Hindutva in Academia and Brahmin Hegemony in Arts

As one who has consistently written against class hatred of Brahmins, as a community, largely by adherents and supporters of Dravidian political ideologies, I'd like to speak of another side as a critic and member of the human race. In the vitiated political atmosphere that Tamil Nadu became, thanks to nearly 70 years of hate propaganda that took the place of much needed reform ideas, it is easy to tarnish any non-Brahmin who speaks against class hatred as 'Brahmin stooge' or 'apologist of Brahminism' and it is easier to lump one such person as 'Dravidian political hate monger' when one criticizes trends in a community. I hate the term 'non-Brahmin' because it defines a  person by what he is not rather than what he is. I'd rather take the label of 'gadfly'.

The many details of this blog, as it always happens, have been swirling in my mind for some time the catalyst in making me write this today is the news that Aravindan Neelakandan, a purveyor of Hindutva brand of hatred, spoke at India's premier educational institute, IIT-Chennai delivering an 'Extra-Mural lecture' on 'Exploring the cultural roots of India: A neuro-cultural approach'. God knows what is a 'neuro-cultural approach' is. He is no academically trained sociologist or anthropologist or any 'ist', nor does he have any publication to his credit in a peer reviewed journal of note. Here, 'peer-reviewed' does not mean reviewed by his cohorts who spew venom in 'Tamilhindu.com'. Neelakandan is the kind of person that no institute with respect for academic rigor should allow to even be an announcer at a meeting let alone deliver a lecture. IIT-Chennai is now a den of a militant brand of Brahminical Hindutva.

Picture taken from VSC-IIT. The image file was named 'VSC_Sena.jpg'. Sigh!!

IITs were established by Nehru, the bete-noire of Neelakandan, with the sole purpose of creating an MIT in India. No other leader of Independent India had such a vision. IIT's have occupied the place of pride in Indian educational system. Cultivated as 'islands of excellence' IITs were exempt from the full component of reservation policies. Though I oppose reservation I fully agree that IITs cannot be islands. If we disregard merit or take a nuanced view of what constitutes merit in how doctors, who treat thousands, are selected and engineers, who build roads and bridges, are selected then how can we exclude one institute that is now more notorious for being a feeder to American universities than for anything else. I fully support reservation in IIT. Also these so called islands of excellence have not only not turned up a single Indian Nobel laureate, their share of alumni, on a global scale, creating groundbreaking theories is pathetic. Yet these IITs, dominated by a Brahmin student population, are coveted even amongst seekers of grooms in Brahmin families.

Thanks to social media and youtube I've watched lectures by IIT-Chennai professors, almost all Brahmins, and I can say that I no longer wonder why IITs rank abysmally on World rankings. 'Vivekananda Study Circle IIT-Madras' is a communal and blatantly Hindutva organization functioning within the auspices of IIT and patronized by their professors. All topics, in the name of Indian culture, are exceptionally Hindu topics and many are plain nonsense like 'spirituality in student life'. These colleges that Nehru and Homi Bhabha dreamed of becoming India's MITs are now nothing more than parochial Brahmin ghettoes (agraharam). Neelakandan was felicitated by Prof L.S. Ganesh who once spoke on 'purpose of education'. Ganesh's speech is aboriginal in intellectual comparison with Cardinal Newman's 'idea of university' or even 'The uses of University' by Clark Kerr.  Another professor's speech on 'spirituality in student life' is plain drivel. I'd say that I've not yet come across a single good speech, including one delivered by the the Director of IIT, organized under the auspices of the saffron brigade at VSC. Check out Dr N. Gopalakrishna's, not an IIT faculty, speech 'lecture on Indian science' at IIT-Chennai ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EngwxT8xY10) . Any university worth its salt should disband this organization and put a stop to such nonsense within its premises.

The common thread in all the speeches is a frighteningly parochial view of India where 'Indian culture' always comes to mean 'Hindu culture'. To those who protest my labeling such topics as 'Hindu' the response is simple 'why do you stop there and as long you stop at the banks of Ganges alone I'll insist on calling it as religious in nature and not Indian'. One can see this in other Brahmin run institutions, whether it is a school like Padma Seshadri or a deemed university like SASTRA (my alma mater) I see an incursion of resurgent Brahmin ideology clothed in Hindutva duplicity and masquerading as 'Indian'.

SASTRA conducted a tech meet, yes it was supposed to be one such, on Mahabharatha. A computer science student blogged that Mahabharatha teaches us about 'weapons of mass destruction' and 'in-vitro fertilization'. I puked and then pitied her. Creation of the atom bomb was an intellectual feat that not even Einstein had believed was possible. Einstein had to be coaxed by other scientists to write that fateful letter to FDR to start an atom bomb project. To control a fission process, weaponize it and then to unleash it was a process that challenged the collective wisdom of many a Nobel laureate and here is a student nonchalantly comparing fantasy weapons in a mythology to what later became the scourge of humanity. Even today IVF (in-vitro fertilization) is more art than science. The results are neither predictable nor controllable. To compare a great leap of modern science, again, to a shred of mythology, is pathetic. These are not passing fads to be ignored. If this is how engineers at a highly ranked university (in Indian rankings) are exposed to the miracles of science it is no wonder Indian colleges turn out foot soldiers of technology.

SASTRA's annual tech fete is called 'Kuruk-sastra'. Really!! I mean really? IIT calls its tech meet as 'Shaastra'. SASTRA held a symposium on law and titled it "Tarka Saastra", written in Devanagri script.

