{"id":172,"date":"2018-11-15T05:44:45","date_gmt":"2018-11-15T05:44:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/socp12.epgpbooks.inflibnet.ac.in\/?post_type=chapter&p=172"},"modified":"2019-05-07T11:50:43","modified_gmt":"2019-05-07T11:50:43","slug":"syncretism-and-co-existence-of-religious-diversity","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/ebooks.inflibnet.ac.in\/socp12\/chapter\/syncretism-and-co-existence-of-religious-diversity\/","title":{"rendered":"Syncretism and Co-existence of Religious Diversity"},"content":{"raw":"
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\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nIntroduction<\/strong>\r\n\r\n \r\n

The sociological study of religion, namely the study of the beliefs, practices and organizational forms of religion using the tools and methods of the discipline of sociology, forms the central concern of a course on religion and society. In this module, namely \u2018Syncretism and Co-existence of Religious Diversity\u2019, we will examine synthesis of different religious forms which comes about primarily as a result of the co-existence\u00a0and mutuality of different religious traditions within the same society. This diversity of religions results in syncretism wherein religious practices and beliefs often influence and shape each other such that new belief-systems and practices emerge.<\/span><\/p>\r\n \r\n

In <\/span>Section 1<\/strong>, we will look at the definition and meanings of the word syncretism which have been contested over historical periods. The academic usage of the word \u2018syncretism\u2019 has also been in flux. Secondly, we will also look at a brief history of syncretism as it emerged in the West, within a context of internecine hostility between Catholics and Protestants. Syncretistm in this case denoted an acceptance, a tolerance of religious difference. Today, multiculturalism in the West follows from this trend in its accommodation of \u2018other\u2019 identities.<\/span><\/p>\r\n \r\n

In <\/span>Section 2,<\/strong> we take a look at the existence of syncretism and religious diversity in India. India is known for its diversity of religions, languages and cultures. We will examine how the trajectory of syncretism in the Indian context dates from the Sufi and Bhakti movements; the worship of Sufi shrines by both Hindus and Muslims continues to this day. Secondly, we will look at some of the views of social scientists like Peter van de Veer and Ashis Nandy who have examined the \u2018popular\u2019 face of religion in India which reflects many syncretic practices. Finally, we also briefly take a look at the challenges faced by syncretism in the face of communal violence.<\/span><\/p>\r\n \r\n

Section 1<\/strong><\/p>\r\n \r\n

Definition and Meaning<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n

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The Oxford English Dictionary<\/strong> defines \u2018syncretism\u2019 as \u2018the amalgamation or attempted amalgamation of different religions, cultures, or schools of thought.\u2019 The Encyclopaedia of Social and Cultural Anthropology <\/strong>defines it as the hybridization or amalgamation of two or more cultural traditions. It derives from modern Latin syncretismus<\/em>, drawing on Greek synkretismos, meaning \"Cretan federation\". The Greek word occurs in Plutarch<\/strong>'s essay on \"Fraternal Love\" in his Morals<\/em>2 (Shiletto 1898). He cites the example of the Cretans, who compromised and reconciled their differences and came together in alliance when faced with external dangers.<\/p>\r\n\u00a0<\/em>\r\n

Syncretism refers to the synthesis of different religious forms. When different religious traditions encounter each other, they often influence and shape each other such that new belief-systems and practices emerge. In sociological understanding of religion, syncretism is a contentious and contested term. It has undergone many historical transformations in meaning. Some see it as a negative, ethnocentric label for religious traditions (such as independent African churches), which are considered to be \u2018impure\u2019 or \u2018inauthentic\u2019 because they are permeated by local ideas and practices. Again, diverse local variations of standard \u2018world religions\u2019 such as Christianity and Islam are often pointed to as prime examples of syncretism in this critical sense, especially in the writings of missionaries and theologians. The local \u2018syncretistic\u2019 version of Islam or Christianity may be seen by religious scholars as a deviant form of a religion as compared to its more standardised beliefs and interpretations. Yet in other contexts religious syncretism may have positive connotations as a form of resistance to cultural dominance, as a link with a lost history, or as a means of establishing a national identity in a\u00a0multicultural state. In this instance, syncretism is seen in terms of \u201ca religious identity which resists a hegemonic understanding of a belief system\u201d (Stewart and Shaw 1994: i)3. In the present era of displacement, migration, urbanization, global capitalism and generally increasing \u2018cultural compression\u2019, syncretic processes are multiplied and intensified.<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n

\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nA Brief History of Religious Syncretism in the West<\/strong>\r\n\r\n \r\n

As mentioned above, syncretism first found mention in early Greek thought in the works of Plutarch. Syncretism re-emerged as a topic of discussion during the Renaissance, when the rediscovery of classical authors, especially the Greek philosophers Plato and Aristotle, began to influence the strictly theological readings of Christian texts. Erasmus <\/strong>(1469\u20131536), one of the most prominent Renaissance scholars of religion, encouraged in his study of Christian theology the influence of classical Greek thought. He viewed this as a positive achievement which strengthened and enriched Christianity (Stewart and Shaw 1994: 3).<\/p>\r\n \r\n

The next historical context of the term\u2019s usage\u2014in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries\u2014reversed its early positive associations. The syncretistic<\/strong> controversy<\/strong>4<\/strong> was the theological debate provoked by the efforts of Georg Calixtus <\/strong>and his supporters to secure a basis on which the Lutherans could make overtures to the Roman Catholic and the Reformed Churches. It lasted from 1640 to 1686. Calixtus, a professor at Helmstadt in Germany, had through his travels in England, the Netherlands, Italy, and France, through his acquaintance with the different Churches and their representatives, and through his extensive study, developed a more friendly attitude towards the different religious bodies than the majority of his contemporary Lutheran theologians. Repelled by the horrors of the Thirty Years\u2019 War (1618-1648), Calixtus called for toleration and ecclesiastical peace between the confessions on the basis of a shared doctrinal foundation. The Syncretist Strife had the result of lessening religious hatred and of promoting mutual forbearance between Catholicism and Protestantism (Strong and McClintock 1880)5. Syncretism is not a determinate term with a fixity of meaning; its implications have changed over different historical periods. Therefore to simply state that religious traditions are syncretic is not very helpful; all religions are manifested through diverse local practices and continuously reconstituted through processes of synthesis. In order to make this study more meaningful, we need to examine the role of power and agency. At stake is the power to identify true religion and to authorize some practices as \u2018truthful\u2019 and others as \u2018false\u2019 (van der Veer 1994: 185). If we recast the study of syncretism as the politics of religious synthesis, one of the first issues which needs to be confronted is what we have termed \u2018anti-syncretism\u2019: the antagonism to religious synthesis shown by agents concerned with the defence of religious boundaries (Stewart and Shaw 1994: 6). Anti-syncretism is seen in many nationalist\/ethnic movements that are premised upon a conception of \u2018pure\u2019 identity. Anti-syncretism <\/strong>is also a feature of \u2018fundamentalis<\/strong>t\u2019 understandings of religion which would see religious synthesis as the effect of unwelcome foreign percolation in original doctrine. The erasure of syncretism is also entailed by certain forms of multiculturalism in the USA (ibid., 8). The invention of American identity through the image of the \u2018melting pot\u2019 or the diffusion of different cultures into one homeland seems syncretic. However the American nation is predisposed towards certain denominators- white,\u00a0Anglo-Saxon, Protestant (WASP). WASP hegemony as well as race relations reveal a definite anti-syncretic strain in USA. Some scholars like <\/span>Peter van der Veer<\/strong> (1994) argue however that syncretism and multiculturalism can accommodate each other and are applicable to countries like USA and India. Multiculturalism is a body of thought in political philosophy about the proper way to respond to cultural and religious diversity. Mere toleration of group differences is said to fall short of treating members of minority groups as equal citizens; recognition and positive accommodation of group differences are required through \u201cgroup-differentiated rights,\u201d a term coined by <\/span>Will Kymlicka<\/strong> (1995)6. Typically, a group-differentiated right is a right of a minority group (or a member of such a group) to act or not act in a certain way in accordance with their religious obligations and\/or cultural commitments (Sarah Song 2014)7. The enjoyment of such rights is the benchmark for measuring how \u2018syncretistic\u2019 a society is, and the extent to which it accommodates religious and cultural diversity.<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n

