There is a certain trend of anti-Brahmin bigotry that has been mainstreamed across certain regions in India. The very intellectuals who would foam at the mouth over mythical Islamophobia are often more than willing to ignore the Nazi-like propaganda against Brahmins and occasionally, even indulge in it themselves.
Today, we shall take a glance at some of the literature that is passed off as profound wisdom in sections of Tamil Nadu and the depths of depravity to which Dravidian politics has sunk a once proud and prosperous land with a grand and glorious history.
In the spirit of quite a few threads today, a curated thread on Dravidianist obsession with brAhmaNa-s
1. Book title: Money grabbing pArppanar-s (pArppanan was a noble word for brAhmaNas from saNGam texts; now used as a pejorative) pic.twitter.com/ijX6k7QuKW— āṅgīrasa śreṣṭha (@GhorAngirasa) August 8, 2018
Brahmins were also described as having serpent heads in the cover of one book.
Book: Aryan Rule (Cover shows serpentine-headed brAhmaNa, holding a trishUla and hissing angrily) pic.twitter.com/T2KGYCqrUb
— āṅgīrasa śreṣṭha (@GhorAngirasa) August 8, 2018
Even the great Rajaraja Chola was not spared by some Dravidianists.
Book: Is rAjarAja chOzhan a slave of pArppAns?
One of the greatest sons of the Tamizh country, a king with few parallels if any, the great rAjarAja I, disrespected in his own land…. pic.twitter.com/DbIK1xFQCb
— āṅgīrasa śreṣṭha (@GhorAngirasa) August 8, 2018
In the cover illustrations of a couple of books, the sacred thread of the Brahmanas is depicted as strangling the life out of a non-Brahmin. One of them is by Kancha Ilaiah, a darling of Indian liberals.
Book: The pArppAn has not changed & will never change; shUdras & AdishUdras have changed!
(Note cover illustration of brAhmaNa with serpentine sacred thread, with the serpent-thread having trapped a non-brAhmaNa in a tight, fatal grip; much like a python) pic.twitter.com/rGCV84Qfwq— āṅgīrasa śreṣṭha (@GhorAngirasa) August 8, 2018
Book: Why I am not a Hindu by Kancha Ilaiah (Tamizh translation)
Book cover: similar to a cover that has already been seen earlier. brAhmaNa’s thread snuffing the life out of a non-brAhmaNa like a boa-constrictor/python. pic.twitter.com/sRSloGPQpS— āṅgīrasa śreṣṭha (@GhorAngirasa) August 8, 2018
One of them portrays a Brahmin as performing some sort of sorcery with his hands.
Book: Indian Heritage and pArppana distortion
See the cover: pArppAn doing his brahmanical sorcery and trapping you in his juju magic. pic.twitter.com/00sdfcNmUc— āṅgīrasa śreṣṭha (@GhorAngirasa) August 8, 2018
The seriousness of the matter can be gauged from the fact that one such book, ‘Aryan Mayai’, was written by former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, C.N. Annadurai.
Book: Aryan mAyai (Aryan mAyA, Aryan magic)
Note cover with an evil brAhmaNa smiling as he is about to unleash the black-magic of brahminism.
Author of this diatribe against brAhmaNas? C M Annadurai. The very first Chief Minister of TN in Independent India. pic.twitter.com/gfYNsSLMHJ— āṅgīrasa śreṣṭha (@GhorAngirasa) August 8, 2018
In all these books, the Brahmins have been described as evil and malicious who indulge in intricate conspiracies to oppress non-Brahmins and suck the life out of them. Parts of Tamil Nadu has a terrible record when it comes to caste-related violence. Even earlier this year, Brahmin men were attacked in Chennai and their sacred threads were cut off allegedly by Periyarists.
The extent to which anti-Brahmin bigotry is normalized in Indian intellectual circles can be gauged from the fact that an activist associated with Amnesty International called for targeted violence against Brahmins and escaped without any consequence. Another journalist wished that Brahmins are settled in Kashmir without any protection from the state knowing fully well what it implied. In our intellectual circles, it is quite acceptable, perhaps even fashionable, to blame all the ills of the world on the Brahmins and fan communal and caste hatred.
