A look at Indianness
Suman K Sharma
More than three generations have passed since we became an independent nation. It is time now to have a look at what we are-Hindustani, Indian or Bharati. Names do matter. The more, the better. The three names evoke the checkered history of our country.
The tag ‘Hindustan’ came from Mahmud Ghaznavi (971-1030 AD) of Afghanistan. He invaded our land seventeen times between 1000 and 1027 AD for loot and plunder. The second name, ‘India,’ is a reminder of our connection with the West. The Greeks knew of the river Sindh that flows in the northwest. They called it ‘Indus.’ From Indus came India. Herodotus, a 5th-century BC Greek historian and geographer, was the first Westerner who used this term for our country. In time, the British borrowed it from the Greek and used it for their colony. Ironically, our netas thought it proper to continue its use even after the independence. The name ‘India’is enshrined in the Constitution, as is ‘Bharat.’
Our ancestors likedthe country to be known by the name of ‘Bharat.’ The Vishnu Puran says:
“Uttaram yat samudrasya Himadreshchaiv dakshinam/
Varsham tad Bharatam naam Bharati yatra santatih//”
The country that lies to the north of the sea and extends to the south of the snowy Himalayas is called Bharat, and there live the Bharati with their progeny.
The ancient Bharat is were distinguished by Sanatan Dharma. Theirs is a living legacy. More than books and historical mementos, it is in the values of their dharma they cherished that we find them among us even to this day. The conception of Sanatan Dharma is unique. It is not a religion, as known to the English-speaking world, or mahzabas in Arabic. Sanatan Dharma is’eternal…justly according to the nature of anything’ (A Sanskrit-English Dictionary). Thus, the dharma of a man is to be man-like as much as the dharma of a magnet is magnetism. The Gita illustrates this point. Arjun enters the battlefield of Kurukshetra to fight the Kauravas. But he shrinks from the very thought of wielding arms against his kin whom he sees arrayed in the Kaurava army. Lord Krishna, his preceptor, then reminds him that he is to fight-kill or get killed-since he is there as a fighter.
In essence then, we Bharatis have always aspired to follow dharma, which is suffused with the values that are meant to uplift humanity –
Vishvadhaivakutumbkam-“the whole world is a family”: In our ecosystem there is no place for narrow-mindedness. By way of an illustration, we may recall that when the Covid pandemic broke out a couple of years ago, we supplied vaccines even to the countries like Türkiye, which are not exactly on friendly terms with us. History is also witness to the fact that the Greeks, the Arabs, the Persians, the Turks and the like kept coming to us by land and by sea. Making them our own, we learnt from them and in turn shared with them our wealth of knowledge. Inclusivity has been our credo.Secularism for us is not disbelief in religion but sarvdharm sambhav – holding all religions in equal estimation. We strive for unity in diversity.
Purusharth, or the zeal and zest to attain a goal: All through the march of time we have had many setbacks by way of foreign invasions, centuries of foreign rule, natural calamities, the burden of disease and the myriad problems of poverty. Yet we have emerged stronger than before against every such adversity. Remember what that big mouth Winston Churchill (1874-1965) had said about our country? “Indians are not fit to rule; they are fit to be ruled,” he had pontificated. 75 yearsof a flourishing democratic republic on, we have proved how very wrong that windbag was. This, by virtue of our steadfast commitment to the ideal of democracy.
Rising above the ordinariness of life: This requires the three virtues of Abhay, Ahinsa and Asang. Abhay is thefreedom from fear. We have to face life as it comes to us. Our icons, Ram and Krishna, never cringed before the unknown. All our deities always appear with the Abhay mudra, the gesture of reassurance and safety. Ahinsa is non-violence, but non-violence of a kind that is capable of forestalling violence. Our deities do carry one or the other weapon to deter violence. And Asang is detachment from the ties of the world that affect our freedom of choice and come in the way of our spiritual progress. Ram thought nothing of foregoing a proffered throne to uphold the word of his father. Krishna taught us to detach ourselves even from the expectation of the fruitfulness of any enterprise.
” Karm or action: Doing what needs to be done. Karmanyevaadhikaraste, ma phaleshukadachana (Gita, 2:47) – “to act is your right, to the fruit (of your action) you have none,” Lord Krishna has preached.
” Punrjanm or rebirth. In our ideology, if death is a must, then so is rebirth. Jaatasya hi dhruvomrityurdhruvamjanmamritasya cha/tasmaadapriharye ‘rthenatvamshochitamarhasi… (Gita, 2:27). “For one who is born, death is certain, and rebirth is inevitable for one who has died; therefore, you should not grieve over death.” The cycle of birth and death is a natural phenomenon; we need not be unduly concerned about it.
So, whether Hindustani, Indian or Bharati, the dharma essentially is what we stand for, and that is the secret of our perseverance in this unstable world. The poet and philosopher, Allama Iqbal (1877-1938), of Kashmiri descent, has rightly said-
“Yunan, Misr, Roma, sab mitgayejehan se/Baqi magarhai ab taknamonishaanhamara….”
(The ancient) Greece, Egypt and Rome-they all have disappeared from the world. But there remains till now our name and fame…
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