\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nSection 2<\/strong>\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nSyncretism and Religious Diversity in India<\/strong>\r\n\r\n \r\n

Religious syncretism in India is encapsulated by the phrase \u2018unity in diversity\u2019. Indian civilisation purports to be an amalgamation of different cultures, religions and languages. The heterogeneity of Hinduism is said to provide a fertile ground for the reception of different religions like Buddhism, Jainism, Christianity and Islam. Religion<\/strong> in India <\/strong>is characterised by a diversity of religious beliefs and practices<\/strong>. The Indian subcontinent is the birthplace of some of the world's major religions; namely Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism. Throughout India's history, religion has been an important part of the country's culture. Religious diversity and <\/strong>religious tolerance <\/strong>are both established in the country by the <\/strong>law <\/strong>and <\/strong>custom; <\/strong>the <\/strong>Constitution of India <\/strong>has declared the right to <\/strong>freedom of religion <\/strong>to be a <\/strong>fundamental right. <\/strong>According to the 2011 <\/strong>census, 79.8% of the <\/strong>population of India <\/strong>practices Hinduism and 14.2% adheres to <\/strong>Islam,<\/strong> while the remaining 6% adheres to other religions <\/strong>(Christianity, <\/strong>Sikhism, Buddhism, Jainism and various <\/strong>indigenous ethnically-bound faiths)<\/strong>. <\/strong>Zoroastrianism <\/strong>and <\/strong>Judaism <\/strong>also have an ancient history in India, and each has several thousands of Indian adherents. India has the largest population of people adhering to Zoroastrianism (i.e. <\/strong>Parsis <\/strong>and <\/strong>Iranis) <\/strong>and <\/strong>Bah\u00e1'\u00ed Faith <\/strong>in the world, even though these religions are not native to India. Many other world religions also have a relationship with Indian spirituality, such as the Baha'i faith which recognises <\/strong>Buddha <\/strong>and <\/strong>Krishna <\/strong>as manifestations of the divine. <\/strong>The Sufi and Bhakti movements, the edicts of rulers like Ashoka and Akbar have contributed to a pluralistic understanding of religion. An example of religious eclecticism is \u2018Din-e-Ilahi\u2019 which implies \u2018Religion of God\u2019 in Persian; it was a religious code of ethics formulated by Akbar. It borrowed heavily from <\/strong>Zoroastrianism, <\/strong>making light (Sun and fire) an object of divine worship and reciting, as in <\/strong>Hinduism, <\/strong>the thousand Sanskrit names of the Sun.<\/strong>8<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\u00a0<\/strong>\r\n

The essence of the idea of pluralism<\/strong> which naturally follows from the existence of religious diversity is to ensure that every religious or social group is allowed its own cultural space in which it has the right to practise its own beliefs and traditions. The existence of religious pluralism depends on the existence of freedom of religion which is when different religions of a particular region possess the same rights of worship and public expression. Freedom of religion is weakened when one religion is given rights or\u00a0privileges and denied to others. Religious freedom did not exist in communist countries where the state restricted or prevented the public expression of religious belief and even persecuted the individual religions. In some Middle Eastern countries where they adhere to one particular religion the pluralism is rather restricted if not overtly curbed. As <\/span>Amartya Sen <\/strong>writes (1993: 37-39), \u2018Being born as Indians, we find ourselves in a culture that has had thousands of years of flourishing <\/span>diversity<\/strong>, in a community that is proud of its many major languages and literatures, in a polity that tolerates dissent and a substantial heterogeneity of political ideas, and in a country that has persistently tried to make room for different religious and\u2014what is also important to emphasize\u2014diverse non-religious beliefs...What gives pluralism its value is not the fact of its uniqueness in India, but its normative importance in enriching societies wherever it occurs\u2019.9<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n

\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nRELIGIOUS CO-EXISTENCE IN SUFI AND BHAKTI MOVEMENTS<\/strong>\r\n\r\n \r\n

Sufism <\/strong>as an ideology or form of devotion first developed in central and West Asia from where it spread in various directions. Most of the Sufis had a deep devotion to God and many of them emphasise upon a simple life away from a vulgar display of wealth. Sufism in India existed in the form of several Sufi sects or silsilas<\/em> (orders), such as the Chishti, Suhrawardy and Naqshbandi silsilas.<\/em> The founder of the Chishti sect, Muin-ud-Din Chishti <\/strong>(d.1236 AD) was another famous Sufi who came to the Indian Subcontinent in 1190 AD. At the popular level, there is considerable interpenetration of religious traditions, especially in tomb worship in Sufi Islam. The sacred power of the saint and his tomb bring people of different communities to forms of syncretism that promote peace and reconciliation. (van de Veer et al 2015: 410). Indeed, syncretism is the most important channel of dealing with religious diversity, because it crosses boundaries and allows hybridity10. Particularly striking is the worship of Muslim warrior-saints (ghazi) by Hindus in India. The story of these warriors is at one level that of conquest, but at a deeper level one of martyrdom that is reminiscent of the death of Jesus Christ on the cross and inspires similar devotion (van de Veer et al 2015: 410).<\/p>\r\n \r\n

The term \u201cbhakti\u201d<\/strong> is defined as a devotion to a personal deity and its origin is traced back to the Vaisnavism or Bhagvatism that developed in the post-Mauryan period. The soul aims to reunite with God, a process which is variously termed as mukti, moksha or nirvana \u2013 emancipation from the cycle of birth and rebirth. Bhakti saints like Ramananda<\/strong>, a Vaishnava, opened the doors of bhakti to all and even admitted the devotees from the lower castes. Kabir<\/strong> abandoned Sanskrit and composed his hymns in local dialects. He took a very radical stand by rejecting idol-worship, caste system, pilgrimage, rituals and outward symbols of religious life. He not only attacked the orthodox brahmanical practices but also Islamic practices like performing namaz<\/em>, visiting mosques and so forth. Kabir maintained that the God resides in the devotee\u2019s heart hence a simple life, in a pure manner, is enough to know him.<\/p>\r\n \r\n

Both Sufism and Bhakti as reform movements attempted to redefine social and religious values. Saints like Kabir and Guru Nanak<\/strong> stressed upon the reordering of society along egalitarian lines. The interaction between the Bhakti and Sufi saints had an immense impact upon Indian society. The Sufi theory of wahdat-al-wujud<\/em> (Unity of Being) was remarkably similar to that in the Hindu Upanishads. The importance of the Bhakti and Sufi saints lies in the new atmosphere created by them, which continued to affect the social, religious and political life of India even in later centuries.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n