Murali Manohar Joshi, during the last BJP regime, sought to introduce astrology as a course of study in Indian universities. Even today it is common to find, mostly Brahmins, arguing that astrology is science. Sujatha is often considered a writer of science and science fiction by those who know neither. Sujatha, a Brahmin, remained imprisoned in his Brahminical soul even when discussing Big Bang theory or Quantum physics. He can never speak of science without finally rounding it off with "as our own ancient Indian scripture says". To be fair, P.A.Krishnan, also, incidentally, a Brahmin, wrote a wonderful article on 'what science is'.

An article, in a website where Neelakandan and his cohorts often write, baselessly claimed that Muslim invaders, lacking any modicum of culture or civilization, destroyed Hindu kingdoms. The first known autobiography of an Indian ruler was by Babur and it is a much acclaimed one on par with Ceasar's commentaries. Jahangir's 'Tuzuk-i-Jahangairi' too is a delightful read. Can one speak of Hindusthani music or Indian architecture without thinking of Mughal influence. India, to the chagrin of those charlatans, is known through Taj Mahal to the wide world.

Even non-Brahmins tend to look up at Carnatic music and Bharathanatyam as classical art forms and this is a propaganda victory of unprecedented nature, without parallel, by Brahmins. Sowmya, a Brahmin and Carnatic singer, ran a website for carnatic music where she, an IIT graduate, claimed that music originated from a Hindu god. Yes there is mythology around that but is that what a graduate, from an engineering institute, should regurgitate? It is a complete myth that Carnatic music 'happened' with Thyagaraja. The complete obfuscation of native musical traditions, that Thyagaraja drew from, is propagandist victory that even Goebbels could not achieve.

Rukmini Devi Arundale took the native lusty 'sathir' and bowdlerized it to create Bharathanatyam. Shorn of its lustiness today every Brahmin girl dreams of beckoning Krishna at least once in her life on stage. The fetish for staging the maiden dance ('arangetram') is both amusing and disgusting.

Music and dance were the province of the lower caste with Brahmins disdaining to even practice them let alone become proponents of them. Even today there are parts of a Carnatic musical, like playing some instruments, that Brahmin students would shrink from even thinking of becoming a student of.

The smugness of Brahmins who profess love for Carnatic music is something to be experienced for its fathomless depth. Most have no idea of any music beyond what Thyagaraja gave and even if they do take a peek at Western classical they would shrug it off. I'd like to compel every student of Carnatic music to read the pages on comparing Western classical and carnatic music by Jeyakanthan in his 'Parisukku Po'.

Carnatic musicians and the legions of its lovers like to think of it as 'Indian' music and not strait jacketed as 'Hindu' music. When a group of Christians came up with the idea, actually its an old tradition, to compose Christian hymns with Carnatic raga the Times of India noted "purists too are not averse to the idea". Who are the purists not averse to the idea? Bombay Jayashree, TOI quoted, "music is a religion and singing Christian songs in Carnatic style is an interesting way to combine two religions". Poor Jayashree, she has not heard of Abraham Pandithar and Vedanayagam Sastriyar.

There was a time when Sabhas used to advertise Carnatic music performances saying "Not for Shudras". Sabhas assiduously practiced segregation to levels that make Jim Crow American South look more hospitable. In Jim Crow South blacks could at least enter a theater to watch a performance, whereas, in Mylapore Sabhas low caste Hindus could not even enter. Carnatic music teachers relish dropping innuendos to non-Brahmin students about how they may not suit learning the music. Of course there are always exceptions, including a very good gregarious friend of mine. A carnatic music lover once smugly told me "who is preventing others from learning". Poor man he did not know that low caste non-Brahmins were not even allowed into temples where most performances happened until Sabhas mushroomed in Chennai. A wife of a carnatic musician recently wrote about music in Chennai, where else but 'The Hindu' newspaper, and she could not think of anybody but Brahmins, the 'pattu maami', teaching and learning carnatic music.

T.M. Krishna, a wannabe rebel in the carnatic music scene, lectured an audience that one can even be an atheist and sing Thyagaraja Kritis about Rama. Actually I'd disagree on that score. Yes, an atheist could probably deliver but for a music system that emphasizes 'bhava' (emoting) it might help to be a believer in some God, if not Rama. Neither Krishna nor Ilayaraja, who pays obeisance to carnatic music more than he does to Mozart, took music to the slums. Only A.R.Rahman does that. Krishna is loosening the informal but dogmatic caste hold on the music to scour practitioners for an art that is still in the margins of the daily life of citizenry despite its assigned place of pride in the cultural pantheon.

The shrill anti-Brahminism of Dravidian politics, spear headed by the irascible EVR, was a reaction to the sweeping hegemony in arts, culture, education and jobs by Brahmins. Prof Neelakanta Sastry, considered the doyen of Indian historians, happily wrote the following in the opening paragraph of a chapter on South Indian literature: "Sanskrit was the language of higher culture throughout South India......All these literatures (referring to native, including Tamil) owed a great deal to Sanskrit, the magic wand whose touch alone raised each of the Dravidian languages from the level of a patois to that of a literary idiom". Mr Sastry wrote that as a Sastry than as a historian. Of course one kind of charlatanism begets another. Today we've a former Vice Chancellor claiming that the entire world civilization originated in Lemuria. We now have lessons for school students that claim Einstein's and Newton's theories are in ancient Tamil literature. Speak to most Tamil professors today you will hear how Kamban predicted atomic fission.

