Brief flashback...
I grew up in a typical brahmin household in chennai, tamil nadu. Went to a school with a brahmin majority and like most others of my generation didnt believe much in the rituals and recitation of chants..etc. There were certainly non-brahmin folks in our gang and caste was never an issue. Infact I hadnt thought much about it except whine about the reservation system without understanding it fully. I knew a little about the theoretical hierarchy of castes but didnt think it existed in practice. You wouldnt too if you grew up in some areas of chennai and isolated from the rest of the state in many ways.
Later..
I got out of India and nearly a year after I left, I started missing home. Perhaps, as a result of feeling that I dont really belong in the new place, my nationalism for India had grown by a large amount. I think this is a phase all NRIs go through. I started reading online versions indian newspapers and started watching videos about india. It was then that I came across a video where K. Veeramani of Dravidar Kazhagam was giving a speech. I received the shock of my life on hearing his brahmin-hatred and the way he blamed the brahmins for all the society's problems and various forms of oppressions.
My initial reaction was shock and righteous anger. Shock, because, even though I was mildly aware of the anti-brahmin movement in the past, I believed it was a thing of the past which had ended with the introduction of reservations in education and jobs. Anger ,because, as far as i knew ,myself and the people around me were not casteist and were surely not oppressive. So I did what any person would do in my situation, which was to look for things that validate my stance. I started searching the net along those lines and eventually started enjoying Cho's videos. I loved the way he made fun of Karunanidhi and DK. I felt happy for the moment.
But the intensity of the hatred in Veeramani (and Suba vee) 's speech got to me. I started thinking whether there was any truth in what they said. And it turned out there was. I was suddenly able to recollect many incidents among my family and relatives which would qualify as casteist/racist in any country. Right from my grand mother enquiring whether one of my friends was a brahmana boy to my mother refusing to eat food in non-brahmin weddings. It never dawned on me how insensitive it was to others. In fact, one vaathiyar (i.e a priest) remarked to me that he thought I was a sudra (he said this in a condescending way) since I touched him accidentally before having taken a bath after one ritual. The list seems almost endless. I guess these things did not bother me earlier because I had assumed that old and orthodox people from other castes too thought their caste was the best. Almost, like the way each child thinks their parents are the best. Looks like it wasnt true at all. With a little more searching, I came across http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=Kd28Ay09adgC&source=gbs_book_similarbooks and similar articles. The social reality turned out to be very different indeed.
Realisation..
So, I guess I am convinced that there is an element of truth in DK's propoganda. Any one who is casteist needs to be looked down upon. I also agree with them that Dinamalar is crap. I remember many myths they spread like 'pei kuzhandhai' ,'ulagam azhiyapoguthu'..etc. They are definitely against progressive thinking and should be put in their place. But that and reservations are where my agreement with DK ends.
Reservations..
I also agree on the issue of reservations since it has become clear to me that a brahmin kid will definitely have more exposure and better tools at his disposal ,by the virture of his/her environment, to compete against others who dont have the same. But of course, I strongly believe the creamy layer exclustion must be implemented. If not a purely economic basis, then may be with some additional criteria like the educational qualifications of the students parents..etc. Call it jealously/fairness/whatever, I cannot consider it anything other than unfair that a BC friend of mine whose father is a professor (who has a written a couple of books ,btw) and who owns a big independent house in besant nagar (of all places) and whose grandfather was a judge in high court is more backward than I am in any sense of the word. Nowhere in the world, not even in a temple, would his father be looked upon unfavourably compared to my stenographer father.
Are Brahmins the only crooks?
Brahmins being the racist/casteist crooks they are, by no means are they alone. Nor are they the worst. If you read the book in the link above, it becomes abundantly clear that its the middle castes namely thevars and the ilk who are the biggest crooks. They are the ones who execute casteism violently. In fact, ever since the Non-brahmin movement and reservations, after 70's, brahmins have not been in a position to cause any tangible harm to anyone even if they wanted to. Casteism among brahmins seems to have stopped with passing remarks behind the back. But the middle castes actually physically prevent dalits from having a better life and are much bigger blocks to social justice.