\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nSYNCRETISM BETWEEN HINDUS AND MUSLIMS IN COLONIAL AND POST-COLONIAL INDIA<\/strong>\r\n\r\n \r\n

The Partition of India in 1947 and the continuing violence between Hindus and Muslims in many parts of India is a sharp contrast to the pluralistic notion of Indian civilisation. How does syncretism feature in such a divided polity? The answer to this may be found in the congruent yet conflicting notions of civilisation and nation.<\/p>\r\n \r\n

The idea of an Indian civilisation figured in its embryonic form in the nationalist writings of R.G. Bhandarkar and Bankimchandra Chatterjee. It evolved in Mahatma Gandhi's Hind Swaraj<\/em> (1909) and Rabindranath Tagore's essays (published from 1902 to 1907), and reached the pinnacle in Jawaharlal Nehru's The Discovery of India<\/em><\/strong> (1946). Gandhi furthered the idea of the assimilative nature of Indian civilisation; for him, the main issue was the vast difference between the European and the ancient Indian civilisation. Gandhi recognised that India was a land of diversity and so he never substituted \u2018Indian civilisation' by \u2018Hindu culture' or \u2018Hindu civilisation'. Later, the nationalist perspective came to be based on Tagore's view that Indian civilisation was \u2018syncretic' in nature. It was able to create unity amidst diversity, without obliterating the uniqueness of the elements that composed it. In direct opposition to this was the aggressiveness of the western civilisation, which tried to forcibly homogenise different cultures \u2014 a feature Tagore vehemently opposed. Nehru's position represented a fine blend of Gandhi's and Tagore's.<\/p>\r\n \r\n

As Peter van der Veer writes, \u2018The notion of the pluralist, tolerant nature of Indian civilization is not only held by India\u2019s nationalist leaders. It is complemented by the idea that there is a \u2018folk culture\u2019 or a \u2018popular religion\u2019 in India which is at the grassroots level \u2018pluralistic\u2019 and \u2018tolerant\u2019 (1994: 189)11. According to Ashis Nandy<\/strong> (1990), the traditional pluralism of India is reflected in religion as faith<\/strong> as compared to religion as<\/strong> ideology<\/strong>12<\/strong>. He denotes faith in terms of \u2018religion as a way of life, a tradition which is definitionally non-monolithic and operationally plural\u2019. He denotes ideology in terms of \u2018religion as a sub-national, national or cross-national identifier of populations contesting for or protecting non-religious, usually political or socio-economic, interests. Such religions-as-ideologies usually get identified with one or more texts which, rather than the ways of life of the believers, then become the final identifiers of the pure forms of the religions\u2019 (1990: 70).<\/p>\r\n \r\n

Nandy and other postcolonial scholars perceive the modern secularising project of the nation-state as an artificial imposition upon the traditionally plural and syncretic notions of mass religion in India. The secular state in India is blamed for partially destroying this syncretic tradition and unleashing in its stead a political culture that has led to sectarian strife and communal violence. Nandy\u2019s view formulates a certain hope that a more positive image of religion can be salvaged from the contemporary, nasty facts of rising communal violence in India (van der Veer 1994: 190).<\/p>\r\n \r\n

A good example of this is a large advertisement for the Hindu nationalist movement Vishwa Hindu Parishad in the newspaper The Times of India<\/em> (13 February 1988), in which Hinduism is described as the religion of Mankind, as \u2018a parlement [sic] of religions and the very antithesis of violence, terorism [sic] and intolerance\u2019. (quoted in van de Veer 1994: 191). In the light of this critical study of Indian syncretism, Christoper Jaffrelot\u00a0(1993) examines what he terms as <\/span>\u2018strategic syncretism\u2019<\/strong> as the tool to build an ideology of Hindu nationalism.13 Jaffrelot writes that the religious reform movements in the early 19th century alongwith the formation of the Brahmo Samaj and the Arya Samaj were examples of \u2018strategic syncretism\u2019. He argues that reformers like <\/span>Rammohan Roy and<\/strong> Dayanand Saraswati <\/strong>wanted to reform as well as salvage Hinduism from the onslaught of Western theological modernity and Christian proselytisation. Accordingly, Rammohan and Dayanand propounded the golden age of the Vedas where the prevailing social and religious practices were free from the the evils of idolatry and rigid caste hierarchies. Jaffrelot calls this purported \u2018golden age of the Vedas\u2019 as the \u2018invention of tradition\u2019 by the socio-religious reform movements, borrowing the famous coinage of Eric Hobsbawm (1993: 518). Jaffrelot writes, \u2018Rammohan Roy and Dayanand \u2018discover\u2019 in the Vedas what they need to resist the western influences. This is an ideology of strategic syncretism: syncretism because there is a strong intention to reform one\u2019s society through the assimilation of western values consistent with the Hindu cultural equilibrium; and strategic syncretism since the equilibrium in question remains the prime concern\u2019 (ibid.) Jaffrelot argues that the sociological base of syncretism being used as a tool to maintain cultural equilibrium can be located among the upper caste elite (ibid. 1993: 519). Even if we do not agree with Jaffrelot\u2019s critique of syncretism, we would see that the refor m movements in the colonial era, such as the Arya Samaj, were influenced by the monotheism of Christianity. Hence the Arya Samajists under Dayanand undertook <\/span>\u2018shuddhi\u2019 <\/strong>or purification ceremonies to enable converts to return to the fold of Hinduism. These practices go against the pluralist understanding of Hinduism. The Hindu nationalism evolved by these Arya Samajists, as an ideology, reached its maturity in the 1920s within the Hindu Mahasabha (Jaffrelot 1993: 520).<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n

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Islam in India has become woven into the very fabric of Indian civilization and culture. According to the historian Aziz Ahmad<\/strong> (1969, 44), \u2018Indian Islam represents a mosaic of demotic, superstitious and syncretic beliefs, which movements of mass reform like that of the Mujahidin<\/em> in the nineteenth century have tried to erase, but not with complete success.\u2019 The historian Asim Roy<\/strong> describes in his book The Islamic Syncretistic<\/em> Tradition in Bengal <\/em>(1983) how syncretism came under attack by Islamic reformist movements in nineteenth-century Bengal. Finally, the anthropologist Imtiaz Ahmad<\/strong> (1981, 14) has argued that \u2018the Islamic theological and philosophical precepts and principles on the one hand and local, syncretic elements on the other\u2019 are integrated in Indian Islam. According to Francis Robinson<\/strong> however (1983, 187), Imtiaz Ahmad\u2019s argument that high Islamic traditions and local, syncretic customs peacefully coexist in one religious system derives from his wish to show that Indian Muslims have their roots deep in Indian society and that they are therefore good and loyal citizens of India. Robinson develops an alternative view by emphasizing a long-term process of Islamicization by which local customs were infused with new meanings or were eradicated. His interpretation attempts to show the gradual marginalization of syncretic practices and the slow victory of what he calls \u2018the pattern of perfection\u2019 through reform, (Robinson 1983, 194).<\/p>\r\n \r\n\r\nSufi Shrines in India<\/strong>\r\n\r\n \r\n

The dargah<\/em> or the tomb of a Sufi saint as a shrine has immense popularity in India. The anthropologist J. J. Roy Burman<\/strong> (1996) argues that \u2018the cult of saints has been one\u00a0of the religious steps which has promoted Hindu-Muslim syncretism in India.14 The proliferation of Sufism in fact became one of the important mechanisms of ensuring communal harmony between the Hindus and the Muslims. What is sociologically relevant is that many of the local saints were supported only by certain sections of the population, determined either by locality, social or professional group. There is thus a sort of a patron-saint relationship\u2019 (1996: 1211).<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n

