History of Inequality and Religious Violence in India

Indian history dates back thousands of years; encompassing many dynasties and wars. The region’s first induction into the international spotlight centered on the spice trade. Yet it was not until 1497, when Vasco da Gama of Portuguese became the first person to circumnavigate around Africa to India, that India's spices truly became a European icon. This new trade route opened the door for increased trade in India. By 1764, the East India Company ruled the country and enjoyed a complete monopoly on Indian trade. In fact, it was not until after WWII that India secured its independence from a war-wearied Britain.
Since independence, India has become increasingly globalized. Today, India boasts the world’s largest democracy, the second highest population count in the world, the world’s twelfth largest economy, as well as the thirteenth fastest growing economy in the world. In light of these national achievements, India is even petitioning to be included as a permanent member of the UN Security Council.
Like western democracies, the Constitution of India guarantees its citizens the rights of equality and freedom of religion. Yet these rights are not always evident in practice. While religious violence and inequality were historically present in India, their continued presence in the country is disturbing.
Perhaps the best known example of Indian inequality would be the Caste System. In essence, the system was a method of stratifying society into four groups. Once born into a particular caste, individuals cannot change castes - unlike in western societies, for instance: where one can move from the lower to the middle class. Historically, those in the lowest caste, the Untouchables, experienced severe discrimination and inequality. During British colonization, the Caste System was unofficially embraced by the governing authorities. The British equated the Caste System to their own system of classes, despite the fact that the Indian Caste System is based upon birth and not social and economic standing. Under their rule, the British conducted a census of India using their faulty understanding of the Caste System as its structural basis. In a way, this census only served to legitimize and further the discriminatory and unjust attributes of the Caste System.
Upon independence, the brand new Republic of India banned discrimination based upon caste. Yet centuries of its presence as well as the encouragement of the system during India’s colonial period have caused this caste-based discrimination and persecution to last. The World Bank estimates that 42% of India’s population falls below the world poverty level - over one third of which are Dalits (formally known as Untouchables).
Religious violence has also had a long history in India, yet its prevalence today in India’s bolstering economy is disconcerting. Demographically, over 80% of India’s population is Hindu while Islam makes up approximately 13% and Christian about 3%. Historically, Hinduism was well established in India when Islam was first brought to the region via Arab traders around 600 A.D. Christianity was brought to India in the first century, however it did not experience significant growth until during British colonization. This was not without its problems though, in 1857 the Indian Rebellion broke out against the British because many Indian soldiers working for the East India Company feared forced conversions to Christianity. More recently, in 2002, the Godhra train was burned by group of Muslim extremists and fifty-three Hindus died as a result. This event erupted into many riots and massacres in which hundreds of Hindus and thousands of Muslims perished. While these two events stand out, many acts of religious violence regularly occur in India.
As a nation, India represents quite a success story: swiftly globalizing and rising out of its colonial roots to become an economic power. But does the nation hold a secure position in the developed world? Home to a third of the world’s impoverished, blatant inequality, and festering religious violence; India, in many ways, is still far behind the nations she would like to call her peers. As India’s economy and influence become increasingly globalized, these issues will also become increasingly apparent and impeding.

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India: Inequality and Religious Violence

The Taj Mahal and the Himalayas are just a few things that come to mind when the word ‘India’ is mentioned. Doubtlessly, these well-known sites have contributed to India’s growing tourist industry. In fact, India is the forty-first tourist destination in the world: hosting over five million international tourists each year. In 2008, India generated nearly twelve million US dollars from tourism – a large portion of its overall economic revenue (http://incredibleindia.org/Tourism_Stastics2008.pdf). In fact, India’s economy is the twelfth largest in the world and is ranked among the globe’s fastest growing economies (http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Mr_Rupee_pulls_India_into_1_trillion_GDP_gang/articlearti/1957520.cms). All together, India’s tourist industry, agricultural sector, and industrial growth have boosted its economy onto a track to overtake the U.S.’ own economy by 2050 (http://www.usindiafriendship.net/viewpoints1/Indias_Rising_Growth_Potential.pdf).

Yet despite the country’s progress, India falls behind many of its economic competitors in areas such as poverty levels, citizen equality, literacy rates, and religious tolerance. For instance, while its overall gross domestic product has risen by an approximate seven percent each year, India is home to forty percent of the world’s poor (http://www.fastcompany.com/blog/anupam-mukerji/social-inequality-threatening-indias-economic-stability). So while it is flourishing in some key areas, the country’s progress has not produced any substantial benefits to a large portion of its citizenry.

After considering these facts, I have decided to devote my blog to exploring social issues in India: namely inequality and religious violence. I find these issues especially interesting in the nation of India because of its rapid and ongoing transformation into a world power. This blog is for a university course that centers on the topic of globalization and inequality. In many ways, India is a perfect case-study for this topic because there seems to be no positive connection between its globalizing economy and its citizens’ quality of life. In writing this blog, my hope is that I will gain a greater understanding of the disparity between India’s international success and the life of the common Indian citizen.