Why?

[KRS]

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Dear Sri Nacchinarkinyan Ji,

Is this not the fact in other parts of India too? Like Bengal? If you look at all over India, is it not a fact that Brahmins everywhere went for an English education? If this is true, I am sure the same feelings about a poor person, suddenly becoming a judge etc., also must have happened elsewhere.

Why is it that only in TN this type of jealousy arose?

Pranams,
KRS

Again to emphasize a point the other castes did not bother as long as a few Brahmin landlords were there. What they found difficult to countenance was the son of the local Brahmin priest or cook becoming a judge.

Imagine the shock of the Dharma Karta of a temple who is also the biggest landlord of the place, when he finds that son of the poor priest in his temple is the local collector.

The Tamil Brahmins also were in the fore front for women's education, rights, abolition of child marriage and in the struggle of the deprived section of the society. It was one Vaidyanatha Iyer who led all the castes into the Madurai temple.

 

[kunjuppu]

nacchinarkiniyan,

this is a wonderful narrative. though i am unable to answer your 'why', i adore your 'how'. pray continue. and thanks so much!

 

[Nacchinarkiniyan]

Dear Sri Nacchinarkinyan Ji,

Is this not the fact in other parts of India too? Like Bengal? If you look at all over India, is it not a fact that Brahmins everywhere went for an English education? If this is true, I am sure the same feelings about a poor person, suddenly becoming a judge etc., also must have happened elsewhere.

Why is it that only in TN this type of jealousy arose?

Pranams,
KRS

In Bengal the most educated community are not the Brahmins, but the Kayasthas. (Bose, Ghosh).

Again the Sena Dynasty ruled Bengal through the 11th and 12th centuries. They were Brahmins from South India. They called themselves Brahma Kshatriyas. They reintroduced orthodox Hinduism in Bengal. They brought the Brahmins from Kanya Kubja and South India and gave them lands. They were one of the last Hindu kings of Bengal. So there were many Brahmin families with large land holdings. If you look closely you will find that Brahmins like Raja Ram Mohan Roy were big Landlords. The Brahmins had a lot of power as Jamindars. I know many Brahmin families in Bengal who have been rich for centuries.

Tamil Nadu did not even have a Tamil King for centuries.

Their closest competitors in the caste hierarchy are the Kayasthas. Kayasthas are also considered as Brahmins in some regions. They were called Kayastha Brahmins. Other Kayastha surnames in North India as Srivastava, Saxena. Dr. Rajendra PrasaD and Lal Bahadur Sasthri were Kayasthas.

A bit confusing, but they were always allied/identified with the Brahmins. The Brahmins and Kayasthas form a sizable percentage of Bengalis.

Other than the Bengalis the Maharashtrian Brahmins went for English education. But then they have been ruling for some centuries with the Mahrattas. They had been working together for generations in ruling parts of India. The Peshvas were extremely politically savvy people. That is why in places like Indore ( Holkars), Gwalior (Scindias) they chose local Mahratta chieftains to be Kings and not Brahmins.

The rich and the powerful Brahmins getting English education made no difference, but poor Brahmins, it creates resentment.

About our position the very fact that no other community migrated in India like we did speaks volumes.

 

[lotus_quartz]

Some Lateral Inputs on Kayasthas:
---------------------------------
Kayasthas in N.India claim lineage from the 9 sons of Chitragupta, who was responsible for the book keeping in the court of Lord Indra. Consequently, there are 9 primary types of Kayasthas - Shrivastava, Varma, Nigam, Mathur, Saxena, .... etc.

Kayasthas, owing to their lineage from Chitragupta consider themselves to be tailor made for administrative , accounting and clerical professions. During Moghul period, Kayasthas took up study of persian (the then Court Language) and excelled themselves in Moghul administration. Later, when Urdu was adopted as court language in East India regime, they readily shifted to Urdu. Even today, many of excellent teachers, poets and novelists in Urdu are from Kayastha community. Munshi Premchand is also beleived to be from that community.

During British period, Kayasthas closely followed Brahmins of South and Bengal and learnt English to become the backbone of administratiion in British India.

In N.India, Kayasthas were placed below Kshatriyas in the hierarchy. A somewhat offensive term 'Lala' used to denote them typically meant sharp, cunning person.

Their closest competitors in the caste hierarchy are the Kayasthas. Kayasthas are also considered as Brahmins in some regions. They were called Kayastha Brahmins. Other Kayastha surnames in North India as Srivastava, Saxena. Dr. Rajendra PrasaD and Lal Bahadur Sasthri were Kayasthas.

A bit confusing, but they were always allied/identified with the Brahmins. The Brahmins and Kayasthas form a sizable percentage of Bengalis.

 

[kaivalyam]

I believe traditional sources place kayasthas as the varnasankara of kshatriya men and shudra women.

 

[KRS]

When did the divide happen?

Dear Sri Nacchinarkiniyan Ji,

I appreciate what you and Sri LQ Ji have said about the status of various communities in India. There is also the issue of Buddhism's advent, against Brahminism, that Sri LQ Ji mentions.