DK's Criticisms..
1) No courage
They are beating a dead snake. As said above, Brahmins are no longer in any position to prevent anyone's mobility. But it looks like they dont have the guts to directly address the middle castes who cause real violent harm that the minority brahmins can never do. And the middle caste guys are pretty open about it too. Many of my BC/OBC/.. ( regex *BC* ) friends used to openly make fun of my muslim roommate as a terrorist even though they know he felt very about it. So avanga elaam mattum ozhukam kedyaathu. But you will not hear a single word about them in any of DK's speeches. The reason might not only be physical fear, but also because they dont want to disturb the vote banks of their pet party, namely DMK. I guess this is the reason that the dalits hold Ambedkar in higher esteem than Peiryar (their God)
2) Are they really rational?
According to DK, ancient tamilians lived in one happy land singing 'la la la' till the evil brahmins came and split them in to various castes and made things worse. Apparently, back then, pigs could fly. This is seriously cartoon stuff. Also, it seems, ancient tamil nadu was an advanced civilization which was over thrown by Aryans who came here with their goats. Vaazhga pagutharivu.
Kekaravan kena payala irunthaa...
I think the more rational explanation would be that the castes had already existed and the brahmins (if they did come from somewhere else) just sat on top of the hierarchy by claiming closeness to god. Given that oppression in various forms existed in most of the places around the world, by the rich on poor, the landlords on the landless , its probable that it existed here too. Brahmins, of course, might have the greatest stake in maintaining that status quo and keep it going. But putting the sole blame on them is unreasonable. In fact, according to theory, brahmins are supposed to lead a humble life. So, its very possible that the thevars,gounders and vanniyars said to brahmins 'nee enna vida uyarnthavan nu neanchitu po. aana en area (namely ruling,farming) ulla vandhudaathe'.
3) DK are casteist
Yes, its true. Any one who is born in to a brahmin family is evil by birth according to them. So they do discriminate people on the basis of their birth. Which explains why they dont even mention Bharathiyar who spoke against case but was brahmin by birth. It also explains why they never take any initiative in schools to influene brahmin children and speak to them against the evils of caste. Either they truly believe brahmins are evil by birth or they want the brahmin kids to grow up with the casteist beliefs, so that they always have an enemy who they can bash whenever they want and justify the existence of the organization. In fact, its a perfect political strategy. Pick a weak enemy, build him up, project him as though he is a very powerful evil force and project yourself as the hero that saves the masses from that enemy.
Engines of Change?
Not sure. Atleast when I look at my own life/family, its clear that casteist attitude has considerably reduced across generations. I am atleast not consciously casteist, and hope its true unconsciously too. How can I think of a BC classmate as inferior when he kicks my ass in everything we do together. So, I guess, when the oppressed are presented with opportunities and progress economically and in other areas such as arts and sciences, there cannot be even a basis for considering anyone to be inferior than oneself. Then of course, when people, marry each other without looking into caste distinctions , it might be gone completely.
Will I marry a non-brahmin girl?
Kashtam. Dont get me wrong. I would have loved to fall in love with a non-brahmin girl (or any girl for that matter). But ethuvum set aagala. Ithu varaikum 2 ponnungala one side love panni iruken.
As far as arranged marriages go, people still only prefer from their caste so my choice would be very limited. Already ippo ponnu kedaikarathu kashtam. If I say 'caste no bar' , people would think that something is wrong with me.
And at the end of the day, my parents are going to live with me. Unless they are also OK with the idea there would be no peace in my life. It would of course be worth it if i was in love with a girl. But no point in complicating things in this set up in an arranged marriage situtation.
But I do pledge that my kids (be it boy or girl)will not have this issue. In fact I wouldnt even really mind them having pre-marital sex or even if they end up as guys or lesbians so long they think about it and these things happen after they are adults. Seriously. (but i really hope not :P)
By saying the above things, i am not trying to prove that i am a nallavan or a liberal. Infact, this would be a big victory if i just stand by the conviction.
