Women, Rights and Religion in India

Questioning the Tradition

Abstract

It is often suggested that human rights and duties are two sides of the same coin. Yet in the Indian context, traditionally there is dharma discourse, which, with its rules of conduct, is obligation-based. As such, the issue of human rights has never been at the centre of discussion. Nor it has posed a ‘problem’ for the Indian masses. In modern India, human rights and women’s rights have been reconciled with, or made meaningful within Hinduism. At the same time, however, it is the caste system in India which necessarily generates tension and conflict, due to its complexity and multi-layered dimensions. Questions such as: ‘Who deserves what?’ and ‘Who decides this? are extremely important. I would argue that, in India today, the most difficult question to be addressed is: ‘How to include the excluded and how to exclude the included?