What ails Tamilnadu? A case for Brahmins

A remarkable civilisation with a rich language is at crossroads. All Tamils pride in being Tamils, talk about high about language,heritage and social media is replete with claims that they are the first amongst human race, that Tamil is the mother of all languages and their past achievements were best of all mankind.

Incredible indeed. A look at the engineering marvel of Bragadeeshwarar Temple in Thanjavur, the Ram Situ Bridge that was confirmed as man made by scientists, the 30+k beautiful idols in Madurai Meenakshi Temple, the paintings of Sithanavasal, the rich folk and Carnatic music rooted to the soil, the myriad dance forms including Bharatanatyam show the lofty standards of human excellence that Tamils achieved. The classical literature ranges from Tholkoppiyum to Kambaramayanam, from Tirukkural to Eim Perung kaviyams, from Thevaram and Tiruvasagam to contemporary Bharathi have no parallels in any part of the world. The high spirituality of the soil sprouted innnumerous saints. From Tirumoolar to Ramana Maharishi, from Manickavasagar to Kanchi Mahaswami, from Agasthiar to Raghavendrar from Tirunavukkarasar to Babaji, hundreds of them sustained and blessed not just Tamilnadu but the whole humanity. Even the greatest of them all, Adi Sankara belonged to Tamil soil.  Bodhidharma who conceived Shaolin marital arts and revolutionised the skill belonged here. Tamil civilisation remains unfathomable like her still existent palm readings which can give the past, present and future of any individual whoever and wherever he may be. No scientist or rationalist can unravel the truth behind this.

The famed ship making skills of Tamils and the innumerous iron factories in Tamilnadu were nipped off by nasty British. Do you know we exported iron to Europe till 17th century? The chola bronzes never cease to amaze. The handworks of crafts and metal works create awe by their intricate expressive beauty. The maritime and trading skills of the kings of Tamilnadu were unparalleled. Still if you try to find details of the past achievements of Tamils by a simple internet search, you won’t get much. You will be lead to contemporary Tamil achievements by Dravidian parties. Because these parties have nullified any propaganda on the real glory of Tamils to make themselves appear repositories of all that was tamil. So Tamils have a huge disconnect with past and have become an uprooted society which means naught when it speaks of heritage and culture. It has failed to go beyond superficial jallikattu. 

Masterpiece Tirukkural carries some of the finest philosophy in human living. Orathanukku oruthi concept was hailed as pinnacle of human discipline. Yadhum oore Yavarum Kaleir is the briefest but sharpest exponent of one world, one humanity concept. Vandharai vazha Vaikkum tamizhagam is epitome of the profound hospitality practiced in Tamilnadu. If you are a tamil or a student of Tamil affairs, do you think that today’s contemporary Tamils rise up to these high standards that defined their culture and civilisation. Sad point is Saint Thiruvalluvar is being twisted as a non Hindu secular poet and innumerous references to hindu Gods in Tirukkural get censored. But does even Tamils those few who read him, ever follow one couplet of his? The major ailment in Tamilnadu is that Tamils simply do not care about standards set by their culture. Tamilnadu’s enemy are the people within. 

Tamils do not simply mean what they claim to believe. More Tamils speak English at home than in any other state in India. Mummy Daddy has replaced Appa and Amma at homes. Tamil medium education is almost dead and gone for good in cities and remember Tamilnadu is a highly urbanised state. Despite high drama Tamil chauvinism, more people are learning and speaking  languages other than Tamil. Opportunities to learn tamil are not easy and coming. The longing of an average youth was to converse in English. Tamil names for children are passé. Irony is that those with non tamil names often claim as torch bearers for protection of Tamils.

