Muslims, was the "PC" Card

[LUSTHAUS at macalstr.edu]

Mani asks:

>Are you saying that Hinduism IS caste?

Not exactly. I am saying that for the last 2500 years or so, at least, Hinduism
has been more about Varna, jaati, sa.mskaaras, etc., than about Brahman,
aatman, or Vi.s.nu's marital problems. I am not saying that Hinduism can't
exist without caste; but I am saying that making foundational changes in the
Indian social system(s) will profoundly and radically alter Hinduism as well,
and that these changes are not coming without a certain amount of pain and
disorientation.

Dan Lusthaus
Macalester College

P.S. I agree fully with Frank Conlon's remarks about the need to appreciate the
Indian Muslim perspectives in all this as well. My comments until now have
taken the turn they have because it seemed that it was not the Muslim
perspective that had been ignored, but the Hindu perspectives. The whole
conversation would have taken a healthier tone if, from the start, we had aired
the full gamut of views, rather than attack poor Mr. Sharma for trying to
appreciate the forces behind current Hindu revivalism.