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Burman (1996) provides an exhaustive account of Sufi shrines all over the country. In Bengal the syncretic tradition is mainly evident in rural areas but there are a few dargahs in the cities and towns which are frequented even by the Hindus. The dargah of Moula Ali<\/strong>, for instance, in Kolkata is believed to be frequented more by the Hindus than the Muslims. The most famous syncretic ritual of West Bengal is perhaps the 'Satya Pir Mela' (fair of the true pir), held in Hooghly district. The popular worship of 'Satyanarayan' by the Hindus itself is supposed to have been borrowed from the Muslims. In rural Bengal there are many shrines which are worshipped by the Hindus by one name and by another name by the Muslims. The devotional songs of Lalan Faqir which eclectically praise elements of Hinduism and Islam are equally popular among Hindu and Bengali Muslims. The dargah<\/strong> of Khwaja Moinuddin Hasan Chisti <\/strong>of Ajmer in Rajasthan is perhaps the most famous shrine of western India. His preaching also made a profound impact on the course of bhakti movement. The shrine of Nizamuddin Auliya<\/strong> in Delhi is perhaps the most famous syncretic shrine after the shrine of Moinuddin Chisti in Ajmer.<\/p>\r\n \r\n

Sufi shrines of India are emblematic of syncretism and synthesis of different religious traditions in India. However, debates among Muslims continue as to whether the worship of a pir<\/em> or saint is permitted by orthodox doctrine or whether it is an innovation resulting from contact with Hinduism. Apart from this controversy, the syncretism of Sufi shrines often comes under attack from radical Hindutva outfits who wish to \u2018convert\u2019 the shrine into a more Hinduised space such as that of the temple. For example, in early December 1998, Hindutva brigade organised a series of rath yatras<\/em> that criss\u2013crossed the entire length and breadth of Karnataka, culminating in a rally outside the ancient Sufi<\/strong> shrine of Dada Mir Hayat Qalandar<\/strong>, high up in the Baba Budhangiri hills of Chikmagalur district. They demanded that the shrine be converted into a Hindu temple and that the present Muslim custodian (sajjada nashin<\/em>) of the shrine, Pir Sayyed Muhammed Shah Qadri be replaced by a Brahmin priest. Another dargah with a similar encounter is the dargah of Haji Malang Baba<\/strong> located on a hill north of Thane, Maharashtra. The dargah has been a pilgrimage site for centuries and its annual fair attracts large crowds of Hindus and Muslims as well. Thomas Blom Hansen (2005) has observed that the dargah of Haji Malang represents religious syncretism; while the tomb is undoubtedly a Muslim structure, worship at the site is managed by a Hindu Brahmin family, many of the rites incorporate clearly Hindu elements, and worshippers include adherents of both faiths.15<\/p>\r\n \r\n\r\nConclusion<\/strong>\r\n\r\n \r\n

To summarise, syncretism in India is descriptive term used for the pluralistic and heterogeneous nature of religion. But this plurality has often been erased in the postcolonial era, by radical Hindutva outfits who seek to evolve a \u2018pure\u2019 Hinduism as the basis for nationalism. In the colonial era, syncretism was an instrumental adaptation of the redeeming features of Christianity such as monotheism and a putative egalitarianism\u00a0for the reform of Hindu social order. Syncretism is reflected in the proliferation of Sufi shrines across the length and breadth of India, which often face incursions from Hindutva outfits. However, syncretism continues to survive in a commonsensical notion of tolerance as an intrinsic part of India. As Peter van der Veer (1994) writes, \u2018What the debate about syncretism in seventeenth-century Europe and that about multiculturalism in the contemporary United States seem to have in common is that they both try to give answers to situations of civil strife seemingly caused by insurmountable differences in religious or cultural identities. Both terms belong to a discourse of tolerance and communal harmony. This is also true for the Indian case.\u2019 The case made for the pluralistic culture of India is basically a plea for communal harmony, and one would certainly not want to distance oneself from that.<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n

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you can view video on Syncretism and Co-existence of Religious Diversity<\/strong><\/td>\r\n\"\"<\/a><\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\n\r\n\r\nReference bibliography<\/strong>\r\n\r\n \r\n
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  1. Richard Fox, \u2018Communalism and Modernity\u2019 (pp. 235-249), in David Ludden, Contesting the Nation: Religion, Community and the Politics of Democracy in India <\/em>(University of Pennsylvania Press, 1996)<\/li>\r\n \t
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  6. Will\u00a0 Kymlicka,\u00a0 Multicultural\u00a0 Citizenship:\u00a0 A\u00a0 Liberal\u00a0 Theory\u00a0 of\u00a0 Minority\u00a0 Rights\u00a0<\/em>(Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995)<\/li>\r\n \t
  7. Song, Sarah, \"Multiculturalism\", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy<\/em> (Spring<\/span>2014 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), available at http:\/\/plato.stanford.edu\/archives\/spr2014\/entries\/multiculturalism\/<\/a><\/li>\r\n \t
  8. \u2018Din-e-Ilahi\u2019,\u00a0Encyclopedia\u00a0Britannica,available\u00a0at\u00a0http:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/Din-i-Ilahi<\/em><\/li>\r\n \t
  9. Amartya Sen, \u2018Indian Pluralism\u2019, Source: India International Centre Quarterly<\/em>, Vol.\u00a0<\/span>20, No. 3 (MONSOON 1993), pp. 37-46 Published by: India International Centre, available at http:\/\/www.jstor.org\/stable\/23003969<\/a><\/li>\r\n \t
  10. Peter van de Veer, Tam Ngo, Dan Smyer Yu, \u2018Religion and Peace in Asia\u2019, in Atalia Omer, R. Scott Appleby and David Little (eds.) The Oxford Handbook to Religion,<\/em> Conflict and Peacebuilding <\/em>(Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2015)<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t
  11. Peter van der Veer, \u2018Syncretism, multiculturalism and the discourse of tolerance\u2019 in Charles Stewart and Rosalind Shaw (eds.), Syncretism\/Anti-Syncretism: The Politics\u00a0<\/em>of Religious Synthesis <\/em>(Routledge: 1994, London)<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t
  12. Ashis Nandy, \u2018The politics of secularism and the recovery of religious tolerance\u2019, in Veena Das (ed.), Mirrors of Violence ,<\/em> (Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1990)<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t
  13. Christophe Jaffrelot, \u2018Hindu Nationalism: Strategic Syncretism in Nation-Building\u2019 Source: Economic and Political Weekly<\/em>, Vol. 28, No. 12\/13 (Mar. 20-27, 1993), pp.<\/span>517-524 Published by: Economic and Political Weekly Stable URL: http:\/\/www.jstor.org\/stable\/4399528<\/li>\r\n \t
  14. J. J. Roy Burman, \u2018Hindu-Muslim Syncretism in India\u2019Source: Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 31, No. 20 (May 18, 1996), pp. 1211-1215 Published by: Economic and Political Weekly Stable URL: http:\/\/www.jstor.org\/stable\/4404148<\/a><\/li>\r\n \t
  15. Thomas Blom Hansen, Violence in Urban India: Identity Politics, \u2018Mumbai\u2019 and the\u00a0<\/em>Postcolonial City <\/em>(Orient Blackswan: Bombay, 2005)<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n<\/div>\r\n ","rendered":"
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    \n