This is important, because we (the Historians) are arguing about His Highness Adi Shankara's time. Some argue that his time was in B.C. and some argue that he was there in the A.D. H.H. Shankaracharya Chandrasekhaara swamigal himself said that Adi Shankara was not responsible for the decline of Buddhism in India, ascribing the decline more to the Mimamsa philosophy.

Since the Varna system depended upon the Brahmins to be the guardians of culture and everything else that safeguarded the welfare of the society, this raises an important issue.

When did the Brahmins feel 'neglected' by the Kshatrias, who were their benefactors? Maha Periaval Says that it was during the British Raj. If this is so, why? Did the Kings in Tamil Nadu (irrespective of their origins) in particular abandon supporting the Brahmins?

Of course, Brahmins are supposed to support the local temples and deities and the local villages. Poverty was not strange to them, as their charter was to live a meager existance, for the sake of others. (Please refer to Maha Periaval's chapter 'A day in a Brahmin's life' in His book 'Hindu Dharma')

When and why did this concept change in TN? Why did the Brahmins of TN want to migrate to other parts of India? Who were the Kshatria Kings who did not follow the Varna system and Why?

These questions, I think are important, if we have to understand the current status.

Pranams,
KRS

 

[Nacchinarkiniyan]

After the demise of the Vijayanagar empire we did not have any powerful Hindu Kings in South India. The Muslims had become quite powerful. The Bahmini Sultans, Sultans of Bijapur and Golkonda , Nawabs of Carnatic became powerful.

Thirumalai Naik was the last powerful King in Tamil Nadu. The Mahrattas ruled Tanjore for a long time. These two dynasties did patronize the Brahmins.

In the absence of powerful and rich Hindu Kings, temples came to be neglected. The Kings provided patronage when they had the time and the money. But most of the Kings were fighting for survival. They had a tough time even paying the soldiers.

The relationship between the Kings and the Brahmins is a strange one to say the least. In the Mahabharata when Arjuna and gang went to Dhrowpathi's Swayamvara dressed as Brahmins, were they accepted as equal or treated with reverence and respect?

How did king Draupadha treat Dronacharya?

I still vividly remember the time (may be I have posted about this earlier. If so sorry.) when I was in the committe to interview for a peon's post. One of the candidates was a Brahmin ( not Tamil). He was employed as a junior priest in a local temple. The custom is that the priest only throws the Prasadam and would not even touch you.

When asked why he wanted this job, he replied that "respect and reverence can not fill empty stomachs."

This is the reason for our migration and taking on English education.

After all, ritual status alone cannot keep a particular caste in a particular position in the caste hierarchy. A strong economic base is equally important.

 

[Nacchinarkiniyan]

A number of generalizations or sweeping statements have been made by me during the course of this discussion.

1. The living condition of the Brahmin depended on

a. Place of stay: A Brahmin living in the fertile Cauveri delta would have had a better living condition than the Brahmin in Karaikudi (Ramanad district) or in Madurai, Thirunelveli, Kanyakumari or Coimbatore.

Even here living conditions would have varied from village to village.

b. The sect you belong to. Some of the sects were traditionally better off.

What I have summarized is a general statement.

Actually when we come to the political reasons and the way it was handled we will see that these made a lot of difference.

I was born in a village in Tamil Nadu where anti-Brahminism has never been known. The relationship with the other communities remains unchanged. But that is an exception.

I have spent a number of years in Tamil Nadu in recent times interacting with people from different communities/religions and different strata of society. I have had detached intellectual discussions about Brahmins and anti_ Brahminsm with a number of people. this discussion is based on that and on my research into my roots as a Tamil Brahmin.

 

[Nacchinarkiniyan]

English education and Tamil Brahmins

1. What percentage of Brahmins took up English education?

We say Tamil Brahmins took up English education in a big way. But what is the percentage of Brahmins who took up this? It is true that compared to other communities we had more people taking it up. But because the number of schools and colleges were very small to start with, the actual number was not very big.

Again it is not true that the majority of the Tamil Brahmins took it up. If they had done it, the community would not facing the situation we have today. The fact is that only a small minority of Brahmins took up English education.

The reasons are not far to seek.

1. Traditional Brahminical religion was opposed to it. Many traditional Brahmins refused to send their children to English schools till later in the day.

2. Many could not afford it.

A story which was often stressed by my parents was that of Sir. Sivaswamy Iyer who is reputed to have studied under the street lamp. Such legends inspired the later generation of Brahmins.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sir_P._S._Sivaswami_Iyer

3. Many of the rich were not interested. I have heard statement "munu thalaimurakku soddhu irukku. paithiyakkaran mari ur vittu ur poy padikkanama?"

4. Many were not intelligent enough for it.

There is pre-conceived notion that the majority of the Brahmins were English-educated. I only wish it were true. Brahmins lagged behind some of the other communities in sending their girls to school.

