India

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India, more formally known as the Republic of India, is the world's most populous nation with an estimated population numbering 1 billion, 428 million inhabitants.

Contents

Religious matters

India has a long and rich religious history. Four major religions — Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, and Sikhism — originated in India. Others, including Christianity, Zoroastrianism, and Islamism, have been imported. The Hindus are the largest group with 72 percent. The Muslims are the second largest with 14.2 percent.

Islamism has not co-existed well with the other religions because of its aggressive manner of pushing Islam on non-Muslims with the sword and by such tactics as forced circumcision. For example, more than 300 British soldiers were captured by Muslims in 1780 and forcibly circumcised.[1]

The Dominion of India had long been governed by the British East India Company.[2] The British Raj assumed governance of India from the East India Company in 1858.[3] The British Raj decided to partition India in 1947, essentially to reduce religious strife. Two regions in the north of India — East and West Pakistan — would be assigned to the new Dominion of Pakistan, which would be a home for Muslims. East Pakistan later became Bangladesh.[4]

The remainder of the Dominion of India would would be a home for non-Muslims.

Hindus, Sikhs, and adherents to other religions would be protected from most of the Muslims who were now in a separate nation. Pakistan now has 241.5 million Muslims and Bangladesh now has 169 million Muslims for a total of 410.5 million who have been removed from India and who cannot conveniently prey upon the non-Muslim citizens of India. The residual 14.2% Muslim population of India is now constitutes only about 172,000,000.[5]

The partition caused a mass migration with Muslims moving from India into Pakistan and non-Muslims moving from Pakistan into India. Muslims continued to conduct forced circumcisions at this time.[1]

Medical science

Medical science is highly advanced in India.

There are more than 600,000,000 foreskinned men in India. Studies by Indian doctors have contributed to our understanding of the intact penis.

  • Satya Parkash (1972) discussed some of the functions of the foreskin, some drawbacks to circumcision, and conditions for which circumcision should not be performed. Parkash described a new procedure for the plastic correction of phimosis which would save the foreskin.[6]
  • Parkash et al (1973) studied the nature of the material which collects in the preputial sac of intact males. It was determined to be cast off "epithelial debris".[7]
  • Lakshmanan & Parkash (1980) studied the nature and function of the layer of muscle fiber in the prepuce. The authors discovered the whorled pattern that produces a sphincter. They commented on the manner in which the foreskin is held close to the glans penis. They were the first to describe the gliding action of the foreskin that facilitates intercourse.[8]
  • Parkash et al. (1982) studied the source of the wetness that is characteristic of the preputial sac. They determined that the wetness did not come from urine. They said:

As such it appears safe to conclude that the space is kept moist and also clean in those with preputial stenosis, by the secretions of the prostate, supplemented by the seminal secretion of the mucin content of the secretion of the urethral glands.[9]

  • Parkash (1982) argued against non-therapeutic (routine) circumcision.[10]
  • Agarwal et al. (2005) reviewed the medical literature about development of retractable foreskin in boys. He advised "that circumcision should be avoided as far as possible".[11]
  • Shahid (2012) emphasized the necessity of properly diagnosing the type of phimosis when a boy with a non-retractable foreskin is presented. He also stated that circumcision is becoming outmoded as a treatment for phimosis.[12]
  • Manekar et al. (2022) surveyed paediatricans across India and found that most were so poorly trained that they could not distinguish between normal physiological phimosis and pathological phimosis in boys, which may result in large numbers of unnecessary circumcisions of boys.[13]

A new surgical technique from India

Gupta, Mehta, & Gupta (2021), working in India, have described a new surgical technique to provide coverage of the glans penis at all times, including tumescent, for men who were involuntarily circumcised in childhood or who had a congenitally short prepuce (foreskin). The procedure has been performed on 46 patients with apparent complete success, although penetrating sexual performance has not been evaluated.[14]

This procedure supplies a special need of religious officials of the Jain religion. It is not generally suitable for others.

Circumcision in India

Circumcision is closely associated with religion in India.[15] Non-therapeutic infant circumcision is not normally done in India.

Circumcision marks one as a probable member of the Muslim religious minority.[15] Although male circumcision is not unlawful, it is not part of the culture or religion of most Indians. In fact, it is viewed with distaste or even horror by most Indians, especially since it is associated with Islamic practice.[15] Sikhism prohibits cutting of the body and Jainism favors non-violence. Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, and others have no desire to appear to be Muslim. The vast majority (86.5%) of males are foreskinned.

