Apropos Want to Look Inside his Head? (Apr 11), most of the growing-up pangs cited are direct results of parenting by a generation yet to understand that unlike work, parenting ought not to be delegated or shirked as it is the only job where you’re indispensable. Parent is as parent does.
Sugeetha Roy Choudhury, Pune
"We are like the Jews"—a very astute observation that by Ashokamitran. Only the persecution of the Brahmins is by slow asphyxiation. The death sentence that was served by the British with divide and rule is still being executed by Indian society. Perhaps it’s time for all Indian citizens to put bad memories (like varna, jati) behind and work towards a united India?
Dwai Lahiri, Rolling Meadows, US
Ashokamitran seems to be more worried about the treatment to Brahmins than about the state of Brahminism itself. The Brahmin, like other humans, will find a way to survive, but the loss of Brahminism—Vedic heritage, rituals and Sanskrit learning—will be too great to humanity.
Ramachandran, Chennai
Ashokamitran’s right. Brahmins were persecuted by the Mughals for following the Sanatan Dharma, targeted by the Brits for being clever enough to see through their designs. The Brits stoked and fed the anti-Brahmin fire. Indian politicians are stuck in the old mode without trying to unlearn and relearn the history fed to us the last 200 years.
Nayagan Balamsy, New Jersey, US
If the Tams want their own country in Antarctica (like the Jews) we’ll all support it willingly.
Kundalakesi, Sydney
You’re wrong in treating the Tamil Brahmin as a homogeneous caste. It consists of the Shaivite followers of the Shankarachrya and the Srivaishnav followers of the Ramanujacharya. The CM belongs to the second sect. The former expound a rigid caste-based religion as against the latter’s devotion-backed religion. The latter were also persecuted by the followers of the Shankaracharya and driven out of Tamil country. Why should Jayalalitha help them now? And while a large section of English-educated Brahmins from both sects began reforming the society during the Home Rule League movement, the Shankaracharya’s anti-reformist followers established Asthika Brahmin Sabhas throughout Madras Presidency and declared caste as the basis of the Indian nation. This created intense opposition from the non-Brahmins and Periyar.
Parimala V. Rao, Mumbai
All these years just 3 per cent of the population dominated the field of education and other high posts in the government. Only for the last 40 years have the backwards and Dalits started coming to the frontline due to the government’s reservation policies. Even so, their percentage is not healthy in the top hierarchy of government jobs. If Ashokamitran thinks they are like the Jews, how would he describe the oppressed peoples a few decades ago?
P. Raam Kumar, Chennai
To compare the Shankaracharya’s arrest with the tsunami is to underrate its magnitude and effect. And whereas in the past the Brahmins opposed reservation, now they demand it! Hindu fundamentalists identify themselves with Nazi Hitler (Aryan origins and all). So it’s a cruel joke to compare them to the Jews. Kudos to Outlook for shedding tears for an oppressive community. Speak Out, indeed.
P. Selvaraj, Pondicherry
The historical prejudice which a sect of my community has doled out to people from other castes is something I can never condone but do I deserve the prejudice against me for something I’ve never done and never will?
Prabhat Mishra, Lucknow
Why have Brahmins come to the this pass? A sociological study on this subject is long overdue. Land legislation and the glamour of education first led them to move to the cities. There they took up white-collar jobs but the upward movement of the lower castes displaced them yet again, forcing them to migrate to the West for education and employment. The last reserved area was service in temples. Though pujas are still performed by born Brahmins, control of all significant temples is in non-Brahmin hands.
T.S. Rao, Singapore
The dominant role once played by Brahmins is now played more ruthlessly and viciously by non-Brahmin "upper" castes like Thevars and Gounders, who never think twice about assaulting, killing and raping Dalits. Since coming to power all kazhagams have gone out of their way to make life tougher for the Brahmins. In fact, M. Karunanidhi as CM approved organised physical attacks by his party cadres on Brahmin ladies in the predominantly Brahmin suburb of West Mambalam in Madras. Even now the Brahmin-dominated suburb of Triplicane, Mylapore and Naganallur are the most neglected areas in the city.
P.B. Mohan, on e-mail
I don’t think Brahmins are persecuted at all. They are more confident than they were in last century. Most successful software companies have a Tam-Brahm at the top, be it tcs, cts, Infosys or Mphasis, they’re more into entrepreneurial activities and one can see the results in service industry, be it in IT, ites or financial services. Agreed that it is difficult to an extent for a Tam-Brahm to carve out a place in Tamil psyche; be it movies, politics, literature, etc. But in national/international arenas, there are plenty of opportunities and a level playing field for the community to explore.
Sankar, Bangalore
Would the Brahmins rather that the Manusmriti be implemented than the Indian Penal Code?