Between religious and linguistic chauvinism academic rigor and scientific values have all but vanished in Tamil Nadu today. Ramayana is a great epic produced by a great civilization but when speakers pretend that it is 'history' one can see the absence of academic rigor. The worst is when somebody claims Vyasa is the first known biographer of the world. Vyasa is just a person that is considered to be the author of the epic. In fact when we consider Ramayana to be some work of one individual in a given period, instead of streams of civilization across ages by several authors, we lose sight of why it is a rich document of a great country. A group called 'Tamil Heritage club' recently had a talk titled 'Historical Rama'. Other than Islam and Sikhism I cannot think of any ancient religion that can speak with certainty of the historical nature of its key figures. I am not averse to any 'historical' discussion based on facts and findings. But these discussions often degenerate into pathetic illogical theoretical constructs that would not stand the mildest of academic scrutiny.

My favorite author Jeyamohan  today weighed in on Hindutva ideologues and their intellectual vacuity. Jeyamohan cribs, justifiably, about the dominance of Marxist adherents in institutes that have arrogated to themselves to be the intellect of India. He then suggests that Hindutva drivel was a reaction to asserting native identity against Marxist intellectuals who, held in thrall by Western ideas, looked down on our own culture and history. Though he respects Nehru Jeyamohan has always complained that India's cultural institutions became dominated by Marxist intellectuals thanks to Nehru who was both a Marxist and an anglophile. It is true only in parts and the missing part is crucial. Nehru was not a blind anglophile, far from it. Rejecting Nehruvian idea of history Jeyamohan holds up Vivekananda, Narayana Guru and Nithya Chaitanya Yathi. The missing name, notably, is Dr S.Radhakrishnan.

Nehru, to be fair, was not a blind anglophile. He had a very healthy respect for India's hoary civilization. Anyone who reads 'Discovery of India' can see the depth of his love for the soul of India at its people. At the same time he was a modern man too. Nehru's scientific temper remains unmatched in all subsequent Prime Ministers of India including his progeny. The vision in establishing premier educational universities and research organizations were his own. And yes he had a disdain for the exceeding 'religiosity' of India.

Jeyamohan always holds up Vivekananda as a shining example of India's ancient intellectual tradition and proponent of Indian philosophy. Vivekandanda has the aura and romance of young radiant ascetic. Yet for all his brilliance he remains a Hindu mystic with no academic credentials or modes of exponentiation. The rejection of Nehru and Radhakrishnan, while embracing ascetics, by Jeyamohan is driven more by his innate Hindutva leanings that abhors the scientific temper and avowed secularism of both. It is strange that I never see Radhakrishnan mentioned by the likes of Jeyamohan. It was Radhakrishnan, in the tradition of Max Mueller, who gave an academic sheen to Indian philosophy which was looked down upon as theology.

It is a common complaint in America that liberals dominate the academia. Jeyamohan's complaint of Marxist domination is not entirely without merit. However, he glides by a key caveat of not judging rubbishing the likes of D.D. Kosambi and Romila Thapar based on their political allegiances and historical outlook. Both Thapar and Kosambi are great scholars of merit. If their historical work or interpretation, tinged or not with Marxism, is found faulty then call them out on it but to sweep them aside is chicanery.

Is Marxist interpretation of history all that wrong? Not always. Ambedkar who hated Muslims made political hay on the Moplah Rebellion when thousands of Hindus were forcibly converted to Islam or butchered or raped by Keralite Muslims. Gandhi struggled to hold together his cherished Hindu-Muslim unity in the face of that massacre. Citing the rebellion Ambedkar happily suggested that both communities are incompatible for any collective future. A Marxist interpretation would be that it was an agrarian rebellion which used religion to intimidate. All the landowners were upper caste Hindus and all the laborers, almost without exception, were poverty stricken Muslims.

A point here about inviting Marxists. I'd frown on Arundhati Roy too. People like Roy are activists. There is no 'grey' in their world. They like to see everything in black and white. As a fan of Ayn Rand I like the principle 'A is A'. I don't like when people seek to validate all contradictor views as equally valid. Thats patented nonsense. Open mindedness is often confusingly defined as being so open as to accept all arguments as valid. No. Human mind is not a sewer to accept everything indiscriminately. We should be open enough to consider competing arguments and then decide one way or the other depending on whether sufficient data are available. When left wing Princeton professor Cornel West courted arrest in a 'occupy wall street' protest I considered it bad academic activity. A professor becomes less of a professor when he becomes an activist. An activist has no skepticism or nuance, essential characters of a teacher. Do activists have no place at all in academic portals? No. What matters is the forum and what kind of intellectual challenge happens in that event.

The likes of Neelakandan do not believe in academic discussion or even intellectual jousting. That hate monger gleefully posted on Facebook on Easter Sunday that it is nothing but a pagan festival. On Christmas day he sought to inform Christians that Mithra was the original Christ. DK's Veeramani used to write columns denigrating Hindu gods on the occasion of Hindu festivals. Neelakandan is just his counterpart. Any Westerner with a modicum of knowledge in history would know that Dec 25th is a pagan festival. Nobody seriously believes that the good Lord came with a birth certificate and Dan Brown disabused anyone still thinking of Christmas as anything holy. Elaine Pagels, who wrote bestseller 'Gnostic Gospels' and 'Beyond Belief: The secret Gospel of Thomas', is a professor of religion at Princeton University. She is the clear example of how religion can be studied within the academic framework. All these IIT professors who blather on culture, ethos and other such vacuous terms cannot hold a candle to her. Incidentally, the Mithra cult was prevalent during the days of Emperor Hadrian as Marguerite Yourcenar tells in her prodigiously researched 'Memoirs of Hadrian'.