There were about 300 Brahmin house in our village. Out of these in the early 1940s there were hardly 15 to 20 graduates. I would estimate that the percentage of Brahmins who had the benefit of English education especially in the early stages would not be more than 10%. Could be far less.

2. What is the time period?

From my and other family annals I estimate that the English education especially at the college level started right from 1854. We could get exact dates from college records. But it does not matter.

But Tamil Brahmins did have education even before the British started the colleges. India had its own schools. They did very well there and were employed by the Kings in their service. I was talking only about English education which helped them secure employment under the British.

You will be surprised to know that the first political agitation against the appointment of Tamil Brahmins as high officials took place in 1888. Not in Tamil Nadu.

 

[kunjuppu]

this is input from my uncle who is in his 80s..

the migration to palakkad happened in the late 1800s. it was from thanjavur. poverty and drought in the kaveri delta was the prime reason.

in addition, the ruling family of travancore cochin welcomed them, and gave them land near the bharatha pozhai.

the land was not much but sufficient to feed a single family, with hired help. thus became the 13 villages of palakkad.

as was the custom of those days, large families were the order of the day, and very soon there were youngsters who were seeking a living.

starting from the early 1900s, there was steady migration all over india (including burma) to man the civil service.

the roots the native village was strong and continuously maintained through marriage, vacation visits and ultimately retirement.

here is another narrative from a relative who is no more.... about migration to malaya

around early 1900s word came that there were jobs in malaya.

my relative's father was among the first to take the ship from nagapattinam to penang and establish himself there as a school teacher.

very soon, he found that he could do his community in palakkad some help.

the rubber and tin plantations needed clerks.

so any youth with matric passed was encouraged to come to penang from where he would be directed to the british owned estates.

my relative's house in penang turned into a big chathram the day of ship arrival. the youths were welcomed, fed. also they exchanged their komanams/veshtis for boxer shorts/pants which was stitched on site by the chinese tailor.

in a few days they were on their way to their new job.

these folks visited india very seldom. in a few years for their marriage, and some time later, at the demise of their first parent.

the world war 2 ofcourse caused a great upset and many returned. but many more remained behind. and continued to live there after malayan independence.

i have met a few of those families under the auspicies of the brahmana sangham of kuala lumpur. these old families interact little with the other tamil groups, most of whom came as plantation labour.

these brahmins have done well in modern malaysia, but the older generation is orthodox of a nature, seldom seen even in palakkad. their biggest gripe is finding suitable grooms for their daughters through arranged marriage!

 

[Nacchinarkiniyan]

The great divide among the Tamil Brahmins.

The Tamil kingdoms of Chera, Chola and Pandya were not able to make the impact like the other dynasties of South India like the Satavahanas and Kakatiyas because of incessant infighting. They rarely fought as a united Tamil kingdom.

There are basic cultural and historical differences between Pandya Nadu and Chola Nadu. Same could be said about the Tamil Brahmins of Chola Nadu and Pandya Nadu. These differences have narrowed down over a period of time and are not so prominent now as it was earlier. But to get a historical perception we have to take these two separately. I will be doing that in my next post.

 

[Nacchinarkiniyan]

Chola Brahmins and Pandiya Brahmins

This kind of division among Brahmins or any other community is very common. It is mostly based on geographical location. In Tamil Nadu to take an example Vellala community is called by different names depending on the region. Gounders in Kongu Nadu to Saiva Vellala Pillai in Nanchil Nadu.

In Bengal we have the East Bengalis, and the West Bengalis. In Maharashtra we have the Konknastha and Desastha Brahmins.

The occupation of the community is basically dictated by local conditions. The conditions in the Cauvery delta with rich agricultural land is not the same as in Madurai or Thirunelveli because neither Vaigai nor Thamraparani are perennial rivers. In Nanchil Nadu it is basically tank irrigation. Then you have Ramnad district where water is a scarce commodity. In fact it will not be strictly accurate to club these districts together, but for our purposes it is sufficient.

Now first the question is whether all the Brahmins in Tamil Nadu have a common origin? It is difficult to say and there is no evidence or collective memory of a common origin. It is possible that some of the Brahmins from Pandia Nadu migrated from the Cauveri delta. The reasoning is the celebration of Pathinettam Perukku by some Brahmin villages in Pandya Nadu. Since Adi Perukku is a purely Cauveri related phenomena, this could show a common origin. But then again a question. Why did the Brahmins of Pandia Nadu migrate to Venad and not to Chola Nadu later? Questions for which there are no satisfactory answers.

Again the Cholas were the last Tamil rulers. Pandiyan Kings had lost power to the Cholas who ruled for a long time and built up a strong state and the residents of Chola Desa benefited from that.

Now the question is so how did all this affect the Brahmins? The Brahmins needed sponsors for carrying on their lives. As Sri KRS pointed out Brahmins need Benefactors. All the communities in Tamil Nadu have consistently for centuries supported the Brahmins in their religious activities. They had accepted that in religious matters the Brahmin was the most Knowledgeable. But they were not Kings. They had their own limitations. They could not grant land and money like the Kings. The Tamil Brahmin was not satisfied with his economic status.