Tamil Bloggers
I came across a variety of blogs in tamil who mug up and vomit the DK ideology. The criticims said above of the DK are applicable to them too. Atleast, it becomes possible to forgive the DK on the account of having people from earlier generation stuck with their prejudices and memories of the past. But these new age bloggers, who probably have never faced caste based discrimination from brahmins and who probably have atleast one brahmin friend do not think twice before engaging in the usual brahmin-bashing. One possible explanation for this behavior might be because of an emotion similar to the brief nationalism I said I had experienced. Their lives are dull and they want to be a rebel in some way. So they again pick the weak enemy and tear him to pieces. I have only message to them. Do the brahmin-bashing but also develop the balls to speak openly the other culprits else shut the hell up and poi pulla kuttiya padika vainga.
At the very least, follow what the true rationalist, periyar often says in his speeches.
'Listen to what I say. Think about it. Take the things that made sense to you and leave the rest'.
For instance, the Aryan-Invasion theory and Kumari kaandam were accepted theories in periyar's time. So periyar used it. But, the scientific community of today believes that both those lack credible evidence and are mostly false. Any rationalist would drop them , but not these guys who cling to it more than the brahmins cling to vedas.
And finally... brahmins are tamilians too
I was kinda personally hurt when Suba vee and co. kept on saying that brahmins are not tamilians but evil outsiders. It hurt because tamil is the only indian language i know and call myself tamilian whenever such topics come up with non-tamil folks.
But I do think that their claim is on shaky grounds because even if the aryan invasion theory is proved right, the brahmins have been here for 3000 years. If that doesnt qualify one group to be considered sons of that soil, then we have to conclude that there are no tamilians,hindians,chinese,english..etc in this world. The world has only africans.
Enna vaazhka da ithu
Outside India, i am seen as an indian. In North India, I am seen as a south indian. In karnataka/AP/kerala, I am seen as a tamizhan. In tamizh nadu, I am not a tamizhan. Enna vaazhka da ithu.
I grew up in a typical brahmin household in chennai, tamil nadu. Went to a school with a brahmin majority and like most others of my generation didnt believe much in the rituals and recitation of chants..etc. There were certainly non-brahmin folks in our gang and caste was never an issue. Infact I hadnt thought much about it except whine about the reservation system without understanding it fully. I knew a little about the theoretical hierarchy of castes but didnt think it existed in practice. You wouldnt too if you grew up in some areas of chennai and isolated from the rest of the state in many ways.
Later..
I got out of India and nearly a year after I left, I started missing home. Perhaps, as a result of feeling that I dont really belong in the new place, my nationalism for India had grown by a large amount. I think this is a phase all NRIs go through. I started reading online versions indian newspapers and started watching videos about india. It was then that I came across a video where K. Veeramani of Dravidar Kazhagam was giving a speech. I received the shock of my life on hearing his brahmin-hatred and the way he blamed the brahmins for all the society's problems and various forms of oppressions.
My initial reaction was shock and righteous anger. Shock, because, even though I was mildly aware of the anti-brahmin movement in the past, I believed it was a thing of the past which had ended with the introduction of reservations in education and jobs. Anger ,because, as far as i knew ,myself and the people around me were not casteist and were surely not oppressive. So I did what any person would do in my situation, which was to look for things that validate my stance. I started searching the net along those lines and eventually started enjoying Cho's videos. I loved the way he made fun of Karunanidhi and DK. I felt happy for the moment.
But the intensity of the hatred in Veeramani (and Suba vee) 's speech got to me. I started thinking whether there was any truth in what they said. And it turned out there was. I was suddenly able to recollect many incidents among my family and relatives which would qualify as casteist/racist in any country. Right from my grand mother enquiring whether one of my friends was a brahmana boy to my mother refusing to eat food in non-brahmin weddings. It never dawned on me how insensitive it was to others. In fact, one vaathiyar (i.e a priest) remarked to me that he thought I was a sudra (he said this in a condescending way) since I touched him accidentally before having taken a bath after one ritual. The list seems almost endless. I guess these things did not bother me earlier because I had assumed that old and orthodox people from other castes too thought their caste was the best. Almost, like the way each child thinks their parents are the best. Looks like it wasnt true at all. With a little more searching, I came across http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=Kd28Ay09adgC&source=gbs_book_similarbooks and similar articles. The social reality turned out to be very different indeed.