     <\/p>\n

    Introduction<\/strong><\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    The sociological study of religion, namely the study of the beliefs, practices and organizational forms of religion using the tools and methods of the discipline of sociology, forms the central concern of a course on religion and society. In this module, namely \u2018Syncretism and Co-existence of Religious Diversity\u2019, we will examine synthesis of different religious forms which comes about primarily as a result of the co-existence\u00a0and mutuality of different religious traditions within the same society. This diversity of religions results in syncretism wherein religious practices and beliefs often influence and shape each other such that new belief-systems and practices emerge.<\/span><\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    In <\/span>Section 1<\/strong>, we will look at the definition and meanings of the word syncretism which have been contested over historical periods. The academic usage of the word \u2018syncretism\u2019 has also been in flux. Secondly, we will also look at a brief history of syncretism as it emerged in the West, within a context of internecine hostility between Catholics and Protestants. Syncretistm in this case denoted an acceptance, a tolerance of religious difference. Today, multiculturalism in the West follows from this trend in its accommodation of \u2018other\u2019 identities.<\/span><\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    In <\/span>Section 2,<\/strong> we take a look at the existence of syncretism and religious diversity in India. India is known for its diversity of religions, languages and cultures. We will examine how the trajectory of syncretism in the Indian context dates from the Sufi and Bhakti movements; the worship of Sufi shrines by both Hindus and Muslims continues to this day. Secondly, we will look at some of the views of social scientists like Peter van de Veer and Ashis Nandy who have examined the \u2018popular\u2019 face of religion in India which reflects many syncretic practices. Finally, we also briefly take a look at the challenges faced by syncretism in the face of communal violence.<\/span><\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    Section 1<\/strong><\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    Definition and Meaning<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

    \n

     <\/p>\n

    The Oxford English Dictionary<\/strong> defines \u2018syncretism\u2019 as \u2018the amalgamation or attempted amalgamation of different religions, cultures, or schools of thought.\u2019 The Encyclopaedia of Social and Cultural Anthropology <\/strong>defines it as the hybridization or amalgamation of two or more cultural traditions. It derives from modern Latin syncretismus<\/em>, drawing on Greek synkretismos, meaning “Cretan federation”. The Greek word occurs in Plutarch<\/strong>‘s essay on “Fraternal Love” in his Morals<\/em>2 (Shiletto 1898). He cites the example of the Cretans, who compromised and reconciled their differences and came together in alliance when faced with external dangers.<\/p>\n

    \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

    Syncretism refers to the synthesis of different religious forms. When different religious traditions encounter each other, they often influence and shape each other such that new belief-systems and practices emerge. In sociological understanding of religion, syncretism is a contentious and contested term. It has undergone many historical transformations in meaning. Some see it as a negative, ethnocentric label for religious traditions (such as independent African churches), which are considered to be \u2018impure\u2019 or \u2018inauthentic\u2019 because they are permeated by local ideas and practices. Again, diverse local variations of standard \u2018world religions\u2019 such as Christianity and Islam are often pointed to as prime examples of syncretism in this critical sense, especially in the writings of missionaries and theologians. The local \u2018syncretistic\u2019 version of Islam or Christianity may be seen by religious scholars as a deviant form of a religion as compared to its more standardised beliefs and interpretations. Yet in other contexts religious syncretism may have positive connotations as a form of resistance to cultural dominance, as a link with a lost history, or as a means of establishing a national identity in a\u00a0multicultural state. In this instance, syncretism is seen in terms of \u201ca religious identity which resists a hegemonic understanding of a belief system\u201d (Stewart and Shaw 1994: i)3. In the present era of displacement, migration, urbanization, global capitalism and generally increasing \u2018cultural compression\u2019, syncretic processes are multiplied and intensified.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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     <\/p>\n

    A Brief History of Religious Syncretism in the West<\/strong><\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    As mentioned above, syncretism first found mention in early Greek thought in the works of Plutarch. Syncretism re-emerged as a topic of discussion during the Renaissance, when the rediscovery of classical authors, especially the Greek philosophers Plato and Aristotle, began to influence the strictly theological readings of Christian texts. Erasmus <\/strong>(1469\u20131536), one of the most prominent Renaissance scholars of religion, encouraged in his study of Christian theology the influence of classical Greek thought. He viewed this as a positive achievement which strengthened and enriched Christianity (Stewart and Shaw 1994: 3).<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    The next historical context of the term\u2019s usage\u2014in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries\u2014reversed its early positive associations. The syncretistic<\/strong> controversy<\/strong>4<\/strong> was the theological debate provoked by the efforts of Georg Calixtus <\/strong>and his supporters to secure a basis on which the Lutherans could make overtures to the Roman Catholic and the Reformed Churches. It lasted from 1640 to 1686. Calixtus, a professor at Helmstadt in Germany, had through his travels in England, the Netherlands, Italy, and France, through his acquaintance with the different Churches and their representatives, and through his extensive study, developed a more friendly attitude towards the different religious bodies than the majority of his contemporary Lutheran theologians. Repelled by the horrors of the Thirty Years\u2019 War (1618-1648), Calixtus called for toleration and ecclesiastical peace between the confessions on the basis of a shared doctrinal foundation. The Syncretist Strife had the result of lessening religious hatred and of promoting mutual forbearance between Catholicism and Protestantism (Strong and McClintock 1880)5. Syncretism is not a determinate term with a fixity of meaning; its implications have changed over different historical periods. Therefore to simply state that religious traditions are syncretic is not very helpful; all religions are manifested through diverse local practices and continuously reconstituted through processes of synthesis. In order to make this study more meaningful, we need to examine the role of power and agency. At stake is the power to identify true religion and to authorize some practices as \u2018truthful\u2019 and others as \u2018false\u2019 (van der Veer 1994: 185). If we recast the study of syncretism as the politics of religious synthesis, one of the first issues which needs to be confronted is what we have termed \u2018anti-syncretism\u2019: the antagonism to religious synthesis shown by agents concerned with the defence of religious boundaries (Stewart and Shaw 1994: 6). Anti-syncretism is seen in many nationalist\/ethnic movements that are premised upon a conception of \u2018pure\u2019 identity. Anti-syncretism <\/strong>is also a feature of \u2018fundamentalis<\/strong>t\u2019 understandings of religion which would see religious synthesis as the effect of unwelcome foreign percolation in original doctrine. The erasure of syncretism is also entailed by certain forms of multiculturalism in the USA (ibid., 8). The invention of American identity through the image of the \u2018melting pot\u2019 or the diffusion of different cultures into one homeland seems syncretic. However the American nation is predisposed towards certain denominators- white,\u00a0Anglo-Saxon, Protestant (WASP). WASP hegemony as well as race relations reveal a definite anti-syncretic strain in USA. Some scholars like <\/span>Peter van der Veer<\/strong> (1994) argue however that syncretism and multiculturalism can accommodate each other and are applicable to countries like USA and India. Multiculturalism is a body of thought in political philosophy about the proper way to respond to cultural and religious diversity. Mere toleration of group differences is said to fall short of treating members of minority groups as equal citizens; recognition and positive accommodation of group differences are required through \u201cgroup-differentiated rights,\u201d a term coined by <\/span>Will Kymlicka<\/strong> (1995)6. Typically, a group-differentiated right is a right of a minority group (or a member of such a group) to act or not act in a certain way in accordance with their religious obligations and\/or cultural commitments (Sarah Song 2014)7. The enjoyment of such rights is the benchmark for measuring how \u2018syncretistic\u2019 a society is, and the extent to which it accommodates religious and cultural diversity.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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     <\/p>\n

