Today's Sanatan Dharm Is Refurbished Hinduism

By Sumit Paul, New Age Islam 17 January 2025 "The recent suggestion of Swami Satchitanand supported by Pinarayi Vijyan also argues that a bare torso may be medically bad as it may transmit diseases. There are many practices which need to change with time. One recalls that women did not have the right to cover their breasts. There was a breast tax if women covered the top. It was Tipu Sultan, when he annexed Kerala, when he abolished breast tax and women gained their dignity as they were permitted to cover their breasts." Mr Ram Puniyani must be complimented on his brilliant write up, "Is Narayan Guru part of Sanatan Dharma." The aforementioned passage has been excerpted from the said article. Hinduism was, and is still, riddled with obnoxious superstitions. Today's 'Sanatanis' who leave no stone unturned to condemn Tipu Sultan, Mughals, Muslim rulers and all the Muslims must know that Akbar was against the practice of Sati. According to Annemarie Schimmel, the Mughal Emperor Akbar I (r. 1556–1605) was averse to the practice of Sati; however, he expressed his admiration for "widows who wished to be cremated with their deceased husbands". He was averse to abuse, and in 1582, Akbar issued a decree to prevent any use of compulsion in sati. Aurangzeb issued an order in 1663 to ban the practice of sati in all lands under Mughal control. Tipu Sultan may have been a despot who persecuted Hindus and Brahmins. But unlike in the North, this only lasted about 30-40 years. And even during that time, there are contrasting examples of Tipu funding the renovation of the Sringeri “Matha” (the oldest in Karnataka, said to have been commissioned by Adi Shankara himself) after it was attacked by the Marathas. Under Hyder Ali & Tipu Sultan, Mysore was at its greatest territorial extent, the father-son duo modernised the Mysore army by incorporating new techniques of Artillery Warfare! They abolished feudalism and casteism and streamlined governance by employing governors. After the death of Tipu, the Wadiyar dynasty was restored to power but at what cost? Mysore became a princely state under the British! It is a shame to see how much hate towards Muslims has been infiltrated and inculcated in the minds of people post-2014 that even history is not spared! Coming back to the obscurantism in Hinduism, there's no denying the fact that blatant discrimination and the reprehensible social hierarchy called casteism in Hinduism made many marginalised Hindus embrace Islam and Christianity in the past. Buddhism and Jainism would never have emerged but for the discrimination in the Hindu faith. Both were openly reactionary faiths. Casteism is still integral to Hinduism. Today's Sanatan Dharm is refurbished Hinduism. It's like old wine in a new bottle. Sanatanis know that Hinduism is rife with superstitions, shibboleths and shenanigans. All these age-old religious practices are now analysed and explained anew to justify them by the likes of the 'spiritual thugs,' viz, Jaggi and Ravi Shankar. Nothing has changed. Sanatan Dharm is a 'sophisticated' perpetuation of an unsophisticated Hinduism of yore. To quote Pakistani Urdu poet Anis Nagi (1939-2010): Go Shakl Badal Gayee, Khameer Na Gaya/ Jo Jaisa Tha, Aaj Bhi Vaisa Hi Raha (Though the appearance has changed, the essence has remained the same/ What existed before hasn't undergone any change since then). ---- A regular columnist for New Age Islam, Sumit Paul is a researcher in comparative religions, with special reference to Islam. He has contributed articles to the world's premier publications in several languages including Persian. URL: https://www.newageislam.com/current-affairs/sanatan-dharm-refurbished-hinduism/d/134360 New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism