Anti-Brahminism

Last updated

Anti-Brahminism is a term used in opposition to caste based hierarchal social order which places Brahmins at its highest position. [1] [web 1] Initial expressions of Anti-Brahminism emerged from instances of pre-colonial opposition to the caste system in India, ideological influences during the colonial period, [2] and from a colonialist Protestant Christian understanding of religion in the 19th century, which viewed "Brahminism" as a corrupted religion imposed on the Indian population. [3]

Contents

Ambedkar and some Hindu Reformists structured their criticism along similar lines following the 19th century criticism of "Brahminism," [3] opposing the dominant position Brahmins had acquired by the time of British rule in the 19th century.

However, anti-Brahminism has also manifested as an anti-Brahmin sentiment, notably during the Dravidian movement and the Self-Respect Movement in the 20th century, and even in the 21st century among some followers of Periyar.

Definitions

"Brahminism" refers both to the historical Brahmanical tradition and ideology of the late Vedic period (ca.1100-500 BCE), as to

...a sociopolitical ideology that encodes a memory of an ideal past and a vision of society in the future, one in which Brahmins occupy the highest place [...] their superior position in society and their superior knowledge stems from birth. This makes them naturally, intrinsically superior to all other humans [...] Brahmanism then is the most perfect form of conservatism, a status quoist ideology par excellence, entirely suitable to elites who wish to perpetuate their social status, power and privilege. [web 1]

"Anti-Brahminism" or "Non-Brahminism" is a movement in opposition to caste based discrimination and hierarchical social order which places Brahmins at its highest position. [1] [web 1] B. R. Ambedkar stated:

By Brahmanism, I do not mean the power, privileges and interests of Brahmins as a community. That is not the sense in which I am using the word. By Brahmanism, I mean the negation of the spirit of Liberty, Equality and Fraternity. [web 2]

History

Pre-Colonial times

According to Novetzke, initial expressions of Anti-Brahminism emerged from instances of pre-colonial opposition to the caste system, ideological influences during the colonial period. [2]

19th century colonialism

According to Gelders and Delders, the structure of present-day anti-Brahminism has its roots in 19th century India and colonial views on the position and influence of Brahmins. 19th century colonial rulers viewed India's culture as corrupt and degenerate, and its population irrational. In this view, derived from a Protestant Christian understanding of religion, rooted in the Protestant opposition against the Catholic Church, the original "God-given religion" was corrupted by (Catholic) priests, which was extended by comparison to the Brahmins in India, and the Brahmin-dominated type of Hinduism, for which the term "Brahminism" was used, was supposedly imposed on the Indian population. [3]

20th century

In the late 19th and early 20th century, with the rise of nationalist and rationalist movements, criticism against Brahminism came from both Brahmins and from low-caste Hindu communities. Ambedkar along with Hindu Reformists, structured their criticism along similar lines following the 19th century criticism of "Brahminism." [3]

According to Beteille, in Tamil Nadu the traditional position of Brahmins had been enforced with the beginning of British rule, profiting from western education and turning to an urban lifestyle. [4] They monopolized the new urban jobs and entered the Indian Civil Service, gaining strongholds in government and bureaucracy, [4] and also dominated the Congress Party. [5] This widened the gap between Brahmins and non-Brahmins, but opposition quickly mounted. [5] Anti-Brahminism became organized with the formation of the Justice Party in late 1916 in Tamil Nadu. This party was composed of non-Brahmins (who were typically part of either the feudal castes, land-owning agricultural castes, or merchant castes) and was committed to enhancing the opportunities for non-Brahmins. [6] With the dawn of the 20th century, and the rapid penetration of western education and western ideas, there was a rise in consciousness amongst the lower castes who felt that rights which were legitimately theirs were being denied to them. [5] In 1920, when the Justice Party came to power, Brahmins occupied about 70 percent of the high level posts in the government. [web 3] After reservation was introduced by the Justice Party, it reversed this trend, allowing non-Brahmins to rise in the government of the Madras Presidency.[ citation needed ] In the 1930s, anti-Brahmanism was disseminated among the masses by the Self-Respect Movement. [7]

One of the most prominent proponents of Anti-Brahminism was Dalit leader B. R. Ambedkar. Another prominent proponent was Dravidian leader Periyar E. V. Ramasamy.[ citation needed ]