The first changes were felt in Pandya Nadu where the Brahmins took to trade. They were also helped by the Saurashtrians in Maduarai who were weavers. Brahmins became the traders for selling the products. Then they took to money lending. Their interaction with the Chettiar community as employees and friends helped them in this. With the coming of the British trade expanded and Brahmins benefited from that. With money from trade they acquired lands and became landlords in many places.

Again this was done by only a small minority and the majority of the Brahmins remained poor. But now they had sponsors from their own community who erected temples exclusively for Brahmins and helped out the poor.

The most important point is that the Pandya Brahmins broke away from the Brahminical profession. Veda Patashalas were not many. ( though they have a large number now started by Brahmins but supported by other communities.) Their attitude towards other communities also underwent a change. A Brahmin having an Abrahminical Guru was not rare. Again the Pandiya Brahmins are more oriented towards Siva and Subramanya in spite of being Smarthas. They accept the local Gods/Goddesses. Though there are a large number of Vishnavite Divyadesams in Pandiya nadu, there is no history of any no conflict.

When you are in the trading or banking profession, it is not practicable to rigidly adhere to the caste system. A customer is a customer whatever may be his caste. This developed a more tolerant attitude toward other castes.

Note: My above post contains many generalizations and summary statements which may not be applicable to all sections of the community. But these are necessary for such discussions.

 

[Nacchinarkiniyan]

Chola Brahmins

In general the people in Chola Nadu were more fortunate than their brethren in Pandya Nadu and other regions. The Cauveri delta is fertile agricultural land and there was good availability of water for irrigation. The last Tamil Dynasty to rule Tamil Nadu were the Cholas and they were great Kings who did a lot for the populace. Later on the Mahrattas ruled from Tanjore. They encouraged the Brahmins.

All these factors made the Brahmins prosperous and also powerful. Many of them were big land holders. Again this prosperity lead to a development of culture. Music and fine arts flourished. Prosperity ensured that they did not migrate to other places in search of livelihood. (Migration to Palaghat is an exception.) But I wonder why the Tamil Brahmins from other parts of Tamil Nadu did not migrate in large numbers to Chola Nadu.

It is claimed that the Tamil Brahmins form a larger percentage of the population in Chola Nadu than in other regions. But no comparative data is available.

One of the most important feature of the Chola Nadu Brahmins was/is their strict adherence to the traditional Brahminical norms. Even in 1960s there were many Kudumi Brahmins in St. Xavier's college, Trichy whereas kudumi had almost disappeared from the rest of Tamil Nadu.

When it came to English education, they were the pioneers. They has the added advantages of nearness to Madras and Jesuit colleges. They took to English education in bigger numbers than the Brahmins of any other region.

KRS had raised this point of why? I had said earlier that it was a question of survival. As far as the Brahmins of Chola Nadu were concerned, it was a way to improve individual social status. Most of the Brahmins even in Chola Nadu being poor or middle class, they found in English education a way to improve their economic status.

In a nutshell the Tamil Brahmins were pre-eminent in the society of Chola Nadu. But I do not think they were ever the majority community. No such claims have been made by anyone.

It is important that we understand the situation prevailing in Chola Nadu which was totally different from the rest of the state. Chola Nadu was an exception rather than the rule. The Brahmins from here do not constitute a majority among the Brahmins, though they may be have larger numbers than other individual regions.

When a Tanjore Brahmin talks about dominance of Brahmins, the Brahmins from Pollachi and Karaikudi are totally at a loss to understand.

It is necessary to understand the situation prevailing in different regions to understand how Anti_Brahminism started and why it was more successful in some regions than others.

Note: I have the advantage of coming from a family whose members hail from Tanjore, Thirunelveli, Nanjil Nadu and Palghat. Not the present generation, but older generation. So this Tanjore versus Thirunelveli versus Palghat talk used to come up in all family functions. ( after the heavy lunch)

 

[Nacchinarkiniyan]

Finest hour

The finest and Glorious hour of the Tamil Brahmins and Brahmins in general was the independence movement. Brahmins played a major rule in it. The earliest revolutionaries were Va Ve Su Iyer, Subramania Siva, [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Neelakantha Brahmachari, Shankar Krishna Iyer [/FONT] and Vanchi Iyer. Vanchi iyer who executed collector Ash was the solitary [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]martyr from the South.

Madame Cama in her Vande Mataram of July 1911. wrote:
"When decorated slaves from Hindustan were parading the streets of London as performers in a Royal Circus (a ref. to King George's Coranation) and demonstrated their subservience to the King of England, two young and brave countrymen of ours proved by daring deed that Hindustan is not slumbering. The shots that Vanchi fired did help arouse a slave nation from the century-old slumbering."

The Chapekar brothers had earlier shown the way. Under the leadership of Bal Gangadhar Tilak a Chitpavan Brahmin India woke up.[/FONT]

Subramania Bharathy undoubtedly the greatest Tamil Poet of modern times was again a revolutionary.