Realisation..
So, I guess I am convinced that there is an element of truth in DK's propoganda. Any one who is casteist needs to be looked down upon. I also agree with them that Dinamalar is crap. I remember many myths they spread like 'pei kuzhandhai' ,'ulagam azhiyapoguthu'..etc. They are definitely against progressive thinking and should be put in their place. But that and reservations are where my agreement with DK ends.
Reservations..
I also agree on the issue of reservations since it has become clear to me that a brahmin kid will definitely have more exposure and better tools at his disposal ,by the virture of his/her environment, to compete against others who dont have the same. But of course, I strongly believe the creamy layer exclustion must be implemented. If not a purely economic basis, then may be with some additional criteria like the educational qualifications of the students parents..etc. Call it jealously/fairness/whatever, I cannot consider it anything other than unfair that a BC friend of mine whose father is a professor (who has a written a couple of books ,btw) and who owns a big independent house in besant nagar (of all places) and whose grandfather was a judge in high court is more backward than I am in any sense of the word. Nowhere in the world, not even in a temple, would his father be looked upon unfavourably compared to my stenographer father.
Are Brahmins the only crooks?
Brahmins being the racist/casteist crooks they are, by no means are they alone. Nor are they the worst. If you read the book in the link above, it becomes abundantly clear that its the middle castes namely thevars and the ilk who are the biggest crooks. They are the ones who execute casteism violently. In fact, ever since the Non-brahmin movement and reservations, after 70's, brahmins have not been in a position to cause any tangible harm to anyone even if they wanted to. Casteism among brahmins seems to have stopped with passing remarks behind the back. But the middle castes actually physically prevent dalits from having a better life and are much bigger blocks to social justice.
DK's Criticisms..
1) No courage
They are beating a dead snake. As said above, Brahmins are no longer in any position to prevent anyone's mobility. But it looks like they dont have the guts to directly address the middle castes who cause real violent harm that the minority brahmins can never do. And the middle caste guys are pretty open about it too. Many of my BC/OBC/.. ( regex *BC* ) friends used to openly make fun of my muslim roommate as a terrorist even though they know he felt very about it. So avanga elaam mattum ozhukam kedyaathu. But you will not hear a single word about them in any of DK's speeches. The reason might not only be physical fear, but also because they dont want to disturb the vote banks of their pet party, namely DMK. I guess this is the reason that the dalits hold Ambedkar in higher esteem than Peiryar (their God)
2) Are they really rational?
According to DK, ancient tamilians lived in one happy land singing 'la la la' till the evil brahmins came and split them in to various castes and made things worse. Apparently, back then, pigs could fly. This is seriously cartoon stuff. Also, it seems, ancient tamil nadu was an advanced civilization which was over thrown by Aryans who came here with their goats. Vaazhga pagutharivu.
Kekaravan kena payala irunthaa...
I think the more rational explanation would be that the castes had already existed and the brahmins (if they did come from somewhere else) just sat on top of the hierarchy by claiming closeness to god. Given that oppression in various forms existed in most of the places around the world, by the rich on poor, the landlords on the landless , its probable that it existed here too. Brahmins, of course, might have the greatest stake in maintaining that status quo and keep it going. But putting the sole blame on them is unreasonable. In fact, according to theory, brahmins are supposed to lead a humble life. So, its very possible that the thevars,gounders and vanniyars said to brahmins 'nee enna vida uyarnthavan nu neanchitu po. aana en area (namely ruling,farming) ulla vandhudaathe'.
3) DK are casteist
Yes, its true. Any one who is born in to a brahmin family is evil by birth according to them. So they do discriminate people on the basis of their birth. Which explains why they dont even mention Bharathiyar who spoke against case but was brahmin by birth. It also explains why they never take any initiative in schools to influene brahmin children and speak to them against the evils of caste. Either they truly believe brahmins are evil by birth or they want the brahmin kids to grow up with the casteist beliefs, so that they always have an enemy who they can bash whenever they want and justify the existence of the organization. In fact, its a perfect political strategy. Pick a weak enemy, build him up, project him as though he is a very powerful evil force and project yourself as the hero that saves the masses from that enemy.
