Dhimmitude essentially is a relationship between two groups. One is the victor, the superior, the other vanquished, the subservient. The power dynamics is thus defined, the victor has the mandate to rule over the vanquished, but it is not merely about power, under dhimmutude the ruler is automatically vested with moral superiority. In effect it is not merely force but some supposedly exalted principle which manifests in the present situation, that is which explains the dominance of one and servility of others.
India has been attacked countless times since the the dawn of civilizations, from Parthian to Scythian, however after a period of unrest, the invaders assimilated themselves, transforming the original milieu.
This changed with invasions of Muslims, for while acquiring wealth and expansion of empire remained important reasons, they were necessarily the manifest ones. For the ostensible reason now was to propagate the faith, which was revealed to the Prophet by the Archangel, the mandate was a divine one and hence pay off promised was also greater than a purely territorial one. The booty was not just silver and gold, but also an eternity in paradise. Hence, for an invader,a more potent force than the force of mere weapons justified the invasions. The excesses were condoned even celebrated for spreading the word of God.
However even then there was familiarity. Islam arose from a bleak landscape, a product of harsh climate, infertile land and a tribal society. Hence there was never a hesitation or embarrassment against using violence. While it was not necessarily the first measure, it was by no means something which was to be eschewed. Hence there was no coyness about sword, on the contrary it was approved, massacres of infidels celebrated in epics. The downside of this was that the victim was always aware of subjugation and given a chance will strike back.
The next change was English colonialism, however there was a difference, British came for wealth and they very well knew it.
But because the English middle class was a product of enlightenment, it could not admit subjugation of natives for selfish reasons, because it went against ideals of the age.
Therefore, a elaborate fiction was manufactured, that of white man's burden, where colonialism existed not because of greed of masters, but for the savage natives improvement.
Where the oppression was inflicted with a heavy heart in order to bring light of true civilization (and true God) to the unwashed barbarian.
The right to rule based on superiority of race.
This project succeeded beyond wildest dreams, the intellectual of India lost his ability to think, now no original insights were to be gained, instead what passed for ideas, a rehashing of Europe. Divested of pride and consciousness, the Indian was doomed to view the world in terms of masters, the context to problem was borrowed without discrimination, even the problems were copied with the result an intellectual who was just a poor imitation of Europe.
It is thus that even after half a century we still have debates on whether colonialism was good for India.
The dhimmification did not stop at this, after British came the tyranny of socialist / communist.
However there was no power, at least not one which was obvious, neither electoral, nor muscular.
What they had instead was intellectual capital. A generation of intellectual uprooted from its history by the colonialism, unable now to make any sense of India, and deprived of its masters and benefactors. These resident non Indians, appropriated the moral high ground, and started subjugation of India, this time intellectual.
For this they turned man's kindness against himself, using his nobler disposition to bind him. As Maugham said in entirely different context, it was tyranny of weak over the strong. Poverty was turned into a moral virtue and wealth a cardinal sin, by this inversion of natural order of things, the negation of instincts which provide the vigour for human enterprise, the intention was to stultify the Indian spirit, thus establish unquestioned monopoly. Also the creed of minority-ism whereby, the Muslims were accorded a moral high ground, an unquestioned relief from criticism just on the status of their religion. Hence the principle of equality was subverted from within.
It is this which has perverted India, corrupted her soul. India suffers from poverty of idea, for no new idea is to be found, because the fount of intellect has been destroyed by the barbarians.
If India is to forge ahead it is this shackles of guilt, of moral slavery which must be thrown away,
and yet it seems most unlikely.
