Reflections on Classical Indic Perspectives on Science and Philosophy.
By common consensus, from ancient to modern times, India is among the major cultures and civilizations that have contributed significantly to humanity’s heritage. Indic civilization is as ancient as any, more ancient than many, and is remarkable in its uninterrupted continuity since the misty millennia of unrecorded history. To this day, scholars are unable to trace the precise roots of Indic culture, except to note that there flourished in the ancient subcontinent cultures that preceded the Vedic-Sanskritic and the Dravidian which are the principal weaving threads in the fabric of current Indic civilization. The principal languages constituting the latter are Malayálam, Kannada, Tamil, and Telugu, each one with a rich literary and cultural tradition.
But, in fairness and in the light of current awakening, it should be pointed out that when we speak of Indian culture, Hinduism, and the people of India in sweeping terms, one sometimes tends to ignore vast numbers of pristine people for whom also India has been home for millennia. The constitution of India recognizes some 645 different tribes living in the Republic of India. They are generally referred to as ádivásis (original inhabitants). They are sometimes referred to as tribals. The term ádivási, like aborigine, has acquired pejorative and political connotations in recent years. No matter how they are labeled, the fact remains that there are large numbers of people in India, who are often not taken as belonging to the mainstream inhabitants. They correspond to the aborigines of Australia and the Amerindians of the Americas.
The ádivásis are both within and outside of Hinduism. They have their sages and saints. Perhaps even Lord Shiva of mainstream Hinduism has roots in tribal worship. It has been said that the great poet Valmiki, author of the immortal Ramayana, was a tribal, as was the saint Kannappanayanar of the Tamil tradition. And yet, for far too long these people were excluded from mainstream Hindu society. The varna-framework, also known as the caste-system, which is endemic to all groups in India, did not include them. They were avarnas: non-caste people. Yet, they themselves followed some aspects of the játi (family lineage) division. As Koenraad Elst points out “The Munda tribals not only practice tribal endogamy and commensality, but also observe a játi division within the tribe, buttressed by notions of social pollution, a mythological explanation and harsh punishments.” Ignored or marginalized by the mainstream Hindu world for long centuries, many of them were lured to Islamic and Christian faiths with hopes of finding more respectful recognition. Now, suddenly, many Hindus are claiming them to be their own. So, Hindus, Christians, Buddhists, Muslims – are all eager to have these very people who had been marginalized for millennia. How diametrically history can reverse itself!
Whether in food or in costume, in marriage customs or in festivals, there are significant regional variations within India, let alone differences resulting from language and caste. These too change periodically. Not unlike in Europe when Christendom reigned supreme, the people of India, even with their impressive linguistic and alimentary diversity, have for long maintained a commonalty, bound together largely by their Sanskritic and Dravidian heritages. They are unified, as they have been for many centuries, in a multi-ethnic framework of religion and culture. The categorization of the roots of Indic culture in these terms is resented by some because it has the potential for dividing the Indian nation into cultural subdivisions. This is a valid concern. However, there is also divisions based on religions: It does not follow that we must argue that all the religions in India are derived from a single source. While it is important to foster cultural unity, this cannot and need not be achieved by insisting on historically questionable commonalty. In our own times, the English language and modern science are the major forces that bind the elite of the nation at the intellectual and discursive levels, while the people at large are held together in a political, cultural, and national fabric by a democratic and secular system of government.
Spurts of Thought 