INDIA Again - 3

A LAND OF DIVERSITY

India is a country filled with diversity and variety, and of course challenge.  But sometimes those diversities and varieties just come together in wonderful ways.

On August 15th, 1947, when India proclaimed its independence from the British, it was not returning to a pre-British form of existence, but rather forging a brave new future.  The seventeen  different provinces and more than five hundred small principalities and kingdoms were divided into India and Pakistan, and in India many were brought together as one nation.  There was no common language, only a common constitution.  The national language is Hindi, but not even half the population speaks it; English is a common language to many people, but not in rural regions. In addition to Hindi and English, there are another twenty official languages.  From region to region, the languages are different, the food varies, the forms of Hindu belief and practice are not uniform, and the histories are often unique.

While Hinduism is seen as a unifying faith by some, it is the religion of 80 per cent of the population, and has various sects with devotees holding to different practices and placing emphasis in different forms.  Muslims comprise a little less than 15 per cent of the population, and the remaining five to seven per cent is made up of Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Zoroastrians and others.

In Mysore, the language spoken is Kannada.  So far I can say yes and no in Kannada; no is particularly useful when walking, as autorickshaw drivers see non-Indians along the road and seem to always stop to try to get a fare, and no in Kannada seems far more effective than no in English.  The majority religion is Hinduism, as in much of India, although Mysore has an active and thriving Muslim population.  Catholicism is the majority Christian denomination in South India, but the Church of South India and the Pentecostal church both have an active presence in the city. 

at St Philomena's Cathedral, in Mysore

There are religious, ethnic, linguistic and other tensions in some parts of India, but my limited experience in Mysore indicates the great diversity but also acceptance and understanding that can be found.  The south has generally had a better history of tolerance, acceptance and cooperation, and Mysore is no exception to that generalization.  For example, when St Philomena's Roman Catholic Cathedral was built in the early 1930s, the Hindu ruler, King Wodeyar, provided some of the funding, recognizing the role that Christianity played in the city.

 
Last week, I was in the hospital to provide support for a student who was there, and I spoke with many of the staff.  At one point the doctor came into the room with a nurse and one of the hospital administrators, who wanted to ensure that the foreign student was receiving quality of care.  The doctor and I spoke briefly about a variety of things, including India’s history, culture and religion.  Looking at the two other men in the room with him, he said, “I am a Muslim, he (indicating the nurse) is a Hindu, and he (the administrator) is a Christian, and we all speak different languages”, but they shared the common language of English and the common work of healing the sick.

Such is India, but as I reflect, such also is the Kingdom of God.

the student group with me at the Chamundeswary Temple,

atop Chamundi Hill in Mysore