Wendy Doniger and many others run into one problem when they write on Hinduism. Hinduism lacks theologians, students who study theology as an academic discipline, and Indian universities do not study 'religion' as an academic course. Hence the rudimentary rules of academic discussion are unknown to the many who take umbrage at less than flattering narration of Hinduism especially when it is by westerners.

Jeyamohan argues that we call as 'academic' and 'scientific process' are constructs of Western education which are 'prejudiced' and cultivates a 'self-loathing' amongst Indians. That is untrue and skates on lot of thin ice. First, Indians look at university education and everything under that amorphous terms as 'western' and therefore alien. Much of what we call education today was recent even in the West. Historical interpretations today are radically different from even 50 years ago. Modern ideas of secularism and political correctness have tempered many past assumptions in Western academia. The concept of 'education' is an ever changing one and one in which India can be both a participant and shaper of the discussion if it chooses.

When we say that for a concept to be called 'scientific' it has to adhere to basic principles of what is scientific, including 'falsifiability' we don't see, for instance, Americans shun the principles saying 'it is European we need to invent American scientific idioms'. That would be idiotic.

Nothing has angered the Hindutva crowd more than the Western concept of 'nation-state' under which India is considered by western and Marxist academics as having been born on Aug 15th 1947. They are correct in rejecting a western template. India has a cultural unity, brought about by many reasons, across centuries. Yet, India was not always India too. I'd agree we need to fashion an 'Indian' definition of 'nation-state'. Ironically, as Sunil Khilnani points out in his densely written 'Idea of India', that these same Hindutva brigade then beseeches to fashion an India along the lines of Western nation-state of one religion, one people, one civil code etc.

Often times the call for 'Indian' definitions degenerates into disguised Hindutva as Jeyamohan amply demonstrates. He calls on thinkers to draw on 'Indian intellectual traditions' and then specifies which streams he considers as part of such a tradition: Hindu, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, Sufi Islam.

Aravindan Neelakandan is a blunt instrument and too crude and therefore easily identifiable. Jeyamohan works more subtly and far more deviously. He omits, unsurprisingly, Christianity. What is worse he selects not all of Islam but a sect of Islam, Sufism, which is considered very eclectic and friendly towards Hinduism, as part of Indian tradition. Whereas Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism he includes without caveats. Buddhist monks in Sri Lanka and Myanmar are the powers behind genocides while Sikh Separatism was the most serious threat to India in the 80's. Hindu fundamentalists destroyed a Mosque in twentieth century and then proceeded to inflame all of North India in a series of communal riots. Yet, Jeyamohan does not even think twice of excluding any parts of those religions. THIS is precisely why I'd still prefer Marxist dominance of education to any attempt, however justified, to balance the prejudices of Marxism. Every attempt, in the name of Indian culture, to redress intellectual corruption always degenerates into Hindu fundamentalism.

To their credit EML-IIT invites an eclectic cast of speakers of all mix like A.Patwardhan, Teesta Setalvad (to the ire of many), Jeffrey Archer and many others.

Modi becoming a Prime Minister scares me far less compared to the agony of seeing India's supposed citadels of higher education become vehicles of parochialism and a breeding ground for charlatans. Rescuing the IITs from such a clique is more urgent than preventing Modi from reaching 7 Race Course Road, New Delhi.

References:

1. Prof L.S. Ganesh lecture 'Purpose of education' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bvz5VIMif58
2. Prof C. Lakshmana Rao lecture on 'Spirituality in Student Life' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_tglBUorpfY
3. Prof Bhaskar Ramamurthy on 'Indian culture' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUDjkL5GK04
4. Vivekananda Study Circle - Archive of lectures - http://www.vsc.iitm.ac.in/Home/?page_id=56
5. Aravindan Neelakandan - 'Science and Spirituality' - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ouai7DXfmcI
6. Jeyamohan on Marxist intellectuals and Hindutva http://www.jeyamohan.in/?p=53857

ஆகவே இன்றையதேவை ஐரோப்பியநோக்கின் சாதனைகளை கருத்தில்கொண்டு அதிலிருந்து விலகி சுயமாகச் சிந்திக்கமுடியுமா என்று பார்ப்பது. இந்துத்துவம் என்றபேரில் இந்தியசிந்தனைமரபை எளிய அரசியல் வாய்ப்பாடுகளாக குறுக்குவதற்கு முற்றிலும் எதிரான நிலைபாட்டை எடுப்பது.இந்தியசிந்தனைமரபின் அனைத்துக்கூறுகளையும் [இந்து,பௌத்தம்,சமணம்,சீக்கியம்,சூஃபி இஸ்லாம்] உள்வாங்கிக்கொண்டு சிந்திப்பது. எந்நிலையிலும் ஆக்கபூர்வமாக மட்டுமே யோசிப்பது

7. 'Carnatic Music gets a Christian touch' - Times of India - http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/Carnatic-music-gets-a-Christian-touch/articleshow/5286038.cms?referral=PM

"Purists too are not averse to the idea. Carnatic vocalist Bombay Jayashri says, "Music is a religion and singing Christian songs in Carnatic style is an interesting way to combine two religions. Christians all over the world adapt local customs and sing prayer songs in local languages." "

