Sikh men in traditional attireIndia is one of the most diverse societies of the world. Not only are there multiple religions but a large number of ethnic groups, communities, tribes, etc. The customs followed by a certain group of people are the result of an interplay between these variables and more.
The Indian subcontinent is the birthplace of four of the world’s major religions – Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism. According to the 2011 census, 79.8 per cent of the population of India practices Hinduism, 14.2 per cent practices Islam, 2.3 per cent adheres to Christianity, 1.7 per cent follows Sikhism, 0.7 per cent adheres to Buddhism and 0.4 per cent follows Jainism.
Other religions such as Zoroastrianism, Sanamahism and Judaism also have followers in India and have been practiced for centuries. India has the largest population in the world of people who follow Zoroastrianism (Parsis and Iranis) and the Bahá’í Faith, despite the fact that both these originated in Persia.
Each religious group has its own set of customs symbolising their beliefs originating from scriptures and practices. These customs, however, adorn local colour and flavor over time, in the process acquiring a unique character.
India, being a vibrant democracy, is tolerant to all religions and their customs and practices. The Constitution of India provides all citizens the right to freedom of religion as a fundamental right and this is extended to their customs and practices as well.
Sikh customs and bias
Among the Sikhs, one of the most distinct customs is that of keeping long, uncut hair. Most Sikh women do not cut the hair on their head, while some don’t even trim them at all. The extent to which one follows a custom is a derivative of an individual’s comfort level. Very often a custom becomes more about keeping the members of the community happy rather than about the religion itself.
The tradition of keeping hair (kes) goes back to the birth of the Khalsa tradition that was initiated in 1699. It was the tenth Sikh guru, Guru Gobind Singh who established a code of conduct for his followers. This included the establishment of the five Ks – Kes (hair), Kanga (comb), Kara (iron bracelet), Kirpan (small dagger) and Kachera (underwear). The significance is as follows:
Kes – uncut hair to keep and preserve the human form given by God;
Kanga – to comb hair in a tidy manner for clarity of mind and discipline;
Kara – an iron or steel bracelet to remind of God’s strength and infinity;
Kirpan – a sword that symbolizes freedom and justice;
Kachera – short breeches that emphasise on the commitment to purity
Guru Gobind Singh had initiated the Khalsa tradition after his father, Guru Teg Bahadur, was beheaded during the Islamic sharia rule of Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb. Khalsa was created to protect the innocent from Islamic religious persecution.
He also asked the followers to start wearing a turban, which many Sikhs at the time had already started wearing. The turban was a symbol of aristocracy at the time and by allowing women and lower-caste people to wear the turban was an act to challenge the existing system.
Modern-day living has posed its own set of challenges for such customs. Today, many Sikh women feel that the policing, from the community, in terms of customs to be followed is harsher for them as compared to that for men. Many Amritdhari (baptised) women who wear a turban are, for example, frowned upon when they wear modern clothes but the same people are okay with Amritdhari men wearing shorts.
Also, Sikh women who want to cut their hair are ‘policed’ for not being religious enough and, on the contrary, those who do keep their hair including their facial and body hair, are seen as not feminine.
Christian practices derived from Bible
The Christian inheritance practices have links to canon law. The Book of Genesis in the Bible says – That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh. So, among the Christians there is a tradition of the male heirs distributing intestate properties among themselves.
This practice was outlawed long back, in 1986, through the Supreme Court’s landmark judgment in Mary Roy v. State of Kerala where the apex court repealed the Travancore Christian Succession Act, 1916 and brought all Christians under the Indian Succession Act of 1925. However, the practice is still hugely prevalent in the community.
The Indian Succession Act states that intestate properties (properties where the owner fails to leave behind a written will) shall be distributed equally among all the children after deducting the one-third share of the widow. However, if the father left a will giving the property to only the sons, it cannot be contested in court. According to the Travancore Christian Succession Act, the intestate property passes on to son or sons equally; there is no mention of daughters.
Christianity in Kerala began in 52 AD with the landing of St Thomas at Maliankara near Cranganore on the Malabar Coast of India. He primarily travelled to central and southern Kerala and established seven churches. That’s where a majority of the Christians live today and follow the older practices. Here, he preached the gospels and converted many Hindu, including some upper-caste Brahmins.
Christian weddings in India conform to the traditional white wedding. However, local influence can be seen at such events. So, for example, a Christian bride in Kerala will wear a traditional white wedding saree instead of a gown. In a Goan Christian wedding, largely Portuguese influence can be seen. Most Protestant women and Catholic women do no wear a bindi on the forehead.
The early Christians or the foremost converts did not completely relinquish the Hindu customs. There were a lot of similarities especially in celebrations in terms of ceremonies for birth, naming, initiation, marriage, death, etc.
Parsi practices under SC scanner
The Parsis are an ethnoreligious group of the Indian subcontinent and followers of Zoroastrianism. Their ancestors migrated to India from Sassanid Iran following its conquest by Arab Muslims under the Rashidun Caliphate in the 7th century CE. They are the first of two such groups, the other being Indian Iranis who migrated many centuries later following the rise to power of the Qajar dynasty in 18th-century Iran.
Today, India is home to 57,264 Parsis according to the 2011 Census of India. Zoroastrians are the smallest community in India constituting only 0.006 per cent of the total population, mainly concentrated in Gujarat and Mumbai.
Parsis are a close-knit community and, generally, disallow conversion. Basically, one cannot convert to become a Parsi with the ease that most other religions permit. Zoroastrians are not initiated by infant baptism and a child is initiated into the faith after seven years of age in a ceremony called Navjote. After the ceremony, the child is given the sacred items associated with Zoroastrianism – Sudreh (sacred shirt) and Kushti (sacred thread).
The children of a Parsi Zoroastrian man married outside the community can become Parsi, but the same is not true of the children of a Parsi woman married to a non-Parsi. The issue is presently under contention in the Supreme Court in India. A Parsi woman married to a non-Parsi man also loses access to places held sacred by the Zoroastrian faith.
The Parsi community, traditionally, does not bury or cremate its dead; instead, the dead are laid out in a Dakhma, or Tower of Silence, for carrion birds like vultures to consume.