Das, “India’s Holy Men.”
8. Alley, On the Banks of the Ganges, 237; Kinsley, Hindu Goddesses, 191; Rowlatt, “India’s Dying Mother”;
Amrit Dhillon, “The Ganges: Holy River from Hell,” The Sydney Morning Herald, Aug. 4, 2014. http://bit.ly/2vQwWn6
9. Black, “What it Takes to Clean the Ganges.”
10. Michael Safi, “Murder Most Foul: polluted Indian river reported dead…,” The Guardian (Delhi), July 7, 2017. http://bit.ly/2tTIGU3
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Arranged Marriages, Matchmakers, and Dowries in India

Arranged marriages in india.

Arranged marriages have been part of the Indian culture since the fourth century. Many consider the practice a central fabric of Indian society, reinforcing the social, economic, geographic, and the historic significance of India (Stein). Prakasa states that arranged marriages serve six functions in the Indian community: (1) helps maintain the social satisfaction system in the society; (2) gives parents control, over family members; (3) enhances the chances to preserve and continue the ancestral lineage; (4) provides an opportunity to strengthen the kinship group; (5) allows the consolidation and extension of family property; (6) enables the elders to preserve the principle of endogamy (Prakasa 17) (see Gender and Nation ).

The practice of arranged marriages began as a way of uniting and maintaining upper caste families. Eventually, the system spread to the lower caste where it was used for the same purpose (see Caste System in India ). The specifics of arranged marriages vary, depending on if one is Hindu or Muslim. “Marriage is treated as an alliance between two families rather than a union between two individuals” (Prakasa 15). The Child Marriage Restraint Act of 1929-1978 states that the legal age for marriage is 18 for females, and 21 for males,with most females being married by 24 and most males being married by their late twenties (McDonald). However, many children, age 15 and 16 are married within a cultural context, with these marriages being neither void or voidable under Hindu or Muslim religious law, as long as the marriage is not consummated until the legal age of 18 for females and 21 for males.

Muslim Arranged Marriages in India

In the Muslim faith, it is the responsibility of the parents to provide for the education and the marriage of their children. The parent’s duties are not considered complete unless their daughter is happily married (Ahmad 53). Marriage is a sunna , an obligation from the parent to the child that must be fulfilled because the female is viewed as a par gaheri , a person made for someone else’s house (53). In this custom, it is the responsibility of the groom’s parents to make the initial move toward marriage: seeking eligible females and insuring their son is marketable. Once a female has been selected, the father of the male sends a letter to the perspective bride’s father, through a maulvi , a liaison between the families, asking the father if his daughter can marry his son. If the female’s father accepts by letter, then a formal ceremony is held at the female’s house, where the father of the groom asks the girl’s father if his daughter can marry. A feast and perhaps the giving of gifts, depending on the region of the exchange, follow the “asking” ceremony. During the feast, the respective parents set a time to solemnize the marriage, “usually during the summer season (garmiyan) because it allows more time for people to attend” (98). The date of the actual marriage ceremony depends on the age of the individuals, which ranges from four years to eight years after the “asking” ceremony (97).

Most Muslim arranged marriages are solemnized four years after the “asking” ceremony. The ceremony itself consists of a sub ceremony: the maledera, where female members of the male’s family wash and dress the male in traditional clothing, and the female dera, where the female is washed, given henna, and given ceremonial jewelry (98). The actual marriage ceremony (nikah) consists of both individuals being asked if they are in agreement for marriage. Once a yes is acknowledged, the Koran is read, and the father determines a dowry, with 40% being paid at the nikah and an agreement that the rest will be paid at a later date. The paying of a dowry is culturally optional, but legally unlawful. Once the dowry has been agreed on, a marriage contract is drawn up and the female goes to live with the husband’s family.

If the daughter remains unmarried, she is considered a spinster, who brings shame upon her family, and she is considered a burden. A woman also suffers this fate if she is separated or single past 24 years old (Stein). For more information, see Divorce in India.

Hindu Arranged Marriages in India

Marriage is a sacramental union in the Hindu faith. “One is incomplete and considered unholy if they do not marry” (Parakasa 14). Because of these beliefs, many families begin marriage preparation well in advance of the date of marriage, with the help of “kinsmen, friends, and ‘go-betweens’” (14). Most females are married before puberty, with almost all girls being married before 16, while most boys are married before the age of 22 (Gupta 146). However, couples normally do not consummate the marriage until three years after the marriage ceremony (146). The legal age for marriages is 18 for females and 21 for males (McDonald). The male’s family is responsible for seeking the female. The male’s family is responsible for arranging the marriage. Like Muslim arranged marriages, the Hindu culture uses a matchmaker to help find possible matches. Once a match is found and arrangements met, the two families meet to discuss dowry, time, and location of the wedding, the birth stars of the boy and girl, and education (McDonald). During this time, the males of the family huddle in the center of the room, while the perspective couple sits at the periphery of the room and exchange glances. If the two families agree, they shake hands and set a date for the wedding (McDonald).

Most Hindu pre-wedding ceremonies take place on acuta , the most spiritual day for marriages. The ceremony often takes place early in the morning, with the male leading the female around a fire ( punit ) seven times. After the ceremony, the bride is taken back to her home until she is summoned to her husband’s family house. Upon her arrival, her husband’s mother is put in charge of her, where she is to learn the inner workings of the house. During this time she is not allowed to interact with the males of the house, because she is considered pure until the marriage is consummated. This period of marriage can range from three to six years (McDonald).

Arranged Marriage Matchmaker in India

The traditional arranged marriage matchmaker is called a nayan (Prakasa 21). The matchmaker is normally a family friend or distant relative who serves as a neutral go-between when families are trying to arrange a marriage. Some families with marriageable age children may prefer not to approach possible matches with a marriage proposal because communication between families could break down, and could result in accidental disrespect between the two families (Ahmad 68). Matchmakers can serve two functions: marriage scouts, who set out to find possible matches, and as negotiators, people who negotiate between families. As a scout and negotiator, a family sends the nayan into the community to seek possible matches. The matchmaker considers “family background, economic position, general character, family reputation, the value of the dowry, the effect of alliance on the property, and other family matters” (Prakasa 15). Once a match is found, the matchmaker notifies his or her clients and arranges communication through him or her. Communication is facilitated through the nayan until some type of agreement is met. Depending on the region, an actual meeting between the families takes place, to finalize the marriage agreement, while also allowing the couple to see each other (22).

Once a marriage agreement is met, the nayan may be asked to assist in the marriage preparations: jewelry and clothing buying, ceremonial set-up, and notification of the marriage to the community (Ahmad 68). The nayan usually receives no pay for his or her services, but may receive gifts: clothing, food, and assistance in farming from both families for the services they provide (69).

Newspapers, the Internet, television ads, and social conventions serve as the modern nayan (Prakasa 22). Indian families in metropolitan cities use the mass media as go-between as a way of bridging cultural gaps, in areas where there may be a small Indian population.

Dowries in India

Dowries originally started as “love” gifts after the marriages of upper caste individuals, but during the medieval period the demands for dowries became a precursor for marriage (Prakasa 61). The demand for dowries spread to the lower caste, and became a prestige issue, with the system becoming rigid and expensive. The dowry system became a tool for “enhancing family social status and economic worth” (61). Prakasa notes five purposes of the dowry: (1) provides an occasion for people to boost their self esteem through feasts and displays of material objects; (2) makes alliances with the families of similar status; (3) helps prevent the breakup of family property; (4) gets a better match for daughters; (5) furnishes daughters with some kind of social and economic security (61-62). The expensive nature of dowries has helped raise the marriage age in the middle and lower caste because families have not been able to meet dowry demands, and has also forced some families “to transcend their caste groups and find bridegrooms from other sub caste and different caste” (62).

There are some disadvantages to dowries. Families may suffer financial hardships due to the expensive nature of dowries. They may not be able to afford dowries, therefore prohibiting their children from marriage, causing “girls to occasionally commit suicide in order to rid their fathers of financial burdens” (62). Because of social instances like these, many consider “the dowry system as a social evil and an intolerable burden to many brides’ families”(62).

As a result, the Dowry Prohibition Act of 1961 was passed. It decrees, “to give, take, or demand a dowry is an offense punishable by imprisonment and fines” (77). A dowry is also defined as “any property or valuable security given or agreed to be given either directly or indirectly by one party to a marriage to the other party to the marriage, or by the parents of either party to a marriage or by any other person, to either party to the marriage or to any other person at or before or after the marriage as consideration for the marriage of the said parties” (Diwan 77). The law does make the following exclusion: “any presents made at the time of marriage to either party to the marriage in the form of cash, ornament, clothes or other articles, do not count as a dowry” (77). These items are considered wedding gifts. The law does create the following loop hole; “the giving or taking of dowry does not affect the validity of the marriage… if the dowry is given, the bride is entitled to it, but the person giving it is punished by law if discovered” (77).

Select Bibliography

Harlan, Lindsey, ed. From the Margins of Hindu Marriage: Essays on Gender, Religion, and culture. New York: Oxford University Press,1995.
Kannan, Chirayil. Intercaste and inter-community marriages in India . Bombay: Allied Publishers, 1963.
Manning, Henry Edward. Indian Child Marriages . London: New Review, 1890.
Uberoi, Patricia, ed. Family, Kinship, and Marriage in India . New York: Oxford University Press, 1993.

Works Cited

Ahmad, Imtiaz, ed. Family, Kinship and Marriage Among Muslimsin India . Manohar: Jawaharlal Nehru University Press, 1976.
Diwan, Paras. Family Law: Law of Marriage and Divorce in India . New Delhi: Sterling Publishers Private Limited, 1983.
Goswami, B, J. Sarkar, and D. Danda, eds. Marriage in India: Tribes, Muslims, and Anglo-India . Calcutta: Shri Sovan Lal Kumar,1988.
Gupta, Giri Raj, ed. Family and Social Change in Modern India . Durham: Carolina Academic Press, 1971.
Prakasa, Rao. Marriage, The Family and Women in India . Printox: South Asia Books,1982.
Ramu, G. Family and Caste in Urban India: A Case Study . New Delhi: Vikas Publishing House PVT LTD, 1977.
Reddy, Narayan. Marriages in India . Gurgaon: The Academic Press, 1978.
Saheri’s Choice . Dir. Hamis McDonald. Videocorp LTD, 1998.
Sastri, A. Mahadeva. The Vedic Law of Marriage or The Emancipation of Woman . New Delhi: Asian Educational Services, 1918.
Stein, Dorothy. “Burning Widows, Burning Brides: The Perils of Daughterhood in India.” Pacific Affairs 61 (1988): 465-485.

Related Web Sites

Bollywood and Women

Caste System in India

Divorce in India

Gender and Nation

Third World and Third World Women

Women, Islam, and Hijab

Author: Santana Flanigan, Fall 2000 Last edited: October 2017

Introduction to postcolonial / queer studies, biocolonialism, 13 comments.

very well elaborated article, very useful. thanks for sharing.

This was so helpful. It was detailed and easy to understand.

Great article. Clarified a lot for my research paper

Thanks for the great information. Beautifully written.

I also wrote about how deep-rooted marriages are in Indian culture and how we are forced to marry at a particular age to someone in our cast and sub caste. I narrate my struggle with the orthodox system to stay unmarried even though I am 30 years old now.

Do visit my blog to read the article and let me know if you like it. 🙂

I have a question: Despite arranged marriages being encouraged at the legal age of 18, many girls are married as teenagers; why?

Pingback: Arranged Marriage: – Nick’s Blog

Hey I am a high school student in the 11th grade and I am working on a capstone project that is focused on arranged marriges and one of the components to the project is to contact an expert on the topic. I would really like some feedback from you guys and it would really help me alot

Thank you for the comment. Unfortunately, we are not experts on arranged marriage. If you email us at [email protected] with more details, I can try to find you some sources or connect you with someone that might be able to help you.

I am a high school student and I was wondering what credibility the author has for this source because I would like to use it in a paper I am writing. If you could help me that would be amazing and it would really help me.

Thank you for the comment. The post serves as an overview of Arranged Marriage in India. If you want to research further, see the “select bibliography” and “works cited” at the end of the post for additional sources.

Hey, Im doing a capstone project on arranged marriage too, but I’m looking at it more in a way of how science is involved in this traditional system in our modern days of technology. Good Luck on your paper!

The only way to achieve happiness is to cherish what you have and forget what you don’t have

Pingback: Netflix’s Indian Matchmaking and the Shadow of Caste - Non Perele - News Online

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Exploring indian culture through food.

Food and Identity

Food (Sanskrit— bhojana,“that which is to be enjoyed,” Hindi— khana, Tamil— shapad) presents a way to understand everyday Indian culture as well as the complexities of identity and interaction with other parts of the world that are both veiled and visible. In India today,with a growing economy due to liberalization and more consumption than ever in middle class life, food as something to be enjoyed and as part of Indian culture is a popular topic. From a 1960s food economy verging on famine, India is now a society where food appears plentiful, and the aesthetic possibilities are staggering. Cooking shows that demonstrate culinary skills on television, often with celebrity chefs or unknown local housewives who may have won a competition, dominate daytime ratings. Local indigenous specialties and ways of cooking are the subjects of domestic and international tourism brochures. Metropolitan restaurants featuring international cuisines are filled with customers. Packaged Indian and foreign foods sell briskly in supermarkets, and indigenous street food and hole-in-the wall cafés have never been as popular. Yet lifestyle magazines tout healthy food, nutritious diets, locally sourced ingredients, and sustainable and green alternatives. India’s understanding of its own cultures and its complex historical and contemporary relations with foreign cultures are deeply evident in public conceptualizations of food as well as in culinary and gastronomic choices and lifestyles.

