An Idiot Abroad In India

Have you seen that tv show? It's made by – oh what's his name – he's a British comedian who brags about being an idiot, I mean an atheist. It'll come to me. Anyhow, as a practical joke he has taken a “friend” and sends him off to different parts of the world and requires his friend to enter into precisely those situations that his friend finds most uncomfortable. It's pretty unkind when you think about it but thanks to atheists in the entertainment industry we live in a time when laughing at people, ridiculing almost everyone and everything is a sign of intelligence and sophistication.

I've only seen two episodes of this show and the last one was called, “An Idiot (that's what he calls his friend) Abroad in India. My, my, my. What wonders Hinduism and Jainism have done for the people of India. In fairness, India is the world's largest functioning democracy so it's not a total screw up. And of course British colonialism hardly improved things. Pressure from Christianity has rid the country from the worst offences like the immolation of widows along with their dead husbands, and the so called ending of the caste system, there are still 100 million Dalits – the so called untouchables. Since Independence, crimes against Dalits have doubled with murder, arson and rape being the primary crimes. Yet the efforts of Christians to implant the notion of the equality of human life into Hindu society is seen by the Government as destabilizing and met with violence and persecution.

So why am I writing this? Well, curiously, Hugo has as much as said that his in-laws are so committed to their religion that through an act of “ACCOMMODATION” Hugo is willing to set the date for his wedding during the most favourable cycle of the moon, one that will give him the best chance of a good marriage.

This leads me to wonder if perhaps if Hugo doesn't recognize where he stands in the Hindu cast system, and whether his in-laws are hiding from him where he stands.

Hugo's fate rests on the following. The sacrifice of Purusha, the primeval man, from whose immolation came all creation, together with the four Hindu castes.

From Purusha's breath had come the Brahmans, the priestly caste;

From his arms, the warriors, or Kshatriyas;

From his thighs, the Vaisyas – agriculturalists and traders; and

From his feet the servile caste, the Sudras.

All other men were outcasts; dalits; 'untouchables' whose very presence was defilement. So I wonder if Hugo's in-laws let him know where he stands (fit only for cleaning clogged sewers or toilets) or if they accommodate him in order to not lose contact with their daughter.

As Hugo attempts to accommodate their beliefs by choosing just the right phase of the moon for his wedding, do they pretend to his face that he is acceptable to them?