Forms and Experience of Inclusion in Indian Society and History

Inclusion in India is not a modern political slogan-it has deep historical and cultural roots. For centuries, diverse communities, tribes, castes, and religions have interacted, merged, and coexisted across the Indian subcontinent. Understanding how inclusion has functioned historically helps us appreciate both the strengths and the tensions within Indian society. From tribal absorption and the jati system to the revolutionary messages of medieval saints and the unifying force of the nationalist movement, forms and experiences of inclusion have shaped India’s unique social fabric.

Historical modes of inclusion: the jati system and tribal absorption 🔗

Nirmal Kumar Bose (1901-1972), a renowned anthropologist and one-time personal secretary to Mahatma Gandhi, proposed an influential theory about how Hindu society absorbed external groups. In his 1941 paper presented at the Indian Science Congress, Bose introduced the concept of the “Hindu Method of Tribal Absorption.” According to Bose, tribal communities that came into prolonged contact with their Hindu neighbors gradually lost their original identity and were integrated into the Hindu social order, typically as lower-caste groups. This process gave them a defined role within the economic structure while allowing them to retain some cultural autonomy.

Bose observed this pattern during his fieldwork among the Juang tribe of Odisha. He noted that although the Juangs remained outside the formal Hindu fold, Hindu religious ideas had clearly penetrated their culture-evidenced through morning bathing rituals, offerings of sun-dried rice, and the use of Sanskrit-derived terms like satya, devata, and dharma. Bose argued that Indian society possessed an unusual capacity to absorb and transform ideas and practices from diverse sources.

The jati system as an absorptive mechanism 🔗

Central to this historical mode of inclusion was the jati (caste) system. Bose proposed that the persistence of caste was rooted in the economic and cultural security it provided through a non-competitive, hereditary, vocation-based organization. Villages operated with a general norm of inter-ethnic cultural tolerance-different groups could maintain distinct identities while participating in a shared economic life. New groups entering the Hindu social order were typically assigned specialized crafts or occupations, creating mutual dependencies that bound communities together.

Religious conversion offered another pathway into new communities, though converts often retained elements of their previous identities. This created a layered social landscape where people held multiple affiliations-tribal, regional, occupational, and religious-simultaneously. While the system created a degree of stability, it also established hierarchies that modern scholars have critiqued. Contemporary analysis has questioned whether Bose’s theory adequately accounts for the exploitation and resistance that often accompanied these absorptions, or whether it romanticized a process that frequently disadvantaged incoming groups.

Religious movements and the philosophy of openness 🔗

While the jati system represented one structural form of inclusion, the medieval period witnessed powerful religious movements that challenged orthodox social orders and promoted philosophies of radical equality. The Bhakti movement, which originated in Tamil Nadu around the 6th century CE and swept across India between the 14th and 17th centuries, represented a devotional transformation that made spiritual salvation accessible to everyone-regardless of caste, gender, or social background.

The Bhakti movement’s egalitarian message 🔗

Bhakti saints preached that personal devotion to God mattered more than ritual purity, priestly intermediaries, or birth status. This was revolutionary. Previously, salvation had been considered attainable primarily by upper-caste men; now poet-saints declared that divine grace was available to all who approached with sincere love. Saints like Kabir, a weaver by trade, composed verses critiquing both Hindu and Muslim orthodoxies, urging people to seek the divine within themselves rather than in temples or mosques. His famous line questioning caste distinctions-asserting that devotion transcends birth-became foundational to later reformist thought.

Guru Nanak, founder of Sikhism, shared this vision of spiritual equality. His teachings emphasized the oneness of God beyond religious labels, and he established practices like the langar (community kitchen) where people of all backgrounds ate together-a powerful symbolic rejection of caste hierarchy. Ramananda, another influential saint, opened his fold to disciples from all castes, including Ravidas (a leather worker) and others traditionally considered untouchable.

Basavanna and the Veersaiva (Lingayat) movement 🔗

Perhaps no movement demonstrated more radical commitment to equality than Basavanna’s 12th-century Veersaiva (Lingayat) movement in Karnataka. Basavanna, who served as a minister in the court of the Kalachuri king Bijjala II, rejected the caste system with full force. He accepted people from all castes into his new community and proclaimed his kinship with the oppressed, famously declaring that his “father” was an untouchable and his “uncle” a tanner-both occupations considered lowly in the social hierarchy.

The Lingayat movement emphasized that whoever wears the linga of Shiva is well-born. Women participated as poets, philosophers, and decision-makers-figures like Akka Mahadevi became revered saint-poets whose verses remain influential today. Basavanna established the Anubhava Mantapa, often described as India’s first democratic discussion forum, where people from all backgrounds debated questions of spirituality, justice, and social life. The movement promoted widow remarriage, post-puberty marriage, and inter-caste dining-practices that directly challenged Brahmanical orthodoxy.

Sufi contributions to social inclusion 🔗

Parallel to these Hindu reform movements, Sufism spread across India from the 10th century onward, emphasizing divine love, inner spiritual experience, and universal brotherhood. Sufi saints opened their doors to followers from all sections of society, including lower castes, outcasts, and marginalized groups who found solace in the egalitarian message. The Chishti order was particularly notable for welcoming people of all faiths.