As Harvard anthropologist Theodore Bestor reminds us, the culinary imagination is a way a culture conceptualizes and imagines food. Generally, there is no “Indian” food but rather an enormous number of local, regional, caste-based ingredients and methods of preparation. These varieties of foods and their preparation have only been classified as “regional” and “local” cuisines since Indian independence in 1947 yet have enjoyed domestic and foreign patronage throughout most of India’s history. Because of this diversity and its celebration, most Indians appreciate a wide array of flavors and textures and are traditionally discerning consumers who eat seasonally, locally, and, to a large extent, sustainably. However, despite some resistance in recent years, the entry of multinational food corporations and their mimicking by Indian food giants, the industrialization of agriculture, the ubiquity of standardized food crops, and the standardization of food and tastes in urban areas have stimulated a flattening of the food terrain.

Food in India is an identity marker of caste, class, family, kinship, tribe affiliation, lineage, religiosity, ethnicity, and increasingly, of secular group identification.

In the recurring identity crises that globalization seems to encourage, one would expect that food would play a significant part in dialogues about nationalism and Indian identities. But food in India has been virtually absent from the academic discourse because of the diversity and spread of the gastronomic landscape. Things are different on the Internet. In response to the forces of globalization and Indian food blogs both teaching cookery and commenting on food, are mushrooming in cyberspace.

India has several thousand castes and tribes, sixteen official languages and several hundred dialects, six major world religions, and many ethnic and linguistic groups. Food in India is an identity marker of caste, class, family, kin- ship, tribe affiliation, lineage, religiosity, ethnicity, and increasingly, of secular group identification. How one eats, what one eats, with whom, when, and why, is key to understanding the Indian social landscape as well as the relationships, emotions, statuses, and transactions of people within it.

The aesthetic ways of knowing food—of being a gourmand and deriving pleasure from it—as well as ascetic responses to it—are lauded in ancient scriptural texts such as the Kamasutra and the Dharmaśāstras . But historically in India, food consumption has also paradoxically been governed by under- standings that lean toward asceticism and self-control as well. Traditional Ayurvedic (Hindu) and Unani (Muslim) medical systems have a tripartite categorization of the body on its reaction to foods. In Ayurveda, the body is classified as kapha (cold and phlegmy), vaata (mobile and flatulent), or pitta (hot and liverish), and food consumption is thus linked not only to overall feelings of well being and balance but to personality disorders and traits as well. Eating prescribed foods ( sattvic foods that cool the senses versus rajasic foods that inflame the passions) and doing yoga and breathing exercises to balance the body, spirit, and mind are seen as very basic self-care and self-fashioning.

This appreciation and negation of gastronomic pleasure is made more complex by caste- and religion-based purity as well as pollution taboos. With some exceptions, since the early twelfth century, upper-caste Hindus, Jains, and some regional groups are largely vegetarian and espouse ahimsa (nonviolence). Often upper castes will not eat onions, garlic, or processed food, believing them to violate principles of purity. Some lower-caste Hindus are meat eaters, but beef is forbidden as the cow is deemed sacred, and this purity barrier encompasses the entire caste and religious system.

As the eminent pioneering anthropologist Claude Levi-Strauss noted, there is a sharp distinction between cooked and uncooked foods, with cooked or processed food capable of being contaminated with pollution easier than uncooked food. For upper-caste Hindus, raw rice is deemed pure even if served by a lower-caste person, but cooked rice can carry pollution when coming in contact with anything polluting, including low-caste servers. Religion also plays a part in dietetic rules; Muslims in India may eat beef, mutton, and poultry but not pork or shellfish; Christians may eat all meats and poultry; and Parsis eat more poultry and lamb than other meats. However, as many scholars have noted, because of the dominance of Hinduism in India and the striving of many lower-caste people for social mobility through imitation of higher-caste propensities, vegetarianism has evolved as the default diet in the subcontinent. Most meals would be considered complete without meat protein.

History and the Culinary Imagination

India sought to define itself gastronomically in the face of colonization beginning in the twelfth century. First, Central Asian invaders formed several dynasties known as the Sultanates from the twelfth to the sixteenth centuries. Then, the great Mughal dynasty ruled from the sixteenth to the nineteenth centuries. The British came to trade as the East India Company, stayed as the Crown from the eighteenth century until 1847, and then had their heyday as the British Raj from 1857 to 1947. The Mughals brought new foods to the subcontinent from Central Asia, including dried fruits, pilafs, leavened wheat breads, stuffed meat, poultry, and fruits. The Mughals also brought new cooking processes such as baking bread and cooking meat on skewers in the tandoor (a clay oven), braising meats and poultry, tenderizing meats and game using yogurt protein, and making native cheese. They borrowed indigenous ingredients such as spices (cardamom, pepper, and clove) and vegetables (eggplant from India and carrots from Afghanistan) to cook their foods, creating a unique Mughlai haute courtly cuisine.

From princely kitchens, the cuisine has made its way over the centuries to restaurants in major cities. In Delhi, the capital of Mughal India, as food writer Chitrita Banerji informs us, the Moti Mahal Restaurant claims to have invented tandoori chicken. In neighborhood Punjabi and Mughlai restaurants in metropolitan centers, the menu usually consists of dishes of meat and poultry that are heavily marinated with spices, then grilled and braised in thick tomato or cream-based sauces and served with indigenous leavened breads such as naan and rice dishes with vegetables and meats such as pilafs and biryani . These foods, in popular, mass-customized versions, are the staples of the dhabhas (highway eateries) all over India.

The British and other Western powers—including most importantly Portugal—came to India in search of spices to preserve meats, but the age of empire dictated culinary exchanges. India received potatoes, tomatoes, and chilies from the New World, and all became an integral part of the cuisine. The British traded spices and provided the technology and plant material and even transported labor to produce sugar in the West Indies.1 Indian food historian Madhur Jaffrey states that as the British Raj set roots in the subcontinent, the English-trained Indian cooks (Hindi— khansama ) to make a fusion food of breads, mulligatawny soup (from the Tamil mulahathani —pepper water) mince pies and roasts, puddings, and trifles. These dishes were later adapted to the metropolitan Indian table for the officers of the Indian army and British-Indian club menus. “Military hotels”— restaurants where meat and poultry were served primarily to troop members and often run by Parsis or Muslims—became popular as the new concept of public dining gained popularity in urban India between 1860 and 1900. The oldest known cafe from this era is Leopold’s Cafe in south Bombay (now Mumbai), where military hotel culture first took root. Other “hotels” or eateries primarily served, as they still do, vegetarian domestic cuisine in a public setting. In Bangalore, neighborhood fast food eateries called Darshinis serve a quick menu of popular favorites such as idli (steamed rice dumplings), dosa (rice and lentil crepes), and puri (fried bread), while neighborhood restaurants called sagars —meaning “ocean” but denoting a type of restaurant that has many varieties drawn from a commercial restaurant chain called Sukh Sagar, or “ocean of pleasure”—serve a wide array of dishes from both north and south India, as well as Indian, Chinese, and “continental food.”

“Continental food” in contemporary India includes a combination of English breakfast dishes such as omelette and toast; bread, butter, jam; meat and potato “cutlets;” an eclectic combination of Western dishes such as pizza, pasta, and tomato soup with croutons; bastardized French cuisine of vegetable baked au gratin with cheese and cream sauces, liberally spiced to make them friendly to the Indian palate; caramel custard, trifle, fruit and jelly; and cream cakes for dessert. Western cuisine is no longer just British colonial cuisine with these additions but a mosaic of specific national cuisines where Italian, and more recently, Mexican foods dominate, as these cuisines easily absorb the spices needed to stimulate Indian palates. Indian-Chinese food, another ethnic variant, owes its popularity to a significant Chinese population in Calcutta, who Indianized Chinese food and, through a number of family-run restaurants, distributed it throughout India, so it is now considered “local.” Street vendors serve vernacular versions of spicy hakka noodles, spicy corn, and “gobi Manchurian,” a unique Indian-Chinese dish of fried spiced cauliflower.

Despite this diversity, there are regional differences. Some observers con- tend that the Punjab—the Western region of the Indo-Gangetic plain of north India—is the breadbasket of the country. The region grows vast quantities of wheat that is milled and made into leavened oven-baked breads such as naan; unleavened griddle-baked breads such a chapattis , phulkas , and rumali rotis ; and stuffed griddle-fried breads such as kulcha and paratha . These breads are often eaten with vegetable or meat dishes. In the south, by contrast, rice is the staple grain. It is dehusked, steamed, and often eaten with spice-based vegetables and sometimes meat-based gravy dishes. The one cooking process that seems to be common to the subcontinent is that of “tempering,” or flash-frying, spices to add flavor to cooked food.

Contemporary India celebrates cuisine from local areas and culinary processes. The history of India, combined with its size, population, and lack of adequate transportation, left it with a heritage of finely developed local delicacies and a connoisseur population trained in appreciation of difference, seasonality, methods of preparation, taste, regionality, climate, diversity, and history though largely in an unselfconscious manner until very recently. Though many regional delicacies are appreciated nationally, such as the methi masala (fenugreek chutney) of Gujarat or the fine, gauze-like, sweet suther pheni (a confection that resembles a bird’s nest) of Rajasthan, regional delicacies such as the Bengal River carp marinated in spicy ground mustard and cooked in strong- smelling mustard oil often seem exotic and sometimes strange to outsiders. Train travel in India is a culinary tasting journey with stations stocking local delicacies, making it incumbent on the traveler to “stock up” on legendary specialties. Domestic food tourism creates and sustains a vibrant culinary imagination and a gastronomic landscape, both within and outside India.

The Indian Meal

The Indian meal is a complex and little-understood phenomenon. “Typical” meals often include a main starch such as rice, sorghum, or wheat; vegetable or meat curries that are dry roasted or shallow wok fried; cured and dried vegetable dishes in sauces; and thick lentil soups, with different ingredients. Condiments might include masalas (a dry or wet powder of fine ground spices and herbs) plain yogurt, or a vegetable raita (yogurt dip, also called pachchadi in south India), salted pickles, fresh herbal and cooked chutneys, dried and fried wafers and salted papadums (fried lentil crisps), and occasionally dessert (called “sweetmeats”). Indian meals can have huge variations across the subcontinent, and any of these components in different orders and with different ingredients might constitute an Indian meal.

Rice is a powerful symbol of both hunger and want as well as fulfillment and fertility. Until the late nineteenth century, however, only the wealthy ate rice, and most Indians consumed millet and sorghum.

When a multi-dish meal is served on a large platter in north India, the serving utensil is usually made of silver for purity. A banana leaf might be the main platter for a south Indian festival. In either case, there are various small bowls for each dish. This kind of meal is called a thali and is named for the platter on which it is served. The meal is eaten first with a sweet, followed by all the dishes served simultaneously and mixed together with the rice, based on the eater’s discretion. The meal ends with yogurt, which is thought to cool the body, and then followed by sweets and/or fruit. Festival meals usually end with a digestive in the form of a paan (betel leaf and nut folded together), which again has regional variations of style and taste.

Rice is a powerful symbol of both hunger and want as well as fulfillment and fertility. Until the late nineteenth century, however, only the wealthy ate rice, and most Indians consumed millet and sorghum. Nevertheless, the powerful symbolism of rice as a sign of fertility for many castes makes it part of marriage rites. Welcoming a new bride to the family home includes having her kick over a measure of rice to indicate that she brings prosperity to the household. A traditional test of a worthy daughter-in-law is her ability to “wash” the rice properly and to gauge the right amount of water it draws while cooking. Rice is still a symbol of wealth, and those families who have access to “wetland” where rice paddies grow are still thought to be wealthy and well endowed. Long grain scented basmati rice is India’s most popular variety and is valued in foreign markets as well. Efforts of the Indian government to protect Indian basmati rice failed, and now two types of American basmati exist, a situation many Indians consider shameful.

Gastronomic Calendars, Rituals, and Seasonality

In India as elsewhere, food culture is shaped by climate, land, and access to natural resources. The food system emphasizes eating agricultural and natural produce “in season,” such as mangoes and local greens during the summer, pumpkins during the rainy monsoon months, and root vegetables during the winter months. This emphasis is based upon a belief that in-season foods are more potent, tastier, and of greater nutritional value, although the yearround availability of many foods due to technology are beginning to change eating habits.

Cooks who are native to India are aware of culinary cycles and of multiple-dish recipes using fruits and vegetables of the season, some deemed “favorites” within caste groups and families. For example, prior to the ripened mango harvest of May and June, tiny unripe mangoes are harvested and pick- led in brine. The ripe mango and the pickled mango are the same species but are clearly different culinary tropes with different characteristics that are some- times attributed with fortifying, healing, auspicious, and celebratory values, based on taste, color, and combination. Connoisseurs are aware of desirable foods in local areas and sometimes travel great distances to acquire the first or best product of the season. Seasonality and regionality are also part of wed- ding celebrations, funerary rites, and domestic feasts. The winter peasant menu of the Punjab sarson ka saag , a stew of spicy mustard greens believed to “heat” the body, and makki ki roti ( griddled corn flatbreads), are imported to haute tables in Delhi restaurants as “rustic” fare.

Religious festivals also align with culinary cycles, festivals, or sacred periods of the year that are often associated with offerings to the gods and feasting on certain foods. The south Indian Harvest festival of Pongal in February is accompanied by a feast of harvested rice cooked with lentils in three different dishes, shakkarai pongal (Tamil-sweet), ven pongal (Tamil-savory), and akkara vadashal (Tamil-milk), accompanied by a stew of nine different winter vegetables and beans, offered first to tutelary deities and then consumed as consecrated food. Temples, especially those dedicated to the Hindu God Vishnu, have a long history of developed culinary traditions and food- offering aesthetics. The Krishna Temple in the south Indian temple town of Udupi is known throughout India for the distribution of free seasonal meals to thousands of devotees. Other temples are known for offerings of certain sweets or savories of that region or enormous and detailed menus of offerings from the land.

The Globalization of Indian Food

Although it has never had a standardized diet, India has traditionally “imagined” its cuisine with respect to the incorporation and domestication of “foreign” influences. In the past two decades, with India becoming an economic powerhouse, a variety of multinational fast food companies have entered the previously protected Indian culinary landscape. They include Pizza Hut, Mc- Donald’s, KFC, Pepsico, and, most recently, Taco Bell. These companies have had to “Indianize” and self-domesticate to conquer the notoriously difficult-to-please Indian palate.2 Today, urban fast food chains in India have become common and are transforming the middle class diet.