It is a pity the the Tamil Brahmin community has forgotten these heroes of the Freedom movement. The only web site which gives the biography of these revolutioneries is the Tamil Nation a site of Tamils from Ezham.

http://www.tamilnation.org/hundredtamils/subramaniamsiva.htm

Later on The Tamil Brahmins played a big role in the independence movement under the Indian National Congress. Prominent among them were Sathyamurthy, Rajaji, G. Subramania Iyer (founder of Hindu newspaper).

The role of the Tamil Brahmins was significant when compared to their percentage of population.

But again here like in many good and bad things, this was restricted to a very small percentage. The majority of the educated Tamil Brahmins preferred to serve the British faithfully.

But their role in the freedom movement led to some thinking on the part of the British government which paved the way for the Anti-Brahmin movement later.

 

[Nacchinarkiniyan]

Comments/feedback please.

Thanks.

 

[KRS]

Dear Sri Nacchinarkiniyan Ji,

I appreciate your erudition in the matter of different Brahmin communities in T.N.

But, to go back, a Brahmin was not supposed to assume the jobs of any other Varna (Jathi). At least, they were not allowed to profit by any other professions. In fact, because of this, they were the only ones allowed by Shastras to beg for food.

When did this equation change and why? Because, here in lies the crux of the begining of the problems we face today. This is why I queried about our benefactors before.

Poverty was not foreign to our community; in fact, I would dare say that it was ordained. So, when did we as a community feel that poverty was a burden? This could only happen, if as a community we felt that we were not supported even in our poverty!

If you can throw some light on this, I would appreciate it.

Pranams,
KRS

 

[Nacchinarkiniyan]

Dear Sri Nacchinarkiniyan Ji,

I appreciate your erudition in the matter of different Brahmin communities in T.N.

But, to go back, a Brahmin was not supposed to assume the jobs of any other Varna (Jathi). At least, they were not allowed to profit by any other professions. In fact, because of this, they were the only ones allowed by Shastras to beg for food.

When did this equation change and why? Because, here in lies the crux of the begining of the problems we face today. This is why I queried about our benefactors before.

Poverty was not foreign to our community; in fact, I would dare say that it was ordained. So, when did we as a community feel that poverty was a burden? This could only happen, if as a community we felt that we were not supported even in our poverty!

If you can throw some light on this, I would appreciate it.

Pranams,
KRS

The Brahmins were classified as a "Priestly Class" by the early westerners and that tab has stuck. What a difference between this definition and the definition of "Intellectual Aristocrats".

Let us look at the Vedic history. The great Brahmins were Rishis like Yagnavalkya, Vashishta, Parasara and host of others. Did they become great because they were Priests. No. We remember them because they were great Teachers. The ritviks who conducted the Vedic Homas are forgotten. But we remember the Seers who wrote the Vedic hymns.

It is the primary duty of the Brahmins to educate others, impart knowledge. The Tamil Brahmins are remembered with gratitude by all communities not because of the mirasudars, ICS officials or the priests. But it is because of the large number of Brahmin teachers who taught the basics in school. They were not highly paid. They just eeked out a living. But they were respected.

In our family circles in the past a teacher or a Professor had more value than an official in the government.

The Tamil Brahmins should take pride that the community's members include Bagavan Ramana Maharishi and Swami Sivananda.

Great teacher like Adi Sankara and Ramanujacharya were not produced by the rigid system. They broke away from the system and gave the world new ideas.

There is an ongoing discussions about Gunas and Brahmins. If only people with Satvik Guna can be classified as Brahmins, I am afraid we have to give up Lord Parashurama and Dronachrya among others.

Again "Seeking Alms" is a practice to be followed only by the advanced spiritual seekers both in Hinduism and Buddhism. It was a practice to be followed by only those who had given up all their attachments.

The Brahmins constituted the Court of Justice even in the ancient days.

Yagnavalkaya says

1. Let the monarch, free from anger or thought of gain, in conjunction with learned bráhmaṇs, adjudicate law-suits, according to the Dharma Śástras.

2. He shall appoint judges perfect in the Vedas and in science, versed in the Dharma Śástras, such as speak truth and bear themselves alike to friend and foe.


3. If the monarch, from press of other business, cannot adjudicate, he shall appoint a bráhmaṇ versed in the whole law, [to preside] with the judges.

The Brahmins who were carrying on the tradition of the preservation of Vedas were to be housed and taken care of by the Kings.

Yagnavalkaya says

[Men] are to be honoured in the gradation following,—in respect of learning, conduct, years, family, property. Even a Śúdrá, if he excel in these respects, is worthy of honour.

The monarch shall erect in the city a mansion and shall settle therein bráhmaṇs learned in the three Vedas, and endow them, giving them injunction to discharge their duties.

We tend to have a narrow definition of a Brahmin which is at variance with what is written in the Dharma Sasthras.

 

[Nacchinarkiniyan]

There is ample evidence in the Dharma Sasthras and the Puranas that the Brahmins had taken up other professions even in ancient times. The Dharma Sasthras are basically law books dealing with religious and secualar law. It is amazing to se the span of coverage of these law books written by Brahmins.

