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Deepavali and the Indian Predicament

So, another "Festival of Lights" comes and goes, what Deepavali stands for ignored -- the defeating of Narakasura dismissed as a Hindu myth, with no significance but for Malaysian Indians to forget their servitude and help business by trivial pursuits of unrestrained spending. No where in the acres of print, concentrating on new clothes to buy, gaudy baubles and clothese they "must" encase ourselves in to greet guests, and devoid of its religious significance. Would any one dare call Moses parting of the Red Sea, or of Christianity's origins, or of Islam's origins, a myth? When Islamic festivals are observed and celebrated, it begins with prayers at the mosque; but this is all but ignored in the other faiths. Why? No Indian leader discussed Deepavali as the bringing of light to the downtrodden and the poor, celebrating as Deepavali originally was. But today Deepavali is, like Tamil movies, a form of escapism. This year's overblown celebration confirms the Indian community's march from reality: its declining irrelevance in the national agenda, the upsurge of gangsterism in its midst, the chronic condition of its Tamil schools, the indifference of its leaders to its plight.

But it is more than that. That Deepavali is celebrated at all testifies to Malaysia's multiracial character. But it is celebrated so narrowly that it ignores the cultural diversity that encompasses the Indian community. Deepavali, or Diwali amongst the North Indians, is not just for the Tamils. But it is assumed that celebratants who are not Tamils should be ignored. The radio and television shows does not recognise this diversity of cultures that is the Indian community. Nor do the leaders. There is more to Indian culture than Tamil culture. For me and my tribe of Malayalee Nairs, Deepavali is a time of quiet reflexion to remeber our ancestors. The religious observance is the most important. But Deepavali as celebrated here ignores the non-Tamil and the religious. The MIC, the Indian party in the National Front, encourages this; indeed, it would stomach a Sikh leader but not a Malayalee in its ranks. But this ensures the Indian community remains in its irrelevant patch. Few Indians find it worthwhile to move ahead with the MIC; instead they seek what they can through their own effort, leaving the rest in shell shock.

This divorce from religion in Deepavali reduces the moral message Deepavali imparts. This cannot be replaced with a spending spree on borrowed money, like drunkards on pay day. Christianity devalued the birthday of St Nicholas, and is at the mercy of the marketing departments of department store retailers. Deepavali follows suit. Islam is pressured into this worldview but it keeps its sanity by the religious significance carefully observed. The Hindu community, whose celebration Deepavali is, ignores it. Christianity still does not. Christians flock the churches on its religious days: the overflowing of Catholic churches for midnight mass before Christmas is a joy to behold. How many Hindus went to temples today to mark Deepavali? Precious few indeed. More likely, they fretted on their open houses whilst awaiting their friends. But is that what Deepavali is? Could the tens of thousands of ringgit that, I am told, Hindu households splurge on Deepavali would have improved the community's worldview one bit? What it probably did was sink them deeper into debt.

Politically, the Indian community is ignored by the National Front, except at general elections. The mass of Indian voters, Tamils by no coincidence, would vote for it. But they are not a majority in any constituency, state or federal. The non-Tamil Indians, especially the thinking ones, look to other political parties for their community's survival, making an impact more than the sheep in the Tamil community. This divide widens with their deliberate marginalisation, especially at times like Deepavali. The Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC) now wants Thaipusam as a national holiday. It should not. This festival is prevalent amongst Tamil Hindus; it should be Hindu New Year, for Hindus whose origins are the four corners of India. This MIC demand that only Tamil should predominate divides the Indian community. It does not accept the inherent cultural diversity in its ranks. And deliberately prevents other Indian communities from being recognised. This is reflected in how Indian festivities are celebrated, Deepavali more so.

But it not just the celebrations that keeps the Indian, Tamil, community backward. The Tamil schools ensure continued backwardness of Indians in this country. The government pays lip service. The MIC, which holds the survival of these schools as proof of a flourishing Tamil culture, ignores it at other times. With no interest and effort, these schools slide into irrelevance. Schools are not in repair, often several classes are rolled into one class room, often with one teacher. This makes the children from these schools, untutored in Tamil or Malay, only fit as cannon fodder to industialisation. And they would so remain, if the community does not rise up to the pitfalls of a community that loses its self-respect. That cannot be sustained by a once-a-year debt-ridden celebration of Deepavali. But is anyone interested? I wonder.

M.G.G. Pillai
pillai@mgg.pc.my