At the same time, local food purveyors have taken complex regional recipes and modified them for ease of industrial production, leading to a pack- aged food boom in India.3 The Indian food market of $182 billion is believed to be growing at a rapid clip of 13 percent.4 Indian precooked packaged foods empires such as MTR, SWAD, Haldirams, and Pataks have gone global, avail- able wherever Indians now live, leading a quiet yet unrecognized revolution in eating habits. Formerly, the focus was upon rural, natural, fresh, and prepared on-site food. Now, there is a shift in emphasis to industrialized, processed food. These developments are partially reengineering local and caste-based special- ties for mass production, distribution, and consumption, changing past notions of what is traditional or valued.

Some scholars have suggested that Indian food is filtered through Great Britain to the world, though diasporic Indian groups have also contributed. North American eateries serve curries and rice, tandoori chicken , naan , and chicken tikka masala (said to be invented in Glasgow), while the Japanese make karai and rice, demonstrating the attractiveness of “exotic” India’s cultural power and reach.

The cultures of contemporary Indian cuisine, including the politics, food processes, production, and consumption, are simultaneously changing and exhilarating. Further innovation and increased attention to Indian cuisine will almost certainly occur and promises to be an exciting area of innovation and critical research in the future.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Achaya, K.T. Indian Food: A Historical Companion. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 1994.

Appadurai, Arjun. “Gastro-Politics in Hindu South Asia.” American Ethnologist8 no. 3, Symbolism and Cognition(1981): 494–551.

——————. “How to Make a National Cuisine: Cookbooks in Contemporary India.” Comparative Studies in Society and History30 no. 1 (1988): 3–24.

Bagla, Pallava and Subhadra Menon. “The Story of Rice.” The India Magazine9 (February 1989): 60–70.

Banerji, Chitrita. Eating Indian: An Odyssey into the Food and Culture of the Land of Spices. London: Bloomsbury, 2007.

Bestor, Theodore. “Cuisine and Identity in Contemporary Japan.” Routledge Handbook of Japanese Culture and Society. London: Routledge Press, 2011.

Bhuyan, Aroonim. “India’s Food Industry on the Path of High Growth.” 2010. See http://www.corecentre.co.in/Database/Docs/DocFiles/food.pdf.

Collingham, Lizzie. Curry: A Tale of Cooks and Conquerors. New York: Oxford University Press, 2006.

Goody, Jack. Cooking, Cuisine and Class: A Study in Comparative Sociology . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1982.

Jaffrey, Madhur. A Taste of India. London: Pavilion, 1989.

Khare, Ravindra S., ed. The Eternal Food: Gastronomic Ideas and Experiences of Hindus and Buddhists. Binghamton: SUNY Press, 1982. See also Mount Goverdhan in same volume.

Mintz, Sidney. W. Sweetness and Power: The Place of Sugar in Modern History. New York: Penguin Books, 1986.

Olivelle, Patrick. From Feast to Fast: Food and the Indian Ascetic in Collected Essays of Patrick Olivelle . Firenze: Firenze University Press, 1999.

Ray, Krishnenu and Tulasi Srinivas, eds. Curried Cultures: Globalization, Food, South Asia . Berkeley: University of California Press, 2012.

Sen, Amartya. Poverty and Famines: An Essay on Entitlements and Deprivation. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1982.

Sen, Colleen Taylor. Food Culture in India. London: Greenwood Press, 2004.

Srinivas, M.N. The Cohesive Role of Sankritization and Other Essays. New York: Oxford University Press, 1989, 1962.

Srinivas, Tulasi. “Everyday Exotic: Transnational Spaces and Contemporary Foodways in Bangalore.” Food, Culture and Society 10 no. 1 (2007).

Srinivas, Tulasi. “As Mother Made It: The Cosmopolitan Indian Family, ‘Authentic’ Food and the Construction of Cultural Utopia.” International Journal of Sociology of the Family 32 no. 2 (2006): 199–221.

Toomey, Paul. “Mountain of Food, Mountain of Love: Ritual Inversion in the Annakūta Feast at Mount Govardhan.” Ravindra S. Khare, ed. The Eternal Food: Gastronomic Ideas and Experiences of Hindus and Buddhists. Albany: SUNY Press, 1992.

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Hindu-Christian Dialogue in India

Introduction

India, often referred to as Bharat or Hindusthan , is a land of plurality, diversity, and complexity. Although India is strongly influenced by Hindu beliefs and practices, it has also demonstrated an amazing sense of tolerance, acceptance, and adaptability with other faiths and religions over the centuries. Historically, there have been occasional clashes between the religious communities, and yet many religions, religious movements, and other faiths have emerged and flourished in India—often tolerating each other and sometimes absorbing certain precepts and practices so as to enrich each others’ spiritual journey.

Christianity in India, though perceived to be a comparatively recent phenomenon, can be traced back to at least the third century, if not to the very first century. The strong tradition of Saint Thomas Christians points to the arrival of the gospel through one of Jesus’s disciples, Thomas, in the first century. Without going into the merits or demerits of this tradition, we can be assured that the Christian faith was present in India long before the emergence of the modern missionary era, prospering for 2000 years alongside the dominant Hindu society. The fact that many forms and practices of Hinduism have been adopted by the Christian community in India is an indication of mutual enrichment and cohabitation.

Christians in India have demonstrated many responses to the dominant Hindu and, to a certain extent, the Muslim, Sikh, and Buddhist communities. Christian perceptions, attitudes, and approaches to each religion range from highly negative to an overtly positive interaction. On the one side, most early missionaries (in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries), who were largely products of the Pietistic movement, looked at the native religions as sinful if not Satanic. Hence, their approach to them was more condemnatory. In contrast, particularly in the middle of the twentieth century, a more sympathetic and positive attitude emerged among the Christian missionaries—some of whom even abandoned their missionary vocation and absorbed many religious precepts and practices of the native religions into their own faith. This often led to syncretistic religious practices. However, a large segment of the Christian community in India probably is more inclined to live harmoniously with the people of other faiths, often entering into what we call “informal dialogue” over many central issues of faith and practices. “There are many situations in India where informal dialogue has long been an established reality made possible and often inevitable by the proximity of neighbors of different faiths.” 1 This aspect of informal dialogue is part and parcel of their day-to-day life, but apparently has not been taken seriously either by the theologians or church leaders. While this type of informal dialogue perhaps has more potential in making a difference with regard to Christian life and witness in India, sadly very little attention is given to informing, equipping, and mobilizing Christians in India to undertake such informal dialogue with people of other faiths.

Such inattention to the potential found in informal dialogue may have significant consequences since twenty-first-century Christian mission in India will be radically different from that of previous centuries. While acknowledging some damaging and disturbing trends that may have adverse effects on the life and witness of the Christian community, it must not be forgotten that a huge percentage of both the literate and the educated masses are showing signs of openness and positive inclinations towards a deeper and better understanding of Christianity and particularly the person of Jesus Christ. In such a context, it is extremely important to consciously develop positive and constructive ways of establishing a neutral platform from which ongoing dialogue at various levels can be articulated and undertaken. Often it is not the precepts of the Christian faith that are offensive to the people of India; rather, it is the way the Christians present them in their life and practice (or in some instances, fail to practice what they proclaim) that offends people. In the wake of emerging Hindu fundamentalism in India, it is imperative that the Christian community grapple with how to sympathetically interact with people of other faiths so that many misperceptions and misunderstandings can be addressed, thus paving the way for articulating Christian witness in a more constructive manner.

Overview of Essay

Neither theology nor interfaith dialogue is conducted in a vacuum. Cultural and historical dynamics must be studied before attempting to set forward suggestions for Christian witness in a particular context. How is the gospel message heard through the spoken word as well as the lives of Christians? What prejudices and objections first need to be addressed in order to faithfully convey the good news of Jesus? This essay offers a general survey of Christian witness among Hindus in India since the eighteenth-century early modern missionary era in order to orient readers to the challenges and opportunities for Christians to pursue informal dialogue as a means of Christian mission.

I. The Cultural and Religious Landscape of India

The Key Changing Landscapes of Global Christianity 2

Throughout the history of Christianity, missiological challenges have always been significant, but how the Church responded to them made the difference. In a sense, the future of Christianity is determined by how well the Church articulates her response to the contemporary challenges, even as the Church itself is radically changing. At the beginning of the twentieth century, approximately 66 percent of all Christians lived in the historical Christian heartland, with 24 percent in Asia, Africa, Latin America, and Oceania. 3 However, in 2000, David Barrett’s research revealed that the majority of Christians were found in Asia, Africa, Latin America, and Oceania. 4 He estimated that at least sixty percent of the world’s Christians are now found outside of Europe and North America. Therefore, the reality, perceptions, issues, and challenges of the Christian mission moved from primarily being Euro-America centric to Asia-Africa and South America centric.

India, though still considered a country with a small Christian minority, has emerged as a nation with an increasing number of people claiming to be Christian. 5 Even the opponents of the Christian faith in India agree that the number of Christians is increasing in India and they predict that this trend will pick up strong momentum in the near future. 6 In the wake of such predicted changes, Christian mission in India will have to be prepared to face and respond to the challenges in a new and strategic way.

Significant Changes in India

Sociocultural and Economic Changes

While talking about the missional challenges in India, we have to take into consideration the context. With its 4,635 distinct people groups and numerous linguistic groupings, India has been one of the toughest nations in the world as far as evangelization is concerned. With more than two centuries of modern Christian missionary work, we have seen a breakthrough among at least three hundred people groups, primarily among the Dalit (outcastes) and tribal people, but have also seen the reality of India’s resistance to the gospel. 7 The stronghold of traditional Hinduism, casteism, Brahminical supremacy, linguistic complexity, and many other issues presented formidable challenges to Christian mission.

The Transition from Foreign to Indigenous Mission

India is on the threshold of a new era for mission. The post-independence era, beginning from the early 1950s, although considered the sunset for foreign mission, proved a blessing in disguise. The departure of foreign missionaries and structures cleared the way for the Indian church to think through the realities in fresh ways. A significant indigenous missionary movement with hundreds of indigenous missionary societies and thousands of missionaries emerged. A new breakthrough has been reported among different people in various parts of India and especially in the north and northwest of India. What is important to note is that these breakthroughs were reported not only among the traditionally receptive segments that are on the periphery of Indian society, but also the Other Backward Communities (OBCs), and the urban lower and middle classes. Several segments of Indian society previously resistant to the gospel are now showing signs of openness toward the message of Jesus. Several high-caste Hindus—secular but educated and upwardly mobile, from the middle classes—show signs of openness to change. This openness has in some cases turned into receptivity in certain parts of India, resulting in the formation of new churches mostly house churches. Though the authentic number of these churches is yet to be verified, there is some indication that a new and vibrant church is emerging in India among the people once considered nonreceptive.

However, the increasing influence of Christianity and the growing Christian population have alerted the fundamentalist groups. In some cases, the right-wing political parties together with the fundamentalist groups have brought about systematic persecution and harm upon the Christian community. Cases of severe atrocity have been reported in different parts of India, especially in the areas where the growth of the Christian Church is reported. Several laws and bills have been enacted to prevent conversion to Christianity. Various militant and fundamentalist groups have begun to challenge the spread of Christianity, taking aggressive measures to curtail the increasing influence of Christianity in India. These measures include systematically attacking Christian leaders, demolishing church buildings, intimidation, production of anti-Christian literature, and forceful re-conversion. 10 In addition, there is an increase in the production of Hindu apologetic literature aimed to attack Christian faith at an academic level and challenge the foundational beliefs upon which Christianity is built. 11 This aggressive fundamentalism is an indication of the growing awareness among the educated caste Hindus about the threat Christianity might pose to their traditional religion.

II. Historical Reactions, Opposition, and Misperceptions of Christianity 12

Christianity never had smooth sailing in India. It often faced opposition from different segments of the Hindu community. Opposition from the Hindus was frequently based on partial truths, or no truth at all. Whatever their objections, Hindus found it difficult to understand and accept Christianity as a foreign missionary religion. Numerous misconceptions about Christianity still exist in the minds of the Hindus today.

Christianity: A Western Religion

One of the most often discussed and debated objections to Christianity is that it was introduced to India by Western tradesmen and missionaries, growing “under the pelf and patronage of foreign rulers.” 13 To support this argument, many point out that Portuguese and British rulers were instrumental in spreading Christianity in India. The gospel came to India—so most Hindus think—basically through the Western, white colonialists; therefore it has been fiercely opposed by the Hindus as the religion of the imperialists.

Further, Hindus believe that the Portuguese and the British rulers, at least to some extent, were sympathetic toward the Christianization of India. This led to a confirmation of their suspicion that these foreign rulers had been using Christian missionaries for spreading their own religion in India. 14 In the minds of the Hindus, Christianity and Western rule went hand in hand. Therefore, to them, becoming Christian meant strengthening the hands of the British in India. This led the Hindus to develop a negative attitude toward Christianity.

Christianity: A Threat to Caste and National Integrity

Historically, conversions to Christianity, especially in central and northern India, brought divisions among Hindu society, castes, and families. By becoming Christian, people sever relationships with their family, caste, and society. They cut themselves off from their own people and relatives. This uprooting from a convert’s social, cultural, and religious traditions is strongly objected to by the Hindus. This allegiance to another social group is perceived to be a threat to national integrity. Staffner is right when he observes that conversion to Christianity is often looked down upon as a social act rather than a spiritual act. It signifies “the change over from one social community to another.” 15 When Christianity is perceived to be a dividing factor in the society, it is no wonder that most Hindus shun it.

