Decaying of the Dravidian Movement
KVasan
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Circle Digest Thursday, April 13 2000 Volume 2000 : Number 20=
33
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Date: Wed, 12 Apr 2000 20:40:40 -0700
From: Shan Ranjit <shanr...@earthlink.net>
Subject: DECAYING OF THE DRAVIDIAN MOVEMENT By Shan Ranjit
THE DECAYING OF THE DRAVIDIAN MOVEMENT
1925, VILLIPURM, TMIL NADU: It was a scorching day in the blistering
Tamil Nadu summer. Goplan- an eight-year old boy belonging to the weaver
caste- had walked almost seven miles to his school in Villipuram from
his remote village. Sweat was pouring from all over his body, and the
boy was on the verge of collapsing due to dehydration. Then to his
excitement, he saw a wayside hotel, with a jug full of water placed out
side. He ran towards the jug, dipped the tumbler in to it. As he was
about to quench his thirst, he felt a thundering slap on his face,
pushed to the ground and beaten by the owner of the hotel. As he felt to
the ground, he saw the board =91 Brahmin hotel =91 at the top of the hot=
el.
It was only then that Gopaln realized his grave mistake- drinking water
from a Brahmin hotel.
It was such atrocities and cruelties practiced by the Tamil
NaduBrahmins in the early part of the last century, that catapulted a
man by the name E.V.Ramasamy Naiaker- fondly called Periyar by his
admirers - in to the Tamil Nadu politics. It was Periyar who started
the Dravidian movement in Tamil Nadu demanding self respect for all the
non-Brahmins. Like Moses freeing the Jews from the Egyptian slavery, it
was Periyar who freed millions of Tamil Nadu Tamils from the Brahmin
slavery.
It is most unfortunate that today, all the dominant Dravidian partiesand
their leaders have not only mortgaged, but are manipulated by the
Brahmin interests. It is sad that the Dravidian movement in Tamil Nadu
has lost it goal and decaying. To understand the zeal and the philosophy
of the Dravidian movement, it is essential to know some thing about
Periyar=92s life history and what made him to launch his Dravidian
movement.
EARLY LIFE OF PERIYAR:
Periyar was born in 1879 =96 ten years after Gandhi-. His parents were
well to do Hindu merchants. He had his early education in a
Catholicschool. Studies never attracted Periyar. After some time,
Periyar dropped out of school, and helped his father with the business.
PERIYAR: NAKED SADU IN KASHI:
When Periyar was twenty years of age, he was disillusioned with his
worldly life. He wanted to experience the spiritual side of the world.
He renounced everything, and went to Banaras (Kashi). Here, he lived as
a naked Sanyasi (monk), meditating and uttering gods=92 name all the
time. He begged for his food, and slept along the banks of Ganges.
However the hope of finding some kind of spiritual illumination never
came, and he left Banaras for his hometown, disappointed with himself
and the life style of Banaras.
PERIYAR AND GANDHI:
When Periyar returned to his hometown around 1920, he joined the
localmunicipal politics, and eventually joined the Indian National
Congress of Mahatma Gandhi. He actively supported and participated in
Gandhi=92s handloom campaign and non- cooperation movement. But he was
disgusted with the way the Non- Brahmins were treated by the Brahmins
even within the Gandhian movement. Non-Brahmins were not allowed free
entry in to the temples; they were absolutely barred from entering from
the inner sanctum sanctorum. He was furious when the Brahmins priests
would throw the holy ash from a distance in to the hands of
Non-Brahmins inside the temples. Only Brahmins could take a bath in the
temple pond, and take the water to do the pooja in side the sanctum
sanctorum. Non Brahmins were not allowed to walk on the lane where the
temples were located. He was hurt when he found out that even in
schools that were run by the Ramakrishna mission foundation, the
Brahmins teachers would tell the Non-Brahmins students that they were
fit only to graze cows, and not for any formal education.
The incident that catapulted Periayar in to the national politics took
place in Trivndaram in the state of Kerala in the early twenties of last
century. Within the compound of Royal palace there was a temple and
the law courts. One day, a sacred temple ceremony was going on, and a
lawyer by the name Madhavan- non Brahmin- was not allowed walk past the
temple to enter the courts. This resulted in protest, and the Maharaja
jailed the protesters. Periyar came to Kerala, campaigned for a whole
year until the temple lane was opened for the Non- Brahmins.
However, the final break with Gandhi came when at a congress
school=96run by the Gandhi=92s party- Brahmin children were fed separatel=
y
from the Non-Brahmin children. The matter was reported to Gandhi: but
his reponse was ambiguous and lighthearted. At this juncture, Periyar
broke away from Gandhi and the Congress party and formed the
Self-respect movement in 1925.