The range of books by Brahmins

1. Artha Sasthra by Kautilya

2. Mathematics by Arya Bhatta and a host of others.

3. The Nyaya texts dealing with Logic.

4. Sanskrit literature. and so on.

Inheriting the tradition of the Nyayikas and Yagnavalkya, it is no wonder the Brahmin lawyers proved to be the best.

I will expand this further later. But let us ask ourselves as question.

Are we not the inheritors of Chanakya, Arya Bhatta, Dronacharya, or Lord Parasurama who defeated Karthaviyarjuna of the Kaikeya tribe? In fact the Brhu Brahmins were known as the fighting Brahmins.

The Tamil Brahmins were only following the tradition of their ancestors which had been forgotten for a long time by the Brahmins during the invasions from outside. We rediscovered the glory and greatness of the Brahmins.

 

[Nacchinarkiniyan]

My next few posts are meant to show the genesis of the problems faced by the Tamil Brahmins in Tamil Nadu . Since the first time the Tamil Brahmins faced such problems was in Travancore, I will be starting with Travancore.

These posts are based on historical facts. But the interpretations are mine. I will have to by necessity name some communities.

 

[Nacchinarkiniyan]

In all kinds of societies different communities/tribes compete for power. It is true of the feudal societies and also democracies. In pre-democratic society they fought it out. In democracies they use the power of numbers.

This has been the game and will continue to be so. We have to understand and accept this to understand the plight of the Tamil Brahmins today.

 

[Nacchinarkiniyan]

Pandi Brahmins and Malayalee Memorial

The State of Travancore in South Kerala was formerly known as Venad. The capital was in Padmanabhapuram in Kanyakumari district. It was part of the Nayak Kingdom for some time. Later when Venad grew stronger, it included parts of Thirunelveli district. This was known earlier as then Pandi Nadu.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venad

The Tamil Brahmins have been residing here for generations. Later on there were migration of Tamil Brahmins from Ramnad and Thirunelveli district. But then these districts did not exist.

But Travancore as a state was dominated by the Nairs, Namboothiris, and Potthis. These were the landowning class. The Namboodiris and Potthis were the powerful Brahmins who did not accept the Tamil Brahmins as priests in the temples. They did not even accept that the Tamil Brahmins could recite the Vedas. But the Tamil Brahmins erected their own temples and recited the Vedas.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malayali_Brahmins

Though many Tamil Brahmins owned land in Nanjil Nadu majority were poor. They took to trading and employment in the Maharaja's service. The big temples like the Padmanabhaswamy temple in Trivandrum used to feed the Brahmins in Uttupura or the feeding place. Tamil Brahmins were the main customers. Not a happy state of affairs for a community.

But slowly many Brahmins became rich due to their trading skills and Money Lending in which their only competetors were the Christians.

Modern Travancore began with Marthanda Varma Maharaja in the 18th century. There were attempts to assassinate him by groups of Nair aristocracy and the Malayali Brahmins.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ettara_Yogam

Later when his kingdom became secure he employed a number of Tamil Brahmins. But what changed the status of the Tamil Brahmins was one single individual Ramayyan Dalawa who rose from a mere servant to the Dewan of Travancore.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramayyan_Dalawa

Later when English education was introduced in Travancore the Tamil Brahmins were the first to take it up. They went for higher education in Madras. They were employed in Maharajah's service. They became influential. The community became more prosperous.

This led to a situation that in 1891 a petition was submitted to the Maharajah about the monopolization of higher officers by the Tamil Brahmins inducted from outside. What they meant for the Tamil Brahmins residing there as they were always called Pardeshi Brahmins.

But the Maharajah ignored the memorandum.

http://www.kerala.gov.in/history&culture/emergence.htm

This was a forerunner about the things which were about to come in Tamil Nadu. One of the founders of the anti-Brahmin movement in Tamil Nadu belonged to the Nair community.

Note: The Pandi Pattars ( as they are called in Kerala ) continue to stay there and have integrated well in the society. They still speak only Tamil and carry on the cultural tradition. Though there is still a lot of envy about their occupying positions in government, all the communities know that they are not in the race for political power. They have built a reputation for intelligence and fairness. In recent years some of them (retired government servants) have even become priests of traditional Kerala temples.

 

[Nacchinarkiniyan]

Note: These posts are based on historical facts. But the interpretations are mine.

The origin of the anti-Brahmin movement was political rather than social. The Brahmins had taken part in the freedom movement and held positions of influnce in the Indian National Congress. This was resented by the Feudal class which owed its postion to the presence of the British and who were basically opposed to Freedom for India.

Sometime during that period a paper was circulated among the British Bureaucrats which identified the Brahmin community as the major source of Insurgency and suggested ways and means of countering this.

