I wish to refer to the phenomenon of adoption of Islam by the Panchamas in Tamil Nadu which has been going on for more than 10 years, but made a government issue now by the anti-democratic and anti-secular elements of the Hindu Rashtra school.
Varnashrama Dharma is a well-known tenet of Hinduism. Under this tenet, the panchamas are untouchables. To term the panchamas as Hindus is not correct. They are only unbonded, untouchable slaves of the Hindu.
As such it is not surprising, with the slow penetration of modern education among the panchama castes and with the consciousness of their human dignity by the youths, some of them become rationalists or materialists. But the vast majority who are religious minded have been adopting Buddhism, Christianity or Islam. The process has been going on for hundreds of years.
The Hindu clergy and the R.S.S. element are blowing up this phenomenon as part of a Muslim proselytization programme. The animosity existing between Hindus and Muslims in Tamil Nadu is exemplary. The Jamat-e-Islam in Tamil Nadu is very keen about not giving room for communal discord to develop in this part of India. So they are too reluctant to provide assistance for initiating the new-comers into their fold unless responsible Hindus consider it not as a calamity to their way of life but as liberation of the panchama from centuries of caste oppression.
In such circumstances, I would request democrats to use their influence with the responsible Hindus, R.S.S., the govt. and religious leaders etc. to convince them about the need to desist from rousing communal passions on the issue and to create an atmosphere conducive to the free exercise of their human rights by the panchamas without government interference. The freedom of the Muslims to enfold into their brotherhood the ones who aspire to it without government interference and harassment by Hindu communalists is an an essential demand of secularism.
This is not the first time in history that people reject the social tyranny of a particular religion and adopt a more rational and humanistic religion. But unfortunately, every Hindu – from the Prime Minister down to the police constable – is propping up the tyranny of Hindu social system on the victims of this tyranny, trouncing all principles to a secular polity. The Indira Congress has started Panchama baiting and Muslim-baiting. Here it has become imperative for democrats to intervene and work in defence of secularism as well as human rights to the Panchamas. We are planning to call a meeting of Panchamas and Muslims at Madurai to thrash out this matter which is so vital for democracy and secularism. Such a meeting should be held at the national level also.