Backwardism

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Backwardism is a derogatory comment intended to brand an ideology as stained by backwardness. [1] While the term has been applied to literature, politics and religion, its precise definition remains unclear. Because of its various connotations and the evolution of its meaning in various times and places, it remains a notion to be played with carefully.

Contents

Use

Literature: the abuse of analepsis

In literature, backwardism which is also known as antonymism is a reference to an abusive use of analepsis or "going backwards". While these flashbacks are an important leitmotif in many novels, they can contribute to a certain sense of confusion. [2]

Politics: various meanings in America, Turkey, China and India

James Boyle criticized the "backwardism of American socialism" since 1912. [3]

Backwardism emerged in Chinese revolutionary ideology of Marxist Intellectuals to describe the return to peasant society. [4]

In 1970, backwardism was applied by Turkish reformist İsmet İnönü against the Islamic conservatives who were trying to kill the spirit of Ataturk's secular reforms [5] while others criticized the cult of the former leader saying that "Kemalism leads more to backwardism than forwardism". [6]

Since at least the 1980s, the concept has been applied to the caste system of India as well [7] as a result of the work of the Mandal Commission established in India in 1979 by the Janata Party government under Prime Minister Morarji Desai [8] with a mandate to "identify the socially or educationally backward classes" of India. [9] The intended purpose of backwardism in India was "attaining social justice through caste", through based reservation in government jobs for example but it ultimately let to the "clustering of backward castes". [10] It was propagated in Bihar especially through the political tactics of Karpuri Thakur. [11] In Tamil Nadu, backwardism has emerged as an element of political theory describing the "phenomenon of the rise of backward castes". [12] It has been used as political concept which is actually used as a "strength card" by politicians like Jayalalitha, Karunanidhi, or Shibu Soren but it may not have a place in Indian politics in the future as "backward castes" remain unsatisfied with being at the fringes of the political system.

Religion: Pope Francis's critique of traditionalism

In the field of religion, backwardism may be a translation from French of the derogatory term first used in 1868 by Baudelaire to describe as "arriéristes" those religious conservatives who criticized the artistic innovations of painter Eugene Delacroix. [13]

In 2014, Catholic vaticanist Ken Briggs described the pontificate of "revivalist" Pope Francis as one that had "rolled back the march of backwardism and paved the way for a Bernardinian renewal of the hierarchy in the minds of many reformists." [14] On March 7, 2015, in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the first vernacular Mass celebrated there by Pope Paul VI in 1965, Pope Francis made these comments his own saying that "it is not possible to go backwards. And those who go backward are mistaken". [15] In the wake of the motu proprio Traditionis Custodes published in the summer of 2021, Pope Francis has pejoratively referred to the traditionalist movement resisting the cancellation of the Latin mass by referring to its supports as "backwardists". He used the Italian word "indietristi" in the sense that they are not living tradition in a way that is moving forwards but rather trying to go backwards in the past opposing it to the rule of organic development of doctrine as articulated by Vincent of Lerins in his Commonitorium. [16] This contempt for traditionalists has been criticized by Jesuit priest James V. Schall quoting G.K. Chesterton saying that "progress can only be made by looking backwards." [17]

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Lalu Prasad Yadav is an Indian politician and president of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD). He is a former Chief Minister of Bihar (1990-1997), a former Railway Minister of India (2004-2009), and a former Member of Parliament (MP) of the Lok Sabha.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bahujan Samaj Party</span> Indian political party

The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) is a national level political party in India that was formed to represent Bahujans, referring to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Other Backward Classes (OBC), along with religious minorities. According to Kanshi Ram, when he founded the party in 1984, the Bahujans comprised 85 percent of India's population, but were divided into 6,000 different castes. The party claims to be inspired by the philosophy of Gautama Buddha, B. R. Ambedkar, Mahatma Jyotiba Phule, Narayana Guru, Periyar E. V. Ramasamy and Chhatrapati Shahuji Maharaj.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pathare Prabhu</span>

Pathare Prabhu is one of the Hindu communities in the city of Mumbai.