The Justice Party was founded in 1916 by Dr. T. M. Nair and Sir P. T. Tyagaroya Chettiar, both of whom had been in the Congress. It had the unofficial backing of the British because it opposed the freedom movement. Its supporters were rich landowners and aristocracy who favoured the British colonial government. It was called the The South Indian Welfare Association. They created a notion that the North Indians and Brahmins dominated the Indian National Congress which was demanding Independence. The British were quite happy with this development because it fitted well with their policy of ruling India which was "Divide and Rule." It was the age old struggle between different communities for dominence.

This was targeted at the Tamil Brahmins because they had a pre eminent position in the Indian National Congress and were a very visible community. Though there were some Malayali Brahmins who played a major role in the freedom movement like E. M. S. Namboodiripad the Malayali Brahmin community was never perceived as a competetor for political power. The same reasoning applies to Telugu Brahmins.

We have to digress here to learn about the most important development which changed the history of South India, Tamil Nadu in particular. I am talking about the works of the renowned scholar Rev. Robert Caldwell. His book "Comparative Grammar of Dravidian Languages" published in 1856 proved to the entire world the antiquity and unique nature of Tamil language. As Tamilians we are forever indebted to him. He took the word " Dravida " from the Puranas which referred to the region south of the Vindhyas as Dravida Desam.

This generated the racial theory of Aryans and Dravidians and Aryan invasion and conquest of the local Dravidians. Many Tamil Brahmins unfortunately were/are enthusiastic supporters of the Aryan racial theory. Lokamanya Bala Ganghadhar Tilak was a supporter of the Aryan inavasion theory and wrote about it. Many Tamil Brahmins believed/believe that they are Aryans and migrated to South India.

Though the Tamil scholars among the Tamil Brahmins welcomed the provence of Tamil as an ancient language, many Tamil Brahmins especially the traditional believed/believe in the superiority of the Sanskrit language.

This belief in the Aryan origin and superiority of Sanskrit language provided/ continue to provide a lot of ammunition to the propaganda against the Brahmins. This was exploited later by the DMK.

 

[Nacchinarkiniyan]

For the success of a political party a cause is needed. You also need an enemy who has a presence. Tamil Brahmins were the visible enemy.

Tha cause was Tamil and Dravida Nadu.

Justice party came to power and ruled from 1921 to 1937. The Self-Respect Movement was founded in 1925 by E.V. Ramasami Naicker.

The Justice party brought legislations regarding:

Reservations for government jobs based on social groups and castes ( first in India).

Bringing the management of temples under the control of the Government.

The demands put forward by the Self-respect Movement were accepted by the Justice Party and they implemented equal representation for castes based on the caste ratio. Education and employment in the province became proportionally represented.

The Congress Party did not support these proposals as it was thought they could lead to divisions among the Indian people.

In 1937 the Congress Party defeated the Justice Party and took power in Madras. Rajaji took over as Chief Minister. History would have been different if Sathyamurthy who was more of a popular local leader had become the Chief Minister.

This government took a decision which gave an advantage to the Justice Party and also created a lot of ill will for the Congress. That was the imposition of Hindi making it a compulsory subject in schools. Later on Anti Hindi agitations were the main sustaining force of the Dravida Kazhagams. Language is one of the biggest uniting factors among people. This was again proved later by the formation of Bangla Desh. Though the Tamil Brahmins were not involved in the 1937 anti- Hindi agitation, the Tamil Brahmin students were active participants in the later Anti_Hindi agitations.

There is an excellent article about the political developments during that period here.

http://mercury.soas.ac.uk/users/tt2/teach/impnat/India/swaraj.htm

In 1938-39 Periyar added a new dimension to his movement, viz., demand for an independent Dravida Naadu. He attributed this to the social oppression by the Brahminical upper castes, whom he alleged were in league with the North Indian Bania community in imposing Hindi and in exploiting economically the people of South India. He got the support of Dr. B.R.Ambedkar in this. Here the emphasis was on Brahminical upper castes and not on Brahmins alone. The twin targets were

1. Brahminical castes. That is all upper castes.

2. North Indian domination.

Since it was perceived that they were against the existing caste system, they got the support of Dr. Ambedkar. This was only a political expediency. The Justice Party and its followers represented/represent only the higher castes among the Hindus. Though Periyar believed in abolition of the entire caste system, this view was not shared by the other leaders or the rank and file.

Their commitment to the cause of the Dalits is only lip service. This is proved by the number of atrocities committed against Dalits even today in Tamil Nadu and the notorious two tumbler and other systems. In fact some of the Non-Brahmin leaders were enraged by the active support of a few Tamil Brahmins to the cause of the Dalits.

Unfortunately Sathyamurthy who was the most popular Congress leader in Tamil Nadu died in 1943.

Comments/feedback Please.

 

[Nacchinarkiniyan]

Some Answers

I had asked some questions at the beginning of this discussion. The historical analysis was also towards answering these questions.

But the anti Brahmin movement which was founded by a Malayali had no effect in what is now Kerala. The Brahmins are held in respect there even now.

Why is it ?

The Malayali Brahmins were not considered a threat to political power by the other communities. I have posted about the petition about Tamil Brahmins who were perceived as a threat. The Malayali Brahmin community have produced a number of leaders, but their influence in politics as a community is limited.