Anna Vs Arundhathi, Veeramani and Intelligentsia

Arundhati Roy, A JNU Prof, Veeramani and a host of others have unleashed a barrage of criticism, a virtual vitriolic out pour against a hapless septuagenarian who is tormenting his frail body and faces possible death. It is not very surprising to see intellectuals arrayed against this upsurge by the hoi-polloi. Anna has been accused of every imaginable political skulduggery and his motives are not only questioned but also maligned. The media frenzy is derided as corporate media that is cashing in on a craze. We suddenly find lovers of constitution rushing to the fore to protect a constitution that has been amended willy nilly for 100+ times in 64 years. We are lectured on how Jan Lokpal will undermine the constitutional liberties and create an unbridled agency.

Arundhati Roy who was fascinated by gun toting Maoists is horrified at a fasting Anna. That Maoists blew up schools, murdered policemen gruesomely, raped fellow comrades, smuggled arms and function as stooges of China does not bother her. Yet she is deeply worried about Anna's backers. Her article "I'd rather not be Anna" is a litany  of hypocrisies save for one paragraph were she worries about a street vendor. She freely indulges in guilt by association and much of the guilt she assigns is also due to her animosity towards her ideological opposites. That Arvind Kejriwal's organization received a grant from Ford Foundation is suspect in her eyes. By being associated with Kejriwal Anna too is tarnished on that account. The Ford Foundation, like numerous other US based foundations, does admirable philanthropy. That Kejriwal an IIT grad did not board a flight to US like his classmates and instead chose public service is a fact that does not even merit mention. A good rebuttal to Arundhati is at http://clearvisor.wordpress.com/2011/08/23/why-i’d-rather-be-anna-than-arundhati/  As that blogger points out Arundhati's complaints like Anna being a 'new saint' etc are churlish. That Anna has not voiced an opinion on every issue under the sun irks Arundhati.

A JNU professor wrote the most shameful article on this. Titled "Ambedkar's way and Anna Hazare's methods" the column slanders that Lokpal is anti-Dalit. Prof Thorat says Dalits worry that Lokpal provisions would make Dalit employees vulnerable to complaints out of caste prejudice. He cites how many cases filed by Dalits under the "Prevention of atrocities act" is languishing. Thorat ignores the fact that the snail like judiciary is a separate problem. That such complaints are not investigated expeditiously is a part of a larger judiciary problem.

Professor Thorat waxes eloquently about how Ambedkar wanted Indians to adopt strictly constitutional methods to bring about social changes. Nothing gets my goat quite like that argument.  Reservation quota was initially stipulated for only 10 years, with no end in sight its been extended for 64 years (note that reservation has been in vogue in some form or other in TN since 1920's thats 90 years of quota). The constitution stipulates that the total quota should not exceed 50%. TN has 69% set aside in quota. This is where Veeramani, a neo-Nazi steps in.

Veeramani and his DK underlings organized meetings to prove how A.Raja is honest. Then during the first Anna Hazare fast Veeramani and his race baiting DK organized meetings vilifying Hazare. Raja is innocent. Hazare is a crook. Crucify Jesus. Release Barabbas. Veeramani started floating theories of, well what else but, Brahminical conspiracy. If Veeramani does not have bowel movements he will blame it on Cho Ramasamy. Veeramani is worried about how Hazare is blackmailing the government by fasting. What always confounds me is Veeramani's absolute lack of a sense of irony. Having pilloried Hazare for blackmailing the government by mobilizing people, Veeramani, without batting an eyelid, today, calls for a war against Kapil Sibal for wanting to introduce entrance exams. He issues a clarion call for a war and he wants to wage 'war' to such an extent that no Forward Community member is ever again appointed as education minister:

ஒடுக்கப்பட்ட மக்களின் கழுத்தை அறுக்கும் இந்தத் திட்டத்தை கருவிலேயே முறியடிக்கும் முயற்சியில் நாடாளுமன்றத்தில் உள்ள தாழ்த்தப்பட்ட, பிற்படுத்தப்பட்ட மற்றும் சிறுபான்மை சமூகத்தைச் சேர்ந்த உறுப்பினர்கள், பூகம்பப் புயலாக எழுந்து நின்று முறியடிக்க வேண்டும். குறிப்பாக கல்வி அமைச்சர் பதவி என்பது உயர் ஜாதியினரிடமே  இருக்கவே கூடாது என்கிற அளவுக்கும் பிரச்சினையை முழு வீச்சில் முடுக்கி விட வேண்டும். 

Whether its Ramadoss or the Gujjar's when violent agitations were launched to get quotas nobody winced or wondered about governments being blackmailed. Ramadoss's stooges justified the whole sale felling of trees and mayhem that he unleashed to get quotas.

Prof Thorat says Ambedkar is wary of Indians succumbing to hero worship due to our cultural roots. Thorat wonders how else would a yoga teacher get so many followers. Here Thorat, like most intellectuals, tends to look down upon the religious minded. Thorat ignores the fact that Indians hero-worship not only out of religious reasons. Rajnikant is hero worshipped in TN. Veeramani , who also has been presenting Anna's crusade as anti-Dalit, is practically living off of a cult worship of E.V.R. EVR encouraged his followers to erect his statues while he was alive. EVR reveled in inaugurating his statues. Of course lets ignore the fact that they call themselves 'Rationalists". Jayakanthan once acidly remarked, "DK people are not atheists, their god is EVR". To complete the irony today Ambedkar himself is the most sacrosanct  idol.