Periyar called on both Brahmins and non-Brahmins to shun Brahminism. [8] However, Ramaswamy did make incendiary statements towards the encouragement of violence against the Brahmin community: "Pambaium parpanaium partha parpanai adi" — If you see a snake and a Brahmin, beat the Brahmin. [9] [10] [11] Ramasamy also claimed, on several occasions, that to eliminate the caste system, driving away the Brahmins was crucial. [12] [13]

In October 1957, he supposedly called upon his followers to kill Brahmins and set fire to their houses. [14] On 3 November 1957, Dravidar Kazhagam held a convention in Thanjavur under Ramasamy's leadership and demanded that the Government of India delete provisions from the Constitution dealing with religious freedom (which, they believed, gave protection to the caste system and particularly to Brahmins), and if they failed to do so the copies of the Constitution would be burnt, and portraits and statues of Mahatma Gandhi would be broken; if it produced no results, the Dravidar Kazhagam members would be asked to kill Brahmins and burn their residential localities. These statements prompted the then Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru to write to K. Kamaraj who was the Chief Minister of Madras State (Tamil Nadu) at that time, urging him to deal with this matter without delay. [15] The Dravidian nationalist's call to "kill Tamil Brahmins" at a 1973 speech in Karaikudi is still echoed in the 21st century by regional parties. [16]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iyer</span> Tamil Brahmin caste

Iyers are an ethnoreligious community of Tamil-speaking Brahmins. Most Iyers are followers of the Advaita philosophy propounded by Adi Shankara and adhere to the Smarta tradition. This is in contrast to the Iyengar community, who are adherents of Sri Vaishnavism. The Iyers and the Iyengars are together referred to as Tamil Brahmins. The majority of Iyers reside in Tamil Nadu, India.

The Justice Party, officially the South Indian Liberal Federation, was a political party in the Madras Presidency of British India. It was established on 20 November 1916 in Victoria Public Hall in Madras by Dr C. Natesa Mudaliar and co-founded by T. M. Nair, P. Theagaraya Chetty and Alamelu Mangai Thayarammal as a result of a series of non-Brahmin conferences and meetings in the presidency. Communal division between Brahmins and non-Brahmins began in the presidency during the late-19th and early-20th century, mainly due to caste prejudices and disproportionate Brahminical representation in government jobs. The Justice Party's foundation marked the culmination of several efforts to establish an organisation to represent the non-Brahmins in Madras and is seen as the start of the Dravidian Movement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dravidar Kazhagam</span> Anti-caste social movement

Dravidar Kazhagam is a social movement founded by 'Periyar' E. V. Ramasamy. Its original goals were to eradicate the ills of the existing caste and class system including untouchability and on a grander scale to obtain a "Dravida Nadu" from the Madras Presidency. Dravidar Kazhagam would in turn give birth to many other political parties, including Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and later the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">C. N. Annadurai</span> Indian politician (1909–1969)

Conjeevaram Natarajan Annadurai, also known as Perarignar, was an Indian politician who was the founder and first general-secretary of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK). He served as the fourth and last chief minister of Madras State from 1967 until 1969, and then as the first chief minister of Tamil Nadu for 20 days before his death in office. He was the first member of a Dravidian party to hold either post.

Dravida Nadu is a name of a proposed sovereign state demanded by the Justice Party led by the founder of the self-respect movement, Periyar, and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) led by C. N. Annadurai for the speakers of the Dravidian languages in South India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gail Omvedt</span> American-born Indian sociologist (1941–2021)

Gail Omvedt was an American-born Indian sociologist and human rights activist. She was a prolific writer and published numerous books on the anti-caste movement, Dalit politics, and women's struggles in India. Omvedt was involved in Dalit and anti-caste movements, environmental, farmers' and women's movements, especially with rural women.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thol. Thirumavalavan</span> Indian politician (born 1962)

Tholkappiyan Thirumavalavan, better known as Thol. Thirumavalavan is a political leader, scholar and activist from the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. He is a Member of Parliament from Chidambaram. Leader and President of Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi. He rose to prominence in the 1990s as a bahujan leader, and formally entered politics in 1999. His political platform centres on ending caste-based discrimination and consequently the caste system. He has also expressed support for Tamil nationalist movements in Sri Lanka.

