I am Hindu, you are Muslim
Interesting study. The full study is available here or if you want it by email in pdf format ask me-girlmumbai at gmail dot com
I am Hindu, you are Muslim
LATIKA GUPTA
A study conducted in Daryaganj reveals that children develop an exclusionary awareness of religious differences quite early. How can this be countered in the educational system?
The study points out that early socialisation, which takes place in the family, creates prejudices which are in conflict with the stated goals of educational policy.
It is widely believed that the awareness of identity does not take shape in a child’s mind before early adolescence. A study of four to eight-year-old Hindu and Muslim children living in the Daryaganj area of Delhi reveals that children as youn g as four years already begin to identify with their religious group and develop prejudice towards other religious communities. Daryaganj is a residence-cum-trading area with a mixed Hindu-Muslim population. The presence of Muslim families is quite marked in Daryaganj, yet it is not a ghetto like some other Muslim-dominated areas of Delhi.
My interaction with children revolved around tasks which required them to respond to material and symbols of both religions and to imagine themselves in real-life situations where an encounter with the “other” religion routinely takes place. The study revealed that four-year-old Hindu children were already quite fully submerged in the rituals and common practices of their religion. The passion and respect with which they talked about Hindu idols conveyed that they not only identified with the family’s faith, but also took pride in it. They folded their hands and bowed repeatedly while referring to Hindu gods and goddesses during the conversation. But it was when they were shown the symbols or material associated with Islam that they asserted their Hindu identity by emphasising that they were not Muslim. When shown symbols of Islam, the most common response was, Ye Musalmanon ka hai, main to Hindu hoon. Mujhe nahin pata.(This is Muslims’, I am a Hindu. I do not know.)
A strong consciousness of one’s religion figured in the interaction with Muslim children also. They also expressed their faith in the family’s religion in a pronounced manner. Most of them recited the related verses of the Koran when they picked up the rosary and their hands rose in a spontaneous manner as if they were offering prayers. These children also asserted their religious identity by distancing themselves from Hindu symbols while readily showing familiarity with them. For instance, when they were shown an image of Hanuman, they said: Ye Hanuman hai. Hinduon ki moortee hai. Ham to Musalmaan hain (This is Hanuman. It is an idol of Hindus, whereas I am a Muslim.) The Muslim children were aware that there are things which are used by both Hindus and Muslims, such as incense, kalava, diya and sweet offerings. In contrast, the Hindu children were absolutely clueless about this overlap.
Ignorance of other customs
The conversations held with Hindu children revealed that they were by and large ignorant of the practices and rituals of Islam. All the Hindu children said that Muslim men wear rosary in their neck. Not even a single Hindu child expressed familiarity with the story of the Prophet, whereas their counterpart Muslim children recognised relevant Hindu mythological tales instantly when they were shown pictures depicting these myths. Hindu children talked about things related to their own religion passionately and expressed their prejudice toward Muslims with equal passion by conveying their disgust with the help of facial expressions and gestures. For example, they were very negative when talking about the veil worn by Muslim women. There was a pronounced fear and scepticism in the statements made by Hindu children. They viewed Muslims as people who always stay together and make a threatening crowd. These children perceived Muslims as an undifferentiated mass of people who cannot be trusted and who can turn violent anytime. Muslims do not exist as individuals in these Hindu children’s minds.
Interestingly, Muslim children did not use any pejoratives while articulating their awareness about Hindus. They were relaxed while talking about Hindu temples and symbols. They saw the other’s faith just like their own. These children were aware that it could be a source of tension if one visited religious institutions of the other religion but they did not use this awareness to show prejudices against Hindus. The conversations with Muslim children not only conveyed considerable familiarity with the practices and symbols of Hinduism, but also a degree of positive interest and tolerance. This is in contrast to the ignorance and negative feelings that Hindu children had conveyed.
Negative impact
The study points out that early socialisation, which takes place in the family, creates attitudes and prejudices which are in conflict with the stated goals of educational policy. It reminds us that the education of small children cannot rely on rituals like taking a pledge in the morning assembly that all Indians are brothers and sisters. There is a need to address children’s socialisation more directly and comprehensively. Most of the present curricular material is reluctant to acknowledge cultural identity in childhood. A beginning has been made in the National Curriculum Framework (NCF 2005) to overcome this situation. The study provides evidence for the relevance of NCF’s concern that schools must engage with children’s socialisation at home and in the neighbourhood. The greatest challenge lies in teacher training which, at present, ignores the task of sensitising teachers towards the child’s socialisation at home. The teacher has to be equipped with the abilities to create an ethos in the school in which the effect of socialisation can be loosened up to enable children to reflect on their own socialisation. This will make them capable of developing a rational outlook as visualised in the Constitution of India.
Link
latikasgupta at gmail dot com
Hi Ra, a very interesting study indeed. Had read this some months back in The Hindu.
While the reaction of Hindu children in this article seem quite likely; there are several Hindu households that teach children fear and discomfort with other forms of faith, in my experience, non Hindu households have shown similar attitude. Perhaps kids of non Hindu families in Daryaganj are different.
In my experience, many non Hindu classmates have found Hindu Gods laughable, and Hindu folks rather “unlucky” to be following a wrong path. In some universities have seen pamphlets and posters that decry ‘idol worship’ as something dangerous, and worthy of being destroyed everywhere.
That said, have found the devotion with which Sufis sing of God in general enthralling. They seem to have got it right, and understand the universal nature of divinity and His creation.
