The brAhmaNas and the Dalits-01
The main objective of this post is to refute the baseless allegation that it was brahmins who harassed the Dalits and that they did not take enough initiatives for the welfare of the harijans. The source of information in this thread is the Tamil book 'Dalits and Brahmins' authored by the senior journalist K.C.LakShminArAyaNan.
Did brAhmaNas introduce the concept of untouchability?
The charge that it was only the brAhmaNas who introduced untouchability of the Dalits is baseless, while it was true that they were among the upper castes who practised it; it was also true that the practice of untouchability of brAhmaNas against the Dalits was only at a personal and religious level and not social, unlike that of the other castes who harassed the Dalits and continue to harass them today, socially.
In any of the Tamil texts that speak of the Hindu religion--TolkAppiyam, Sangham and post-Sangham literature, and the bhakti literature--there is no evidence for the brAhmaNas introducing untouchability of the Dalits.
A Tamil scholar, SAmi Chidambaram, who supported the policies of the Dravidian parties but changed his stand in his later years of life, has written a research work titled 'TolkAppiya Tamizhar', wherein he has rebutted the charge that brAhmaNas introduced untouchability. He says that such charge is purely based on hatred.
NAyanmAr Tiru JnAna Sambandhar
Tiru JnAna Sambandhar is one of the leading four NAyanmArs of the Shaiva Bhakti movement in Tamilnadu. He was a brAhmaNa. His close friend and associate was a man called Tiru NIlakaNTha YAzhppANar who was born in a caste considered untouchable in those days. NIlakaNTha and his wife not only stayed with Sambandhar, but travelled with him, playing the musical instrument yAzh--lyre, (which is why he was called yAzhppANar) when Sambandhar was singing.
A man called TirunIlanakka NAyanAr, who was an orthodox brAhmaNa performing daily yajnas in his home, lived in a place called SAttamangai. He welcomed Sambandhar and his harijan friend; he and his wife dined with them, and when Sambandar sought to stay in their house, he gave NIlakaNTha and his wife, a place to sleep in the very hall where the sacred yajna kuNDas called vedika was located.
Prof.A.S.JnAna Sambandhan, a famous Tamil scholar hails the social revolution of Sambandha who was a RigVeda brAhmaNa, in keeping with him a harijan and says that there could be no other better social revolution than this. SekkizhAr too in his 'PeriyapurANam' mentions about Sambandha who took his harijan friend and wife with him.
AchArya RAmAnuja
RAmAnuja, founder of the vishiShtadvaita darshan, was a brAhmaNa who was born in ShrIPerumpudUr in Tamilnadu. As every Hindu knows, although he believed in the varNa system, he did not consider anyone untouchable. When he obtained from the Delhi Sultan and brought back the ViShNu vigraha to install it in the temple, he was helped towards a safe passage en route by the harijans, when the Sultan's soldiers hunted for him.
In appreciation of their help and protection, RAmAnuja allowed the harijans to enter and worship in the temple, which was eight centuries ago, when there was stiff opposition to it. SvAmi VivekAnanda has appreciated RAmAnuja's efforts.
Jayendra Sarasvati SvAmigaL
In the current time, shrI Jayendra Sarasvati SvAmigaL, presiding pontiff of the KAnchi Shankara MaTham, often visits the places where Dalits live, partake their religious events and give them his prasAdams and blessings. This has been appreciated by several Dalit pramukhas--notables.
The Tamil magazine 'Kumudam Reporter' in its issue dated 04 Mar 2010 has written about the graceful actions of shrI ShivaprakAsha Deshika ParamAchArya SvAmigaL, who is the 23rd pontiff of the Shaiva MaTham TiruvAvaDuturai AdhInam, holding the position for the last 25 years, recently visited the villages where the caste Arundatiyars (considered Dalits) stay, gave them a lecture, and with his own hands smeared vibhUti to the men and children of the villages, to their astonishment that a leading Hindu AchArya actually touched them. He said that his close association with the Dalits was to prevent the Christian missionaries preying on them.
The initiatives taken up during the end of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th by the three most popular Hindus who were all brAhmaNas is too well known to mention here. These there men were: RAjArAm Mohan Rai, SvAmi DayAnanda Sarasvati, RAmakRShNa ParamahaMsa.