Dravidian parties include an array of regional political parties in the state of Tamil Nadu, India, which trace their origins and ideologies either directly or indirectly to the Justice Party and the Dravidian movement of C. Natesanar and Periyar E. V. Ramasamy. The Dravidian movement was based on the linguistic divide in India, where most of the Northern Indian, Eastern Indian and Western Indian languages are classified as Indo-Aryan, whereas the South Indian languages are classified as Dravidian. Dravidian politics has developed by associating itself to the Dravidian community. The original goal of Dravidian politics was to achieve social equality, but it later championed the cause of ending the domination of North India over the politics and economy of the South Indian province known as Madras Presidency.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Periyar</span> Indian social activist and politician (1879–1973)

Erode Venkatappa Ramasamy, commonly known as Periyar, was an Indian social activist and politician. He was the organizer of the Self-Respect Movement and Dravidar Kazhagam and is considered the architect of Dravidian politics, as well as a leading figure of left-wing politics in India.

C. Iyothee Thass was an Indian anti-caste activist and a practitioner of Siddha medicine. He famously converted to Buddhism and called upon the Paraiyars to do the same, arguing that this was their original religion. He also founded the Panchamar Mahajana Sabha in 1891 along with Rettamalai Srinivasan. Panchamas are the ones who are outcastes.

Tamil Brahmins have been portrayed both positively and negatively in popular media. These portrayals extend across both literature and film.

Dravidian parties rose to power and prominence in the political stage of Tamil Nadu, a state in India, in the 1960s. The rise in power and political support was gradual until Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), a Dravidian party, formed the government in the state in 1967. Although since the 1970s the Dravidian parties have met with many break-aways and have taken rival stances against each other, the seat of power in Tamil Nadu has been with one or another Dravidian party. The increase in popularity of the Dravidian parties in the 1960s is attributed to several factors, including the fall of popularity of the Congress Government in the centre and the north–south disparity, as claimed by the Dravidian politics. The series of events climaxed with anti-Hindi agitation which led to the downfall of popularity of the then Indian National Congress government in the state and the eventual rise of Dravidian parties to power.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Religious views of Periyar</span>

The religious beliefs of Periyar involved opposition to religion virulently because, in his views, the so-called men of religion invented myths and superstitions to keep the innocent and ignorant people in darkness and to go on exploiting them. He was an atheist and a rationalist in his own right. Periyar had been a harsh critic of Brahminical Hinduism in Tamil Nadu, and he also criticized Islam, Buddhism and Christianity. He has spoken appreciatively of these other faiths in India finding in their ethics principles of equality and justice, thus advocating them if they can prove an alternative to Brahamanic Hinduism. With regards to institutionalized religion being used for personal gain, Periyar stated that "religion goes hand in hand with superstition and fear. Religion prevents progress and suppresses man. Religion exploits the suppressed classes." As religions, however they are prone to be hit by accusation of superstition, exploitation and irrationalism.

Tamil cinema has played a vital role in Dravidian politics in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Films have been influential in Indian politics since the days of the British Raj, when movies were used for anti-British propaganda. Nevertheless, the leaders of the Indian National Congress viewed movie media with contempt. It was the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), a Dravidian party, that made extensive use of this media for propaganda purposes. Adversaries of Dravidian parties despised the use of films and screen popularity for political gain, and Congress leaders like K. Kamaraj questioned the possibility of movie stars forming governments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anti-Hindi agitation of 1937–1940</span>

The anti-Hindi imposition agitation of 1937–1940 refers to a series of protests that happened in Madras Province of British India during 1937–1940. It was launched in 1937 in opposition to the introduction of compulsory teaching of Hindi in the schools of the province by the Indian National Congress government led by C. Rajagopalachari (Rajaji). This move was immediately opposed by Periyar and the opposition Justice Party. The agitation, which lasted for about 30 months, was multifaceted and involved fasts, conferences, marches, picketing and protests. The government responded with a crackdown resulting in the death of two protesters and the arrest of 1,198 persons including women and children. The mandatory Hindi education was later withdrawn by the British governor of Madras Lord Erskine in February 1940 after the resignation of the Congress government in 1939.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Self-Respect Movement</span> Social movement for lower-caste equity

