Ancient Pakistan
31 December 2017 at 16:24 ·
Nilofar Abbasi asks "What is the difference between Hinduism in Pakistan vs Hinduism in India".
The difference is so stark, that they might as well be two different religions. The difference is that Pakistani Hindus still practice authentic Vedic beliefs, whereas Indian Hindus practice Puranic Hinduism or Brahminsm. The difference between the two is quite significant and historical and even violent.
~ Early Vedic period ~
The Vedic religion was formed during the Vedic civilization, which developed in the Indus Valley following the collapse of the Harappan (Indus Valley) Civilization in around ~1500 BC. During this collapsing period, the Aryan people migrated into the Indus Valley between 1800 BC to 1000 BC, and along with them came their distinctive religious traditions and practices which appears to have syncretised (fused) with native Indus (Harappan) beliefs. This essentially gave rise to Vedic civilization (Vedic tribes, Vedic religion and Vedic Sanskrit).
~ Indus Vedic faith ~
The Indus Vedic faith is still prevalent today among most Pakistani Hindus and the Kalash. From information gathered in the Rig Veda, Vedic society during this period was pastoral and centered in the Indus Valley in a few dozen kingdoms such as the Sindhu, Kashmira, Gandhara and Kamboja to name a few. The hymns composed by Vedic mystics/poets in Saptha Sindhu (Punjab) tell of a society which starkly differs from what we know as "Hinduism" today. For example, the Vedic people ate beef, buried their dead, and had no idols and no caste system. In fact, the Vedas forbade idolatry and the term “varna” (caste) is nowhere to be found.
“There is no evidence in the Vedas for an elaborate, much-subdivided and overarching caste system,” Joel Brereton, a professor of Sanskrit and Religious studies, states.
“The Vedic society was neither organized on the basis of social division of labour nor on that of differences in wealth,” Ram Sharan Sharma, an eminent historian and academic of Ancient and early Medieval India, states. “… [it] was primarily organized on the basis of kin, tribe and lineage.”
The Vedic gods mentioned in the Vedas are also starkly different what we consider “modern Hindu gods” today. The Vedic gods are the most important differentiating factor – they were mainly adopted from the Bactria-Margiana Culture, Zoroastrianism (and its derivatives Mithraism, Saurism, Manichaeism) and local Harappan beliefs.
These Vedic gods included:
Mitra (borrowed from Iranian Avestan deity “Mithra”)
Varuna (borrowed from Iranian Avestan deity “Ahura Mazda”)
Indra (borrowed from Iranian Avestan deity “Verethraghna”)
Sorya (borrowed from Iranian Avestan deity “Hvare-Khshaeta”)
Agni or Matarisvan (borrowed from Iranian Avestan deity “Atar”)
Soma (borrowed from the Bactria-Margiana culture)
If anything, the Vedic people were more culturally and religiously related to the Avestan Iranians in the west than the Gangetic Dravidians in the east. Most strikingly, Vedic society made a strong point to differentiate themselves (Sindhu and Sapta Sindhu) from others, particularly the region east of the Indus which was the Ganges plain and Deccan. The people living in that region were referred to by the Vedics as "Dasyas". Keep this in mind for later.
Internecine military conflicts between these various Vedic tribes was very common and as such the Indus Valley did not have one powerful Vedic kingdom to wield the warring tribes into one organized kingdom. Most notable of such conflicts was the Battle of Ten Kings, which took place on the banks of the River Ravi in ~1300 BC and was fought between the Bharatas tribe and a confederation of ten tribes which included the Alinas (from Nuristan), Anu (from upper Punjab), Bhrigus (from Punjab), Bhalanas (from Bolan), Druhyus (from Swat), Matsya (from Cholistan), Parsu (from western Balochistan), Purus (from Thar) and Panis (from Sibi). The Bharatas emerged victorious, yet the constant threat of war forced many Vedic tribes to consider migrating out of the Indus. The Bharatas and Purus were among the first to do so.
~ Late Vedic period & Ganges migration ~
Up until 1100 BC, the Ganges plain had remained out of bounds to Vedic tribes because of thick forest cover as well as local resistance from its native Gangetic inhabitants (the Dravidians). After 1100 BC, the use of iron axes and ploughs became widespread and thus forests could be cleared with ease. By 800 BC, Vedic society had transitioned from semi-nomadic life to settled agriculture and now tribes had a choice to remain in the Indus or migrate. The majority stayed such as the Sindhu and Kashmira, while others such as the Bharatas and Purus, migrated east towards the Ganges plain.