How did these hypocritical dramas happen? Dravidian parties, the offshoot of Justice party was playing second fiddle to the British and an attempt to divide North vs SOUTH during British rule. It was an attempt to unite the Southeners but the Kannadigas and Telugus refused to respond to Ramasamy Naicker’s efforts. British Govt refused to hear him despite his attempts to be cosy them by asking them not to grant India independence. When his efforts of pleasing British did not grant the desired result, Naicker boycotted the Independence Day and refused to hoist the national flag. Such twin forked double speaking and hate mongering by him found resonance in Tamils numbed of their self respect by British atrocities. So Naicker became an inspiration. Despite running a hindu temple, he turned atheist. He called Tamils barbarians and Tamil a barbaric language. Some reformist he was. Without hard cash he refused to attend public events. In the name of self respect movement, the self esteem of the inheritors of a wonderful vibrant civilisation was insulted to deprive. It was the launch of a retrograde society that did not mean what it spoke and when words became meaningless. But Tamilnadu was blissful in ignorance and became vulnerable to propaganda. The point is Dravidian politicians learnt the art of divide and rule from British and applied it on Tamils so they can rule over.

The rules of divide and rule were simple. Dravidians learnt it from British. Twist facts, remove traces of positives, misinterpret conditions, blame communities , create prejudices, set one community against another, act as a reformer, propagate revenge and hate on the weakest, give promises, gain power, give more promises and make hay. Half a century was thrown to garbage this way in Tamilnadu. Irony is that every Govt claims that it was delivering a golden age to the state and people. Vaye Vellum. 

So the clever leaders continued to divide. Aryan versus Dravidian. North versus South. Tamil versus Non Tamil. North was flourishing vs South was diminishing. Locals vs Outsiders. Every non sense comment was acceptable if it was delivered with rhetoric and passion and under garb of a proud Tamilian. The Hindu Muslim clashes in Srilanka were hidden to appear that it was all a Tamil vs Sinhalese matter. Create prejudices, spread hatred, twist facts were the tricks employed and the proud Tamils fell victims into the gutter, hook, line and sinker. To summarise:

The strategy was to  divide, create hate and rule. 

Deprive Tamilnadu of Tamil knowledge but stir passions against non Tamils.

Bring Dravidianism in to undermine unique Tamil heritage.

Whenever Dravidian politics fails, raise Tamil sub nationalism with conspiracy theories.

Flame emotions, snuff off rationality in the name of rationalism.

Create a society of pagans devoid of introspection and brimming with hypocrisy

Easiest was to divide on caste. A CANARD was created that caste was divisive and some castes suppressed others. The word caste came from portughese castus. Sanskrit jathi was not caste but about standards. British played their game and divided people by subterfuge. Tamilnadu Dravidians spoke against caste prejudices, abused some castes, hugged some but ensured divisions exist through reservations for vote bank politics. No organised effort to bridge castes ever took place like the Arya Samaj Movement in Northern India but they continued to blah blah. Grinding teeth makes noise and people got chewed up. Instead n number of caste parties sprung up pushing Tamilnadu backward and more backward. As these parties kept Tamilnadu emotionally engaged like a soap on tv by raking issues and flaming anger, revenge, hate, depression, frustration, violence, people were tuned to push medicrity to abysmal depths. The popularity of third rate tv programs are the easiest reflection of the poverty of Tamil minds. 

Contemporary Tamil politicians instead of fighting the British, found Brahmins easy targets who  found themselves in higher positions due to patronage of Muslim sulthanates and East India Co. Fake narratives that Brahmins suppressed other castes were conceived though none of the Hindu Gods hailed from the Brahmins. Because of the eight noble conditions needed to be considered a Brahmin, most Brahmins feared God as well as Law. Basically agriculturists, they were envied as they were successful. Manu Smriti was paraded as guide for Hindus and interpreted in portions despite the fact it was one amongst the many rule books in Hinduism.  Tirukkural was ignored. So a fantasy that brahmins suppressed other castes for thousands of years was drawn up. Another twist was by Christian British who while employing Brahmins also back stabbed them by clever propaganda. Brahmins were the fulcrum of HINDU CIVILISATION and until they are erased, abrahamic religions wont get success in their conversions. Brahmins who spoke the chastest tamil were mocked and even BHARATHI was called paarpan. Brahmins were consulted by Kings, Traders, Soldeirs and common people was because of their discipline and wisdom. The envy of some was taken advantage of by Dravidian politicians. They confused caste hierarchy as social and economic status. Studies as recent as 2010 claimed a majority of the 5% Brahmins live in poor conditions. Period. 