A similarly famous and great revolutionary in Tamilnadu was the mahAkavi SubrahmaNya BhArati, a jnAni par excellence, who spoke severely against varNa and jAti in his popular poems and fought for the Dalits in his daily life. While the members of the Justice Party which was the parent party for the DrAviDa Kazhagam of EV RAmasvAmi, sided with the British and accused BhArati as a 'pArppanar'--brahmin, BhArati's disciple BhArati Dasan who thus changed his real name Kanaka Subburatinam, supported his guru and said, "before him (BhArati), for many centuries, I have not seen anyone thus opposing the jAti concept. Nevertheless, the then Justice Party government of the Madras Presidency imposed a ban on BhArati's sons, a fact unknown to many Dalits, who are made to believe that the Justice Party and DK of EVR were only their staunch supporters and then all the brahmins were their enemies. Only after the Congress rule was formed in the state in 1937 under the leadership of RAjAji, was the ban lifted.
Who harass the Dalits in actuality?
Dr.A.PadmanAbhan, IAS, former Governor of Mizoram, in his book 'Dalits at the cross-roads' has explained as to who in actuality seek to harass the Dalits:
"The perpetrators of crime, atrocities, rape, tyranny in the name of caste, untouchability, etc. in rural India on the Scheduled Castes are mostly from the Backward classes.
"There are also cases involving upper castes. But the majority of the culprits belong to those sections, who are brought under 'Dalit' along with the Scheduled Caste and Tribes by certain leaders."
This is the current state obtaining against the Dalits, especially in Tamilnadu. Today, brAhmaNas in no way involved in the oppression of the Dalits in Tamilnadu.
Gandhiji's campaign against untouchability
When Mahatma Gandhi initiated a campaign against untouchability and ordered people all over India to work for it, the brAhmaNas were fully appreciative of it, and many of them were actively involved in it, in the face of the deliberate vilifying campaign of EVR and his people in Tamilnadu.
• The first government to end untouchability in India, in practice and law, was the Trivancore government headed by Sir C.P.RAmasvAmi Aiyar. His efforts were much appreciated by KAmarAj, Dr.P.SubbharAyan, Karumuthu ThyAgarAja CheTTiar, Dr.C.O.KaruNAkaran and GAndhiji himself--who were all not brAhmaNas.
• A former CM and the last Governor General of independent India, ShrI RAjAgopAlAchArya's efforts in the upliftment of Dalits are too well known to be mantioned. For all such efforts, RAjAji was ostracised from the brahmin community, but he met their opposition with even more intensified efforts. There were several brahmins who supported RAjAji and they were all ostracised. There were also non-brahmins who criticized RAjAji for his efforts of Dalit upliftment.
The main objective of this post is to refute the baseless allegation that it was brahmins who harassed the Dalits and that they did not take enough initiatives for the welfare of the harijans. The source of information in this thread is the Tamil book 'Dalits and Brahmins' authored by the senior journalist K.C.LakShminArAyaNan.
Did brAhmaNas introduce the concept of untouchability?
The charge that it was only the brAhmaNas who introduced untouchability of the Dalits is baseless, while it was true that they were among the upper castes who practised it; it was also true that the practice of untouchability of brAhmaNas against the Dalits was only at a personal and religious level and not social, unlike that of the other castes who harassed the Dalits and continue to harass them today, socially.
In any of the Tamil texts that speak of the Hindu religion--TolkAppiyam, Sangham and post-Sangham literature, and the bhakti literature--there is no evidence for the brAhmaNas introducing untouchability of the Dalits.
A Tamil scholar, SAmi Chidambaram, who supported the policies of the Dravidian parties but changed his stand in his later years of life, has written a research work titled 'TolkAppiya Tamizhar', wherein he has rebutted the charge that brAhmaNas introduced untouchability. He says that such charge is purely based on hatred.
NAyanmAr Tiru JnAna Sambandhar
Tiru JnAna Sambandhar is one of the leading four NAyanmArs of the Shaiva Bhakti movement in Tamilnadu. He was a brAhmaNa. His close friend and associate was a man called Tiru NIlakaNTha YAzhppANar who was born in a caste considered untouchable in those days. NIlakaNTha and his wife not only stayed with Sambandhar, but travelled with him, playing the musical instrument yAzh--lyre, (which is why he was called yAzhppANar) when Sambandhar was singing.
A man called TirunIlanakka NAyanAr, who was an orthodox brAhmaNa performing daily yajnas in his home, lived in a place called SAttamangai. He welcomed Sambandhar and his harijan friend; he and his wife dined with them, and when Sambandar sought to stay in their house, he gave NIlakaNTha and his wife, a place to sleep in the very hall where the sacred yajna kuNDas called vedika was located.
Prof.A.S.JnAna Sambandhan, a famous Tamil scholar hails the social revolution of Sambandha who was a RigVeda brAhmaNa, in keeping with him a harijan and says that there could be no other better social revolution than this. SekkizhAr too in his 'PeriyapurANam' mentions about Sambandha who took his harijan friend and wife with him.