Under such circumstances, if anybody becomes a Christian, that person is ostracized from the caste and all of their relationships are severed. That person is declared to be an outcaste. Being declared an outcaste, especially for the Hindu, is perceived as a great punishment. 16 Such expulsions are considered to be a great social stigma; therefore, rarely does a Hindu take any step that will disassociate oneself from his or her own caste associations. Such persons, in the eyes of the Hindus, have alienated themselves from society, consequently from the nation. By giving allegiance to a foreign religion like Christianity, a person is perceived to have become a threat to national integrity.

The Problem of Conversion

An underlying theme in the above-mentioned misperceptions of Christianity is related to the nature and dynamics of conversion. Specifically, what happens to Indian identity when Christianity is introduced to the life of a person and a community? Is it possible to be Indian without being Hindu, or is there something essential about Hinduism to Indian identity? Questions like these point out the importance of examining some misconceptions about Christian conversion.

Hindu society has never felt comfortable with the idea of religious conversion, and has raised serious objections to it. Conversion is difficult for a Hindu to comprehend. From the standpoint of Hindu religious orthodoxy, it is pointed out that religious conversion is not always genuine and lasting; in any case, it is unnecessary and futile. It is not genuine because Hindus hold that there can be no such radical change in religious convictions as to compel a convert to change over from one religion to another. The Hindu may not question the validity of the conversion experience, but he seriously doubts whether converts from Hinduism to Christianity experience such a total and conscious change of convictions as to take this decisive step of breaking completely away from their ancestral faith—especially because such a migration is unnecessary, according to him. 17

One can continue to be a Hindu while believing in other religions; hence there is no need to change religions. Many Hindus admire Jesus as a great teacher, saint and even god, but as one of many gods. To a Hindu “the essential nature of Ultimate Reality is unknowable. It can only be partially apprehended in human experience. Therefore no absolute claims for Truth can be made by any religious community.” 18 For the Hindus to acknowledge Jesus as the God and the Savior is to nullify the divinity of the other gods and goddesses of Hindufold. Therefore, “to claim one’s own way as the only right way is seen as spiritual arrogance of the highest order.” 19 Change of religion also amounts to looking down on one’s traditional religion, society, caste, and family.

Christians Convert by Unfair Means

For many Hindus the only possible explanation for conversion to Christianity is the unfair means of coercion and persuasion. It is often said that the poor and the needy were the main targets of Christian missionaries, and that these people responded to the welfare programs provided to them. The large percentage of those who became Christians were from the lower or the lowest strata of the society; therefore they are frequently said to have become Christian for material reasons. They are often referred to as “Rice Christians.”

Historically, it can be proven that some Western powers of the eighteenth century encouraged conversions of Hindu subjects by force. Hindus hold that undue pressure, bribes, force, and other unfair means are part of the conversion strategy of the Christian missionaries. So, in the opinion of most Hindus, what Christianity has to offer is only a new materialistic way of earthly living, with added formalities, platitudes, ostentation, and pretension. 20

Conversion Defiles

To a Hindu, his religion is pure and holy and admirable. Defecting from it, one becomes impure, polluted, and defiled. 21 Hindus perceive Christianity as a religion of lower moral and ethical standards. Therefore, they not only resist conversion but even oppose it.

There are historical reasons for this perception. Julian Saldanha, in his book Hindu Sensitivities towards Conversion , says, “The roots of this opposition to conversion reach back into the mission history of the colonial era and have to do with the manner in which Christianity was introduced in India. The missionaries were identified with the beef-eating, alcohol-drinking foreigners.” 22 These foreigners, largely the Portuguese and the British, were in India basically for purposes of trade. Their lifestyle was rarely up to Christian standards. When the Hindus found that these white traders called themselves Christians, they perceived all Christians in the same manner: “It is not surprising that the missionaries and their converts soon came to be called Firangis and Mlenchhas, contemptuous terms connoting barbarians and irreligious persons.” 23 Such terms exhibited a certain attitude toward Christianity. This is how most Hindus perceive Christian converts. Thus, Hindus normally keep themselves aloof from such a religion.

Each of these Hindu views of Christianity and objections to conversion must factor in to how Christians interact with their Hindu neighbors. The historical roots of the Christian presence in India do not permit historical amnesia. Christians must identify areas where they sense an openness to the person of Jesus while being mindful of these deep-seated objections and aversions to Westernized Christianity.

III. Christian Attitudes toward Hinduism

There is no single Christian attitude toward Hinduism. Most Evangelical approaches, however, have been based on the assumption that Jesus is the only way of salvation and that all other religions are inadequate in their approach to God. An evangelical attitude has dominated in India.

Evangelical Attitudes

Since most early Protestant missionaries came to India as a result of what is called the Evangelical Awakening, they all had similarities in their assumptions, doctrines, and attitudes. There was a unanimous belief among the Evangelicals that all humankind is fallen due to sin and rebellion against God and therefore is under the condemnation of God. However, through repentance and faith in Jesus, everyone has an opportunity to be saved. Conversion of souls by preaching the gospel was considered to be the primary duty of the missionary in India.

These missionaries often confused the external forms of Hindu religion with its real spiritual message. In the writings of the early missionaries, the evils of the caste system, cow worship, female infanticides, child marriage, and idolatry were often referred to as an inevitable part of Hinduism. Often, practices were misinterpreted or misrepresented by the missionaries. “These very well suited their purpose of showing the moral superiority of Christianity.” 24 Their exaggeration was usually done out of ignorance, but occasionally it was also done deliberately.

Missionaries stood firm in their commitment to defuse Christian knowledge, primarily by starting educational institutions, translating the Bible, and publishing books, tracts, and periodicals. However, much of the literature published was polemic in character and reflected their negative attitude toward Hinduism. Vehement criticism of Hindu beliefs and practices was undertaken to expose their evils. Missionaries did everything they could to eradicate the influence and practice of the Hindu caste system. By opening their educational institutions to all castes, they waged war against traditional caste restrictions.

Change in Attitudes

A change of attitude took place gradually among Evangelical missionaries. Several contextual factors contributed in bringing about this change in attitude toward Hinduism. Theologically, a new wave of liberal thinking emerged, which began evaluating Christianity’s unique claims. Additionally, the emergence of Indologists, who presented a less-biased cultural picture, brought to light a brighter side of India and Hinduism. Attempts were made by some Indologists to translate ancient Hindu literature into English. This evoked some enthusiasm among the people of the West. A new look at India as a land of ancient culture, religion, and philosophy began to take shape, forcing many to look at Hinduism more objectively and positively.

Another significant contribution to this shift in views of Hinduism was made by Swami Vivekananda in 1893. His series of lectures on Hinduism at the Parliament of Religions in Chicago aroused great interest in the West. The World Missionary Conference held in Edinburgh in 1910 also played a role in helping shift Christian views of Hinduism. Documents from the conference asserted several positive things about Hinduism and emphasized the need of changing the traditional missionary attitude toward it. As a result, the “older attitude of contempt and hostility toward Hinduism had disappeared from missionary propaganda in India.” 25 This new group of Christian missionaries showed more sensitivity toward Hindu culture, religion, and practices. Other religions, including Hinduism, were considered to contain certain elements of truth. Therefore, some began advocating for Christians to engage in interfaith dialogue. A good Christian was expected to listen patiently to what people of other religions were saying. Through this process, it was believed, we may be able to unveil the hidden Christ, who is already present in other cultures and religious communities. Therefore, the responsibility of Christians is to affirm other religions, even to learn from them. People of all religions are considered valuable and credible, since God accepts their devotion as well. This approach took one more step toward a positive understanding of other religions. It has encouraged Christians to seek a fuller and more comprehensive understanding of these religions.

This development of openness to finding and learning from those aspects of goodness and truth in Hindu cultures is a significant shift in Christian witness among Hindus. Nevertheless, this change in perception is good but incomplete. Thoughtful dialogue must take place within the Christian community on how to address the contemporary challenges and opportunities for new forms of interaction between Hindus and Christians. This essay will conclude with a personal example of how I have attempted to navigate these challenges while creatively building on areas where there has been openness to the person and work of Jesus among my Hindu friends.

IV. My Journey towards Informal Dialogue

It was my very first year of church planting and pastoral ministry in the central Indian city of Nagpur. My denomination, Christian and Missionary Alliance, had initiated pioneer church planting ministries in key cities of India, and I was appointed as a fresh seminary graduate to initiate church planting ministry in Nagpur. While our first initiative was primarily focused on the rural migrant workers in the western part of Nagpur, our second initiative proved to be more productive among the educated and medical professional people in south Nagpur. After making some initial contacts with the nurses, paramedics, and dentists in the medical college area, we sensed a need for a place where we could gather regularly for worship services and nurture.

We began to search for a facility and came across an ideal facility that was located right across the Nagpur Medical College. This building belonged to Maharashtra Educational Society, whose president was Mr. Deoba Deotale. He lived in the western part of the city where many elite and upper-caste people made their residence. I made an appointment and went to his residence to meet him and to get permission to use his college building for our worship services. I rang the bell and waited for the response.

Soon the door was opened by a tall middle-aged man. I greeted him and introduced myself. Having heard my name, he looked perplexed because probably he expected a Westernized person with an English name who spoke in broken Marathi. Because I wore Indian kudta, spoke in fine Marathi, and my name was very Indian, he seemed confused as to who I was. He invited me to come inside and asked the reason for my coming. I had already composed myself. So I said, “I am a follower of Jesus Christ”—I purposely did not say that I am a Christian because of its stereotyped connotation. I continued, “I teach the teachings of Jesus Christ to a group of followers of Jesus.” He nodded with positive affirmation. “To provide regular teaching to this group of people,” I said, “I am searching for a hall, and your college hall is an ideal place for us to meet.” I tried to present my case straightforwardly. As I waited for his response, he threw a question at me. He said, “Are you a worshiper of Jesus Christ?” I said “yes.” To my delight and surprise, he said, “I am also a worshiper of Jesus Christ.” This came as a real shock since there was no indication that he was a Christian. He then stood up and invited me to come into the inner room of his house. I was rather hesitant, but followed him into his Puja ghar (worship room); he led me to the center of that small room and, pointing his figure to the framed picture of Jesus Christ, exclaimed, “I just worshipped Jesus this morning.” To prove his point he showed a bunch of fresh flowers offered in front of the picture of Jesus.

That was the beginning of our long friendship. He not only gave me permission to use his college hall for our regular worship services, but also began inviting me to give a series of lectures to his college students about the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. For a number of years, I, along with a team of young people from our church, were invited to present the message of Christmas and Good Friday to the college faculty, staff, and students. On one occasion, he invited me to give a lecture on the biblical view of consuming alcoholic drinks. He also introduced me to his network of Gandhians who regularly meet to reflect on Gandhi’s teachings, which inevitably included the sections from Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount. On another occasion, he even invited me to address a group of devotees of Saint Tukdoji Maharaj. I deliberately wore a white Indian kudta and pyjama , and I sang Marathi Bhajans (an Indian way of devotional singing primarily used by the Hindus in their temples) and gave a short devotional message on the teachings of Jesus, which were all received reverently by those present.

Over a period of five years that I was in that city of Nagpur, Mr. Deotale became a great friend of mine and spent numerous hours with me discussing informally various aspects of teachings of Jesus Christ. Never once did we argue or fight over our faiths. Through his friendship and contacts, I had numerous opportunities to present the message of Christ to hundreds of his students, staff, and faculty. And as a result, we developed a very cordial and positive atmosphere to listen to each other’s views. This paved the way for me to establish a very positive rapport with a segment of his college faculty and students and provided me a platform to present Christ and his teachings to them in a non-confrontational manner. It must be noted, however, that Mr. Deotale disagreed with me on a few occasions, but because of the kind of rapport and respect we had established with one another, that disagreement never became a point of tension or clash.

Throughout my ministry in Nagpur, I tried to carefully and consciously conduct myself among my Hindu neighbors in ways that did not feed into their stereotypes of Christians and Westerners and certainly not as an attacker who is hostile to Hindu society. Realizing that a large segment of educated urban Hindus are neutral if not sympathetic towards Christ and his teachings, I chose to use that common ground to initiate dialogue and build rapport with them. This required discernment and careful observation, but it was worthwhile in taking the time to discern this and then focus on those who demonstrated a positive orientation towards Jesus Christ. This provided numerous opportunities for me to share Jesus with people who were open and neutral towards Christianity. Often this allowed them to ask pertinent questions about Jesus and his teachings, and my response to such queries was also received positively. It left behind a positive impact and to a large extent changed their stereotyped perceptions about Christ and Christianity. Through this I learned a very valuable insight: never assume that all Hindus or people of other faith are hostile towards Christ and Christianity; rather, most of them are quite open to hearing about the gospel—if presented in a more informal and non-confrontational manner.

Today, Indian Christians—and especially Evangelical Christians—have a great opportunity to develop a non-confrontational dialogical approach to mission that creates a more positive atmosphere and cordial relationships with people of other faiths, in order to communicate the message of Jesus Christ effectively.

1 Bob Robinson, “Christian-Hindu Dialogue – Are There Persuasive Biblical and Theological Reasons for It? A Critical Assessment,” Dharma Deepika 24 (10), January–June 2006, 10.

2 Atul Aghamkar, “Contemporary Mission Challengesin India,” paper given at the Center for Missiological Challenges in India,” paper given at the Center for Missiological Research Colloquium at Fuller Seminary, Pasadena, CA, Spring 2011.

3 Wilbert R. Shenk, “After Bosch: Toward a Fresh Interpretation of the Church in the Twenty-First Century,” UBS Journal 2 , no. 2, September 2004, 8.

4 David Barrett and Todd Johnson, “Annual Statistical Table on Global Mission,” International Bulletin of Missionary Research 22, no. 1 (January 1998): 2627.

5 A. P. Joshi, M. D. Srinivas, and J. K. Bajaj, Religious Demography of India (Chennai: Centre for Policy Studies, 2003).

6 Such predictions are based on the data collected from census reports, contemporary trends, and the socioreligious moods of people.

7 Although there seems to be no consensus as to how many people groups have been reached with the gospel thus far, looking at the traditional and contemporary breakthroughs among specific people, the estimated number could easily come to about 300.