PERIYAR AND THE DRAVIDIAN MOVEMENT:
For the next fifty years =96 he died in December, 1974 at the age of
ninety five =96 wearing a black shirt, he campaigned against Brahminism
and Hinduism; He campaigned against Congress party and casteism; He
mocked at the foolish and insane Hindu beliefs and customs; He
passionately fought for the right of Tamil Nadu women. He traveled from
village to village in Tamil Nadu conducting self-respect marriages for
Non- Brahmins without priests or religious vows. He conducted all his
ceremonies in the most inauspicious times. He began his discourses by
saying, =93 There is no god. He who invented God is a fool. He who
propagates God is a fool. He who worships God is a barbarian.=94 His
rejection of God was his rejection of the Brahmins and their language
(sanskrit). Periyar was hoping to establish a Dravidian, non-
BrahminState called Dravidstan.
Periyar was single minded and obsessed to rein the Brahmin political
and economic power and transfer it to the majority- non Brahmins. A
fiery Tamil poet Bahrathidasan- belonging to weaver caste ably assisted
him in this endeavor.
PERIYAR; BURIYANI AND FRUGALITY
Periyar was a large man. He ate enormous portions of food. His food
mainly consisted of Buriyani with mutton, beef or pork; However, he was
never fussy about his food. Periyar was well known for his frugality
when it came to money. He would tell his supporters that instead of
garlanding him, to give two rupees to the party. He charged for his
signature and speeches. When he had ninety-nine rupees, he would ask
for another rupee to make in to a hundred-rupee note and deposit in the
bank. He invested his money wisely in mills and banks. In 1953, he
bought Periyar Thiddal in Madras- a vast expanse of grounds close to the
then tram station. By 1973, Periayr was worth about Twenty million
Indian rupees. It is reported that his property is now worth about 20
crores.
PERIYAR MARRIES MANIAMMAI: HE SEVENTY, SHE THIRTY-ONE.
In 1949, Periyar=92s party split over his decision to marry a young
woman, Maniammai. Her parents were Periyar=92s followers. Manniamai was
opposed to her parents plan to get her married to a relative. Hence she
left the house. When Periyar came to know about this, he brought
Manniamai to his house in Erode. She functioned as his secretary cum
nurse. Six years later they were married. He was seventy, and she was
thirty-one at that time. Their marriage lasted for 21 years, and she
outlived Periyar only five years. There were many reasons cited for
this odd marriage. However, insiders insist that Periyar =96 who had
accumulated large wealth in his name - did not want this money to go to
his relatives. He wanted the money to be used for the Dravidian cause,
and felt that the only person whom he could trust was his nurse cum
secretary.
DRAVIDIAN MOVEMENT TODAY: RUDDERLESS AND LOOKING FOR DIRECTION
Periyar had only one goal: transfer the political power from the
Brahmins to the Non Brahmins. To achieve this he used various ways,
including his bitter attack on Hinduism that the Brahmins used as a
scapegoat to perpetuate their atrocities. His goal was achieved when the
first Dravidian party came to power in Tamil Nadu in 1967. Like the
conservative movement in US having lost his zeal at present- after their
convincing victories over the global communism and socialism- the
Dravidian movement has lost its ability to energize the people because
it had not identified any new causes since coming to power. Instead of
promoting the interests and prosperity of the Dravidians, it=92s ironic
that the present Dravidian leaders have selfishly promoted the
interests/prosperity of their sons, nephews and their girlfriends
BRAHMINS MASTERS AND MISTRESSES.
Taking undue advantage of the disunity among the Dravidians, the
Brahmins who had been on the political sideline for some time, are
influencing and shaping the Dravidian movement today. It is not only
ironic but also frightening that the Brahmins either control or secretly
influence the Dravidian parties at present.
The first major split in the Dravidian movement came when the young
fire bands in the party opposed Periyar marrying Maniammai, and formed a
new party (DMK) in 1947. At least Periyar was sincere and honest, and
publicly married this young woman. Can this be said of those Dravidian
leaders who opposed Periyar=92s marriage? It is not only ironic bur
hilarious that some of these very Dravidian leaders would later go on to
set up =91Chinna Veddus =91 (second houses) throughout the state. Some ti=
mes
the occupants of these =91Chinna Veddus=92 were none other than Brahmins.