The Other Backward Class is a collective term used by the Government of India to classify castes which are educationally or socially backward. It is one of several official classifications of the population of India, along with General castes, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. The OBCs were found to comprise 52% of the country's population by the Mandal Commission report of 1980, and were determined to be 41% in 2006 when the National Sample Survey Organisation took place. There is substantial debate over the exact number of OBCs in India; it is generally estimated to be sizable, but many believe that it is higher than the figures quoted by either the Mandal Commission or the National Sample Survey.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Papal inauguration</span> Investiture ceremony of the head of the Catholic Church

Papal inauguration is a liturgical service of the Catholic Church within Mass celebrated in the Roman Rite but with elements of Byzantine Rite for the ecclesiastical investiture of a pope. Since the inauguration of Pope John Paul I, it has not included the 820-year-old (1143–1963) papal coronation ceremony.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kaushambi district</span> District of Uttar Pradesh in India

Kaushambi district is a district in the state of Uttar Pradesh in India. Manjhanpur is the district headquarters. The district was carved from Allahabad district on 4 April 1997. Manauri Bajar connects Allahabad and Kaushambi districts by railway over a bridge on SH-95. Manjhanpur is south-west of Allahabad on the north bank of the Yamuna river, about 55 kilometres (34 mi) from the city. It is surrounded by Chitrakoot district on the south, Pratapgarh district on the north, Allahabad district on the east and Fatehpur district on the west. Kaushambi is part of Allahabad division. The nearest railway station, in Bharwari, connects with Delhi, Allahabad, Kolkata, Gaya and Kanpur.

Ahir or Aheer are a community of traditionally non-elite pastoralists in India, most members of which identify as being of the Indian Yadav community because they consider the two terms to be synonymous. The Ahirs are variously described as a caste, a clan, a community, a race and a tribe.

Reservation is a system of affirmative action in India that provides historically disadvantaged groups representation in education, employment, government schemes, scholarships and politics. Based on provisions in the Indian Constitution, it allows the Union Government and the States and Territories of India to set reserved quotas or seats, at particular percentage in Education Admissions, Employments, Political Bodies, Promotions, etc, for "socially and educationally backward citizens."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vanniyar</span> Hindu agrarian caste

The Vanniyar, also spelled Vanniya, formerly known as the Palli, are a Dravidian community or jāti found in the northern part of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. From the 19th century, peasant castes typically classified under Shudra category, such as Vanniyars have made mythical claims that their ancestor was born from the flames of a fire sacrifice. Certain Merchant and Artisan castes have fire born myths as well. Many Lower castes use a process of Sanskritisation to get upward mobility by creating such fire myths. Vanniyars, historically considered a lower caste, have been trying to gain upward mobility since 19th century to move away from lower status using these Agnikula myths.

Forward caste is a term used casually in India to denote castes which are on average considered ahead of other castes economically and educationally. Forward castes account for about 30.8% of the population based on Schedule 10 of available data from the National Sample Survey Organisation 55th (1999–2000) and National Sample Survey Organisation 61st Rounds (2004–05) Round Survey.

In India, a caste is a social group where membership is decided by birth. Castes often have related political preferences. Broadly, Indian castes are divided into the Forward Castes, Other Backward Classes, Scheduled Castes, and Scheduled Tribes, though Indian Christians and Indian Muslims can also function as castes.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Politics of Bihar</span> Overview of politics in the Indian state of Bihar

The politics of Bihar, an eastern state of India, is dominated by regional political parties. As of 2021, the main political parties are Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Janata Dal (United) (JDU), and Indian National Congress (INC). There are also some smaller regional parties, including Samata Party, Hindustani Awam Morcha, Jan Adhikar Party and Vikassheel Insaan Party, Lok Janshakti Party and Rashtriya Lok Janshakti Party, which play a vital role in politics of state. As of 2022, Bihar is currently ruled by Mahagatbandhan (Grandalliance) coalition.

The Koeri and also referred to as Kushwaha and Maurya in several parts of North India are an Indian non-elite caste, found largely in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, whose traditional occupation was agriculture. According to Arvind Narayan Das they were horticulturist rather than agriculturists. Additionally, many of the Koeris of Uttar Pradesh have taken to the occupation of weaving along with members of the Mallah caste and produce cloth for local use. Koeris have attempted Sanskritisation— as part of social resurgence.

Rajputs in Bihar are members of the Rajput community living in the eastern Indian state Bihar. They are popularly known as Babu Saheb, a term that is mainly used in Bihar, the Purvanchal region of Uttar Pradesh, and Jharkhand. They traditionally formed part of the feudal elite in Bihari society. Rajputs were pressed with the Zamindari abolition and Bhoodan movement in post-independence India; along with other Forward Castes, they lost their significant position in Bihar's agrarian society, leading to the rise of Other Backward Classes (OBCs).