Both Bhakti and Sufi traditions used vernacular languages rather than Sanskrit or Arabic, making spiritual teachings accessible to ordinary people. They employed poetry, music, and song as vehicles for devotional expression. This shared emphasis on personal experience, equality, and vernacular expression created spaces for cultural synthesis and mutual influence between Hindu and Muslim communities.

Nationalism and democratic inclusion 🔗

The idea of the Indian nation, which crystallized during the freedom struggle against British colonialism, represented a new and powerful form of inclusion. Indian nationalism emerged as a civic nationalism-inclusive of all people despite their diverse ethnic, linguistic, and religious backgrounds. This was a deliberate choice by the leaders of the independence movement, who recognized that unity was essential for challenging colonial rule.

Gandhi’s transformative leadership 🔗

Mahatma Gandhi’s leadership was central to creating an inclusive nationalist movement. His pioneering use of satyagraha (non-violent resistance) and civil disobedience allowed ordinary Indians-farmers, workers, women, lower castes-to participate in the struggle against British rule without requiring violence or military training. Gandhi’s strict adherence to democracy, religious and ethnic equality, and his active rejection of caste discrimination and untouchability united people across demographic lines for the first time in India’s history. By the 1930s, Congress membership had grown into the tens of millions.

Gandhi championed the concept of sarva dharma sambhava-the equality of all faiths-which didn’t merely tolerate other religions but demanded genuine respect and understanding. He regularly participated in prayers and festivals of different religious communities, demonstrating that embracing diversity didn’t require abandoning one’s own identity. During major nationalist campaigns like the Non-Cooperation Movement, he collaborated with leaders from diverse religious backgrounds, creating powerful examples of secular unity.

Building inclusive political institutions 🔗

The freedom struggle’s democratic template helped bring diverse groups into a common economic, political, and cultural dialogue. Regional organizations represented the interests of non-Brahmins in Madras, Mahars in Maharashtra, and Sikhs in Punjab. Women participated actively in the movement-figures like Kasturba Gandhi, Rajkumari Amrit Kaur, Muthulaxmi Reddy, and Aruna Asaf Ali took prominent roles. Subaltern groups including tribal communities and lower castes fought for both national independence and social emancipation simultaneously.

This inclusive vision was enshrined in India’s Constitution after independence. The Preamble declares India as a sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic republic, promising liberty of thought, expression, belief, faith, and worship to all citizens. Fundamental Rights guarantee equality before the law regardless of religion, race, caste, sex, or place of birth. The Constitution explicitly prohibits discrimination and guarantees equal opportunity in public employment-translating the inclusive ideals of the nationalist movement into legal protections.

Avoiding exclusivist extremes 🔗

The nationalist movement’s achievement lay partly in its ability to avoid the extremes of exclusivist identity politics. While religious nationalism and separatist tendencies certainly existed-culminating tragically in Partition-the dominant strand of Indian nationalism remained committed to pluralism. Leaders like Jawaharlal Nehru envisioned building a modern nation unified not by a single religion or culture, but by a shared history, a common struggle for freedom, and a commitment to democratic and secular values.

This approach sought to integrate diverse groups into a single national identity while respecting their unique characteristics. The freedom struggle fostered a sense of national identity that transcended regional, religious, and cultural differences, uniting communities under the common goal of independence. It created institutional frameworks-Congress, constituent assemblies, electoral processes-that required diverse groups to negotiate and compromise rather than resort to violent exclusion.

Continuities and tensions 🔗

These historical forms of inclusion-structural absorption, devotional egalitarianism, and democratic nationalism-have left lasting marks on Indian society. They demonstrate that inclusion has never been a simple or complete process. The jati system created interdependence but also hierarchy. The Bhakti and Sufi movements proclaimed equality but couldn’t entirely transform entrenched social structures. The nationalist movement united millions but couldn’t prevent Partition’s bloodshed.

Yet these traditions also provide resources for contemporary efforts at inclusion. They remind us that Indian society has repeatedly found ways to accommodate difference, that prophetic voices have challenged exclusion, and that democratic mobilization can bring diverse groups together. The experience of inclusion in India is not a finished achievement but an ongoing project-one that draws on centuries of experimentation, struggle, and vision.

What do you think? Can the egalitarian ideals of the Bhakti saints and the inclusive vision of India’s nationalist movement provide guidance for addressing contemporary challenges of caste, religious, and regional division? How might we distinguish between forms of inclusion that genuinely respect difference and those that absorb marginal groups only at the cost of their identity and dignity?

References

1. https://egyankosh.ac.in/bitstream/123456789/81502/2/Unit-6.pdf
2. https://www.epw.in/journal/2018/17/special-articles/scrutinising-hindu-method-tribal-absorption.html
3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhakti_movement
4. https://www.drishtiias.com/to-the-points/paper1/bhakti-and-sufi-movements
5. https://pwonlyias.com/udaan/veerashaiva-lingayat-tradition/
6. https://www.veerashaivamahasabha.org/Home/History
7. https://testbook.com/ias-preparation/bhakti-movement-ncert-notes
8. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_nationalism
9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_independence_movement
10. https://polsci.institute/political-processes-institutions/india-pluralism-unity-diversity/
11. https://sociology.institute/sociology-in-india/nationalism-secularism-india-freedom-struggle/