Today the constitution gets so many well intentioned protectors. Where we these people when a destitute Muslim woman, Shah BanoRajiv Gandhi with his 450+ brute majority in Lok Sabha amended the constitution to override the Supreme Court ruling. Arundhati Roy and Gnani breathlessly ask "what about Irom Sharmila who is fasting for years together and is being force fed". Anna touched a problem to which every Indian could relate. Irom Sharmila took a problem that is purely localized. Naturally the outpouring of support is different.

The middle class hypocrisy is another accusation. People wonder why has the middle class suddenly woken up. A New York Times article, by an Indian origin author, berates the middle class that it is not entirely impeccable on questions of integrity. In a country like India it is almost impossible to be honest every dealing. Yes the middle class indulges in bribery of RTO's to get drivers licenses, bribes a policeman, bribes a government employee (who in turn is middle class himself) etc etc. The middle class that has chafed under this system and is now crying ENOUGH. Political corruption engenders bureaucratic corruption.

Doctors in government hospital in Sankaran kovil were directed to collect money for a function organized in honor of Stalin. Where would the doctor get the money. of course from patients. When I narrated this to a Veeramani worshipper, here in USA, the answer was a glib "they could have written a letter to CM's cell and it would have been stopped". I was left speechless at the fanatical ideological blinders of this guy. While the incident in Sankarankovil illustrates how political corruption is the fountain head the reaction by this party man also shows how dangerously corrupted India is. When A.Raja landed in Madras after his resignation Veeramani organized what he called a "rousing reception". A.Raja is innocent until proven guilty but to celebrate the arrival of a ex-minister who had to resign on prima-facie charges of corruption shows how venal the society's leaders are.

Without Lok Ayuktha would Yeddyurappa have resigned? As I wrote earlier the constitution actually protects the ruling class from the reach of the hands of law. As the Bard said in Hamlet, "plate sin with gold and the strong lance of justice hurtless breaks". Some ask would not existing laws suffice. Existing laws are not just insufficient they shielded Jaya , they shielded Raja for more than 2 years. That CBI could not even properly investigate him until the Prime Minister granted permission is ridiculous. We are told that Lok Pal is not a cure all panacea. Of course not. Independence of investigating agencies etc are talked about. Nobody can disagree with that. The day the CBI can investigate the Home Minister if needed is when they would have attained complete independence. Somewhere a beginning is to be made. Anna has lit the fire for that.

Nandan Nilekani's interview to CNN-IBN got wide notice for his quote that Anna's movement will not solve everything and very justifiably draws attention to the fact that systems need to be changed. Nilekani correctly identifies that many of the red tape systems we have provides a fertile ground for corruption. His remark on Anna received wide publicity but what most tended to gloss over was Nandan's even more astute observation that corruption of the astronomical scale is incorrectly attributed to privatization and the economic reforms. Nilekani put his finger on the problem saying that the recent scams were all in areas where thhe government had a role to play as buyer or seller. Economic liberalization in many areas has unleashed productivity and lifted hundreds of thousands out of poverty.

That brings me to the final question, will this Lokpal solve corruption completely. Not even the illiterate think it so. Badri Seshadri (founder of cricinfo) a prominent publisher and blogger narrated an exchange his friend had with two government employees from UP. One employees parents had died in an accident and he was able to get their bodies only after bribing officials. He stated beautifully:

“அண்ணா ஹஸாரே, ஜன் லோக்பால் என்கிறாரே, இதெல்லாம் உங்களுக்குப் புரிகிறதா?”
“இல்லை. அதெல்லாம் எங்களுக்கு அவ்வளவாகப் புரியாது.”
“அப்படியென்றால் எதற்காக உண்ணாவிரதத்தில் கலந்துகொள்ள வந்திருக்கிறீர்கள்?”
“உங்களுக்குத் தெரியாது... என் தாயும் தந்தையும் விபத்தில் இறந்து அந்த உடல்களை வாங்க நான் எவ்வளவு லஞ்சம் கொடுக்கவேண்டிவந்தது, எவ்வளவு கஷ்டப்படவேண்டியிருந்தது என்று. நீங்கள் எல்லாம் பையில் காசைப் போட்டு வேலைக்காரனிடம் கொடுத்தனுப்பி உங்கள் வேலைகளைச் செய்துகொள்பவர்கள். உங்களுக்குத் தெரியாது நாங்கள் தினம் தினம் படும் கஷ்டம். அண்ணா ஹஸாரே எங்களுக்காகப் போராடுகிறார். அதனால் லஞ்சம் தீர்ந்துவிடுமா என்றால் தெரியாது. ஆனால் ஒருவேளை தீர்ந்துவிட்டால்? அதனால்தான் வந்திருக்கிறோம். எத்தனை நாள் ஆனாலும் பரவாயில்லை. எனக்குச் சம்பளமே கிடைக்காவிட்டாலும் பரவாயில்லை. அவருடன் இருப்போம். மேலும் இன்னொரு விஷயம். அவர் நல்லவர்.”