8 Thom Wolf, “The Wrinkled/Wired Elephant: Firsts, Facts and Facets of India,” paper presented at New Delhi on February 23, 2005.

9 Anand Giridhardas, “In India Some Don’t See Billion as Too Many,” International Tribune Herald , May 4, 2005.

10 Dasarathi Swaro, The Christian Missionaries in Orissa: Their Impact on Nineteenth Century Society (Calcutta: Punthi Pustak, 1990); Angana P. Chatterji, Violent Gods: Hindu Nationalism in India’s Present; Narratives from Orissa (Gurgaon: Three Essays, 2009); Prafulla Das, “VHP, Bajrang Dal Men Storm Orissa Assembly,” The Hindu (17 March 2002); “VHP Orchestrates Mass Reconversion in Orissa,” Deccan Herald (2 May2005).

11 Arun Shourie, Missionaries in India: Continuities, Changes, Dilemmas (New Delhi: ASA Publications, 1994); Arun Shourie, Harvesting Our Souls: Missionaries, Their Design, Their Claims (New Delhi: ASA Publications, 2000); Sitaram Goel, History of Hindu-Christian Encounters, AD 304 to 1996 (New Delhi: Voice of India, 1996); Sita Ram Goel, Catholic Ashrams: Sanyasins or Swindlers? (New Delhi: The Voice of India, 1988); Shripaty Sastry , A Retrospect Christianity in India (Pune: Bharathiya Vichar Sadhana, 1983); Subramanian Swamy, Hinduism under Siege: The Way Out (New Delhi: Har-Ananda, 2006).

12 Atul Y. Aghamkar, “Traditional Hindu View and Attitudes toward Christianity,” Global Missiology English 2, no. 5 (2008), http://ojs.globalmissiology.org/index.php/english/article/view/244.

13 Ebenezer Sunder Raj, The Confusion Called Conversion (New Delhi: TRACI, 1986), 2.

14 Paul D. Devanandan, “Modern Hindu Attitude toward Christian Evangelism,” Union Seminary Quarterly Review 12, no. 3 (1957): 65–80.

15 Hans Staffner, The Open Door (Bangalore: Asian Trading Corporation, 1987), 63.

16 Julian Saldanha, Hindu Sensibilities towards Conversion (Bangalore: Asian Trading Corporation, 1981), 9.

17 Devanandan, “Modern Hindu Attitude toward Christian Evangelism,” 68.

18 Paul D. Devanandan, Preparation for Dialogue: A Collection of Essays on Hinduism and Christianity in New India (Bangalore: Christian Institute for the Study of Religion and Society, 1961), 7.

19 Newton H. Malony and Samuel Southard, eds., Religious Conversion (Birmingham, AL: Religious Education Press, 1992), 13.

20 K. V. Paul Pillai, India’s Search for the Unknown Christ (New Delhi: FAZL Publishers, 1979), 167.

21 A person who leaves the Hindu fold and joins another religion is normally considered an outcaste and thus polluted and defiled.

22 Saldanha, Hindu Sensibilities , 4–5.

23 Saldanha, Hindu Sensibilities , 5; cf. Pillai, India’s Search , 167.

24 Sushil Madhav Pathak, American Missionaries and Hinduism: A Survey of Their Contacts from 1813 to 1910 (Delhi: Munshiram Manoharial Oriental Publisher, 1967), 81.

25 Pathak, American Missionaries , 235.

Atul Aghamkar

Professor and Head of the Department of Missiology at the South Asia Institute of Advanced Christian Studies

EAST MEETS EAST: In the Heartland of Hinduism

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Indian J Psychiatry
v.55(Suppl 2); 2013 Jan

Indian family systems, collectivistic society and psychotherapy

Rakesh k. chadda.

Department of Psychiatry, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India

Koushik Sinha Deb

Indian society is collectivistic and promotes social cohesion and interdependence. The traditional Indian joint family, which follows the same principles of collectivism, has proved itself to be an excellent resource for the care of the mentally ill. However, the society is changing with one of the most significant alterations being the disintegration of the joint family and the rise of nuclear and extended family system. Although even in today's changed scenario, the family forms a resource for mental health that the country cannot neglect, yet utilization of family in management of mental disorders is minimal. Family focused psychotherapeutic interventions might be the right tool for greater involvement of families in management of their mentally ill and it may pave the path for a deeper community focused treatment in mental disorders. This paper elaborates the features of Indian family systems in the light of the Asian collectivistic culture that are pertinent in psychotherapy. Authors evaluate the scope and effectiveness of family focused psychotherapy for mental disorders in India, and debate the issues and concerns faced in the practice of family therapy in India.

INTRODUCTION

The term family is derived from the Latin word ‘familia’ denoting a household establishment and refers to a “group of individuals living together during important phases of their lifetime and bound to each other by biological and/or social and psychological relationship”.[ 1 ] The group also includes persons engaged in an ongoing socially sanctioned apparently sexual relationship, sufficiently precise and enduring to provide for the procreation and upbringing of children.[ 1 ] Unlike the western society, which puts impetus on “individualism”, the Indian society is “collectivistic” in that it promotes interdependence and co-operation, with the family forming the focal point of this social structure. The Indian and Asian families are therefore, far more involved in caring of its members, and also suffer greater illness burden than their western counterparts. Indian families are more intimate with the patient, and are capable of taking greater therapeutic participation than in the west.

In a situation where the mental health resource is a scarcity, families form a valuable support system, which could be helpful in management of various stressful situations. Yet, the resource is not adequately and appropriately utilized. Clinicians in India and the sub-continent do routinely take time to educate family members of a patient about the illness and the importance of medication, but apart from this information exchange, the utilization of family in treatment is minimal. Structured family oriented psychotherapy is not practiced in India at most places in India, except a few centers in South India. Research publications on family therapy from India are also few. Thereare some evidence from published “family intervention studies”, but whether all non-pharmacological interventions with family members can be considered as “family therapy” is a matter of theoretical debate.

Sholevar[ 2 ] defines family therapy as any use of a family-focused intervention to bring out behavioral and/or attitudinal changes in one or more family members” Although the “family” may be involved in many schools of psychotherapy, “family therapy” represents the most direct branch of psychotherapy that deals with the family system as a whole.

This paper discusses the features of Indian family systems in the light of the Asian collectivistic culture that are pertinent in psychotherapy and family therapy as used in India, and its further scope.

UNDERSTANDING THE INDIAN FAMILY FROM A PSYCHOTHERAPEUTIC STANDPOINT

Role of culture and collectivism in shaping the family.

Families do not exist in isolation and family dynamics are often best interpreted in the context of their societal and cultural background. Culture has been shown to determine the family structure by shaping the family type, size, and form[ 3 , 4 ] and the family functioning by delineating boundaries, rules for interaction, communication patterns, acceptable practices, discipline and hierarchy in the family.[ 4 – 6 ] The roles of family members are determined largely by cultural factors (as well as stages of the family life cycle),[ 4 , 7 ] and finally, culture also explains families’ ways of defining problems and solving them.[ 7 ]

Culture, however, is not an external passive influence on the families but families themselves serve as the primary agent for transferring these cultural values to their members.[ 8 ] Parents help children to learn, internalize, and develop understanding of culture through both covert and overt means.[ 9 ] Family members modify behaviors in themselves and others by principles of social learning. In this process, the general norms and beliefs may be modified to suit the needs of the family creating a set of “family values” – A subset of societal norms unique to the family.

It is imperative then, that therapists understand the impact of culture on family functioning as well as in conflict resolution and problem-solving skills of the family members.[ 10 ] One such important dimension of Asian and particularly Indian culture that affects family functioning is collectivism.[ 11 – 13 ] “Collectivism” refers to the philosophic, economic, or social outlook that emphasizes the interdependence amongst human beings. It is the basic cultural element for cohesion within social groups, which stresses on the priority of group goals over individual goals in contrast to “individualism”, which emphasizes on what makes the individual distinct, and promotes engagement in competitive tasks. “Horizontal collectivism” refers to the system of collective decision-making by relatively equal individuals, for example, by the intra-generational family member; while “vertical collectivism” refers to hierarchical structures of power in a collectivistic family, for example, inter-generational relations in a three generation family.

Classically, the cultures of Western Europe and North America with their complex, stratified societies, where independence and differences are emphasized, are said to be individualistic, whereas in Asia, Africa, parts of Europe and Latin America where agreeing on social norms is important and jobs are interdependent, collectivism is thought to be preponderant.[ 14 , 15 ] Studies comparing Caucasians or Americans with people from Asian cultures, such as Vietnamese or Filipino[ 13 , 16 ] do show that individualistic societies value self-reliance, independence, autonomy and personal achievement,[ 16 ] and a definition of self apart from the group.[ 13 ] On the other hand, collectivistic societies value family cohesion, cooperation, solidarity, and conformity.[ 16 ]

Such cultural differences mean that people in different cultures have fundamentally different constructs of the self and others. For more collectivistic societies like ours, the self is defined relative to others, is concerned with belongingness, dependency, empathy, and reciprocity, and is focused on small, selective in-groups at the expense of out-groups. Relationships with others are emphasized, while personal autonomy, space and privacy are considered secondary.[ 17 ] Application of western psychotherapy, primarily focused on dynamic models, ego structure and individuals, therefore, becomes difficult in the Indian collectivistic context. The point has been well discussed by Indian psychiatrists in the past. As early as in 1982, Varma expressed limitations to the applicability of the Western type of psychotherapy in India,[ 18 ] and cited dependence/interdependence (a marker of collectivism) in Indian patients with other family members as foremost of the seven difficulties in carrying out dynamic and individual oriented psychotherapy. Surya and Jayaram have also pointed out that the Indian patients are more dependent than their western counterparts.[ 19 ] Neki, while discussing the concepts of confidentiality and privacy in the Indian context opined that these terms do not even exist in Indian socio-cultural setting, as the privacy can isolate people in interdependent society.[ 20 ] Neki recommended a middle ground with family therapy or at least couple of sessions with the family members along with dyadic therapy in order to help the progress of the psychotherapy.[ 21 ] Family, therefore, forms an important focus for change in collectivistic societies, and understanding the Indian family becomes an essential prerequisite for involving them in therapy.

The traditional Indian family

Any generalizations about the Indian family suffer from oversimplification, given the pluralistic nature of the Indian culture. However, in most sociological studies, Asian and Indian families are considered classically as large, patriarchal, collectivistic, joint families, harboring three or more generations vertically and kith and kin horizontally. Such traditional families form the oldest social institution that has survived through ages and functions as a dominant influence in the life of its individual members. Indian joint families are considered to be strong, stable, close, resilient and enduring with focus on family integrity, family loyalty, and family unity at expense of individuality, freedom of choice, privacy and personal space.[ 22 ]

Structurally, the Indian joint family includes three to four living generations, including grandparents, parents, uncles, aunts, nieces and nephews, all living together in the same household, utilizing a common kitchen and often spending from a common purse, contributed by all. Change in such family structure is slow, and loss of family units after the demise of elderly parents is counterbalanced by new members entering the family as children, and new members (wives) entering by matrimonial alliances, and their offsprings. The daughters of the family would leave following marriage. Functionally, majority of joint families adhere to a patriarchal ideology, follow the patrilineal rule of descent, and are patrilocal; although matrilocal and matriarchal families are quite prevalent in some southern parts of the country. The lines of hierarchy and authority are clearly drawn, with each hierarchical strata functioning within the principal of “collective responsibility”. Rules of conduct are aimed at creating and maintaining family harmony and for greater readiness to cooperate with family members on decisions affecting almost all aspects of life, including career choice, mate selection, and marriage. While women are expected to accept a position subservient to males, and to subordinate their personal preferences to the needs of other, males are expected to accept responsibility for meeting the needs of others. The earning males are expected to support the old; take care of widows, never-married adults and the disabled; assist members during periods of unemployment and illness; and provide security to women and children.[ 1 , 23 ] Psychologically, family members feel an intense emotional interdependence, empathy, closeness, and loyalty to each other.

The changing Indian family

The socio-cultural milieu of India is undergoing change at a tremendous pace, leaving fundamental alterations in family structure in its wake. The last decade has not only witnessed rapid and chaotic changes in social, economic, political, religious and occupational spheres; but also saw familial changes in power distribution, marital norms and role of women. A review of the national census data and the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) data suggests that, gradually, nuclear families are becoming the predominant form of Indian family institution, at least in urban areas. The 1991 census, for the first time reported household growth to be higher than the population growth, suggesting household fragmentation; a trend that gathered further momentum in the 2001 and the 2010 census. A comparison of the three NFHS data [ Table 1 ] also shows that over the years there has been a progressive increase in nuclear families, more in urban areas, with an associated progressive decrease in the number of household members.[ 24 – 26 ] Other important trends include a decrease in age of the house-head, reflecting change in power structure and an increase in households headed by females, suggesting a change in traditional gender roles.

Summary data from the National Family Health Survey

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However, though traditional joint families have been significantly replaced by urban “new order” nuclear families, it would be wrong to look at present Indian families in such simple bimodal groups. The family systems presently have become highly differentiated and heterogeneous social entities in terms of structure, pattern, role relationships, obligations and values. Joint families that stay under same roof, but with separate kitchen, separate purse and with considerable autonomy and reduced responsibility for extended family members are common and represent “transitional families”.[ 27 ] Others may stay in separate households but cluster around in the same community. Such transitional families though structurally nuclear, may still continue to function as joint families. Sethi, back in 1989 pointed out the strong networks of kinship ties in Indian “extended families”, and observed that even when relatives cannot actually live in close proximity, they typically maintain strong bonds and attempt to provide each other with economic help and emotional support.[ 1 ]

Effects of societal and familial change on mental health

Social and cultural changes have altered entire lifestyles, interpersonal relationship patterns, power structures and familial relationship arrangements in current times. These changes, which include a shift from joint/extended to nuclear family, along with problems of urbanization, changes of role, status and power with increased employment of women, migratory movements among the younger generation, and loss of the experience advantage of elderly members in the family, have increased the stress and pressure on such families, leading to an increased vulnerability to emotional problems and disorders. The families are frequently subject to these pressures.

