Shuddhi (Hinduism)

Shuddhi (Sanskrit: शुद्धि śuddhi, Hindi: शुद्धि śuddhi, Punjabi: ਸ਼ੁੱਧ śuddh) is a Sanskrit word meaning purification or cleansing. In the context of modern Hinduism, it describes a Hindu religious movement started by Arya Samaj, initially aimed at re-converting former Hindus who departed the religion for Christianity or Islam, but later expanded to convert non-Hindus altogether. This term is also present in some medieval smritis, as well as in later Sikh literature, also in the context of re-conversion.

Shuddhi is derived from the Sanskrit word शुद्धि śuddhi ("purified"), the past passive participle of the verb शुध् śudh ("to purify"). This word ultimately derives from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ḱew- ("to shine"). Although the Sanskrit word शुद्धि was inherited into Hindi as सुध sudh and into Punjabi as ਸੁੱਧ suddh, both inherited words are generic and neither are used to refer to the shuddhi movement.

The practice of shuddhi began by the 10th century AD as a response to Islamic incursions into the Indian subcontinent and the subsequent conversion of Hindus to Islam, and is credited with reversing the mass Islamic conversions in the wake of Muhammad ibn Qasim's conquest of Sindh. Some smritis were composed in Sanskrit during this time to promote shuddhi, such as the Devala Smriti, Atri Samhita, and Brihadyana Smriti, all of which were cited in Arya Samaji pandit J. B. Chaudhary's 1930 publication Shuddhi Sanatan Hai. The Devala Smriti is the most detailed of these texts, but it is lost and only partially survives in quotations from later writers. Multiple reconstructions have therefore been attempted throughout the 20th century, with the most extensive being done by Mukund Lalji Wadekar in 1982.

The Devala Smriti prescribes shuddhi rituals for anyone from the ages of 11 to 80. This would even include women who were impregnated by Muslim men, who would have to undergo the santapana krcchra penance of consuming cow urine, cow dung, milk, ghee, and kusha grass, fasting for one day and night and cleaning their private areas with ghee. Additionally, such women would be considered half-mleccha until they gave birth, which is when they would regain their caste, but their child would be considered pratiloma (impure mixed-caste) and hence could not be retained. However, shuddhi rituals were usually not this strict, and were permissible for individuals who had followed Islam for less than 20 years (unless they committed forbidden acts, such as killing or consuming cows, or having intercourse with non-Hindu women, in which case that period would be less than 4 years). The author of the Devala Smriti tied Islamic conversion (and even mere association with Muslims) to caste contamination, which would require shuddhi; since Muslim Arab conquest was not yet seen as a full-fledged imperial project, but as another migration in a long line of barbarian mleccha incursions which ended in their eventual settlement and Hinduisation.

The author of the Devala Smriti is said to be highly unorthodox by the standards of the time. The historian Al-Biruni writes that his Brahmin informants did not accept the readmission of Hindu converts to Islam back into their caste and religion. The practice of shuddhi disappeared by the 12th century AD, and the idea that Hindus must be born into the religion took hold, as Hindu proselytisation activities gradually ceased.

The socio-political movement, derived from ancient rite of shuddhikaran, or purification was started by the Arya Samaj, and its founder Swami Dayanand Saraswati and his followers like Swami Shraddhanand, who also worked on the Sangathan consolidation aspect of Hinduism, in North India, especially Punjab in early 1900s, though it gradually spread across India. Shuddhi had a social reform agenda behind its rationale and was aimed at abolishing the practise of untouchability by converting outcasts from other religions to Hinduism and integrating them into the mainstream community by elevating their position, and instilling self-confidence and self-determination in them. The movement strove to reduce the conversions of Hindus to Islam and Christianity, which were underway at the time.

In 1923, Swami Shraddhanand founded the 'Bhartiya Hindu Shuddhi Mahasabha' (Indian Hindu Purification Council) and pushed the agenda of reconversion, which eventually created a flashpoint between Hindus and Muslims as Hindus were the recipients of the violence.^{[citation needed]}. Mahatma Gandhi made a comment on Swami Shraddhananda in an article titled 'Hindu-Muslim-Tensions: Causes and Resistance' in the May 29, 1922 issue of Young India.

Swami Shraddhananda has also become a character of disbelief. I know that his speeches are often provocative. Just as most Muslims think that every non-Muslim will one day convert to Islam, Shraddhananda also believes that every Muslim can be initiated into the Aryan religion. Shraddhananda ji is fearless and brave. He alone has built a great Brahmacharya Ashram (Gurukul) in the holy Ganges. But they are in a hurry and it will move soon. He inherited it from the Aryan society."