That is all people expect from this. If there are issues with what Anna proposes lets talk about it. If Anna becomes delusional with all this publicity lets discard him then. All that he has accomplished is to rouse a nation. Even if one were to be overwhelmed by the frenzy so what. This is not frenzy over a multi-million dollar Super Star movie. This is not frenzy over a megalomaniac chief minister organizing a language conference for self glorification. This frenzy is towards something that all can agree upon. The country is vibrant enough to channelize this. What angers me most is that people are ridiculing a person who has put his life on the line for a laudable initiative. He sure has warts, who does not. But he rises above that and what is most important for once a leader has called upon Indians to stand up for something good. God bless that frail soul.

Anti-Brahminism and racism amongst Tamilians in USA.

A Tamil blogger used to write screeds about Sri Lankan issue. An unabashed Prabakaran worshipper he became distraught in the final days of the civil war in 2009. For once he dropped his posturing and wrote a blog critical of how Prabakaran caused untold misery to his fellow people and how his supporters turned a blind eye to it. The truce lasted few days. Once the war came to its gruesome end he again blogged and spewed venom. He railed against what he called "Brahmin-Bania" dominated media for saying that Prabakaran was dead. Like any good Dravidian ideologue his scapegoat was “Brahmin-bania” combo. It did not matter to him that Dinathanthi, Dinakaran, Sun TV the leading news media in Tamil Nadu are all non-Brahmin owned and they were all beaming pictures of Prabakaran's corpse. His favorite scuttlebutt is N.Ram, editor of Hindu. No reference of Ram would start without referring to his birth. I've never seen eye to eye with N.Ram on his strident anti-Americansism or his left wing ideals but never would I ascribe his ideas to his caste. What is ironical is N.Ram is a staunch supporter of Mandal and affirmative action. To add to the irony Ram was on the verge of being arrested by Jaya, a fellow Brahmin and Ram has appeared on DMK stages in the past. However the only area where he parts ways is on Sri Lanka and the ready made weapon to counter him is his birth. If this is not racism I need to be tutored.

Recently a DMK supporter was trying to highlight to me how Jaya enacted anti-conversion laws because she was Iyengar. It did not matter to him that the same Jaya arrested Sankaracharya and invited the wrath of hundreds of Brahmins. I asked him “would you think its possible she did it to please her then ally the BJP?”. Only silence was the reply. He later added “did she not announce in the Assembly that she is an ‘iyengar’?”. It did not matter to him that Karunanidhi repeats endlessly that he is a “shudra”, of course he would also then whine “if only I was a Brahmin then I would be appreciated”, “If only Stalin had been born to a Brahmin father”. It does not matter to MK or his idolaters that he was repeatedly elected CM and that his son is in line to the chief ministership. When DMK shamelessly aligns with BJP its strategy if Jaya aligns with BJP its "Brahminical" affinity. DMK fanatics would set a record in talking from both ends of their mouth with a poker face.

Even moving beyond the abstract to the immediate and personal I find a distasteful poisonous attitude. Another person tried to illustrate what he called "Brahminical" attitude. Citing a mutual acquaintance that person said “what he/she did was selfish and only smacks of what is typical of a Brahmin”. I was flabbergasted at the casteism. I cited incidents of similar nature amongst my extended family. Being selfish and petty is not the preserve of any particular caste but he would have none of it. Yet another time I got a bone chilling diktat “I don’t personally dislike them except that I want them to keep within their limits”. I was just stupefied at such a blatant threat that is practically fascist.

Recently Naganathan, Planning commission member and friend of MK, wrote a diatribe on the eve of Diwali spinning a yarn about how Diwali is an “Aryan” conspiracy and how it is designed to defraud Tamilians of millions of rupees in the name of Diwali purchases. Again I reached to my good friend and the reply “yes he is right and I support him”. It did not for a minute register with him that the thousands who spend money do so in shops owned by hundreds of ethnically diverse owners (of whom Brahmins are just a fraction). What is worse is that a government employee heading a commission freely writes such casteist propaganda did not even strike as unconstitutional and blatant discrimination. The person I asked is a US resident for 12 years and would be ready to attribute to 'racial discrimination' any imagined slight from Americans. Yet to his own fellow Tamils he gladly gives the 'middle finger'.

Tamil Sangams are the worst offenders in this regard. The invitees, prominent people from Tamil Nadu, often are unabashed Brahmin haters. They often peddle their shopworn ideologies of racial pride, Tamil identity etc here. Suba.Veerapandian, a DK leader, when he spoke at a Tamilian gathering, in Virginia, repeated his usual racial canard. He grandiosely suggested “even if you and your progeny live for hundreds of years in USA you will still be Tamils and NOT Americans”. It’s a stupidity that even an American would dare not say. But then this is from a guy whose organization firmly believes and propagates that a Brahmin, a Tamil speaking one at that and who might have lived in Tamil Nadu for generations, is not a Tamilian. Suba.Vi is known to manhandle his opponents when he can get away with it, unfortunately he could not do it in USA.

Once Seeman was the invitee at a FeTNA annual celebration. I had the misfortune of watching a YouTube clipping of his speech delivered in Tamil Nadu. He had just been released from jail (arrested by a non-brahmin CM). With his legs spread, his eyes blood shot with hatred, his voice rising and nerves visible he growled “if Brahmin owned Dinamalar writes that my speech was inflammatory will you arrest me” (of course his choice of casteist slur was far more crude). The camera then panned to the audience. A section seated on chairs and well dressed, apparently educated, clapped hands enthusiastically. Nobody winced at such caste hatred, that too without any grounds. I was reminded of Alfred Dreyfus affair. This is the sort of person that FeTNA chooses to invite.