    Section 2<\/strong><\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    Syncretism and Religious Diversity in India<\/strong><\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    Religious syncretism in India is encapsulated by the phrase \u2018unity in diversity\u2019. Indian civilisation purports to be an amalgamation of different cultures, religions and languages. The heterogeneity of Hinduism is said to provide a fertile ground for the reception of different religions like Buddhism, Jainism, Christianity and Islam. Religion<\/strong> in India <\/strong>is characterised by a diversity of religious beliefs and practices<\/strong>. The Indian subcontinent is the birthplace of some of the world’s major religions; namely Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism. Throughout India’s history, religion has been an important part of the country’s culture. Religious diversity and <\/strong>religious tolerance <\/strong>are both established in the country by the <\/strong>law <\/strong>and <\/strong>custom; <\/strong>the <\/strong>Constitution of India <\/strong>has declared the right to <\/strong>freedom of religion <\/strong>to be a <\/strong>fundamental right. <\/strong>According to the 2011 <\/strong>census, 79.8% of the <\/strong>population of India <\/strong>practices Hinduism and 14.2% adheres to <\/strong>Islam,<\/strong> while the remaining 6% adheres to other religions <\/strong>(Christianity, <\/strong>Sikhism, Buddhism, Jainism and various <\/strong>indigenous ethnically-bound faiths)<\/strong>. <\/strong>Zoroastrianism <\/strong>and <\/strong>Judaism <\/strong>also have an ancient history in India, and each has several thousands of Indian adherents. India has the largest population of people adhering to Zoroastrianism (i.e. <\/strong>Parsis <\/strong>and <\/strong>Iranis) <\/strong>and <\/strong>Bah\u00e1’\u00ed Faith <\/strong>in the world, even though these religions are not native to India. Many other world religions also have a relationship with Indian spirituality, such as the Baha’i faith which recognises <\/strong>Buddha <\/strong>and <\/strong>Krishna <\/strong>as manifestations of the divine. <\/strong>The Sufi and Bhakti movements, the edicts of rulers like Ashoka and Akbar have contributed to a pluralistic understanding of religion. An example of religious eclecticism is \u2018Din-e-Ilahi\u2019 which implies \u2018Religion of God\u2019 in Persian; it was a religious code of ethics formulated by Akbar. It borrowed heavily from <\/strong>Zoroastrianism, <\/strong>making light (Sun and fire) an object of divine worship and reciting, as in <\/strong>Hinduism, <\/strong>the thousand Sanskrit names of the Sun.<\/strong>8<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

    The essence of the idea of pluralism<\/strong> which naturally follows from the existence of religious diversity is to ensure that every religious or social group is allowed its own cultural space in which it has the right to practise its own beliefs and traditions. The existence of religious pluralism depends on the existence of freedom of religion which is when different religions of a particular region possess the same rights of worship and public expression. Freedom of religion is weakened when one religion is given rights or\u00a0privileges and denied to others. Religious freedom did not exist in communist countries where the state restricted or prevented the public expression of religious belief and even persecuted the individual religions. In some Middle Eastern countries where they adhere to one particular religion the pluralism is rather restricted if not overtly curbed. As <\/span>Amartya Sen <\/strong>writes (1993: 37-39), \u2018Being born as Indians, we find ourselves in a culture that has had thousands of years of flourishing <\/span>diversity<\/strong>, in a community that is proud of its many major languages and literatures, in a polity that tolerates dissent and a substantial heterogeneity of political ideas, and in a country that has persistently tried to make room for different religious and\u2014what is also important to emphasize\u2014diverse non-religious beliefs…What gives pluralism its value is not the fact of its uniqueness in India, but its normative importance in enriching societies wherever it occurs\u2019.9<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    RELIGIOUS CO-EXISTENCE IN SUFI AND BHAKTI MOVEMENTS<\/strong><\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    Sufism <\/strong>as an ideology or form of devotion first developed in central and West Asia from where it spread in various directions. Most of the Sufis had a deep devotion to God and many of them emphasise upon a simple life away from a vulgar display of wealth. Sufism in India existed in the form of several Sufi sects or silsilas<\/em> (orders), such as the Chishti, Suhrawardy and Naqshbandi silsilas.<\/em> The founder of the Chishti sect, Muin-ud-Din Chishti <\/strong>(d.1236 AD) was another famous Sufi who came to the Indian Subcontinent in 1190 AD. At the popular level, there is considerable interpenetration of religious traditions, especially in tomb worship in Sufi Islam. The sacred power of the saint and his tomb bring people of different communities to forms of syncretism that promote peace and reconciliation. (van de Veer et al 2015: 410). Indeed, syncretism is the most important channel of dealing with religious diversity, because it crosses boundaries and allows hybridity10. Particularly striking is the worship of Muslim warrior-saints (ghazi) by Hindus in India. The story of these warriors is at one level that of conquest, but at a deeper level one of martyrdom that is reminiscent of the death of Jesus Christ on the cross and inspires similar devotion (van de Veer et al 2015: 410).<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    The term \u201cbhakti\u201d<\/strong> is defined as a devotion to a personal deity and its origin is traced back to the Vaisnavism or Bhagvatism that developed in the post-Mauryan period. The soul aims to reunite with God, a process which is variously termed as mukti, moksha or nirvana \u2013 emancipation from the cycle of birth and rebirth. Bhakti saints like Ramananda<\/strong>, a Vaishnava, opened the doors of bhakti to all and even admitted the devotees from the lower castes. Kabir<\/strong> abandoned Sanskrit and composed his hymns in local dialects. He took a very radical stand by rejecting idol-worship, caste system, pilgrimage, rituals and outward symbols of religious life. He not only attacked the orthodox brahmanical practices but also Islamic practices like performing namaz<\/em>, visiting mosques and so forth. Kabir maintained that the God resides in the devotee\u2019s heart hence a simple life, in a pure manner, is enough to know him.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    Both Sufism and Bhakti as reform movements attempted to redefine social and religious values. Saints like Kabir and Guru Nanak<\/strong> stressed upon the reordering of society along egalitarian lines. The interaction between the Bhakti and Sufi saints had an immense impact upon Indian society. The Sufi theory of wahdat-al-wujud<\/em> (Unity of Being) was remarkably similar to that in the Hindu Upanishads. The importance of the Bhakti and Sufi saints lies in the new atmosphere created by them, which continued to affect the social, religious and political life of India even in later centuries.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    SYNCRETISM BETWEEN HINDUS AND MUSLIMS IN COLONIAL AND POST-COLONIAL INDIA<\/strong><\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    The Partition of India in 1947 and the continuing violence between Hindus and Muslims in many parts of India is a sharp contrast to the pluralistic notion of Indian civilisation. How does syncretism feature in such a divided polity? The answer to this may be found in the congruent yet conflicting notions of civilisation and nation.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    The idea of an Indian civilisation figured in its embryonic form in the nationalist writings of R.G. Bhandarkar and Bankimchandra Chatterjee. It evolved in Mahatma Gandhi’s Hind Swaraj<\/em> (1909) and Rabindranath Tagore’s essays (published from 1902 to 1907), and reached the pinnacle in Jawaharlal Nehru’s The Discovery of India<\/em><\/strong> (1946). Gandhi furthered the idea of the assimilative nature of Indian civilisation; for him, the main issue was the vast difference between the European and the ancient Indian civilisation. Gandhi recognised that India was a land of diversity and so he never substituted \u2018Indian civilisation’ by \u2018Hindu culture’ or \u2018Hindu civilisation’. Later, the nationalist perspective came to be based on Tagore’s view that Indian civilisation was \u2018syncretic’ in nature. It was able to create unity amidst diversity, without obliterating the uniqueness of the elements that composed it. In direct opposition to this was the aggressiveness of the western civilisation, which tried to forcibly homogenise different cultures \u2014 a feature Tagore vehemently opposed. Nehru’s position represented a fine blend of Gandhi’s and Tagore’s.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    As Peter van der Veer writes, \u2018The notion of the pluralist, tolerant nature of Indian civilization is not only held by India\u2019s nationalist leaders. It is complemented by the idea that there is a \u2018folk culture\u2019 or a \u2018popular religion\u2019 in India which is at the grassroots level \u2018pluralistic\u2019 and \u2018tolerant\u2019 (1994: 189)11. According to Ashis Nandy<\/strong> (1990), the traditional pluralism of India is reflected in religion as faith<\/strong> as compared to religion as<\/strong> ideology<\/strong>12<\/strong>. He denotes faith in terms of \u2018religion as a way of life, a tradition which is definitionally non-monolithic and operationally plural\u2019. He denotes ideology in terms of \u2018religion as a sub-national, national or cross-national identifier of populations contesting for or protecting non-religious, usually political or socio-economic, interests. Such religions-as-ideologies usually get identified with one or more texts which, rather than the ways of life of the believers, then become the final identifiers of the pure forms of the religions\u2019 (1990: 70).<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    Nandy and other postcolonial scholars perceive the modern secularising project of the nation-state as an artificial imposition upon the traditionally plural and syncretic notions of mass religion in India. The secular state in India is blamed for partially destroying this syncretic tradition and unleashing in its stead a political culture that has led to sectarian strife and communal violence. Nandy\u2019s view formulates a certain hope that a more positive image of religion can be salvaged from the contemporary, nasty facts of rising communal violence in India (van der Veer 1994: 190).<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    A good example of this is a large advertisement for the Hindu nationalist movement Vishwa Hindu Parishad in the newspaper The Times of India<\/em> (13 February 1988), in which Hinduism is described as the religion of Mankind, as \u2018a parlement [sic] of religions and the very antithesis of violence, terorism [sic] and intolerance\u2019. (quoted in van de Veer 1994: 191). In the light of this critical study of Indian syncretism, Christoper Jaffrelot\u00a0(1993) examines what he terms as <\/span>\u2018strategic syncretism\u2019<\/strong> as the tool to build an ideology of Hindu nationalism.13 Jaffrelot writes that the religious reform movements in the early 19th century alongwith the formation of the Brahmo Samaj and the Arya Samaj were examples of \u2018strategic syncretism\u2019. He argues that reformers like <\/span>Rammohan Roy and<\/strong> Dayanand Saraswati <\/strong>wanted to reform as well as salvage Hinduism from the onslaught of Western theological modernity and Christian proselytisation. Accordingly, Rammohan and Dayanand propounded the golden age of the Vedas where the prevailing social and religious practices were free from the the evils of idolatry and rigid caste hierarchies. Jaffrelot calls this purported \u2018golden age of the Vedas\u2019 as the \u2018invention of tradition\u2019 by the socio-religious reform movements, borrowing the famous coinage of Eric Hobsbawm (1993: 518). Jaffrelot writes, \u2018Rammohan Roy and Dayanand \u2018discover\u2019 in the Vedas what they need to resist the western influences. This is an ideology of strategic syncretism: syncretism because there is a strong intention to reform one\u2019s society through the assimilation of western values consistent with the Hindu cultural equilibrium; and strategic syncretism since the equilibrium in question remains the prime concern\u2019 (ibid.) Jaffrelot argues that the sociological base of syncretism being used as a tool to maintain cultural equilibrium can be located among the upper caste elite (ibid. 1993: 519). Even if we do not agree with Jaffrelot\u2019s critique of syncretism, we would see that the refor m movements in the colonial era, such as the Arya Samaj, were influenced by the monotheism of Christianity. Hence the Arya Samajists under Dayanand undertook <\/span>\u2018shuddhi\u2019 <\/strong>or purification ceremonies to enable converts to return to the fold of Hinduism. These practices go against the pluralist understanding of Hinduism. The Hindu nationalism evolved by these Arya Samajists, as an ideology, reached its maturity in the 1920s within the Hindu Mahasabha (Jaffrelot 1993: 520).<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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     <\/p>\n