As these migrating tribes migrated and settled in the Ganges plain, they began breaking Vedic norms. They attempted to use the indigenous Dravidian priesthood to entrench themselves as the new ruling order against the native Dravidians, but were unsuccessful. Within a few generations, the minority Vedic tribes had been completely usurped by the indigenous culture and faith. Their original Vedic faith, gods and customs were completely abandoned in favour of the indigenous Gangetic/Dravidian gods and customs. Their original Vedic social order (as explained above) was replaced with the preexisting caste system. Through religious manipulation, the Vedic immigrants to the Ganges were made to surrender whatever little political rule they had acquired and and soon pigeon-holed into becoming the loyal obedient servants (Sudra caste) of their Dravidian masters. In another version of history, it is claimed that the Vedic immigrants to the Ganges plain successfully entrenched themselves into the ruling order, by adopting Gangetic/Dravidian gods and customs, while subjecting the original native Dravidian population to the Sudra caste, though this seems highly unlikely. Regardless of who ruled who and who Brahmins really are (Vedic immigrants or native Gangetic Dravidians), the fact remains is that they abandoned Vedic faith and customs.
~ Puranic Hinduism/Brahminism vs Indus Vedic ~
None of the Dravidian and Gangetic gods such as Ram, Krishna, Vishnu, Brahma are mentioned in Rig Veda hymns nor do they appear in Vedic texts, Avestan texts or Hittite tablets. Moreover, central Gangetic religious texts like the Mahabharata and Varna Ashram Dharma of Manu refer to the Indus Vedics as 'mlechas', 'sudras' and 'vratyas'. These texts forbade Brahmans from even visiting the Indus Valley (Vahika-desa). Mahabharata texts also depict Dravidian gods like Krishna clashing with and defeating Vedic gods like Indra. Similarly, the Rig Veda contains taboos and injunctions against the Ganges plain and Deccan which Vedics referred to as "Dasya-varta" and regularly sung praises of Indra (god of thunderbolt) destroying "'Dasya-purahs' or cities in the Ganges plain and Deccan.
~ Clash of ideologies ~
Both Indus Vedic and Gangetic Puranic sources clearly point to ethnic, cultural and religious differences and a 'clash of civilizations and nations' between the two, indicating that the Vedic people and culture of the Indus did not accept the Gangetic priests, their gods, shastras, religion, culture, Brahmanical caste ideology or the Puranas. Vice versa, the Puranic Hindus did not accept Vedic culture or beliefs either.
~ End result ~
Eventually by 500 BC, Persian rule took over much of the Indus Valley and Zoroastrianism began to spread and influence Vedic beliefs. Similarly under Greek and Macedonian rule, the Indus Vedics would be influenced by Paganism (Hellenism) and later under the Ashoka would eventually begin adopting Buddhism. On the flip side, the Ganges plain and Deccan did not have this outside influence, and hence Puranic Hinduism/Brahmanism would become the dominant form of Hinduism, while the Vedic faith would slowly fade away.
~ Pakistani Hinduism ~
Most Hindus in Pakistan still incorporate some aspect of the Vedic faith. This can be proven from the gods that are worshiped among the different communities of Hindus in Pakistan:
- In Sindh, the most revered god among Sindhi Hindus is Jhulelal (Ishta-Deva). They regard Jhulelal to be a incarnation of Varuna, an early Vedic god who was adopted from the Iranian Avestan deity Ahura Mazda.
- In Kashmir, Pandits worship a Vedic god known as Kheer Bhawani.
- In KP, the Kalash tribe (although not Hindus) revere an Indra-like figure as the central part of their religion. Indra was adopted by the Vedic culture originally from the Zoroastrian deity Verethraghna.
Vedic culture is still prevalent among the Hindus in Pakistan and the Kalash. A large percentage of Hindus in Pakistan are non vegetarian and some Hindu clans in Pakistan bury their dead. In Hyderabad you can find the famous graveyard of Thakur Jaati Hindus. Laal Chand Raybari, the first Pakistani Hindu soldier to be martyred, was buried rather than cremated.
At the same time, there is also a small population of Hindus in Pakistan who worship mainstream Hindu gods, similar to those found in India. However, this Hindu population arrived in Sindh and Punjab during the British Raj after 1857, mainly from places like Delhi, Bengal, eastern Rajasthan and southern Gujarat. During British rule, Brahmanism experianced a revival. They were chosen by the British to rule the colony, and were educated in English and placed in British government offices throughout the colony. The British also passed laws supporting and aiding Brahmanism. The British also created a myth that Brahmans were Aryans and a superior race, which oddly enough is still believed to this day, despite the fact that Aryans migrated into the Indus Valley and fused culturally with the remaining Harappans. How Aryans ended up in the Ganges is anyone's guess...yet the myth prevails.
~Indian Hinduism~
In comparison, Hinduism in India can also be defined by the gods which are revered and worshiped. These include Shiva, Karthikeya, Ganesha, Shakti (Durga, Lakshmi, Saraswati, Meenakshi) and Hanuman - all these gods were originally from Dravidian/South Indian culture, which were worshipped by them long before the Vedic faith had even been established. Vishnu is a god of the Ganges culture. The Vedic gods such as Indra, Mitra, Varuna and others are not mainstream at all among Indian Hindus, as they are among most Hindus in Pakistan.
...but he did a pretty decent job in that movie must be said. Doubt they would make good movies like this anymore.