I feel the education system can and perhaps should make children aware of all faiths. This may counter any prejudices that the children might be imbibing at home.
best wishes,
Anjali
True, this is a limited study. It does reflect another study (also limited) of adults in Mumbai done some years ago, where the Muslim adults knew more about Hindu practices. But both parties (Hindus and Muslims) were equally prejudiced about each other! Do read the whole thing, it’s got interesting quotes, some very touching, from the kids-it’s on our google grp or I can mail it to you.
Interesting study, faith from my own experience is much more stronger when I was a kid than even adults. Nor am I surprised by the prejudice. I had encountered it and yes the surroundings did change it.
It isnt the early familiarity with religion that is bad, it is the prejudice.
This evening the weather was nice and we went out to the park. As soon as he got off his bike, my six year old ran towards the play area. There were already a few children playing there. From a distance I watched my son approach them and start talking to them. A few minutes later, while I was looking away, I heard him shout out ‘Don’t talk to me about my religion! I don’t want you to…’
I beckoned to him and he came back to me looking upset. He wouldn’t tell me straightaway what had happened and not wishing to upset him further we moved to another part of the play area. It wasn’t until we reached home that he told us what had happened.
The other children – Asian boys and girls, all under 10 – had taunted my son saying that they hated Indians and Hindus and would not play with him or let him use the swing and slide.
I was deeply distraught when I heard this. What hope when religious intolerance is taught at such a young age? I despair.
Absolutely disgusting. Very sorry to hear that.
Ra:
All one has to do is observe the views held by the soi-disant educated people we know and how they talk about religion to their children, and then be very afraid for the world. A well-educated, well-placed, well-read and well-travelled friend told me all was ok but they would draw the line at a Muslim boy/girl-friend for her kids. Reason? Oh they treat women badly. I laughed! I asked her who she was to judge every Muslim family like this when you have never really known a Muslim person as a friend. Another friend told me how her son’s Muslim friend is not allowed to eat in any friend’s house except hers because she buys meat from this Muslim kid’s dad’s shop. The kid saw a laughing Buddha in my friend’s house and said ‘Fat baby’.
Oh and don’t even get me started on what people think about gay people when it comes to their kids.
I found the lack of awareness on the part of the Hindu children interesting. I wonder if it is the geographical location that creates awareness?
I grew up in the Middle east where I went to Indian schools all my life and I know a lot of my Hindu friends were perfectly aware of Christian, Muslim, Parsi cultures. I guess because it was a small enough Indian community that we were all forced to interact with each other?
Ammani’s story shocked and saddened me. Most of the time, I despair that things will never get better, that parents will keep inculcating their prejudices in their children, and the same same cycle of distrust and suspicion – and even hatred – will continue. What is taught in the home will override any measures in school, I am afraid. My children attended the United Nations International School in New York, which I think is a little slice of heaven on earth. There are children from so many different countries, ethnicities, religions, and you have an Israeli child being best friends with a Palestinian; an Indian with a Pakistani – it’s just terrific. Of course, the parents who send their children to such a school are (by and large) not bigoted to begin with.
Well. Very interesting. But when we take a place like India where mass media, art and everything social tends to portray Hindu rituals, festivals and arts in abig way, much awareness is created among the viewers. For no one turns a channel away becos it seems to be portraying a Hindu festival coverage or anything.
Also, the temples and processions are fairly open and not closeted into secrecy like mosques. You know what they are are, what they contain, the bells ringing, chanting, people coming out with holy ash smeared over their foreheads. Everything is visual for everyone to see.
But show a picture of a dome like structure to any non muslin kid, he will immediately recognize the structure to be from the Mughal influence. This is true all over the world. Similary with the Gullah and the Purdah.
I have worn Purdahs around my face, just for the romanticism of it as a teenager. No one knows what it conceals. I always imagined very very beautiful women ,mysterious and what not.
But imagine when a kid sees it. It is more of a frightening gesture. He does not know who is behind the veil and it is naturally threatening to see someone all in black and you can only see their eyes, if you see that.
Also Hinduism in its truest sense is a way of life, not a religion. I would say almost 80% of the people in India are actually hindus in way of life than religion.
I sometimes wonder if the responses of such studies should be presented at all if not in the interest of the nation’s progress.
What good comes from setting forward such a result when the bottomline seems to be ” Hindu kids are prejudiced; Muslim kids are not;” It is going to be viewed very negatively by both. Do you really think that such a study is going to cause parents from prejudicing kids? It will be more like, “well. In this country, majority should always suffer. There is no equality. In case, the study had revealed otherwise, it would have never got such precedence.”
Which unfortunately is true in the ecclestial state of India’s politics.
ra:
this is not a hindu-muslim thing. it is a majority-minority thing. my kids are growing up in the usa, a christian country. they probably know more about christian festivals than hindu festivals. and i would bet – that would be a very unfair bet – that most christian kids (as old as my kids) would have no clue about the hindu religion (or even that hindu is the religion and hindi is the language – this, arguably, is confusing even to adults here).
whatever this study says, i am pretty certain that minorities have a much better time vis-a-vis the majority in india than in, say, even the usa.
- s.b.
i agree with sb. Growing up i knew so much more about Hindu festivals than anyone did about christmas or easter. i still have idiots wishing me happy good friday – as an adult! its just a question of majority religion and the fact that there is so much awareness on TV etc. I had written a post about that a while ago.
I think it is a bit of both. But as I said above, it is a limited study. If you read the full report, the level of prejudice does make it a bit of a “Hindu-Muslim thing” as well.