Wednesday, October 11, 2006

Religious Ritual as Political Protest



In late 19th Century India, the Maharastrian leader Bal Gangadhar Tilak devised a public Hindu festival to resist the British Empire. The ritual – Ganpati Chaturthi Utsav – celebrated the birth of Lord Siva’s elephant-headed son, Ganpati (or Ganesh), and had been observed privately for centuries in Maharastra. However, under Tilak’s direction, the festival assumed an entirely different tenor by publicly flaunting Hindu unity and defiance of colonial rule.

Ganpati Chaturthi became a 10-day festival, where Hindus worshiped massive, elaborately decorated clay idols of Ganpati in temples. On the final day, millions of Indians poured into the streets to carry Ganpati from the temples to the sea, where he would be immersed. The procession was flashy and noisy. After its start in Maharastra in 1893, the festival quickly spread throughout India, becoming the country’s central public ritual.

Tilak intended for the festival to restore pride in India’s age-old cultural traditions and to renew the country’s commitment to Hinduism. As a pioneer of the Hindu nationalist movement, Tilak was worried by the spread of Islam in India and the influence of Christianity on Hindu reformers. The festival was, firstly, a way of generating zeal for India’s and Hinduism’s traditions. From Tilak’s perspective, this would help resist the alleged poisonous influence of "outside" forces.

Secondly, the ritual weakened the British’s grip over India. In order to justify their presence, British colonizers often claimed that India was a society rife with division, wholly incapable of governing itself. The British frequently pointed to the caste system as an example of the tensions dividing India. Ganpati Utsav became a celebration where Hindus – regardless of caste – came together to celebrate their heritage and defy British rule. "By encouraging Hindus of all communities to join in a common quasi-political festival," Richard Cashman writes in The Myth of Lokmanya, "Tilak was challenging the British thesis that Hindu society was divided and that the elite Brahmins were out of step with society." Although Tilak wanted to project a sense of Hindu unity, it’s notable that he still viewed Brahmins as the guardians of Hindu traditions and believed that they should play the biggest role in planning the Ganesh celebrations. In addition to exhibiting indirect resistance, some reports have suggested that the festival was a time for explicit political organizing and education about Indian independence.

The similarities between the contexts of the festivals in India and Fiji are striking. Much like 18th Century Indian Hindus, 21st Century Indo-Fijian Hindus feel threatened under the rule of another community (in this case indigenous Fijians rather than British colonizers). These Indo-Fijians typically speak of the following concerns: Fiji’s history of indigenous nationalism and coups against Indo-Fijian-led governments, sharp increases in temple desecrations, spikes in street crimes against Indo-Fijians, the expiration of land leases and subsequent loss of land for many Indo-Fijian sugarcane farmers, the pervasive influence of Fiji’s ultra-conservative Methodist Church* on government policy, and the government’s promotion of a "reconciliation" bill affirming the paramountcy of indigenous rights and granting clemency to the perpetrators of the 2000 coup. In the face of these various forms of discrimination and intimidation, Indo-Fijians take pride in their cultural and religious traditions as a method of defiance. As Ashok, a Hindu participating in Ganpati Utsav told me, "No matter what they do to make us leave, we will stay here and never lose belief in our Hindu religion." For Fiji’s Hindus, Ganpati Utsav is one of the largest, and most public, traditional celebrations.

After 10 days of lengthy worship sessions for Ganesh at the Latchmi Naryan temple in Suva, Fiji, men, women, and children piled onto flatbed trucks for the procession to the sea. Adherents loaded a large clay idol of Ganesh onto one of the trucks along with a speaker system blaring dramatic drum beats. Soon after, other temples’ floats united, including the Sevashram Sangha who showcased a massive white Ganesh idol holding two gold-colored trishurs and wearing necklaces covered with flowers and apples.

Characteristic of weather in Suva, rain started pouring before the procession. Nevertheless, the trucks started their engines and began their protracted trek through town. Rather than taking a direct route to the sea – heading west and then north on main streets, the procession started east and slowly weaved its way through downtown, passing several important landmarks. I was fortunate enough to secure a spot right next to the Latchmi Naryan temple’s head pandit (priest) on a main float, gaining amazing access to the feel of the ritual. As a sidenote, the priests and chief organizers of the ritual were Gujaratis, the Brahmins of Fiji.**

From the start, adherents on the truck chanted "Ganpati Bappa Moraya!" (the Hindu equivalent of "Praise the Lord!"). They wore orange headbands and waved orange flags to show their Hindu pride, while others jogging alongside the float threw bright red dye onto everyone. The music and chanting became progressively louder as the devotees struggled to contain their emotion. Soon many were dancing. Onlookers of all kind braved the rain and lined the streets, trying to catch a glimpse of the commotion. Those riding in the procession threw tropical fruits and Indian sweets to the crowds.

The emotional fervor and air of defiance seemed to reach new heights every time the procession passed another important landmark such as the city’s largest mosque, several Methodist churches (including the largest church in the country), the National Land Trust Board (which arbitrates land disputes), the national government’s set of administrative buildings, and the parliament building (the sight of the 2000 coup).

Probably not by coincidence the procession stopped on an area of coastline directly across from a Methodist church (Peceliema Vou Methodist Church) in an indigenous Fijian neighborhood. In front of the church, a small group of indigenous Fijians looked on in amazement as final rituals such as aarti (the waving of a small camphor lamp in front of the deity) were performed to the sounds of drums pounding and bells ringing. Finally, a group of men carried the idols to the sea until they were fully immersed.

Although more than a hundred years and thousands of miles separate Fiji’s Ganpati Chaturthi Utsav from India’s original festival, both possessed the same defiant spirit and served similar political purposes. In India, colonialism prevented Indians from ruling their country, while in Fiji coups and the politics of hate have achieved the same end. In both cases, Hindus boisterously and publicly celebrated their religious rituals to show that their communities would not be intimidated.

*As a lifelong Methodist and the son and grandson of Methodist ministers, I feel obliged to clarify the role of the Methodist Church in Fiji. Methodist missionaries such as Hannah Dudley in the early 20th century were instrumental in meeting the needs of Indian laborers and forcing the British to abolish the horrendous practice of indentured servitude. Today, the Methodist Church constitutes the largest Christian denomination in Fiji. Many churches, particularly those under the Indian division, continue to do good. The leadership in the church, however, has been led astray and become a tool for radical indigenous nationalists to advance their agenda of creating a Fiji exclusively for indigenous Fijians. We can only pray that they find their way.

**Although most divisions within the Indian community in Fiji disappeared long ago, differences between Gujaratis and other Indians are visible even today. Gujaratis came as free migrant merchants after the Indian indentured servants. Early on, the Indian laborers resented the Gujaratis for allegedly raising prices to unfair levels and charging exorbitant fees for lending money. They also, however, admired Gujarati leaders such as A.D. Patel who used Gandhian methods to fight for labor rights, Indo-Fijian representation in decisionmaking, and Fiji's independence. Today, the Gujarati community continues to be both respected and resented. Gujaratis still own many of Fiji's businesses including large corporations like Motibhai and Punjas. They are respected for their business skill and financial contributions to the community. They are resented, however, for purportedly betraying the political interests of other Indo-Fijians. For example, there are widespread rumors in the Indo-Fijian community that Punjas financed the 2000 coup (notably, the police have cleared Punjas of any wrongdoing). I would argue that the Ganesh Chaturthi is a way for the Gujarati community to reclaim its status as leaders, not opponents, of the Indo-Fijian community.

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