    Islam in India has become woven into the very fabric of Indian civilization and culture. According to the historian Aziz Ahmad<\/strong> (1969, 44), \u2018Indian Islam represents a mosaic of demotic, superstitious and syncretic beliefs, which movements of mass reform like that of the Mujahidin<\/em> in the nineteenth century have tried to erase, but not with complete success.\u2019 The historian Asim Roy<\/strong> describes in his book The Islamic Syncretistic<\/em> Tradition in Bengal <\/em>(1983) how syncretism came under attack by Islamic reformist movements in nineteenth-century Bengal. Finally, the anthropologist Imtiaz Ahmad<\/strong> (1981, 14) has argued that \u2018the Islamic theological and philosophical precepts and principles on the one hand and local, syncretic elements on the other\u2019 are integrated in Indian Islam. According to Francis Robinson<\/strong> however (1983, 187), Imtiaz Ahmad\u2019s argument that high Islamic traditions and local, syncretic customs peacefully coexist in one religious system derives from his wish to show that Indian Muslims have their roots deep in Indian society and that they are therefore good and loyal citizens of India. Robinson develops an alternative view by emphasizing a long-term process of Islamicization by which local customs were infused with new meanings or were eradicated. His interpretation attempts to show the gradual marginalization of syncretic practices and the slow victory of what he calls \u2018the pattern of perfection\u2019 through reform, (Robinson 1983, 194).<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    Sufi Shrines in India<\/strong><\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    The dargah<\/em> or the tomb of a Sufi saint as a shrine has immense popularity in India. The anthropologist J. J. Roy Burman<\/strong> (1996) argues that \u2018the cult of saints has been one\u00a0of the religious steps which has promoted Hindu-Muslim syncretism in India.14 The proliferation of Sufism in fact became one of the important mechanisms of ensuring communal harmony between the Hindus and the Muslims. What is sociologically relevant is that many of the local saints were supported only by certain sections of the population, determined either by locality, social or professional group. There is thus a sort of a patron-saint relationship\u2019 (1996: 1211).<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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     <\/p>\n

