Selective Amnesia

Don't bowdlerise old texts for the sake of political correctness

The Times of India Editorial Saturday, July 23, 2005

There's no limit to politically correct, but ridiculous demands. The latest, from Suraj Bhan, chairman of the National Scheduled Castes Commission, says that the Ramcharitmanas and the Manusmriti be revised to remove all derogatory references to Dalits. He claims the support of the Sankaracharya of Sringeri Mutt for his demand and will meet other Sankaracharyas to garner support for his cause. Quoting from Tulsidas's texts 'dhol ganwaar shudra pashu nari, sakal taaran ke adhikari' (drum, illiterate, Dalit, animal, women, all are fit only to be beaten), and the Manusmriti passage which prescribes punishments for Dalits who dare hear the recitation of the Vedas (pouring molten lead into their ears) and cutting off their tongues if they recite the Vedas, Bhan argues that such references should not be printed in a society with a Constitution which gives equal rights to all.

Objectionable as these references are, there is no justification for deleting them. It is as absurd as suggesting that all references to Plato be erased because he defended slavery or deleting Mein Kampf because it is racist. Historical texts, however absurd their claims may be, cannot be tampered with to meet present-day standards of political correctness. The past is not always glorious, but it does not mean that we obliterate whatever is ugly and unflattering. The ostrich act doesn't help. The past, no matter how unpalatable, needs to be studied, contextualised, understood. Texts are a valuable source of history. Those who don't learn from history are condemned to repeat it. Giving in to this demand would open a Pandora's box.

There are equally unsavoury references in other scriptures and in historical and literary texts which offend different sections of the population. Where do you stop pressing the delete button? Instead of making such outrageous demands Bhan should concentrate his energies on ensuring that the constitutional guarantees provided for Dalits are adhered to. As for the Sankaracharya, he would probably serve the Dalit cause much better if he were to launch a mass movement against caste discrimination. Discrimination can be removed only by affirmative action, not by selective deletion.