Countries within the developing world are impatient and intend to achieve within a generation, what countries in the developed world took centuries. Hence societal changes here are not step by step or gradual, but rapid, the process inevitably involving “temporal compression”. Additionally, the sequences of these societal changes are haphazard or “Cacophonic”,[ 28 ] producing a condition that is highly unsettling and stressful. For example, in a household where a woman is the chief breadwinner but has minimal standing in decision making, the situation leads to role resentment and disorganized power structure in the family. Indeed, studies do show that nuclear family structure is more prone to mental disorders than joint families.[ 29 ] Fewer patients with mental illness from rural families have been reported to be hospitalized when compared to urban families because of the existing joint family structure, which apparently provides additional support.[ 30 ] Children from large families have been found to report significantly lower behavioral problems like eating and sleeping disorders, aggressiveness, dissocial behavior and delinquency than those from nuclear families.[ 31 ] Even the large scale international collaborative studies conducted by WHO – the International Pilot Study on Schizophrenia, the Determinants of Outcome of Severe Mental Disorders and the International Study of Schizophrenia – reported that persons with schizophrenia did better in India and other developing countries, when compared to their Western counterparts largely due to the increased family support and integration they received in the developing world.[ 32 ]

Although a bulk of Indian studies indicates that the traditional family is a better source for psychological support and is more resilient to stress, one should not, however, universalize. The “unchanging, nurturant and benevolent” family core is often a sentimentalization of an altruistic society.[ 33 ] In reality, arrangements in large traditional families are frequently unjust in its distribution of income and allocation of resources to different members. Exploitation of family resources by a coterie of members close to the “ Karta ” (the head of family) and subjugation of women are the common malaise of traditional Indian family. Indian ethos of maintaining “family harmony” and absolute “obedience to elderly” are often used to suppress the younger members. The resentment, however, passive and silent it may be, simmers, and in the absence of harmonious resolution often manifests as psychiatric disorders. Somatoform and dissociative disorders, which show a definite increased prevalence in our society compared to the west, may be viewed as manifestations of such unexpressed stress.

Therefore, rather than lamenting on the change in societal structure and loss of the joint family, the therapist should be aware of the unique dynamics of each family he treats, and should endeavor to find and utilize the strengths therein, while providing ways to cope with stress within the limits of the available resources.

UNDERSTANDING PSYCHOTHERAPY FROM THE FAMILY PERSPECTIVE

Family oriented psychotherapy: history and scope in india.

Social interventions with families to help them cope with problems have always been a part of all cultures in form of a variety of rituals, for example, the rituals surrounding death of family members. The roots of the formal development of family therapy, however, dates back to the early 1940s, when pioneers like John Bowlby in the United States; John Elderkin Bell, Nathan Ackerman, Theodore Lidz, Lyman Wynne, Murray Bowen and Carl Whitaker in United Kingdom; and D.L.P. Liebermann in Hungary began seeing and observing family members in therapy sessions.[ 34 ] The initial strong influence from psychoanalysis soon gave way to concepts from social psychiatry, learning theory and behavior therapy, and the early concepts of theoretical framework for family therapy were formed.[ 2 ] In the mid-1950s, Gregory Bateson and colleagues at Palo Alto in the United States, introduced ideas from cybernetics and general systems theory in psychotherapy.[ 35 ] The systems approach did not focus on the linear causation model of individual psychology, and instead emphasized on feedback and homeostatic mechanisms that operate in family systems. The famous “circular causation and process” model was forwarded and here-and-now interactions between family members started being viewed as a major factor in maintaining or exacerbating problems, whatever be the original cause.[ 36 ] Simultaneously, Murray Bowen at the National Institute of Mental Health, worked on his hypothesis on family systems, based on his observations on the father-mother-child triad. Bowen's observations on triadic relationship, fusion and distancing, nuclear family emotional process, multi-generational transmission processes and family constellation forms the basis of the family systems theory, which later came to be known as the Bowen's theory.

By the mid-1960s, a large number of distinct schools of family therapy had emerged, some of which included brief therapy, strategic therapy, structural family therapy, and the Milan systems model. Concurrently and somewhat interdependently with the systems theory, intergenerational therapies emerged, which theorized the intergenerational transmission of health and dysfunction and usually dealt with at least three generations of a family. After the late-1970s, the field of family therapy saw many practical modifications of the earlier rigid theoretical frameworks, especially in the light of accumulated clinical experience in treatment of serious mental disorders. In the past few decades, there has been a general move towards integration and eclecticism, with practitioners using techniques from several areas, depending upon their own inclinations and/or the needs of the clients.

In India, work in family therapy started in the late 1950s, coinciding with the period of increased interest in psychotherapy in India. Vidya Sagar, who worked with families at the Amritsar Mental Hospital in the 1950s, is credited as the father of family therapy in India. His own writings on the topic are sparse, but he was able to involve families of patients in understanding and taking care of their patients with psychiatric illness, and to support each other through group participation.[ 37 ] Vidya Sagar found that involving the family significantly reduced the hospital stay, increased acceptance of the patient by the family, and enhanced family coping skills.[ 38 ] In a similar attempt about the same time, the Mental Health Center at Vellore[ 39 ] started admitting all psychiatric patients along with their families to unit family rooms. Mental Health Center, Vellore tried to focus on family education and family counseling on how to deal with the index patient and showed promising results of the family interventions. 1960s was also the time of beginning of the general hospital psychiatric units (GHPUs) with inpatient facilities, where patients were admitted mandatorily with a family member with focus on family education and counseling. The similar practice has been followed at all the GHPUs, which have been established in India over the last 5 decades. These units, though may not be conducing family therapy, are working with family involvement in treatment of the persons with mental illness.

Another major boost to family therapy in India occurred in the late 1970s and early 1980s, when the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro-Sciences (NIMHANS), Bangalore started working actively on family members of patients with psychiatric disorders, which ultimately resulted in the formation of a formal Family Psychiatry Center in 1977. Early work from the center showed that families could be taught to cope with their burden through education, counseling and group support in an effective manner.[ 40 ] Subsequent work by researchers[ 41 – 43 ] showed the usefulness of involving families in the management of a variety of psychiatric disorders including marital discord, hysteria and psychosis. In the late 1980s, the center developed Indian tools for working in the field of family therapy, notable amongst which are the Family Interaction Pattern Scale, the Family Topology Scale[ 44 , 45 ] and the Marital Quality Scale.[ 46 ] In the late 1980s and 1990s the center started training post graduates in psychiatry in concepts and schools of family therapy and started orienting itself to structured rather than generic family therapy. At the turn of this century, it became the only center in India to offer formal training and diploma course in family therapy.[ 47 ] Though the center in past had practiced various dynamic and behavioral models, currently it follows primarily a systemic model of family therapy.[ 48 ]

In the non-government sector, though there are family therapy practitioners, particularly in the cities of Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore, they are mostly scattered and often suffer from the lack of training and resource facilities. The Schizophrenia Research Foundation at Chennai, which works with long-term care and rehabilitation of the chronically mentally ill patients, conducts a family intervention program, focused on education and coping of family members with the illness of the index patient. The Indian Association for Family Therapy, founded since 1991, has also been working in the field to provide a platform for private therapists.

Effectiveness of family oriented psychotherapy in India

Although a significant number of therapists practice family therapy in India in government and private settings, the published literature on the subject is surprisingly sparse. Most publications are issue based experiential accounts of the practitioners, rather than evidence based merits of particular therapy modalities. Even then, most intervention studies report significant benefits whenever family have been involved in management of psychiatric disorders. Table 2 summarizes the findings of major family intervention studies from India.

Summary of the findings of family intervention studies from India

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A large body of published work in family therapy in India comes from the Family Therapy Center, at NIMHANS.[ 49 ] In one of the earliest studies from the center, it was found that staying with a preferred family member reduced duration of hospital stay in psychiatric inpatients.[ 42 ] In another definitive study on the effectiveness of family therapy in Indian setting, Prabhu et al . in 1988 followed-up 60 families over 2 years, who had received brief integrative inpatient family therapy. Two third of the group did very well or moderately well.[ 50 ] Later studies have reported improvement with family therapy in patients with a wide range of psychiatric problems, including schizophrenia,[ 51 ] alcohol dependence,[ 52 ] eating disorders,[ 53 ] epileptic psychosis,[ 54 ] adolescent conduct disorder,[ 55 ] marital problems,[ 56 – 59 ] family violence[ 60 , 61 ] and in families coping with people living with HIV AIDS.[ 62 ]

In addition to the interventional studies, experiential accounts and reflective writings by therapists working with families in India help us to understand issues, practical difficulties and unique advantages of the Indian setting. Table 3 summarizes the major points of various published studies on family therapy by Indian practitioners in last 15 years, that throw light on the process issues rather than the outcome.

Summary of experiential and reflective journal articles on family therapy in India

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Family oriented psychotherapy: Process and issues in practice

Ideally, any psychotherapy would include intake process, therapy proper and a termination phase. In family therapy, aim of the intake phase is to understand the families’ perception of the problem, their motivation to undergo therapy, and the therapist's assessment of the suitability and type of family therapy to be applied. Assessment of the family forms an important part of the intake phase and different therapists employ different techniques for the purpose like the three generation genogram; life cycle chart, structural map or the circular hypothesis. The three generation genogram diagrammatically lists out the patient's generation and two more related generations and helps to understand trans-generational patterns of interaction. The life cycle chart explores the functions of the family and roles of different family members. A structural map shows the different subsystems in the family, the power structure and the relations between the family members. This can show if relations are normal, overinvolved, conflictual or distant. The circular hypothesis generally used in systemic therapy helps to understand the meaning of the symptoms for the patient and the role of the family members in maintaining them.

As most of these assessment tools were originally developed in the west, they need to be suitably modified for use in the eastern culture. In the last few decades attempts have been to develop culturally sensitive tools to assess Indian family in treatment. The Family Topology Scale[ 52 ] is a 28 item scale that measures family types, and groups them into the five subtypes of normal, cohesive, egoistic, altruistic and anoxic. Another tool, the Family Interaction Pattern scale,[ 44 ] looks into the developmental phases of the family. The scale has six subscales looking into leadership, communication, role, reinforcement, cohesiveness and social support. For assessing marital problems in Indian couples two tools are available: Marital Adjustment Questionnaire[ 92 ] and Marital Quality Scale.[ 46 ] Marital Adjustment Questionnaire[ 92 ] attempts to assess marital adjustment in Indian couples, and measures seven aspects of family functioning, including personality, emotional factors, sexual satisfaction, marital role and responsibility, relationship to in laws, attitudes to children and family planning, and interpersonal relationships. Marital Quality Scale[ 46 ] is a more comprehensive instrument for assessing marital problems and looks into 12 dimensions of understanding, rejection, satisfaction, affection, despair, decision making, discontent, dissolution potential, dominance, disclosure, trust and role functioning. Such emic assessment tools are invaluable in understanding the unique problems of the family in our culture.

The therapy proper is the phase, where major work on the family is carried out. The school of therapy used depends on various factors. For example, the degree of psychological sophistication in the family will determine if psychodynamic techniques can be used. The nature of the disorder will also determine the therapy, like the use of behavioral techniques in chronic psychotic illness. Therapist's comfort and training, and the time the family can spare for therapy are other determining factors. Dynamic approaches generally take months to years, where as focused strategic techniques can bring benefits over a few sessions.

Endo-cultural issues may crop up at the initial phases, which threaten to jeopardize the therapy outcome. The therapist needs to be aware of them and be sensitive and considerate. Although Indian families are more encouraging and supporting of their mentally ill member, the rigid hierarchical structure of Indian families often hinders free communication of thoughts and feelings. Therefore, the therapist may encounter difficulties in improving family communication pattern. The “karta” (head) of the family may resist attempts of family members to usurp his authority and so may not allow other family members to express feelings. The therapist may come to an impasse, if he attempts to challenge the authority of the father or sides with the wife rather than with the husband in couple's therapy. Additionally, given the diverse cultural and social background, the therapy needs to be tailored to the needs of individual family, keeping factors such as socio-economic status, educational level and family structure (nuclear, transitional, joint, traditional) into account. Directive approaches may be more suitable for traditional families, as the therapist is often looked upon as charismatic, authoritarian and in control of the session.[ 93 ]

New and unexpected problems arising out of the rapid changing social scenario also need to be addressed. Family and couple's conflict arising out of factors such as conflicts in families over dowry, or related to inter-caste marriage; sexual problems arising out of physical separation of couples due to job timing or placement; disagreement about child rearing practices (both within couples and intergenerational); conflicts related to husband's role in sharing in domestic chores for working couples; problems with unsupervised children, and loss or displacement of role or function of the elderly are only a few of the problems unique to modern Indian families.[ 90 ] In family therapy focusing on adolescent and children, substance abuse, juvenile delinquency, school dropout or low school attendance are common amongst the lower socioeconomic classes. Parent-child conflict from increased autonomy and individuation of the child are common in nuclear families. In recent times, increased demands on children or adolescents for academic achievements from parents, the culture clash with children going for night-outs, parties, raves and adolescent sexual experimentation have been reported by Indian therapists as common issues while dealing with adolescents.[ 86 ] Although most of these problems are the same that troubled the west in the 1960s and the 1970s, our cultural differences make the therapist look and treat these problems as new.