Engines of Change?
Not sure. Atleast when I look at my own life/family, its clear that casteist attitude has considerably reduced across generations. I am atleast not consciously casteist, and hope its true unconsciously too. How can I think of a BC classmate as inferior when he kicks my ass in everything we do together. So, I guess, when the oppressed are presented with opportunities and progress economically and in other areas such as arts and sciences, there cannot be even a basis for considering anyone to be inferior than oneself. Then of course, when people, marry each other without looking into caste distinctions , it might be gone completely.
Will I marry a non-brahmin girl?
Kashtam. Dont get me wrong. I would have loved to fall in love with a non-brahmin girl (or any girl for that matter). But ethuvum set aagala. Ithu varaikum 2 ponnungala one side love panni iruken.
As far as arranged marriages go, people still only prefer from their caste so my choice would be very limited. Already ippo ponnu kedaikarathu kashtam. If I say 'caste no bar' , people would think that something is wrong with me.
And at the end of the day, my parents are going to live with me. Unless they are also OK with the idea there would be no peace in my life. It would of course be worth it if i was in love with a girl. But no point in complicating things in this set up in an arranged marriage situtation.
But I do pledge that my kids (be it boy or girl)will not have this issue. In fact I wouldnt even really mind them having pre-marital sex or even if they end up as guys or lesbians so long they think about it and these things happen after they are adults. Seriously. (but i really hope not :P)
By saying the above things, i am not trying to prove that i am a nallavan or a liberal. Infact, this would be a big victory if i just stand by the conviction.
Tamil Bloggers
I came across a variety of blogs in tamil who mug up and vomit the DK ideology. The criticims said above of the DK are applicable to them too. Atleast, it becomes possible to forgive the DK on the account of having people from earlier generation stuck with their prejudices and memories of the past. But these new age bloggers, who probably have never faced caste based discrimination from brahmins and who probably have atleast one brahmin friend do not think twice before engaging in the usual brahmin-bashing. One possible explanation for this behavior might be because of an emotion similar to the brief nationalism I said I had experienced. Their lives are dull and they want to be a rebel in some way. So they again pick the weak enemy and tear him to pieces. I have only message to them. Do the brahmin-bashing but also develop the balls to speak openly the other culprits else shut the hell up and poi pulla kuttiya padika vainga.
At the very least, follow what the true rationalist, periyar often says in his speeches.
'Listen to what I say. Think about it. Take the things that made sense to you and leave the rest'.
For instance, the Aryan-Invasion theory and Kumari kaandam were accepted theories in periyar's time. So periyar used it. But, the scientific community of today believes that both those lack credible evidence and are mostly false. Any rationalist would drop them , but not these guys who cling to it more than the brahmins cling to vedas.
And finally... brahmins are tamilians too
I was kinda personally hurt when Suba vee and co. kept on saying that brahmins are not tamilians but evil outsiders. It hurt because tamil is the only indian language i know and call myself tamilian whenever such topics come up with non-tamil folks.
But I do think that their claim is on shaky grounds because even if the aryan invasion theory is proved right, the brahmins have been here for 3000 years. If that doesnt qualify one group to be considered sons of that soil, then we have to conclude that there are no tamilians,hindians,chinese,english..etc in this world. The world has only africans.
Enna vaazhka da ithu
Outside India, i am seen as an indian. In North India, I am seen as a south indian. In karnataka/AP/kerala, I am seen as a tamizhan. In tamizh nadu, I am not a tamizhan. Enna vaazhka da ithu.
Awesome...reflects my thoughts exactly... The DK People use hatred to advance their political motives. The entire caste problems exists is because of them. These morons never give advices to the downtrodden people to uplift them. They want them to get into violence so that DK can benefit. Ignore them...If you watch those videos, your blood will boil. They spoiled very youth both in Tamilnadu and Sri lanka.
ReplyDeleteI am glad that you on your own researched and agreed with the many evils of caste and while Brahmins had institutionalized the opppression of lower castes , the other castes also crudely have copied!
