The religious identity of children: this is a question
faced by most couples on the threshold of an interfaith marriage. It
is usually a part of the second set of questions that they are asked
by their parents and others, the first set relating mainly to the
socioreligious dynamics of such an alliance. The faith of their future
children is not an immediate issue for those desirous of an interfaith
marriage; for them, getting married is the first vital challenge of
their relationship. That aside, do we really need a specific identity?
The ignorance or the iconoclastic nature of youth
often delays the forming of mental biases that are visible in most of
the prevalent orthodox discriminatory socioreligious practices. Most
interfaith couples prefer to deal with such serious issues and
situations as and when they arise. It is certainly however a crucial
question for people in interfaith marriages and is one that has been
addressed by Dhanak, a group working on issues concerning couples in
interfaith relationships in India, which has initiated extensive
discussion on the topic.
Repeated brainstorming sessions within the group have
helped many of its members arrive at the decision that their children
would be given a choice about which faith they wished to follow, after
they attained maturity. Their children would grow up within a
heterogeneity of faiths, which would be useful in developing their
understanding about different religions or faiths.
Most of these couples choose to write "Humanity" when
specifying the religion of their children in birth and other
certificates. Fortunately, concurrent with the last two census surveys
of India, we have been allowed the option of writing "Humanity" or
some other unlisted faith when filling in the ‘religion’ section in
official documents. Earlier, the category of "Humanity" was not
included among the religions listed in the Indian referral census
sheet. However, upon the birth of mixed parentage children, their
parents must still convince hospital officials or the birth registrar
about this otherwise the child’s religion will be recorded on the
basis of the religion or name of the newborn’s father.
In 2008, despite strident opposition from various
right-wing organisations, the government of Kerala took the initiative
to expose schoolchildren in the state to the aforementioned concept
when it introduced a chapter on children of mixed parentage in the
social science textbook for Class VII. The chapter talks about
offering a child the space to select his/her faith or caste after
attaining maturity, where the parents have not specified their child’s
religion or caste. The opposition to the introduction of such an
orientation to children is particularly surprising because the book
also talks about other faiths (religions) in the country. The fear of
introducing the category of "no faith" for children of mixed parentage
is based primarily on the fear of losing in a political numbers game,
much like the same baseless fear that is obvious in several prevalent
socioreligious practices. It is indeed ironic that man-made identities
have taken over the natural identity of human beings.
Indian history provides several examples of social
outcasting. Take, for instance, the Cheeta-Kathats based in Ajmer and
Beawar in Rajasthan. This community, comprising some five to six lakh
people, has evolved from mixed parentage, between the Rajputs and the
Bhil-Meenas, as far back as the 12th century. For years their
ostracism had forced them into dacoity. Today they are still
struggling against discrimination by the dominant castes and religions
of the region. There are several such unknown communities existing in
India which have evolved through the oppression of the dominant upper
castes and religions.
Fortunately, such communities and individuals have
imbibed the values of religious coexistence from their parents and
elders. Such individuals and communities are rich in genes and
culture. They are a source of cultural and religious dynamism. They
are the existing practitioners of religious brotherhood and
coexistence and they need to be celebrated for their beliefs and
syncretic practices. Their growth and existence could be a lesson for
others who could so easily be sucked into the larger identity politics
that is rapidly on the rise. I myself can vouch for the fact that it
is good to nurture such "impure" teetar-baters instead of
breeding "pure" vultures and eagles. Such cultural and religious
hybrids are increasingly necessary in today’s world, threatened as it
is by growing numbers of divisive puritans.