Though the political system has seen struggle between Brahmins and others there is no anti-Brahmin feeling in Maharashtra like we have in Tamil Nadu.

The article the link to which I had posted shows the start of an anti-Brahmin movement in Maharashtra. But the anti-Brahmin movement did not assume a big role because Lokamanya Bala Gangadhar Tilak was able to unite all communities for the freedom movement. One of the methods was the start of Public Ganapathy Utsav. These were modelled after the Durga Utsav in Bengal which brings all communities together. Though attempts have been made to portray the Brahmins as Anti Shivaji and anti Maharattha these have not succeeded. The Maharattas and the Brahmins work together. But the influence of the Brahmin community in politics is limited, though they have a number of leaders.

Bengal is the only state in India where there is no caste politics. What counts here is the party you are affiliated to and not the caste. There are a number of leaders from the Brahmin community. But the Brahmin community as whole is not very prosperous.

In most of the cities we have a Maharashtra Nivas, Malayali Samaj, and Bengali association where all the Maharashtrians, Malaylis, and Bengalis gather irrespective of caste. How come the Tamilians are not able to do it?

It is only because of total lack of unity among the Tamilians. The conflict between sects, regions, and communities is carried on everywhere. To quote an example the Brahmins from Chola Nadu and Pandya Nadu find it difficult to come together even for religious observances. Of course this is true only when they are in larger numbers. The situation in Tamil Nadu is reflected everywhere.

All Bengalis celebrate Durga Utsav.

All Malayalis (including the Pandi Pattars) celebrate Vishu.

All Maharashrtrians celebrate Ganpathy Utsav and Mahrati new year day.

Is there any festival that all Tamilians irrespective of caste, community celebrate?

 

[Nacchinarkiniyan]

From 1947 to 1967

India got its independence in 1947. There is a feature about the Independence movement which is peculiar to Tamil Nadu. Here we had a major party the Dravida Kazhakam ( previously Justice party) which was opposed to Freedom for India. They were demanding an independent nation. Dravida Kazhakam observed the independence day as a Dhukka Thinam by wearing black badges.

But many of the younger people who broke away to form DMK later did not like this decision and welcomed Independence. The DMK was formed in 1949.

In almost all states all the parties have atleast the Freedom movement in common when they worked together. But in Tamil Nadu Freedom movement is rarely ever talked about.

A strange fact is the opposition to Independence from many of the orthodox Brahmins. In our village many of the elder members of the community thought that we were better off under the British. This led to bitter quarrels between the older and the younger Brahmins.

In 1952 Indian Indian national congress won the elections. The party was in power till 1967. The victory of the INC proved that the people of Tamil Nadu in general welcomed Independence for India.

At this point a big boost was given to the anti-Brahmin movement by the decision to introduce caste based Kula Kalvi Thittam. The opposition to this retrograde step led to the resignation of the then Chief Minister. This also led during the subsequent years to the consolidation of the anti_brahminical forces.

The Congress governments in Tamil Nadu, in order to win popular support adapted a covert anti_Brahmin stand. There was an interview for admission to professional colleges. The elimination was done at this stage. There were Brahmin ministers in the state and center. They did very little to counter this. The main reason was that it did not affect the rich and the powerful. It affected only the poor and those who could not get recommendations from someone who is powerful.

This sort of nepotism ruled not only Tamil Nadu but the entire India. Nepotism had been practiced for centuries in India.

When it came to employment again the very same Nepotism ruled absolutely both in the government and the private sector. All the industries in Tamil Nadu preferred to employ people from their own community. Though there were a number of industrial units which were owned by Brahmins, they generally employed only people from their own village/district/region. Even here only those belonging to a sect. It went down to even sub-sect level. Of course they employed Brahmins from the rich and powerful families.

The practice of Nepotism by the South Indians including Tamil Brahmins was the major reason for the formation of Shiva Sena in Maharashtra.

Even in IAS and other central service recruitment, there was an interview where nepotism prevailed. There were many who scored well in the written examination, but could not make it in the interview.

Even in the late sixties and early seventies there are instances like a third class B.A being preferred over a MBA in marketing from IIM, Ahmedabad for employment in the marketing department. Even a M.S from U.S had very little value in Tamil Nadu. This situation changed only when these companies were on the verge of Bankruptcy because of this maman macchan policy.

This slow elimination of Brahmins from positions of power and influence continued under the various Congress governments.

The general improvement in the Brahmin community came only when the popular sentiment ran against Nepotism. Opening of IITs, RECs, IIMs and later common entrance examinations ensured that Merit at last had some value.

In the employment sector emergence of LIC,nationalization of banks, public sector undertakings increased the employment opportunities. Not that there was no Nepotism here, but the Unions forced them to have common qualification tests.

Note: I have made a number of observation in the above post. These could very well qualify for the term"sweeping statements". These are based on my observations and study for decades.

This definitely needs feedback and discussions especially from the older members of the group.

Please post your comment.

Thanks.