ReplyDeleteBut that is exactly the point! Caste is a hierarchy and it is a unique system
of Apartheid mainly propagated by sanskritic literature and religion and not by Tamil literature.
Have you asked why such practices are far greater in other parts than Tamil Nadu? It was due to the influence of DK especially Periyar who pointed out the above issues that we have less in Tamil Nadu.
It is Brahmins not staking that they are Tamils is why they have been in trouble. As a simple example, how many of your Brahmin acquaintances have names that have no Sanskrit influence in them? I have Zero! While Tamils have adopted Sanskritic names not vice versa! So who is claiming they are different ?
It is sad to know that you would not try to marry a non Brahmin even a non Indian! The only sure way to break caste system. Try harder!
Have your questions your assumptions mr. KP; Sanskrit as an aggressor of Tamil? Brahmins as the oppressors of all other societies, and everyone else is a victim, except the brahmins? Aryan invaders and Dravidian (don't know how Tamils became dravidians) aborigines? Or are you just relying on the 75 years of brainwashing.
DeleteI will give you a simple example; Ask a political science student in Cambridge; you can't extend on this idiotic Aryan/Dravidian divide as it is considered a hoax, just like you can't treat Ramayana as a historic fact and write a paper. Yet, many people keep parroting this lie. I respect Periyar. I disagree with him on his caste discrimination (against hindus and brahmins). However, he was bold and held his views on women's suffrage, atheism, caste abolition etc. till his last breadth. But the DK now is the the most corrupt, illogical, hate-mongering and downright crazy.
Caste is an identity. You can transform from one form to another. But that new identity will also risk alienating the "others" because that is what an identity does. You can't establish your identity by tying poonal on a pig or by rallying innocent bystanders against a non-existent brahmin villian. Won't last long.
Brahmins are staging dharnas in front of educational institutions with Manusmriti in hand preventing non brahmins entering them.They are the ones who prevented Periyar from studying beyond 4 th standard.No brahmin has marrie a non brahmin.One must be a moron to believe such kind of nonsense
ReplyDelete"No brahmin has married a non-brahmin".. Mr. Sivaraman sir, are you super sure? I'm a 43 year old. I know many, and I'm one among them. I'm not here to attest that no brahmin holds casteist opinions. Rather, I'm here to tell you that are many who have no regards for caste anymore.
DeletePrevented periyar from studying beyond 4th standard?? Why didnt they prevent palanivel thiyagarajan, current madurai MLA PTR rajans grandfather, from studying in oxford?? Why didnt they stop TM Nair, a thouroughly anglicized doctor, from studying in London?? TM Nair was a contemporary of ramasamy naickar
DeleteTamil brahmins sould stop intlectualtity and fught these people squarely
ReplyDeleteAs gurmurthi sir said it is a total failure. there are more black shirts going to sabaraimala than DK black shirts.None of them even able to convince their own family members. they dont have guts to criticise other religions. all cowards.
ReplyDeleteone way it is good for brahmins. They took up more higher studies. got placed in mncs both in india and abroad. earn handsomely and settle down. Now a days atleast one person in a brahmin family is living in a foreign country and all of them are well off with some exemptions. This is blessing in disguise.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis post pretty much sums up everything I wanted to say, I think with social media becoming more popular, Tamil Brahmin bashing sentiment is ganing new ground. The youth, even me for that matter are more attracted to the idealism of the left, and sincesi major chunk in left is formed by Periyarists and Ambedhkarist who follow their theories to the core, Brahmins are the their enemy. When Ambedkar and Periyar put forth their theories, they were revolutionary and angry statements made against the ruling class of the day, with a tinge of bigotry but that was justifiable. After nearly 50 year of DMK and ADMK rule how is this stance still relevant, there are some prejudiced brahmBra no doubt, but aren't they everywhere? What they need to do is fight prejudices where ever they come from and not just spread vicious hatred by demonizing a particular caste minority, which is balliant hypocrisy.
ReplyDeleteWent through a write up with good and bad criticism on each and every persons.no one remained perfect in every situations
ReplyDelete