177 Hindutva Reform ( Error in Hinduism Data Dump )
There were different reactions from different people with whom the Dakshin Bhartiya Empire was in contact.
Mohammad was furious with this new blasphemy that came from the southern neighbour; the already unhappy relations became even more intense. In retaliation, more temples were destroyed, and more resources were poured into the army for the raid on the eastern kingdom. Additionally, the missionaries of the Dharmic Islam coming from the southern Empire were swiftly killed, creating a no-entry zone for the Bhartiya Dharmic Muslim citizens. Contrary to what Mohammad expected, the move he made created more curiosity among the Islamic scholars within the Mughal Empire.
After obtaining the new Dharmic Quran from various channels, some of them threw it into the fire, claiming that it was the work of the devil himself, while other more open-minded scholars found this new version of the Quran to be more inclusive, more peaceful, and providing more answers to their doubts. Knowing the temper of their Emperor, they did not spread their thoughts out loud, but in the underground, traction for Dharmic Islam was quickly forming. This matter was known by Moeen Ali, but he decided to hide it from His Majesty the Emperor for some reason. Also, he acted as a transmitter of the new Dharmic ideas from the Bhartiya Empire to the Mughal Empire. These ideas created a huge wave among the forcefully converted Hindus, who found the new Dharmic philosophy similar to what they followed in the past. So, despite Mohammad's ban, the spread of Dharmic Islam was slow but gradual.
Out of frustration that he could not march the army against the Bhartiya Empire immediately, he increased the pressure on the masjids in the empire to convert more people. This news also reached Vijay. Vijay became furious and issued a recruitment order for 30,000 soldiers, planning on increasing the standing army of the empire to a total of 150,000 soldiers in the coming year.
The European merchants and representatives were pleasantly surprised by the development of the empire. Although they did not know if the news about the discovery of the original Islam was true or fake, it was good news for them. This new Dharmic Islam movement was similar to the Protestant movement they had in Europe. Thinking about taking advantage of this divide in belief, they wanted to see if they could cause some trouble for the Ottoman Empire.
For this very reason, a new copy of Dharmic Islam was quickly sent to the European continent. As for the targeting nature of this new religion, which only aimed at the Abrahamic faiths of Islam and Christianity, while skeptical, they did not mind, as it was nothing new to them. They always tried to convert Muslims to Christians and vice versa, so it is nothing new that this new version of Islam wants to convert Christians. The only surprising part is that it only wants to convert Christians and the original Muslims. Well, it is left for the leaders to decide what to do with it.
Vijay was uneasy as he was running out of time. He predicted that there would be peace for at least a few years, but the recent events made him more restless. Also, he could imagine that within the next 5 months, his army would be ready. he clenched his fist, He could not wait for the day when he crushed the Mughal Empire.
But for that, he had to prepare. Now that Vijay had stepped into the territory of religious reform, he did not want to leave out Hinduism / Sanatana Dharma. For that, he proceeded to summon Tukaram to help him identify the faults within the culture and religion of Sanatan Dharma. Tukaram, as an intellectual and poet of the Bhakti movement sought to break the lines between castes, one of the chains holding back Hinduism, his input was very necessary. Tukaram soon arrived and greeted Vijay with a smile, and Vijay reciprocated his greeting. Vijay then informed him of his main concern. Tukaram was surprised by Vijay's question but still went on to discuss it with Vijay.
"The core problem of Hinduism stems from the caste system. The main castes - Brahmins (priests and scholars), Kshatriyas (warriors and rulers), Vaishyas (merchants and farmers), and Shudras (labourers and artisans) - provided a basic framework for social division. Initially, in the early stages of society, this caste system worked very well, facilitating a division of labour that propelled the Bharatiya civilization unlike any other. However, as society became more complex, different groups specialized in specific occupations, leading to a degree of hereditary transmission of roles."
He continued, " Over time, the caste system diversified with regional variations, incorporating local customs, practices, and hierarchies. New sub-castes emerged, further solidifying social divisions, indirectly reinforcing the caste system."
Vijay nodded his head as he added his own input, "Yes, Saint. Then this Manusmriti was also a hugely influential legal text that codified and legitimized the varna/caste system, which was becoming more and more unfair. The Varna system assigned specific duties and restrictions to each caste, further solidifying the notion of caste as hereditary and divinely ordained."
Tukaram also agreed and then presented some of the verses he found most problematic in different criteria:
8.279-280: "If a Shudra abuses a Brahman, his tongue shall be cut out; if he strikes him with his hand or foot, a hundred lashes shall be inflicted on him."
This gave Vijay a lot to think about. Tukaram soon left Vijay to his devices to ponder how to change this situation. Although Vijay implemented reservations in civil service and schools, along with making the lower-caste people more affluent by dividing them land, the discrimination in the society did not change. The people of lower caste are still looked down upon, so Vijay had totally given up on changing the worldview of the adults in the society.
15:54
9.281-282: "If a Shudra desires to set up his fire (for preparing food) near the fire of a twice-born man, he shall be made to pay a fine of two hundred panas; but if he lights it (without permission), he shall be whipped."
8.313-314: "A king should not slay a Brahman even though convicted of all possible crimes; he may banish him from the country, but he must not kill him."
Vijay was finally updated from the list of norms that are practised even to this day that Tukaram gave him.
This gave Vijay a lot to think about. Tukaram soon left Vijay to his devices to ponder how to change this situation. Although Vijay implemented reservations in civil service and schools, along with making the lower-caste people more affluent by dividing them land, the discrimination in the society did not change. The people of lower caste are still looked down upon, so Vijay had totally given up on changing the worldview of the adults in the society.
Hence, Vijay gave his utmost attention to the kids, as he completely removed teaching about caste in schools from a young age. Although this caused widespread pushback from the society, Vijay used his army to suppress the unrest. Also, 40-50% of the soldiers in the army are from the lower caste, and brainwashing education has been going on in the Military academy to blur the barriers of caste among the young teenagers in the army.
Any officer who shows discriminatory casteism tendencies would be kicked out for various unknown reasons. Despite all this, Vijay needs a solidifying ideology that pushes the culture and behaviour of the people in a better direction in the future. Vijay already had an idea about how to do it as he thought about the Hindutva moment proposed and popularized by Shri Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, popularly called Veer Savarkar, the freedom fighter who was buried in history by his own people.
Now, what Vijay has to do is to consider the current situation where the society is and change the Hindutva ideology into a usable model for this era.
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