It might be beneficial for the therapist to understand that in India and other similar collectivistic societies, the concepts of self, attitudes, values and boundaries are defined differently from those of the western world. In collectivistic societies the self is largely defined through the collective identity with family identity forming a significant component of the self-identity.[ 94 ] Therefore, individuals from such societies, when they stand up for their individual rights are termed rebellious, disobedient, or disrespectful. In therapy, if the person resists the solutions proposed by family members, the person may often be accused of not respecting important members of the family and/or community.[ 15 ] Attitudinal differences in collectivistic societies hamper treatment seeking too. People from collectivist societies often tend to keep their personal problems to themselves, especially if their own opinions and experiences are inconsistent with the conventional wisdom and mores of the family. Typically, only in severe cases, the people seek support from outsiders, and even then at the cost of significant resistance from other family members, who may perceive help seeking from the therapist as a measure of failure of the family to solve the problem of their member.[ 95 ] Additionally, involvement of outside strangers in resolving personal problems may be perceived by members of the collective society as intruding in the family's private affairs, undermining the family's harmony, and/or as a potential threat to their reputation. Collectivist values make each member of the family responsible for the behavior and the life conditions of every other family member, even to the extent of denial of individual needs and aspirations. In therapy, this often leads to over involvement, lack of privacy and space for the client. Indeed, negative expressed emotions that might hamper therapy and positive expressed emotions that help, have both been found to be more significant predictors of outcome in our country compared to the west.[ 96 ]

Finally, the therapist should be aware of the psychotherapeutic concepts derived from Indian philosophy and religion, as they have been found to be effective and culturally more acceptable in certain cases. The concept of “Shivite” stemming from the Hindu mythology of God Shiva and representing a phallic symbol can be used in dynamic psychotherapy.[ 97 ] The legend of Savitri has been used as a framework for psychotherapy by Surya and Jayaram.[ 98 ] Wig has used the term Hanuman complex[ 99 ] for the mythological story of Lord Hanuman needing external help being reminded about his forgotten powers. The concept can be used to help patients understand the process of psychotherapy and identifying one's hidden strengths. Varma used principles from the communication of Buddha in psychotherapy, which he viewed as an ‘interpersonal method of mitigating suffering’. He has also emphasized on the use of concepts of Karma and Dharma in psychotherapy.[ 18 ] Neki used the concept of “Sahaja” and the role of “nirvana” in psychotherapy. He also propounded on the directive interaction between the therapist and the patient using the “Guru-Chela” paradigm.[ 100 ] Although such concepts may not be universally applicable, particularly in the changed urban modern scenario, they can be effectively used particularly in traditional systems to make therapy more acceptable and effective.

The termination phase summarizes the original problem, reviews the beneficial changes and patterns of interaction that have emerged through therapy, and stresses on the need for sustaining the improvements achieved. The follow-up sessions may be continued over the next 6 months to a year to ensure that the client therapist bond is not severed too quickly.

Indian families are capable of fulfilling the physical, spiritual and emotional needs of its members; initiate and maintain growth, and be a source of support, security and encouragement to the patient. These fundamental characteristics of the Indian family remain valid even now despite the changes in the social scenario. In a country, where the deficit in mental health professionals amounts to greater than 90% in most parts of the country, the family is an invaluable resource in mental health treatment. From a psycho-therapeutic viewpoint, in collectivistic societies like ours, the family may be a source of the trouble as well as a support during trouble. It is therefore, plausible that the family might also provide solutions of the trouble and indeed, interventions focusing on the whole family rather that the individual often results in more gratifying and lasting outcome. Sadly, the progress made in the last few decades has been minimal and restricted to few centers only and family therapy has not found popularity amongst the mental health community. Lack of integration of psychotherapy in postgraduate curriculum, lack of training centers for clinical psychologists, and lack of a good model of family therapy that can be followed in the diverse Indian setting are the three cardinal reasons for the apathy. This does not absolve the mental health professionals from the responsibility of providing solutions for the problems of the family, which seems to have multiplied during the same time. The Indian family, which often feels bewildered in these times of changed values, changed roles, changed morality and changed expectations is in need of support and is ready for family therapy. If developed enthusiastically, family therapy might be the right tool to not only help the families in need but also to develop a huge resource in community-centered treatment of mental-health problems.

Source of Support: Nil

Conflict of Interest: None declared

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Religion in India: Tolerance and Segregation

7. religious practices, table of contents.

The dimensions of Hindu nationalism in India
India’s Muslims express pride in being Indian while identifying communal tensions, desiring segregation
Muslims, Hindus diverge over legacy of Partition
Religious conversion in India
Religion very important across India’s religious groups
Near-universal belief in God, but wide variation in how God is perceived
Across India’s religious groups, widespread sharing of beliefs, practices, values
Religious identity in India: Hindus divided on whether belief in God is required to be a Hindu, but most say eating beef is disqualifying
Sikhs are proud to be Punjabi and Indian
Most Indians say they and others are very free to practice their religion
Most people do not see evidence of widespread religious discrimination in India
Most Indians report no recent discrimination based on their religion
In Northeast India, people perceive more religious discrimination
Most Indians see communal violence as a very big problem in the country
Indians divided on the legacy of Partition for Hindu-Muslim relations
More Indians say religious diversity benefits their country than say it is harmful
Indians are highly knowledgeable about their own religion, less so about other religions
Substantial shares of Buddhists, Sikhs say they have worshipped at religious venues other than their own
One-in-five Muslims in India participate in celebrations of Diwali
Members of both large and small religious groups mostly keep friendships within religious lines
Most Indians are willing to accept members of other religious communities as neighbors, but many express reservations
Indians generally marry within same religion
Most Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs and Jains strongly support stopping interreligious marriage
India’s religious groups vary in their caste composition
Indians in lower castes largely do not perceive widespread discrimination against their groups
Most Indians do not have recent experience with caste discrimination
Most Indians OK with Scheduled Caste neighbors
Indians generally do not have many close friends in different castes
Large shares of Indians say men, women should be stopped from marrying outside of their caste
Most Indians say being a member of their religious group is not only about religion
Common ground across major religious groups on what is essential to religious identity
India’s religious groups vary on what disqualifies someone from their religion
Hindus say eating beef, disrespecting India, celebrating Eid incompatible with being Hindu
Muslims place stronger emphasis than Hindus on religious practices for identity
Many Hindus, Muslims, Buddhists do not identify with a sect
Sufism has at least some followers in every major Indian religious group
Large majorities say Indian culture is superior to others
What constitutes ‘true’ Indian identity?
Large gaps between religious groups in 2019 election voting patterns
No consensus on whether democracy or strong leader best suited to lead India
Majorities support politicians being involved in religious matters
Indian Muslims favor their own religious courts; other religious groups less supportive
Most Indians do not support allowing triple talaq for Muslims
Southern Indians least likely to say religion is very important in their life
Most Indians give to charitable causes
Majorities of Hindus, Muslims, Christians and Jains in India pray daily
More Indians practice puja at home than at temple
Most Hindus do not read or listen to religious books frequently
Most Indians have an altar or shrine in their home for worship
Religious pilgrimages common across most religious groups in India
Most Hindus say they have received purification from a holy body of water
Roughly half of Indian adults meditate at least weekly
Only about a third of Indians ever practice yoga
Nearly three-quarters of Christians sing devotionally
Most Muslims and few Jains say they have participated in or witnessed animal sacrifice for religious purposes
Most Indians schedule key life events based on auspicious dates
About half of Indians watch religious programs weekly
For Hindus, nationalism associated with greater religious observance
Indians value marking lifecycle events with religious rituals
Most Indian parents say they are raising their children in a religion
Fewer than half of Indian parents say their children receive religious instruction outside the home
Vast majority of Sikhs say it is very important that their children keep their hair long
Half or more of Hindus, Muslims and Christians wear religious pendants
Most Hindu, Muslim and Sikh women cover their heads outside the home
Slim majority of Hindu men say they wear a tilak, fewer wear a janeu
Eight-in-ten Muslim men in India wear a skullcap
Majority of Sikh men wear a turban
Muslim and Sikh men generally keep beards
Most Indians are not vegetarians, but majorities do follow at least some restrictions on meat in their diet
One-in-five Hindus abstain from eating root vegetables
Fewer than half of vegetarian Hindus willing to eat in non-vegetarian settings
Indians evenly split about willingness to eat meals with hosts who have different religious rules about food
Majority of Indians say they fast
More Hindus say there are multiple ways to interpret Hinduism than say there is only one true way
Most Indians across different religious groups believe in karma
Most Hindus, Jains believe in Ganges’ power to purify
Belief in reincarnation is not widespread in India
More Hindus and Jains than Sikhs believe in moksha (liberation from the cycle of rebirth)
Most Hindus, Muslims, Christians believe in heaven
Nearly half of Indian Christians believe in miracles
Most Muslims in India believe in Judgment Day
Most Indians believe in fate, fewer believe in astrology
Many Hindus and Muslims say magic, witchcraft or sorcery can influence people’s lives
Roughly half of Indians trust religious ritual to treat health problems
Lower-caste Christians much more likely than General Category Christians to hold both Christian and non-Christian beliefs
Nearly all Indians believe in God
Few Indians believe ‘there are many gods’
Many Hindus feel close to Shiva
Many Indians believe God can be manifested in other people
Indians almost universally ask God for good health, prosperity, forgiveness
Acknowledgments
Questionnaire design
Sample design and weighting
Precision of estimates
Response rates
Significant events during fieldwork
Appendix B: Index of religious segregation

By several standard measures, Indians are highly religious. A majority of Indian adults pray daily (60%), more than two-thirds visit a house of worship at least monthly (71%), and an overwhelming share say religion is very important in their lives (84%). Previous Pew Research Center surveys show much less importance given to religion in several other regions of the world, including Western Europe , Central and Eastern Europe , Israel , Latin America and the United States . Only in sub-Saharan Africa and some regions with large Muslim populations do similar or higher shares of the public say religion is very important to them.

For many Indians, the high importance of religion is reflected in religious practices centered at home. Roughly eight-in-ten Indian adults (81%) have an altar, shrine or religious symbol in their home for worship, and a similar share (78%) say they have invited a religious leader to conduct religious rites at their home. These home-based religious practices are widely followed among both Hindus and members of smaller religious communities.

Some other religious and spiritual practices, though, are much less common. For instance, while yoga is strongly promoted by the Indian government as a core Indian practice, 62% of Indians report never practicing yoga. Scripture reading is also not as common: Most Indian adults (58%) say they read or listen to recitation of scripture either on a yearly basis or less often than that, including about one-in-five (22%) who say they never do this.

Buddhists are the least likely group to engage in many of these religious practices. And Southern Indians are often less observant than other Indians by these measures.

Several of the religious practices covered in the survey are common among Hindus regardless of demographic background or political preference. But among Hindus, nationalist attitudes and support for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are connected with somewhat higher levels of religious practice. For example, those who say it is very important to be Hindu to be truly Indian are more likely than other Hindus to meditate at least weekly (55% vs. 35%). And Hindus who have a favorable view of the BJP are more likely than those who have an unfavorable view of the party to say they have received purification by taking a dip in a holy body of water, such as the Ganges River (68% vs. 58%).

Most Indians say religion is very important

Indians overwhelmingly say that religion is very important in their lives (84%), including majorities in each of the country’s major religious groups. Christians are the least likely religious community to feel religion plays a very important role in their personal lives, but still, fully three-quarters (76%) say this is the case. And most others, both among Christians and the population as a whole, say religion is “somewhat” important to them; just 3% of Indian adults say religion is “not too” or “not at all” important in their lives.

Roughly nine-in-ten Indians in the country’s Central region (92%) say religion is very important to them, while far fewer Southern Indians (69%) feel this way. And rural Indians are somewhat more likely than those who live in cities to place great importance on religion (86% vs. 81%).

College graduates are modestly less likely than other Indians to say religion has high importance in their life (80% vs. 85%).

Indians regularly visit their houses of worship

The survey, conducted before the Indian government began imposing lockdowns in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, asked Indians how frequently they visit religious sites or houses of worship. Hindus, Buddhists and Jains were asked about visiting temples; Muslims about visiting mosques for namaz; Sikhs about visiting gurdwaras; and all other respondents, including Christians, about attending religious services. Most Indians (71%) say they visit these religious sites at least once a month. (The survey also asked people if they have prayed, meditated or performed a ritual at houses of worship outside of their own religious group; see Chapter 2 .)

Most Indians visit temples or other houses of worship at least monthly

Large majorities in every major religious community – with the exception of Buddhists – say they visit a house of worship at least monthly. And majorities in nearly all these groups even do so on a weekly basis. For example, 87% of Jains go to a temple at least monthly, including 70% who visit the temple at least once a week.

Fewer than half of India’s Buddhists (44%) visit temples at least monthly. And Buddhists are also among the most likely to report never visiting their house of worship (16%). A similar share of Muslims (20%) say they never go to a mosque for namaz, but this is almost entirely driven by Muslim women – fully 41% of whom report never visiting a mosque, compared with just 1% of Muslim men.

Among Indians overall, however, gender, age and education have little connection to how often people report attending their house of worship. But members of General Category castes are more likely than Indians from lower castes to visit their religion’s sites at least monthly (77% vs. 68%).

Visiting a temple, mosque, gurdwara or religious service also is more common among Indians who are more religious in other ways. For example, Indians who say they pray daily are more likely than other Indians to visit religious sites at least monthly (77% vs. 62%).

Overwhelming shares of Indians give money to houses of worship

While most Indians visit a house of worship monthly or more often, even larger shares report donating money to these venues. Nearly nine-in-ten Indians (89%), including nearly identical shares across most religious groups, say they give money to a house of worship associated with their religion. Even among Buddhists, who have the lowest rate of monthly temple attendance (44%), three-quarters of adults say they give money to temples.

Indians also overwhelmingly give to other charities. About eight-in-ten Indian adults (78%) say they give money to charitable causes other than their house of worship.

Among Muslims, those with a college education are more inclined than less-educated Muslims to give money to charitable causes aside from the mosque (87% vs. 73%).

Among Indians as a whole, higher levels of religious observance are connected with giving money not only to a house of worship, but also to other charities. For example, 80% of Indians who say religion is very important to their lives donate money to charities other than their house of worship, compared with 68% among those for whom religion is less important.

Daily prayer common across India’s major religious groups

Six-in-ten Indians say they pray daily, including 18% of Indians who say they pray several times a day. 18

But prayer practices vary widely in India. Large majorities of Christians (77%) and Jains (73%), for example, pray at least once a day, while far fewer Sikhs (45%) and Buddhists (38%) do so.

