Religious Unrest In India

Diversity in religion is one of the central pillars of the structural make-up of modern India. The country is home to different communities, the majority being Hindu. Other types follow different religious ideologies, including uncommon groups like Zoroastrians. So, problems of religious unrest have been anything that has happened multiple times in Indian history. 

In the early 600 BCE, economic and religious reform movements occurred in the area of the Gangetic plains. Like the two sects of Jainism, many new religious sects formed that followed different rituals and customs. Such differences also bred conflict and civic unrest. 

What is Jainism?

When speaking about Jainism, the religion started in the sixth century and followed the non-Brahmanical approach. It is an ancient religion and notably one of the oldest ones globally, starting in the Rig Veda era.

It rejected the common beliefs in Brahmanism or the old-fashioned Hindu system of caste-based categorization. Furthermore, it went against the teachings in the Vedas and the theory of Paramatma or God’s existence.

The pioneer for the popularity of this religion that later broke into two sects of Jainism was Vardhana Mahavira (599-527 BCE). He originally belonged to the Kshatriya group under the Brahmanical caste system and was of a royal bloodline. 

He was born in Vaishali, close to current-day Bihar. At 30 years of age, he turned to asceticism and practised penance for 12 years. After that, he attained “kaivalya”, or perfect Knowledge, and started preaching this doctrine, which later gave birth to the two sects of Jainism and its fundamentals. 

Origin of Jainism 

The first founder of the system for Jainism was Rishabha, King Bharata’s father, the first-ever Chakravarti or then-Bharat (the country’s original name). 23 Tirthankaras or followers practiced and propagated the religion to the masses, but it flourished and expanded most under the 24th Tirthankara, Vardhana Mahavira. 

There were four fundamentals he preached as the central values of Jainism at the origin of Jainism, which the two sects of Jainism adopted to various degrees. 

Religion-based changes in the 6th century BC

The early history of India or the Vedic period saw the prevalence of the Varna-based demarcation system. There were four ‘varnas’ or castes- Brahmanas, then Kshatriyas, Vaishyas, and ultimately Shudras. This is hereditary, and privileges are divided as per the status in the varna system. 

People belonging to the Brahmana group were the educators and the learned people who worked as teachers and priests. They get the most privileges as the top-most group in the hierarchy, like punishment/tax exemption and gifts. 

The Kshatriyas fell second in the system, with the members having a position in the high-ranking government positions. Royalty and the military were part of this group as well. 

The third level is the Vaishyas, who were the general mass of the society. They include professionals in the trade, agricultural, and cattle-rearing careers and are the primary taxpayers. All the three upper groups received several privileges over the Vedic period, while the fourth group did not. Craftsmen, domestic or agricultural servants, and labourers belong to this group. 

The severity of punishments was higher for lower castes, and professional opportunities were more available to upper groups. Additionally, Kshatriyas and Brahmanas enjoyed high status and wealth in society.

With such a breakdown of societal divisions, there was high discontent among the general mass with the varna system. The ritualistic and tyrannical Brahmana rule, which became more strict in later periods, led to many protest movements against the varna system. 

The two sects of Jainism and Buddhism started in the Kshatriya class against the tyrannical rule of the priestly caste. Both Vardhamana Mahavira and Gautama Buddha, the two leaders of the religions, belonged to Kshatriya families. They disputed the Brahmanical authority and added fundamentals to their religion that followed different customs than the former. This also brought about a new agriculture-based economy within then-northwestern India. 

Vaishyas, the third-ranking varna caste, focused on the two sects of Jainism and even Buddhism to escape their rank-based lower position and improve their lifestyle. They contributed to many reform movements under Buddhism or Jainism and began following their principles of non-violence and social acceptance. This promoted better commerce and trade, which benefited them, and improved their status. 

Notable moments of violent religious unrest in the history of India 

Other major movements and situations happened within Indian history in the name of religion-based unrest and at the origin of Jainism. Many used violence as the primary method. Typically, the most notable occurrences occur between the religions of Islam and Hinduism in recent history. Three notable cases include:

• Partition of India under the British Rule– This event occurred in 1947 and brought about the breakdown of ancient India into the countries of India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. In the protests between the Hindu-led community and Muslim-led community, deaths and other atrocities happened, which uprooted many families. 
• Nellie Massacre in Assam– This massacre occurred in 1983 under the AASU group or All-Assam Student Union. They attacked minority religions and people, mainly from Bangladesh
• Anti-Sikh Riots- The Sikh Massacre of 1984 involves multiple acts of violence against the Sikh community in India following the Indira Gandhi assassination, who was the Prime Minister then. Many people were killed and multiple more injured, mainly in the areas around Delhi

Conclusion 

Communal discontent and unrest due to different religious ideologies have been a recurring problem in India for centuries. While this brought about many losses of life and discontent, the aim of the protests was due to the urge for freedom from oppression. Religions like Buddhism and Jainism were born on the aspect of peace, community-building, and non-violence. 

The two sects of Jainism, in particular, started with the philosophy of non-injury or “Ahimsa”, non-fixation of property ownership, non-stealing, and honesty. Since the early period, many religious unrest events have used non-violent techniques while others have used violence.