Vikram’s Talking Points

Jaishree says on Navya Shastra that 50 percent of Tamil Nadu Dalits have converted to Christianity, though official census figures do not reflect that. Personally, if I were marginalized by the entire mass of Indian society, I might consider doing the same. At Navya Shastra, we speak against the still prevalent casteism that mars, and occasionally destroys, the religious lives of Dalits. Personally, I also support  Ambedkarite Buddhism, which combines a faith of social protest with an enlightened rationalism. Ambedkarite Buddhists have also added meditative practices to their spiritual heritage, and are in the midst of creating not only a literary tradition but also a popular culture.

There are probably several thousand adopted Indian children living in white American homes. Some parents contend that they are under no obligation to inculcate any Indian traditions into their children’s uprbringing. Other parents send their kids to youth camps. From what I have read, these camps are short immersions into both classical and popular Indian culture -from rangoli painting and yoga to Bollywood dancing. I think this is wonderful. All adopted  children are bound to search for their biological roots once they have enough agency to do so. While biology is not destiny, there is no denying its inexorable pull on us, and behind the American there stands an Indian. This is all the more important because, in America, adoptees are likely to encounter very many children who share their ethnicity.