Nationally, women are more inclined than men to pray daily (64% vs. 56%). And adults ages 35 and older are slightly more likely to offer daily prayers or namaz than are younger adults (62% vs. 57%). People of different education levels, however, pray daily at similar rates.

The frequency of prayer differs considerably by region – from 37% in the South saying they pray daily to about three-quarters in the Central region (74%). The low rate of daily prayer in the South is driven by the region’s Hindus: Southern Muslims and Christians pray at similar rates to their national counterparts, but Southern Hindus are much less likely to pray daily than Hindus nationally (30% vs. 59%).

Nearly four-in-ten Muslims in India pray five times a day

Indians who say religion is very important in their lives are more likely than others to pray daily (63% vs. 45%).

Among Sikhs and Buddhists – the groups least likely to pray daily – prayer is more common among those who recently faced financial hardship. For example, Buddhists who recently struggled to pay for the basic necessities of food, medical care or housing are more likely than other Buddhists to pray daily (48% vs. 32%).

About four-in-ten Muslims (38%) say they pray all five namaz daily; this figure is similar across different age groups, education levels and castes. And while Indian women nationally pray daily at higher rates than men, Muslim men (37%) are just as likely as women (38%) to pray all five namaz.

Most Jains, Hindus and Buddhists in India perform puja regularly

Puja is a practice that often involves prayer and giving offerings to deities. The survey asked Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists and Jains how frequently they perform this ritual at home and at a temple. Majorities of Jains (83%), Hindus (76%) and Buddhists (58%) practice puja at home at least once a week. In fact, the vast majority of Jains (79%) say they perform puja at home daily .

Across religious groups, people perform puja at home more often than they do at a temple. For example, while about three-in-four Hindus (76%) practice puja at home weekly, roughly half (53%) do so at a temple each week.

Sikhs are less likely than other groups to report performing puja at least weekly at home (40%) or at a temple (21%).

Among Hindus, women are much more likely than men to perform puja in their home at least weekly (84% vs. 68%). But the shares of Hindu women and men who perform puja at temples are more similar (55% and 51%, respectively).

Hindus in the Eastern region of India are generally less likely than Hindus elsewhere to practice puja at home or at temple on a weekly basis. And lower-caste Hindus are less inclined than General Category Hindus to perform puja.

Overwhelming shares of Indians across most religious groups believe their scripture is the word of God

The survey asked Indians how often they read or listen to recitations of religious books. For most of the religious communities, an example of a religious text was included in the question: Hindus were asked about the Bhagavad Gita, Muslims about the Quran, Christians about the Bible, Sikhs about the Guru Granth Sahib and Buddhists about the Sutras. (Jains were not given an example of a specific text.)

While large majorities of Christians (78%) and Sikhs (70%) say they read scriptures at least weekly, and over half of Jains (56%) and Muslims (53%) do this as well, fewer Hindus and Buddhists (22% each) read or listen to religious books with such regularity.

Among Hindus, reading or listening to recitations of religious books at least weekly is more common among people belonging to upper castes (29%) than among people who belong to lower castes (19%). Highly educated Hindus are also somewhat more likely than their less-educated peers to read or listen to recitations of religious texts.

In every community, though, the majority believes their religion’s sacred text is the word of God. And in each case, the share who say their religious texts are the word of God is substantially higher than the share who read or listen to these texts at least weekly. For example, 82% of Hindus say the Bhagavad Gita is the word of God; 22% read it every week.

Southern Indians are the least likely to say their sacred text is the word of God (71%), with Hindus driving this pattern. Two-thirds of Southern Hindus say the Bhagavad Gita is the word of God (67%), compared with 82% of all Indian Hindus. But nearly all Muslims (94%) and Christians (96%) in the South say their sacred text is the word of God, just like Muslims (93%) and Christians (94%) nationally.

Most Hindus, Jains have holy basil at home

Puja is not the only home-based religious practice for many Indians. The survey also asked if Indians have an altar, shrine or religious symbol in their home for worship; if they ever invite religious leaders (e.g., a pundit, an imam, a priest or pastor, or a monk) to perform religious rites at their home; and if they have holy basil at home.

The vast majority of Indians (81%) say they have religious symbols in their home for worship, and a comparable share (78%) say they ever invite religious leaders into their home to conduct religious rites.

Overall, Hindus and Jains are the most likely to have altars, shrines or religious objects in their homes. This is especially true for holy basil (the tulsi plant), which is considered sacred in India – majorities of Hindus (72%) and Jains (62%) have tulsi at home, compared with about three-in-ten or fewer in other groups. Large majorities in all religious communities have invited a religious leader to their home for religious rituals.

Among Hindus, college graduates are more likely than other Hindus to have holy basil (80% vs. 71%). And college-educated Christians are much more likely than Christians with less education to keep an altar, shrine or religious symbol at home (77% vs. 62%).

Where people live also is linked with household practices. Southern Indians are less likely than Indians in other regions to invite religious leaders to their homes. Yet Indians in the Northeast are the least likely to have altars, shrines or religious symbols at home for worship.

Among Hindus, people in General Category castes are slightly more likely than lower-caste Hindus to have holy basil at home (77% vs. 70%).

Muslims in India least likely to have made a religious pilgrimage

In India, most adults (56%) say they have made a religious pilgrimage, and this is true across most religious groups. The majority of Muslims, however, say they have not made a pilgrimage (62%).

Throughout the country, older adults are more likely than those ages 18 to 34 to have made a pilgrimage (61% vs. 49%). And those in the Northern (61%) and Central (65%) regions are generally more likely to have taken a pilgrimage. Meanwhile, the vast majority of Northeastern Indians have never taken one (81%).

Most Indians who say they pray daily have been on a pilgrimage (60%), compared with about half of Indians who pray less often (48%).

Among Muslims, those who recently have faced financial hardship (i.e., were unable to pay for food, medicine or housing in the last year) are slightly more likely than other Muslims to have made a pilgrimage (41% vs. 34%). And lower-caste Muslims also are more likely than General Category Muslims to have done this (42% vs. 33%).

Many Sikhs, Jains report receiving purification in a holy body of water

Nearly two-thirds of Hindus say they have received purification by taking a dip in a holy body of water, such as the Ganges River (65%). Far fewer Jains (40%), Sikhs (34%) and Buddhists (20%) say they have ever been purified in a holy body of water. (Muslims and Christians did not receive this question.)

Older Hindus (ages 35 and older) are more likely than younger Hindu adults to have received purification in a holy body of water (69% vs. 60%).

Strong majorities of Hindus in the Eastern (64%), Northern (71%) and Central (81%) regions – through which the Ganges flows – say they have taken a dip in a holy body of water. But even in the South, most Hindus (63%) have received purification in this way.

Hindus who say religion is very important in their lives are significantly more likely than other Hindus to have taken a dip in a holy body of water (68% vs. 50%).

About half of Indian adults (48%) report meditating once a week or more, including nearly a third (32%) who do so daily. Most Sikhs (57%) and Jains (61%) say they practice meditation at least once a week, as do 52% of Muslims and 47% of Hindus. Fewer Christians (34%) and Buddhists (35%) meditate weekly.

Large regional variation in Indians’ meditation habits

Indians who pray daily are more than twice as likely as other Indians to meditate at least once a week (62% vs. 26%).

Indians in different regions are drastically different in their meditation habits. About three-quarters of Indians in the Central region (76%) report that they meditate at least once a week, including a majority who meditate daily (61%). By contrast, only 19% of South Indians meditate at least weekly.

India is the birthplace of yoga, but most Indians do not practice it. About a third of Indians (35%) say they ever practice yoga, with just 13% doing so weekly or more often. Meanwhile, roughly six-in-ten (62%) – including an identical share of Hindus – say they never do yoga.

Most Indians, including most Hindus, do not practice yoga

Jains are more likely than members of India’s other major religious groups to practice yoga (61%), though many Sikhs (50%) do so as well. About a quarter of Jains and Sikhs say they do yoga at least weekly.

In India, those who do yoga tend to be relatively young, highly educated and disproportionately men. For instance, a majority of college-educated Indians (56%) practice yoga, compared with only a third of those with less education. And people in North India are more likely than Indians in other regions to ever practice yoga.

Indians who pray daily are slightly more inclined than other Indians to participate in yoga (38% vs. 30%). But on the whole, Indians who say religion is very important in their lives are not more likely than other Indians to do yoga. In fact, among Sikhs, those who say religion is very important are less likely than other Sikhs to ever practice yoga.

The survey also asked Indians whether they dance or sing devotionally. A slim majority of Indians (54%) say they sing devotionally, and about a quarter (27%) report dancing as a devotional practice.

Majorities of Christians (74%), Hindus (57%) and Jains (56%) say they sing devotionally.

Majority of Indians worship through singing, some dance devotionally

On balance, older adults (ages 35 and older) are a little more likely than younger adults to say they sing devotionally. But older Indians are somewhat less likely than younger adults to dance devotionally (25% vs. 29%). College-educated Indians also are more likely to dance than those with less education (32% vs. 26%).

South Indians are less inclined than those in other regions to sing devotionally. Lower singing rates in the South are driven by Hindus; Southern Muslims and Christians sing devotionally at similar or higher rates compared with Muslims and Christians nationally.

Muslims more likely than others to have witnessed animal sacrifices

While a majority of Indian Muslims (58%) say they have participated in or witnessed animal sacrifices for religious purposes, fewer than half of respondents in all of the country’s other major religious communities have ever taken part in such practices. And among Jains, whose religion teaches that no harm should be done to any life form , just 7% of adults have witnessed or participated in animal sacrifices.

A majority (65%) of Muslim men in India have witnessed an animal sacrifice for religious purposes (which could include the slaughter of a lamb or a goat for the Eid holiday, for example), compared with half of Muslim women (50%). Older Muslims, that is, those over the age of 34, are somewhat more likely than younger Muslims to have participated in or witnessed this ritual (61% vs. 55%). The practice is much less common among Muslims in the Northeast (24%) than elsewhere.

Hindus differ significantly by region on whether they have ever participated in or witnessed an animal sacrifice. Southern Hindus are the most likely to have ever participated in or witnessed animal sacrifices (65%), while those in the North are generally less likely to have engaged in this practice (25%).

Less-educated and poorer Hindus – those who report recently struggling to pay for necessities like shelter, health care or food – are more likely than other Hindus to have participated in or witnessed animal sacrifices.

Many Sikhs and Muslims follow a guru, pir or baba

The survey asked Indians if they follow a guru, pir or baba – spiritual guides or teachers common in most of India’s major religious groups. Sikhs and Muslims are the most likely to say they follow a guru, pir or baba (57% and 53%, respectively). By contrast, majorities of Hindus (56%), Jains (58%), Buddhists (77%) and Christians (83%) say they do not follow these types of spiritual teachers.

Four-in-ten Hindus in India follow a spiritual teacher

More than half of Indians in the Central (55%) and Northern (54%) regions follow a spiritual teacher, but far fewer in the West (30%) and South (23%) say they do this. And rural Indians are more likely than urban Indians to follow a guru, pir or baba (45% vs. 35%).

Hindus who pray daily are more likely than others to follow a guru, pir or baba (47% vs. 33%). However, among Sikhs, those who pray daily are less likely than other Sikhs to follow a spiritual teacher (51% vs. 62%).

Almost nine-in-ten Hindus plan important events based on auspicious dates or times

Respondents were asked if they fix important dates – such as for a wedding – based on auspicious times or dates. Majorities in most religious groups responded that they do, including the vast majority of Hindus (87%) and Jains (85%). Among Buddhists, far fewer (47%) say the same.

Planning for major life events in this way is very common among both men and women, Indians who are highly educated and those who are not, and older and younger Indian adults. Those who say religion is very important in their lives are somewhat more likely than others to fix dates based on auspicious times or dates (85% vs. 76%).

Roughly half of Indian adults (48%) say they watch religious programs or serials at least weekly. This is slightly lower than the share who watch other serials with this frequency (53%). Meanwhile, a clear majority of Indians (62%) watch the news at least weekly.

Sikhs (63%) and Jains (57%) are somewhat more likely than followers of other religions to watch religious programming on a weekly basis. Jains also are the most likely community to watch the news or other serial programming.

Indians watch the news more often than other programming

Most Indians in General Category castes (56%) watch religious programming at least weekly, compared with fewer in lower castes (45%). Among Christians, however, members of lower castes and those who have faced financial trouble are more likely than other Christians to watch religious programming weekly. For example, 49% of lower-caste Christians watch religious programming weekly, while about half as many General Category Christians report doing this (25%).

In general, college-educated Indians, younger adults (ages 18 to 34) and those who live in urban areas are slightly more inclined than other Indians to watch religious programs weekly.

While Indian women are more likely than men to watch religious programs or other serials at least weekly, men are much more likely than women to watch news programs.

Indians who pray daily tend to report higher viewership of not just religious programs and serials, but also other serials and the news. For example, 57% of Indians who pray daily watch other serial programs weekly, while 47% of other Indians do this.

Religious observances described throughout this chapter are common among Hindus regardless of partisanship and other political views. However, Hindus who have a favorable view of the BJP and those who express elements of Hindu nationalist sentiment tend to be more religiously observant.

Hindus who link religious, national identity are more observant

For instance, Hindus with a favorable view of the BJP are somewhat more likely than those who do not favor the party to have invited a religious leader to their home to conduct religious rites (80% vs. 73%). Hindus who see a strong connection between their religious and national identities also are more likely to participate in religious activities. For example, Hindus who say it is very important to be Hindu to be truly Indian are much more likely than other Hindus to say they meditate weekly or more often (55% vs. 35%).

Similarly, Hindus who place an emphasis on the Hindi language’s role in Indian identity and those who view Indian culture as superior are much more inclined to engage in a range of religious practices.

Muslims were asked how often they “offer namaz” (the Urdu word for prayer, which is commonly used among Muslims in India). ↩

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