The story of amplifying Brahmins as a different race also clicked. People had lost ability to question and charades were exciting to listen. They were portrayed as from Aryan race, a sort of with Indian Iranian roots. The fairer enviable skin of Brahmins also added to some jealousy in Ill formed minds in  Tamilnadu which loved novels. Arya meant noble in Sanskrit. The references in hindu classics were manipulated as a separate race.  Let’s give credit where due. Tamil Brahmins speak gracious tamil than most others. They spell the tamil letter ‘lazha’ sharper which is tough for most other Tamils. Still in politics, facts do not matter. If a supposed foreign race is better with the language and culture than the natives, should they be admired or condemned? 

The canard against Brahmins clicked. The propaganda that they suppressed other castes succeeded. Studies show that no caste ever ruled over another in cosmopolitan Tamilnadu. Even during British rule, there did not exist any broad discrimination. Yes, Brahmins occupied positions in Govt by their calmness, hardwork and focus. Adaptability was their strength. So did the Reddys, Nairs, Raos, Gowdaa and Gounders. The targetisation of Brahmins and stirring of hatred against them was the crux of reformist Dravidian propaganda. Because they were meek compared to others. Tamilnadu reservation policy reached alarming heights but Supreme Court closed eyes on constitutional violations. Reservation became a tool to divide the Hindus in Tamilnadu. 

Tamilnadu is now replete with memorials for leaders of every caste, community and politics. These memorials act as many edged weapons. Pampers a group and creates more groups. Meaning more divisions. But look out for any honours for those who really contributed to the civilisation of Tamils , one will be disappointed. CM Annadurai did a tokenism of erecting temples for some savants of Tamil language during the world Tamil conference in Chennai but diluted it to please other religious guys though their contribution was disputable and minimal. Umar Pulavar, GU Pope and Veeramamunivar being treated on par with Kambar, Thiruvalluvar and Ilango Adigal had vote bank reasons. Apart from this tokenism, the master minds who created bench marks were forgotten. The magnificients kings of the Chola, Chera, Pallava or Pandya empires ceased to exist. It hurts to see that some cemeteries of these achievers being left forlorn. And if a great mind that influenced time belonged to Brahmin caste, he gets instantly kicked to the dustbin. Tamilnadu fell from a state that embraced excellence to a community that enjoys self pity , wallows on limitations and conspiracy theories.  Tamils are not even a shade of their past, thanks to the Dravidian movement. 

Please note that Honour killings are catching up fast in Tamilnadu. The result of casteist fundamentalism as ever before. Has anyone noticed that it’s non Brahmins who murder in all cases? Who deranged them? Dravidian ideologues should own responsibility but as was usual, they are never responsible for their actions. Only others are held responsible. A fallen civilisation has no standards. 

I had earlier written in another article on how self respect Dravidian movement became a conglomeration of self important hate spreading self pity recommending characterless hypocrites. While those abused by this movement endured quietly because of their innate strength, those standing for this movement were weak and peevish and insecure to face criticisms. Because truth hurts. Instead they should try and look within, which they are scared to excercise. 

So Tamilnadu had 69% reservations. This was claimed an achievement. Grace marks are often given at public exams. Lenient marking of exam papers is another practice. Instead of focusing on training of our children in tough academics and building them for future, pampering them became vogue. So suicides by children is common in Tamilnadu. Instead of providing opportunities for all children, depriving some as they belonged to some caste, was criminal. Meritocracy taking a back seat was a social harakiri done by forces claiming to be Pro Tamils but in reality were enemies of the state and people. Such unfairness is now the new normal in Tamilnadu. It’s even being hailed as reformist when it ought to be called barbaric. Tamilnadu once known for compassion and love as much for bravery is in pieces. 

As Tamils lost their roots they became vulnerable to emotions and get swayed. The Dravidian movement took the filmi world as a crutch and Kollywood became a willing crutch for personal benefits. Filmi directors became standards of high intelligence in Tamilnadu. Filmi actors role models. Film lyricists sharpest literateurs. Film world decides on political leadership in Tamilnadu not professionals and specialists from any other area of human activity. Keeping passions alive was done by exciting fake promised by govts. Unable to apply mind and prone to silly you are wrong and Iam right rickshawsllah arguments, Tamilnadu protests on propaganda, rumours, lies believing them to be factual and true. 