    Burman (1996) provides an exhaustive account of Sufi shrines all over the country. In Bengal the syncretic tradition is mainly evident in rural areas but there are a few dargahs in the cities and towns which are frequented even by the Hindus. The dargah of Moula Ali<\/strong>, for instance, in Kolkata is believed to be frequented more by the Hindus than the Muslims. The most famous syncretic ritual of West Bengal is perhaps the ‘Satya Pir Mela’ (fair of the true pir), held in Hooghly district. The popular worship of ‘Satyanarayan’ by the Hindus itself is supposed to have been borrowed from the Muslims. In rural Bengal there are many shrines which are worshipped by the Hindus by one name and by another name by the Muslims. The devotional songs of Lalan Faqir which eclectically praise elements of Hinduism and Islam are equally popular among Hindu and Bengali Muslims. The dargah<\/strong> of Khwaja Moinuddin Hasan Chisti <\/strong>of Ajmer in Rajasthan is perhaps the most famous shrine of western India. His preaching also made a profound impact on the course of bhakti movement. The shrine of Nizamuddin Auliya<\/strong> in Delhi is perhaps the most famous syncretic shrine after the shrine of Moinuddin Chisti in Ajmer.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    Sufi shrines of India are emblematic of syncretism and synthesis of different religious traditions in India. However, debates among Muslims continue as to whether the worship of a pir<\/em> or saint is permitted by orthodox doctrine or whether it is an innovation resulting from contact with Hinduism. Apart from this controversy, the syncretism of Sufi shrines often comes under attack from radical Hindutva outfits who wish to \u2018convert\u2019 the shrine into a more Hinduised space such as that of the temple. For example, in early December 1998, Hindutva brigade organised a series of rath yatras<\/em> that criss\u2013crossed the entire length and breadth of Karnataka, culminating in a rally outside the ancient Sufi<\/strong> shrine of Dada Mir Hayat Qalandar<\/strong>, high up in the Baba Budhangiri hills of Chikmagalur district. They demanded that the shrine be converted into a Hindu temple and that the present Muslim custodian (sajjada nashin<\/em>) of the shrine, Pir Sayyed Muhammed Shah Qadri be replaced by a Brahmin priest. Another dargah with a similar encounter is the dargah of Haji Malang Baba<\/strong> located on a hill north of Thane, Maharashtra. The dargah has been a pilgrimage site for centuries and its annual fair attracts large crowds of Hindus and Muslims as well. Thomas Blom Hansen (2005) has observed that the dargah of Haji Malang represents religious syncretism; while the tomb is undoubtedly a Muslim structure, worship at the site is managed by a Hindu Brahmin family, many of the rites incorporate clearly Hindu elements, and worshippers include adherents of both faiths.15<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    Conclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    To summarise, syncretism in India is descriptive term used for the pluralistic and heterogeneous nature of religion. But this plurality has often been erased in the postcolonial era, by radical Hindutva outfits who seek to evolve a \u2018pure\u2019 Hinduism as the basis for nationalism. In the colonial era, syncretism was an instrumental adaptation of the redeeming features of Christianity such as monotheism and a putative egalitarianism\u00a0for the reform of Hindu social order. Syncretism is reflected in the proliferation of Sufi shrines across the length and breadth of India, which often face incursions from Hindutva outfits. However, syncretism continues to survive in a commonsensical notion of tolerance as an intrinsic part of India. As Peter van der Veer (1994) writes, \u2018What the debate about syncretism in seventeenth-century Europe and that about multiculturalism in the contemporary United States seem to have in common is that they both try to give answers to situations of civil strife seemingly caused by insurmountable differences in religious or cultural identities. Both terms belong to a discourse of tolerance and communal harmony. This is also true for the Indian case.\u2019 The case made for the pluralistic culture of India is basically a plea for communal harmony, and one would certainly not want to distance oneself from that.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    you can view video on Syncretism and Co-existence of Religious Diversity<\/strong><\/td>\n\"\"<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

    Reference bibliography<\/strong><\/p>\n

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    1. Richard Fox, \u2018Communalism and Modernity\u2019 (pp. 235-249), in David Ludden, Contesting the Nation: Religion, Community and the Politics of Democracy in India <\/em>(University of Pennsylvania Press, 1996)<\/li>\n
    2. Arthur Richard Shilleto (ed. & trans.), Plutarch\u2019s Morals: Ethical Essays<\/em> (London: George Bell and Sons, 1898), available as e-book at The Project Gutenberg <\/span>https:\/\/www.gutenberg.org\/files\/23639\/23639-h\/23639-h.htm<\/a><\/li>\n
    3. Charles Stewart and Rosalind Shaw (eds.), Syncretism\/Anti-Syncretism: The Politics\u00a0<\/em>of Religious Synthesis <\/em>(Routledge: 1994, London)<\/span><\/li>\n
    4. Erwin Fahlbusch, et al (eds.), The Encyclopedia of Christianity<\/em> (Michigan, Cambridge: Eerdsman Publishing Company, 2008)<\/span><\/li>\n
    5. James Strong and John McClintock, \u2018Syncretistic Controversies\u2019, The Cyclopedia of<\/em> Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature, <\/em>(New York: Haper and Brothers, 1880) available at <\/span>http:\/\/www.biblicalcyclopedia.com\/S\/syncretistic-controversies.html<\/a><\/li>\n
    6. Will\u00a0 Kymlicka,\u00a0 Multicultural\u00a0 Citizenship:\u00a0 A\u00a0 Liberal\u00a0 Theory\u00a0 of\u00a0 Minority\u00a0 Rights\u00a0<\/em>(Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995)<\/li>\n
    7. Song, Sarah, “Multiculturalism”, The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy<\/em> (Spring<\/span>2014 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), available at http:\/\/plato.stanford.edu\/archives\/spr2014\/entries\/multiculturalism\/<\/a><\/li>\n
    8. \u2018Din-e-Ilahi\u2019,\u00a0Encyclopedia\u00a0Britannica,available\u00a0at\u00a0http:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/Din-i-Ilahi<\/em><\/li>\n
    9. Amartya Sen, \u2018Indian Pluralism\u2019, Source: India International Centre Quarterly<\/em>, Vol.\u00a0<\/span>20, No. 3 (MONSOON 1993), pp. 37-46 Published by: India International Centre, available at http:\/\/www.jstor.org\/stable\/23003969<\/a><\/li>\n
    10. Peter van de Veer, Tam Ngo, Dan Smyer Yu, \u2018Religion and Peace in Asia\u2019, in Atalia Omer, R. Scott Appleby and David Little (eds.) The Oxford Handbook to Religion,<\/em> Conflict and Peacebuilding <\/em>(Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2015)<\/span><\/li>\n
    11. Peter van der Veer, \u2018Syncretism, multiculturalism and the discourse of tolerance\u2019 in Charles Stewart and Rosalind Shaw (eds.), Syncretism\/Anti-Syncretism: The Politics\u00a0<\/em>of Religious Synthesis <\/em>(Routledge: 1994, London)<\/span><\/li>\n
    12. Ashis Nandy, \u2018The politics of secularism and the recovery of religious tolerance\u2019, in Veena Das (ed.), Mirrors of Violence ,<\/em> (Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1990)<\/span><\/li>\n
    13. Christophe Jaffrelot, \u2018Hindu Nationalism: Strategic Syncretism in Nation-Building\u2019 Source: Economic and Political Weekly<\/em>, Vol. 28, No. 12\/13 (Mar. 20-27, 1993), pp.<\/span>517-524 Published by: Economic and Political Weekly Stable URL: http:\/\/www.jstor.org\/stable\/4399528<\/li>\n
    14. J. J. Roy Burman, \u2018Hindu-Muslim Syncretism in India\u2019Source: Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 31, No. 20 (May 18, 1996), pp. 1211-1215 Published by: Economic and Political Weekly Stable URL: http:\/\/www.jstor.org\/stable\/4404148<\/a><\/li>\n
    15. Thomas Blom Hansen, Violence in Urban India: Identity Politics, \u2018Mumbai\u2019 and the\u00a0<\/em>Postcolonial City <\/em>(Orient Blackswan: Bombay, 2005)<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div>\n

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