A group of Tamils recently wrote a letter to Barack Obama cautioning him not to appoint Indians who might have ties to BJP/RSS/VHP because they might not be ‘secularists’. One of the signatories is a strong supporter of E.V.Ramasamy Naicker. EVR is a rabid Brahmin hater whose remarks would certainly rank as “hate speech”. What is worse EVR’s organization prohibits Brahmins from becoming members. I chuckled to myself thinking if this is not a case of “pot calling the kettle black” what else could be? Past invitees of FeTNA have included card carrying members of DK. If one goes through web postings of DK one would shudder to think that but for the restraining hand of law and order in India they would gleefully enact a holocaust. Also, it’s not co-incidental that most of these people are pro-Palestinian (in reality anti-Semites who disguise it as pro-Palestinians). I’d be very surprised if they could point to Israel on a map or know anything of its history.

This hatred cuts across educational levels and longevity in USA. A resident of USA for many years would celebrate EVR birthday wearing a black shirt and pose for photographs. Interestingly DK people wear black shirts much like the SS brown shirts of Hitler’s Germany or the Mussolini’s Brown shirts. DK is an organization whose venom would make a rattle snake bite look like a gentle caress. It is my firm belief that DK and RSS are two sides of the same coin, racial hatred. This is the same organization that had proclaimed an agitation to way lay Brahmins and to cut their sacred thread. This agitation was indeed carried out in Tanjore and I do know the affected person. A DK official recently blogged “Brahmin’s were lucky that Narendra Modi is not Brahmin else for the pogrom he unleashed in Gujarat the Brahmin in Kanyakumari would have had to pay with his life”. Chilling words those are. It is this organization that the good professor supports and attends meetings. 

When the Tamil Unicode controversy started the Tamil community in US worked itself into a lather and as self-appointed custodians of Tamil literature (most lack any diverse knowledge of any literature) let loose a volcanic rage against, what else, 'Brahminical Conspiracy'. It does not matter that but for U.V.Swaminatha Iyer many ancient Tamil literature scripts would have vanished. It does not matter that many Brahmin authors have richly contributed to Tamil literature. These are the people who think by writing "Washington" as "வாசிங்டன்" they are protecting Tamil.

A US resident Tamilian posts a comment calling Jaya as anti-Tamil. No guesses for whom he considers as the archangel of Tamilians and Tamil. A group of Tamilians, not incidentally everyone was DMK/ DK affiliated. Not a single one batted an eyelid that MK was splurging 1000 crores while Tamil University (established by, as MK never tires of saying, a Malayalee) could not even pay salaries to its staff and its buildings were dilapidated. So what makes Jaya anti-Tamil? She arrested Vaiko. Oh that Vaiko who cries hoarse about their beloved Eelam cause. Oh Jaya said Prabakaran (a proclaimed offender by Indian Government for murdering Rajiv) should be arrested. Who cares what MK said about Prabakaran. When every fig leaf is torn off the ugly head of racism rears its head, Jaya is Brahmin and Brahmins are not Tamilians ipso facto Jaya is anti-Tamil. 


Living in a multi-cultural society, enjoying the protections of freedoms enshrined in the US constitution, being educated, working at pretty well paid jobs, expecting fair treatment as human beings from Americans, expecting fair treatment at work, expecting respect and fairness in all walks of life these same people refuse to address their own innate racism. So one wonders what, if at all, can help them see? Or are we paying the price for not stemming the venom that has vitiated Tamil society for 50 years? 

EVR, Rajagopalachari, Kalki : Who is to be credited with magnanimity

There is a time worn phrase amongst Dravidian idealogues (in my opinion that's an oxymoronic phrase), "we are only against Brahminism and not against Brahmins". They mouth this platitude while foaming at their mouth with rabid, vile anti-brahmin, clearly sectarian crudity. The platitude would be followed by "Oh look Periyar (as they call E.V.Ramasamy Naicker) and Rajaji were close friends". Now, Rajagopalachari, would be called "acharyar" depending on whether he is on their side on a particular issue.

Yes, CR and EVR were indeed great friends. It was to CR that EVR turned to advice for marrying Maniammai. Recently in a blog somebody wrote about how Kalki invited EVR to his child's marriage, how EVR came after most had left not wanting to cause a ruffle and how a photo was taken with EVR applying sacred ash to the newly wed. The blog enthused about how Kalki prohibited publishing the photo lest somebody use it for propaganda accusing EVR of hypocrisy. Kalki's rationale was EVR did so out of respect for the customs of those who invited him.

Ofcourse all of this is laudable. This is absolute gentlemanliness. This is what civilization and culture are about. All these are almost always cited to show how EVR was against "Brahminism" and not "brahmins" per se. But here comes the rub.

If EVR had chosen to sink his fangs into any other community would anybody from that community behaved like CR or Kalki? Why is it lost that much more credit ought to be given to CR and Kalki who did not doubt EVR's sincerity in opposing the clergy for duping illiterates and for the grotesque ills of caste imposed racism. CR and Kalki, true heroes of Freedom struggle, very alive to the ills of their own society had the decency to agree with EVR on those accounts and were able to relate to him. I strongly assert this broadmindedness would not be seen from anybody else.

A larger point would be that had EVR picked on any religion other than Hindus as the target of not just barbs but many outright insults the long arms of the law and more readily the arm of some fundamentalist would have reached him. He could get away with vilifying a portrait of Rama, I shudder to think if only .......

Anyway the merits of EVR's criticisms, his methods etc are beyond the scope of this blog