Whether industries pollute or not, is clear. They do pollute but on varied degrees. Stringent laws have made pollution tough. Chennai Manali is ten times more polluted than Thoothukudi but the moment you ask for equanimous study, you get abused. So is the case with hydro carbon projects in Thanjavur belt. President APJ Abdul Kalam batted for Theni Neutrino project but politicians in Tamilnadu claim better scientific knowledge than an acclaimed scientist. Half baked ideas fan emotions and Tamilnadu succumbs to rumours easily. But ask people to save trees, take public transport and other environment friendly acts, they will cry swatantaram. Tamilnadu can’t live without petrol and cooking gas but won’t let hydrocarbon excavation. Didn’t four persons get assaulted for child lifting just on suspicion? Did any political party condone the death of innocents? Tamilnadu is now a fiction writers paradise on par with the darkest in Africa. 

Prejudices, conspiracy theories, hate mark today’s Tamilnadu. No less are racial prejudices which are demeaning to Thiruvalluvar to Kaniyan Poongranar. Movies carry cheap humour based on looks and skin Color are super hits. In tamil there is term “arasiyal pandrathu” meaning making politics. Its tough for a change to dawn on Tamilnadu but that won’t happen as long as Tamils continue to dream of themselves as wonderful. They need to diagnose the sicknesses that has afflicted them, Tamilnadu  may be an extension of the past but has no connect to the umbilical chord now. Time for Tamils to look within, self audit and transformation. Hate and revenge will never click. None is responsible to the pathetic state of Tamilnadu other than Tamils.

What ails Tamilnadu? Pretending to be a Tamil without the roots, the spirit, the substance of her heritage is the major curse. Hypocrisy hurts in long run and it’s hurting. Why are Tamils agitative? Having lost reasoning powers and unable to apply minds, a love for dramas and pretensions that conceive conspiracy theories of non Tamils conniving to attack Tamilnadu are the reasons . In Gujarat, Tamils run batter making grinders for every half km and are identified by their dhothies. They are popular too. No conspiracy theories against Tamils there because all live in harmony.

The hypocrisy of Tamils in Tamilnadu goes unabated. Needs to end now. Unable to inspire children to learn tamil at primary school level but want a Tamil chair in Harvard University. Will choose English medium schools alone and ask children to learn Hindi but hold dramas against Hindi imposition. No objection to Urdu, French, Spanish, etc. Rise against Corporates selectively but would leave state and India for any corporate job. Talk about cukture while robbing antique idols and works of art for selling abroad. Won’t even respect another tamil on the road, won’t respect laws but will abuse governments at will. Met a tamil family in Florence and they refused to return a smile, We can go on. In short today’s tamil is the enemy of Tamilnadu and her once glorious civilisation. 

A culture and a civilisation has to build on strengths. Silent strengths. Focus on excellence and discipline in spheres of activity. Japanese are good examples. They work hard. Crimes are negligible. Have you heard of bandhs, protests, agitations in Japan? They are so busy they have no time for these dramas. Humble too. During later British colonial rule, Brahmins by their focus and hardwork earned their admiration who placed them in high offices. Most ICS were Brahmins. They were not the favoured community but a community that focused on deliverables. Tamilnadu can learn from her Brahmins more than from any other community. Fact. 

Obviously anyone successful looks sore in the eyes of the unsuccessful. Tamil politics rationalised their success as apartheid. Whipped hate. This served many goals. You can pretend compassion to the the other communities. You can claim bravery for bringing down those in power. You can also strike down a culture that was innately rooted to the soil as foreign and claim glory. Let me also say that all Brahmins were not saints but some were prone to manipulations that arose from insecurity. But by slurs that’s akin to racism on Brahmins, a counter apartheid was introduced and is still being practiced. One untouchability trying to be replaced with another. 

If Tamilnadu needs to be healthier, it needs to question status quo. Question the Dravidian parties which have looted people of their wealth and heritage. Understand and learn to respect own past. No easy solutions. Learn the discipline of adhering to Law. And stop being racist.