AchArya RAmAnuja
RAmAnuja, founder of the vishiShtadvaita darshan, was a brAhmaNa who was born in ShrIPerumpudUr in Tamilnadu. As every Hindu knows, although he believed in the varNa system, he did not consider anyone untouchable. When he obtained from the Delhi Sultan and brought back the ViShNu vigraha to install it in the temple, he was helped towards a safe passage en route by the harijans, when the Sultan's soldiers hunted for him.
In appreciation of their help and protection, RAmAnuja allowed the harijans to enter and worship in the temple, which was eight centuries ago, when there was stiff opposition to it. SvAmi VivekAnanda has appreciated RAmAnuja's efforts.
Jayendra Sarasvati SvAmigaL
In the current time, shrI Jayendra Sarasvati SvAmigaL, presiding pontiff of the KAnchi Shankara MaTham, often visits the places where Dalits live, partake their religious events and give them his prasAdams and blessings. This has been appreciated by several Dalit pramukhas--notables.
The Tamil magazine 'Kumudam Reporter' in its issue dated 04 Mar 2010 has written about the graceful actions of shrI ShivaprakAsha Deshika ParamAchArya SvAmigaL, who is the 23rd pontiff of the Shaiva MaTham TiruvAvaDuturai AdhInam, holding the position for the last 25 years, recently visited the villages where the caste Arundatiyars (considered Dalits) stay, gave them a lecture, and with his own hands smeared vibhUti to the men and children of the villages, to their astonishment that a leading Hindu AchArya actually touched them. He said that his close association with the Dalits was to prevent the Christian missionaries preying on them.
The initiatives taken up during the end of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th by the three most popular Hindus who were all brAhmaNas is too well known to mention here. These there men were: RAjArAm Mohan Rai, SvAmi DayAnanda Sarasvati, RAmakRShNa ParamahaMsa.
A similarly famous and great revolutionary in Tamilnadu was the mahAkavi SubrahmaNya BhArati, a jnAni par excellence, who spoke severely against varNa and jAti in his popular poems and fought for the Dalits in his daily life. While the members of the Justice Party which was the parent party for the DrAviDa Kazhagam of EV RAmasvAmi, sided with the British and accused BhArati as a 'pArppanar'--brahmin, BhArati's disciple BhArati Dasan who thus changed his real name Kanaka Subburatinam, supported his guru and said, "before him (BhArati), for many centuries, I have not seen anyone thus opposing the jAti concept. Nevertheless, the then Justice Party government of the Madras Presidency imposed a ban on BhArati's sons, a fact unknown to many Dalits, who are made to believe that the Justice Party and DK of EVR were only their staunch supporters and then all the brahmins were their enemies. Only after the Congress rule was formed in the state in 1937 under the leadership of RAjAji, was the ban lifted.
Who harass the Dalits in actuality?
Dr.A.PadmanAbhan, IAS, former Governor of Mizoram, in his book 'Dalits at the cross-roads' has explained as to who in actuality seek to harass the Dalits:
"The perpetrators of crime, atrocities, rape, tyranny in the name of caste, untouchability, etc. in rural India on the Scheduled Castes are mostly from the Backward classes.
"There are also cases involving upper castes. But the majority of the culprits belong to those sections, who are brought under 'Dalit' along with the Scheduled Caste and Tribes by certain leaders."
This is the current state obtaining against the Dalits, especially in Tamilnadu. Today, brAhmaNas in no way involved in the oppression of the Dalits in Tamilnadu.
Gandhiji's campaign against untouchability
When Mahatma Gandhi initiated a campaign against untouchability and ordered people all over India to work for it, the brAhmaNas were fully appreciative of it, and many of them were actively involved in it, in the face of the deliberate vilifying campaign of EVR and his people in Tamilnadu.
• The first government to end untouchability in India, in practice and law, was the Trivancore government headed by Sir C.P.RAmasvAmi Aiyar. His efforts were much appreciated by KAmarAj, Dr.P.SubbharAyan, Karumuthu ThyAgarAja CheTTiar, Dr.C.O.KaruNAkaran and GAndhiji himself--who were all not brAhmaNas.
• A former CM and the last Governor General of independent India, ShrI RAjAgopAlAchArya's efforts in the upliftment of Dalits are too well known to be mantioned. For all such efforts, RAjAji was ostracised from the brahmin community, but he met their opposition with even more intensified efforts. There were several brahmins who supported RAjAji and they were all ostracised. There were also non-brahmins who criticized RAjAji for his efforts of Dalit upliftment.
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