In 1972, MGR broke from DMK and formed AIADMK. At that time he had
claimed that he was expelled from DMK when he had questioned some of the
accounting practices of the party. But it is an open secret that the
Congress party- dominated by the North Indian Brahmins =96 had engineered
the split to break the dominance of the Dravidian movement in Tamil
Nadu. MGR was only used as a scapegoat in this matter. The late MGR who
happened to be a Kerala Brahmin would be the undisputed and most popular
leader of the Dravidian people for almost a decade until his death in
1987. His inner circle mainly consisted of Malayalaee Brahmins. His
concubines mostly belonged to the Brahmin caste. It is an open secret
that MGR who had promised to marry one of his young Brahmin mistresses
at a famous temple located on a hilltop backed out at the last minute
due to his fledging political career. He also flouted the most
important ideological principle of Perriayar and the Dravidian movement
=96 atheism =96 by being an avid temple visitor.
Following MGR=92s death, there was a fierce struggle for the leadership.
However it was an Iyeangar Brahmin woman from Karnataka =96 Jayalalitha =96
who ultimately succeeded him.
However mother of all insults to Periyar and the Dravidian movement
comes from none other than Veeramani, the successor of Periyar and
Manniammai. He heads the oldest Dravidian party (Dravida Kalagham
formed by Periyar himself). Today, the man not only wags his tail but
has fallen at the feet of the Kannada Iyangar =91Amma=92 form Poes garden=
.
What more insults does Periyar and the Dravidian movement need? I have
no doubt that Periyar - who is buried in Periyar Thiddal in the center
of Chennai - must have died a second time over the sorry state of
affairs of his beloved Dravidian movement.
In conclusion, unless the Dravidian movement finds new exciting
issues- like eradication of caste system among the non Brahmins,
economic prosperity, abolition of the shameful female infanticide, and
fighting the rising Brahmin anarchy (shrewdly being projected as the
=93hinduvata=94)- the demise of the Dravidian movement is certain.
Shan Ranjit.
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Circle Digest Saturday, April 22 2000 Volume 2000 : Number 20=
42
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Date: Sat, 22 Apr 2000 07:48:06 -0700
From: "V. Thangavelu" <atha...@sprint.ca>
Subject: Fw: Decaying of Dravidian Movement-"V. Thangavelu
Shan Ranjit
I wish to congratulate you you for a well written and down to earth
account of the Dravidian Movement. There is no doubt that Brahmins'
behind the scene manipulative politics is on the ascend. You should
Have mentioned the fact that Cho these days is Chief Minister
Karunanidhi's unofficial political advisor par excellence!
You appear to have made a slip in portraying MGR as a MalayaleeBrahmin.
Actually he belongs to the Menon caste which is non-brahmin. In fact
he was born in Kandy and by one account his farther was a law clerk or
something to that effect. Any way his childhood history remains obscure.
For all intense and purposes the Dravidian Movement has lost its steam
and its continued survival has become a big question mark.
I have met and spoken to MGR once. That was long time ago - in 1960. Yes
he looks very fair, but most Malayalees are fair too. The Namboothiri
Brahmins from the North migrated in large numbers and they are largely
responsible for the demise of the Tamil language and the birth of
Malayalam.=3D20
Even from the days of Sankam era, the Chera kings became more aryanised
than the Pandiyas and Cholas. They easily fell for the guiles of Brahmin
priests and performed yagnas - foolishly thinking it will give them long
life, prosperity and a place in heaven. Alas all the three dynasties
disappeared by the 13th century. The empire built by the imperial Cholas
crumbled (Raja Rajan and his son Rajendra 1 and others) like castles
built on sand within a matter of 300 years.
These kings spent their wealth on building temples and settling
thousands of Brahmin priests brought from far away Kashmir and Varanasi
(Kasi) in Tamil soil. They accepted the superiority of the Brahmins,
perpetuated the caste system and thus help paralyze, alienate and weaken
the Tamil race. Raja Rajan could not even place his statue inside the
Thanchai Periyakovil temple he built because of opposition from the
Brahmin priests who maintained that the sanctity of the temple would be
sullied! To this day his statue stands in the open soiled daily by the
droppings of crows!=3D20
Incidentally the Hindu ceremony Kudamulukku (Kumbhavishekam) is nothing
more than a purification ceremony to dispel the "theeddu" brought about
by thousands of Tamil masons, sculptors, carpenters and other "low
castes" who built the temple! Thus you see the very Tamils who helped
built the temple are ostracized by the high caste Brahmins! And foolish
Tamils accept this inferior status to this day without even a murmur!
This is the greatest triumph of Brahminism that made the indigenous
Tamils themselves to belief and accept an inferior status in society.