The Upper Backward Caste is a term used to describe the middle castes in Bihar, whose social and ritual status was not very low and which has traditionally been involved in the agricultural and animal husbandry related activities in the past. They have also been involved in low scale trade to some extent. The Koeri, Kurmi, Yadav and Bania are categorised as the upper-backwards amongst the Other Backward Class group; while the various other caste groups which constitutes the OBC, a group comprising 51% of the population of state of Bihar, has been classified as lower backwards. The upper-backwards also called upper OBC represents approximately 20.3% of the population of Bihar. These agricultural caste were the biggest beneficiaries of the land reform drive which was undertaken in the 1950s in the state and they strengthened their economic position by gaining a significant portion of excess land under the ceiling laws, which prohibited the ownership of land above a certain ceiling.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Preconciliar rites after the Second Vatican Council</span>

In the Catholic Church, the use of preconciliar rites after the Second Vatican Council has resulted in certain Latin liturgical rites coexisting with older versions of those same rites. In the postconciliar years, i.e. years following the Second Vatican Council, Pope Paul VI initiated a significant change of the Roman Rite, which precipitated certain other Latin rites being similarly reformed. Some of those among Paul VI's contemporaries who considered the changes to the Roman Rite Mass to be too drastic obtained from him limited permission for the continued use of the previous version of that rite's missal. In the years since, the Holy See has granted varying degrees of permission to celebrate the Roman Rite and other Latin rites in the same manner as was done prior to the council. The use of preconciliar rites is associated with the movement known as traditionalist Catholicism.

References

  1. ↑ Adams, Scott (2002-07-11). "Opinion | Cubicle Crimes". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2022-08-13.
  2. ↑ Chatman, Seymour (2009). "Backwards". Narrative. 17 (1): 31–55. ISSN   1063-3685. JSTOR   30219289.
  3. ↑ Boyle, James (1912). What is Socialism?: An Exposition and a Criticism, with Special Reference to the Movement in America and England. Shakespeare Press. p. 176.
  4. ↑ Sheel, Kamal (2014-07-14). Peasant Society and Marxist Intellectuals in China: Fang Zhimin and the Origin of a Revolutionary Movement in the Xinjiang Region. Princeton University Press. pp. 163–170. ISBN   978-1-4008-6042-5.
  5. ↑ Daedalus: Proceedings of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. The Academy. 1973. p. 157.
  6. ↑ "Professor's Ataturk statements horrifying". Hurriyet.com.tr (in Turkish). 2006-11-21. Retrieved 2022-08-13.
  7. ↑ Link: Indian Newsmagazine, Volume 29, Part 3. 1987.
  8. ↑ Gehlot, N. S. (1998). Current Trends in Indian Politics. Deep & Deep Publications. pp. 264–265. ISBN   9788171007981.
  9. ↑ Bhattacharya, Amit. "Who are the OBCs?". Archived from the original on 27 June 2006. Retrieved 19 April 2006.Times of India, 8 April 2006.
  10. ↑ Fifty Years of India's Freedom. Indian Academy of Social Sciences. 1997. pp. 166–167.
  11. ↑ Ram, D. Sundar (1996). Readings in the Indian Parliamentary Opposition. Kanishka Publishers, Distributors. p. 65. ISBN   978-81-7391-113-2.
  12. ↑ Shah, Ghanshyam (2004). Caste and Democratic Politics in India. Anthem Press. p. 268. ISBN   978-1-84331-085-3.
  13. ↑ Baudelaire, Charles (1868). Curiosités esthétiques (in French). M. Lévy.
  14. ↑ Briggs, Ken (2014-09-22). "Wish list for an archbishop-in-waiting". National Catholic Reporter. Retrieved 2022-08-13.
  15. ↑ Pope Francis (2015-03-07). "Santa Messa nella Parrocchia romana di Ognissanti nel 50° anniversario della prima Messa in italiano celebrata dal Beato Paolo VI" [Homily given during the celebration of the Holy Mass in the Roman Parish of All Saints on the 50th anniversary of the first Mass in Italian celebrated by Blessed Paul VI]. Holy See Press Office. Retrieved 2022-08-13. non si può andare indietro, dobbiamo andare sempre avanti, sempre avanti e chi va indietro sbaglia
  16. ↑ Glatz, Carol (2022-08-04). "Quo vadis? Pope revitalizes ancient theologian's rules as a timely guide". Crux. Retrieved 2022-08-13.
  17. ↑ Schall, James V.; S.J. (2015-03-30). "On Pope Francis and Understanding Theology". www.catholicworldreport.com. Retrieved 2022-08-13.
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