Boys born into the 14.2% Muslim minority of families are usually circumcised without anaesthesia for the pain by traditional circumcisors or barbers prior to puberty.[15]

Circumcision for medical indications is also practiced. There are urologists who advertise and promote their services. It is not clear that Indian urologists offer conservative prepuce-preserving treatment of foreskin conditions to intact Indian men. The Urological Society of India does not offer guidelines on the conservative prepuce-preserving treatment of phimosis.[16]

Sources of information

The website of the Sidri International Clinic in Delhi has a wealth of prepuce preserving information that may be of interest to intact males.[17]

The prevalence of circumcision

The World Population Review (2024) and Brian J. Morris (2026) both estimate that 13.5 percent of Indian males are circumcised,[18] [19] leaving 86.5% intact, however Arora et al. (2023) estimated the prevalence of circumcision in India to be 7 percent.[20]

External links

  Wikipedia article: India. Retrieved 15 September 2019.

References

  1. ↑ a b   Wikipedia article: Forced circumcision
  2. ↑   Wikipedia article: East India Company
  3. ↑   Wikipedia article: British Raj
  4. ↑   Wikipedia article: Partition of India
  5. ↑   Wikipedia article: Religion in India
  6. ↑   Parkash S. Phimosis and its plastic correction. J Indian Med Assoc. 16 May 1972; 58(10): 389-90. PMID. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
    Quote: The prepuce is not a useless structure. If proper personal hygiene is observed, the risk of malignancy is not high enough to justify its ritual excision. Besides the prepuce provides valuable spare skin for cover in various conditions. Conservation of the prepuce is fully justified even in cases with phimosis which does not resolve spontaneously or which is not giving rise to symptoms.
  7. ↑   Parkash S, Jeyakumar S, Subramanyan K, Chaudhuri S. Human subpreputial collection: its nature and formation. J Urol. August 1973; 110(2): 211-2. PMID. DOI. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
    Quote: A detailed study of the subpreputial collections and histological study of 128 specimens led us to conclude that there appears to be no evidence of any glandular tissue in the subpreputial region of the penis. Smegma is an epithelial debris collecting in this space.
  8. ↑   Lakshmanan S, Parkash S. Human prepuce: some aspects of structure and function. Indian J Surg. 1980; 44: 134-7. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  9. ↑   Parkash S, Rao R, Venkatesan K, Ramakrishnan S. Sub-preputial wetness - Its nature.. Ann Nat Med Sci (India. 1982; 18(3): 109-12. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
    Quote: As such it appears safe to conclude that the space is kept moist and also clean in those with preputial stenosis, by the secretions of the prostate, supplemented by the seminal secretion of the mucin content of the secretion of the urethral glands
  10. ↑   Parkash S. Is routine circumcision necessary?. J Indian Med Assoc. May 1982; 78((9-10)): 150-1. PMID. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
  11. ↑   Agarwal A, Mohta A, Anand RK. Preputial retraction in children. J Indian Assoc Pediatr Surg. April 2005; 10(2): 89-91. DOI. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  12. ↑   Shahid SK. Phimosis in Children. ISRN Urol. 5 March 2012; : [707329]. PMID. PMC. DOI. Retrieved 5 July 2025.
    Quote: When a child is brought with history of inability to retract the foreskin, it is important to confirm whether it is physiologic or pathologic. Management depends on age of child, type of nonretraction, severity of phimosis, cause, and associated morbid conditions.
  13. ↑   Manetar AA, Janjala M, Sahoo SK, Tripathy BB, Mohanty MJ. Phimosis - Are we on right track?. Afr J Paediatr Surg. 2022; 19(4): 199-202. PMID. PMC. DOI. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  14. ↑   Gupta R, Mehta S, Gupta R. A Novel Procedure of Prepuce Reconstruction Customized to the Religious Needs of Some Individuals. Int J Plast Surg. April 2021; 54(2): 114-7. PMID. PMC. DOI. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  15. ↑ a b c d   Sahay S, Najarakan K, Mehendale S, Deb S, et al. Community and Healthcare Providers' Perspectives on Male Circumcision: A Multi-Centric Qualitative Study in India. PLoS One.. 10 March 2014; 9(3): e91213. PMID. PMC. DOI. Retrieved 7 July 2024.
    Quote: More than a religious commitment, circumcision was equated with religious identity [in this case ‘Muslim’] in India, which differentiated Muslims from non circumcising communities following other religions.
  16. ↑   Urological Society of India. Retrieved 6 July 2024.
  17. ↑   Sidri International Clinic. Retrieved 7 July 2024.
  18. ↑   Anonymous (2024). Circumcision by Country 2024, World Population Review. Retrieved 6 July 2024.
  19. ↑   Morris BJ (March 2016). Table one, Research Gate. Retrieved 6 July 2024.
  20. ↑   Arora M, Singh LK, Somani A (2023): Penis: Circumcision. Work: Encyclopedia of Sexual Psychology and Behavior. Todd K. Shackelford, Gavin Vance, & Madeleine K. Meehan (ed.). Switzerland: Springer Nature. Pp. 1-6. ISBN 978-3-031-08956-5. Retrieved 7 July 2024.
    Quote: The prevalence of male circumcision in India is around 7%.
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