The Curse of Tradition

India, like many other Asian and European countries, has a long and enriching history, tradition, and culture, which have captivated the interest of history lovers, researchers, and explorers around the world. As we sit in the 21st century, enjoying modern facilities, it can be truly fascinating to imagine the stories of the nomads, travellers, traders, and conquerors of the past, who journeyed on foot, horseback, and ships from far-flung corners of the globe. The evolution of human history, from the cave age to the modern era, in terms of knowledge, science, awareness, and research, is nothing short of remarkable.

However, the curse of superstition and religion and greed for power has often led a section of people to manipulate the stories of the past to maintain control over a large portion of the population. In India, the constant hammering of concepts like "tradition," "past culture," customs, social norms, and, of course, "religion" (the strongest tool of an oppressor) into our collective psyche from childhood has been used to justify and perpetuate practices such as patriarchy, racism, conservatism, and casteism. 

Unlike the Western world and other truly developed nations, where the majority of people have successfully moved beyond the medieval mindset, the majority of India has succumbed to the constant manipulation and brainwashing by the institutions and corrupt system in the name of traditions, history, customs and religion.

The truth is, most of the practices and rituals of the past are not only superstitions, wrong, and unscientific they are also instrumental against human freedom of thought and mind, development and progress.

One small but significant showcase of this "evil vicious cycle" is the continued existence and even encouragement of certain "barbaric practices" in various parts of the country, once again in the name of "so-called tradition, culture and ritual."

A small piece of news in The Telegraph,13^th July 2024 said, “Kalyan Chattopadhyay (48), a freelance travel photographer from West Bengal, who was visiting Maharashtra to cover the Sant Dnyaneshwar Maharaj Palkhi procession, died after suffering injuries in an accident that happened during the 'Ringan' ceremony in Malshiras in Solapur district. According to the report, the incident took place on Friday afternoon at around 3:30 pm when the horses were running in a circle. The right hind leg of one horse got entangled in the reins of another horse, causing the horse to stumble and fall on the devotees watching the ceremony. Two people including Chattopadhyay were injured in the incident.”

Another news article in a leading newspaper a couple of years back told us about 'Pathar Mela', celebrated on the next day of Diwali, at Dhami near Shimla,, “Several hundreds of people including foreign tourists gathered in the tiny hamlet, some 32 km from the state capital Shimla. Villagers in the area say they take pride in the fierce ritual, which is observed after the festival of Diwali. Thursday’s festival of stones is widely believed by locals to be potent enough to invite good fortune, even as this uncanny festival has mysterious unexplained ritual connotations albeit sans rationale. Stone throwing has been a ritual in this village for over a century now. One of the descendants of the erstwhile Royals of the Dhami estate dressed up in a typical princely attire was present at the occasion. It's a contest showcased between descendants of the erstwhile royals and the locals. The one who bleeds first in the contest is considered fortunate. His blood was smeared on the forehead of Goddess Kali as a mark of obeisance.”

Dainik Jagran reported earlier this year about the ‘famous’ “laathmar Holi” at at Vrindavan’s Banke Bihari temple. “At least 6 devotees fell unconscious and were rushed to the hospital after a stampede at a pre-Holi event in Shreeji Temple of Uttar Pradesh's Mathura. The witnesses informed that the stampede occurred during Ladoo Holi celebrations at the temple around 1:20 PM as a large number of devotees gathered at the compound of the temple.”

One headline of Business Standard in January 2024, read, Jallikattu: Two dead after bulls run rampage during festival in Tamil Nadu. The report further mentioned, “A Jallikattu event in Tamil Nadu's Sivaganga district turned tragic as two individuals, including an 11-year-old boy and a youth in his thirties, lost their lives when bulls ran amok after the run, according to a report by PTI. The incident occurred at Siravayal near Madurai, not during the Jallikattu event itself but afterward when bull owners gathered to collect their animals. The uncontrolled movement of bulls resulted in the fatal goring of the victims.” 

These incidents are not isolated occurrences, but rather a reflection of a larger issue that plagues Indian society. A simple internet search would reveal that these "barbarism and stupidity" are often officially promoted and presented as "tradition/culture/ritual/religion" on the websites of the respective states.

And this highlights the deep-rooted nature of the problem, where the state and institutions themselves actively perpetuate these harmful practices, despite their clear disregard for human life, logic, science and wellbeing. The problem lies in the fact that today, even in 2024, no one would dare to stand up and talk openly against this barbarism in the mainstream media or national platforms without having to fear facing the wrath of people or the so-called society.

I believe this is high time we must call for a collective effort to address this issue. Blaming the Government and system alone will be unfair. This is the moral responsibility of the mainstream media, academics, photojournalists, film production houses, and videographers to stop glorifying these practices in the name of "good art or a commodity to sell worldwide. This is no different than promoting or making a film on a murder, assault, or burning of a young widow after her husband's death.

The dark side of so-called cultural heritage is where the curse of tradition has been used to justify and perpetuate harmful and unethical practices, often at the cost of human lives and the progress of the mind and society. Each educated individual must rise beyond the shackles of individual favouritism, self-centred lifestyle and hypocrisy and critically examine these practices and a collective effort to break free from the vicious cycles of manipulation and brainwashing, to not embrace but learn from the diverse cultural legacy of India while also advancing towards a more just, equitable, and enlightened scientific society.