The Self-Respect Movement is a popular human rights movement originating in South India aimed at achieving social equality for those oppressed by the Indian caste system, advocating for lower castes to develop self-respect. It was reportedly founded by Periyar to head the India against Brahminism movement in Tamil Nadu.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">V. Geetha</span> Indian feminist activist

V. Geetha is an Indian feminist activist who writes on issues related to caste, gender, education and civil rights. She operates from Madras and has carried out research on the nature and proliferation of NGOs operating in Tamil Nadu. She has set up the federation of women's groups in the state and is also the editorial director at Tara Books. Other than this, she has translated two of Perumal Murugan's novels into English. Based on her research, she has observed that "Violence as an experience seemed to me to represent a point of intersection of trajectories of hurt, touch, love, fear, hunger and shame. It seemed to inhere as much in the grime of every day life, in habitual tone, gesture and touch, as it did in the particular and determined act of violence."

Saminathan Dharmambal (1890–1959) was an Indian social activist and women's rights activist. She is remembered for her contributions to the Tamil language and involvement in the Anti-Hindi agitation of 1937–40. In 1951, she was given the title of vira Tamil annai.

S. Ramanathan was an Indian politician who served as the minister of Madras Presidency in the Congress-led government of 1937.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ambedkarism</span> Philosophy or ideology of B. R. Ambedkar

Ambedkarism is called as the teaching, ideology or philosophy of B.R. Ambedkar, an Indian economist, barrister, social reformer, and the first of Minister of Law and Justice in the first cabinet of Jawaharlal Nehru. Ambedkarism includes special focus on subjects such as fraternity, democracy, communal electorates, conversion out of Hinduism, political power, rule of law, Navayana, among others. An Ambedkarite is one who follows the philosophy of Ambedkar. Icons of Ambedkarite ideology also include Periyar, Jyotirao Phule and others.

References

  1. 1 2 Rao 2009, p. 49.
  2. 1 2 Novetzke 2011.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Gelders & Delders 2003.
  4. 1 2 Béteille 1969, p. 209.
  5. 1 2 3 Béteille 1969, p. 210.
  6. ↑ Clothey 2006.
  7. ↑ Béteille 1969, p. 211.
  8. ↑ Omvedt 2006, p. 95.
  9. ↑ Pandian, Jacob (1987). Caste, Nationalism and Ethnicity: An Interpretation of Tamil Cultural History and Social Order. Popular Prakashan. p. 64. ISBN   978-0-86132-136-0.
  10. ↑ Ghafoor, Dr Fazal (21 April 2021). Treading the Beaten Path: A Journey Through India. Notion Press. ISBN   978-1-63745-397-1.
  11. ↑ Gorringe, Hugo (7 January 2005). Untouchable Citizens: Dalit Movements and Democratization in Tamil Nadu. SAGE Publishing India. ISBN   978-93-5280-305-7.
  12. ↑ Kandasamy, W. B. Vasantha; Smarandache, Florentin; Kandasamy, K. (2005). Fuzzy and Neutrosophic Analysis of Periyar's Views on Untouchability. Infinite Study. ISBN   978-1-931233-00-2.
  13. ↑ "Questioning Periyar Is Necessary for Forging a Progressive Anti-Caste Politics". The Wire. Retrieved 9 April 2023.
  14. ↑ Nehru, Jawaharlal (1984). Selected Works of Jawaharlal Nehru. Second Series. Vol. 39. p. 383.
  15. ↑ Nehru, Jawaharlal (1984). Selected Works of Jawaharlal Nehru. Second Series. Vol. 40. p. 387.
  16. ↑ "DMK spokesperson supports Periyar's call for 'killing Brahmins'; Subramanian Swamy moves EC". Deccan Herald. 9 June 2022. Retrieved 9 April 2023.

Sources

Printed sources
Web sources
  1. 1 2 3 Bhargava, Rajeev (23 July 2019). "What does it mean to oppose Brahmanism?". The Hindu. ISSN   0971-751X . Retrieved 23 July 2021. Anyone who consents to, endorses or justifies this hierarchical order, regardless of his caste, creed or gender, is then a 'Brahmanist'.
  2. ↑ K.V. Aditya Bharadwaj (july 2, 2021), Police action over actor Chetan Kumar’s remarks sparks row in Karnataka, The Hindu
  3. ↑ Tehelka (2006), Superiority in Numbers

Further reading

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.