MGR did not openly visit temples. If he did, he did it on the sly. But
he was very popular with the masses - thanks to the image he built
acting in roles as a brave, daring, benevolent, caring and compassionate
hero. To his credit he lived up to the image he built to a very high
degree. He was a philanthropist and gave away all he earned to the poor
and the downtrodden. This was in stark contrast to Shivaji Ganesan whose
entry into politics was an unmitigated disaster over which he still
feels sour.
MGR never smoked nor took alcohol both in films and in real life. In the
films he acted it was the heroines who fell in love with him and not the
other way around. He saw to it that the screens script is cast that way-
if not he insisted on change.
Very recently I heard a story about him. A Tamil woman who was a refugee
in Tamil Nadu was served with an expulsion notice by the Immigration
authorities. She wrote an appeal to MGR. Promptly MGR wrote back and
assured the nervous woman that as long as he was the Chief Minister she
need have no fear of being unceremoniously kicked out. It was MGR who
cut a day's pay from all state employees and handed over 4.5 crore of
rupees to Prabhakaran!
I read the comments of Naveen. He is being brain washed by persons like
N. Ram of the frontline. He is suffering from a complex and that is not
surprising when Tamils were in a stupor for over 2000 years till Periyar
emerged as the Messiah. Like Moses his mission was only
half-accomplished. Before he died he bitterly observed that he is
leaving the Tamils with the stigma as Sudras. But there is no doubt he
laid the foundation for the emancipation of the Tamils socially on which
others should build on. Naveen is speaking about opposition to
Brahminism and not Brahmins. That is just a question of semantics-
playing with words. Tamils are opposed to Brahminism and not Brahmins
was a subterfuge resorted by Anna to win over Brahmin votes (4% of the
population).
I am yet to come across a Brahmin who has married into a non-Brahmin
family in the Northeast. More than the Brahmins it is Hinduism which is
perpetuating the caste system. And one cannot destroy caste that is a
symptom without destroying Hinduism the disease! Naveen says that even
non-Brahmin Tamils are practicing casteism. Yes, but their casteism is
not in par with Brahmins. No non-Brahmin high caste Tamils can ever
become priests in Hindu temples no matter how pious and devoted they may
be in real life!
Even after 2000 years the Tamil Nadu Brahmins have never given up their
Aryan culture and language. To them Sanskrit is still the language of
gods and Tamil is "Neesha pasha"! Those who entertain any doubt on this
score must ask Sankarachchariar of Kanchi! The Brahmins bible is Geethai
and Thirukkural -a classic masterpiece on Tamil ethical and worldly
thinking - is still anathema to them!
The more I read Tamil literature, the more I become angry with not the
Brahmins, but with our imbecile forefathers. There was opposition to
Hinduism by Siththas (Hinduism is 90% Brahminism and 10% Tamilism), but
it was feeble and disorganized. The four great Saiva Savants did decry
casteism, but never called for its destruction. This is because three
out of the four were themselves Brahmins!
There are exceptions. Poet Bharathi is one of them. He decried and
ridiculed the Brahmins as a social class which no other non-Brahmin did
before him. He gave poise to the Tamil language and dignity to Tamils as
a race. Not surprisingly Bharathi was ostracized from the Brahminic-fold
by the Brahmins of his time. I intend writing a rebuttal to Naveen when
I find the time. With regards.
Thangavelu=3D20
P.S. Jeyalalitha says she was born in Tamil Nadu, but migrated to Mysore
when her grand-farther took up job in Maharaja's palace.
------------------------------
DECAYING OF THE DRAVIDIAN MOVEMENT
VSabnis431
India as a nation.What the Brahmins did is not the fault of the religion. In
Ramayana, Ram embraces Dravid Dalit Shabari in the South and asks for her
blessings. Remeber Lord Krishna was a dark skinned man. Hiduism is not
Brahminism.
Spirituality is necessary for an individual, for a society, for a nation. In
the last days of Roman empire they became so selfish, atheist and hedonists
that ordinary people converted to Christianity and so did their King
Constantine.
One solution would be to create alternate temples without any rituals of idol
worship and karmakandas. Then nobody will need the brahmins.Ordinary people
will go and say their prayers, sing bhajans, work for the poor and
disadvantaged and offer prayers to God through selfless service rather than
Abhisekas and Maharudras. In stead of wasting hours and hours on idols, that
time would be well spent on living humans of flesh and bones.
In short religion should stay for our political survival, but it should
undergo a cultural revolution. It should truly connect people spiritually.
Vijay S.