V.K. Rayudu, Bangalore
The Brahmins have whined enough. They should now shake themselves out of their delusions.
Paresh Kumar, Rolla, US
Anita Roy’s deliciously tongue-in-cheek review of Tarun Tejpal’s book (Books, Apr 11) had me in splits. ‘Authors’ with powerful agents who aim for big stories forget that it’s the beauty of expression that makes a simple story big. After all, Hemingway’s Old Man and the Sea was a slim book about an old man, the ocean and a fish.
N. Narayan, on e-mail
Your article on Tamil Brahmins facing the effects of a new casteism (Dalits in Reverse, Apr 11) should make non-Brahmins realise the trials Brahmins face—right from getting a seat in a good university despite good marks to getting a good job, given that more than half the seats are reserved. The entire purpose of reservation was to eliminate caste inequalities. Instead it has become a means to gain political power, for reverse discrimination and for generating more inequality. Being born a Brahmin has become a curse rather than the privilege it was once considered to be. The Kanchi Shankaracharya’s actions have brought only further disrepute—not just to the math but to all Brahmins. One man’s greed has resulted in a backlash against the community.
Mridula Udupa, Bangalore
Only those Tam-Brahms who live in Tamil Nadu feel a sense of victimhood. Those outside have generally done well for themselves. Most Tam-Brahms—outside Tamil Nadu at least—seem unaffected by Jayendra Saraswati’s arrest as the Kanchi math has not touched the life of ordinary Tam-Brahms in any substantial way. Neither the math, nor other so-called community organisations like the Tamil Sangam, have done anything for the community. Community activities are restricted to temple festivals or groups of maamis singing bhajans together every evening. There is no community support for the underprivileged, no social welfare schemes for widows or orphans; the community is not cohesive and united, like, say, the Bunts.
Dr K. Uma, Bangalore
Why is Jayendra Saraswati being linked to Brahm0in persecution? The man’s committed certain crimes, the greatest of them against the Hindu faith, and has to be punished. It should also lead to a rethink on why the Shankaracharya has to be a Brahmin. Have Ravidas or Kabir contributed any less than the Adi Sankara or Tulsidas in the intellectual development of the Hindus?
A.B. Upadhyay, Bath, UK
Being a Tam-Brahm myself, I’d say that the anti-Brahministic reservation system in Tamil Nadu has actually been a blessing in disguise. It has raised the bar for us and made us competitive, focused and hard-working.
Varun Venkateswaran, Michigan, US
If you really want to understand how Tam-Brahms feel, please talk to pujaris in temples or to middle-class bank, government and software company employees. Do not interview Brahmin elites and then make sweeping generalisations about the community.
Prakash, Sydney, Australia
A pity that the advent of Independence alleviated the sufferings of colonialism but not the anti-Brahmin movement. Party after political party made it a plank and established supremacy on the national horizon.
C. Deenadayal, on e-mail
As an anthropologist whose research is on Dalits in TN and also as someone who knows many in the Tamil Brahmin community (I’m married to one), I was alarmed to read the headline of your article, Dalits in Reverse. While I realise that some Tamil Brahmins see themselves as a persecuted minority, it’s outrageous and offensive to compare whatever relative decline they may be facing to the suffering of Dalits. Brahmins remain grossly over-represented in high managerial positions, in professions like engineering and law, in industry and in the media. Dalits, on the other hand, continued to be reviled by Brahmins and non-Brahmins alike, are massively over-represented in landless labour and are subject to continued daily humiliation, political suppression and frequent atrocities. If your aim is to highlight the plight of the Brahmin, so be it. But do not mock the suffering of the Dalits with such flippant comparisons.
Nathaniel Roberts, Columbia University, NY
Brahmins might be facing some heckling since the rise of the non-Brahmin movement but no actual persecution. They’re in no way prevented from holding positions of power, though their hegemony in TN politics may have declined. Persecution, on the other hand, is a serious charge, and if any group in India can claim to have been victim of it, it is the Dalits. Hence your headline Dalits in Reverse is terribly misleading and also shockingly insensitive to the difference between the violent, systematic and concerted oppression that Dalits face and the occasional snide remark a few Brahmins may have had to hear. As a Brahmin myself with friends and relatives in Chennai, I can attest the "persecution" some Chennai Brahmins claim has not prevented them from dominating in the private sector. Kindly refrain from belittling the real struggles of oppressed peoples.
Rupa Viswanath, University of London
The predicament the Tam-Brahms seem to find themselves in today is of their own making. To call it their ‘Dalitisation’ is not just an exaggeration but also a mockery of the pain, suffering and social ostracism Dalits have been facing for hundreds of years under the caste system that was created and perpetuated by the Brahmins. They have been the sole custodians of the intellectual copyright of the ‘unique’ caste-based social system which has played havoc with the lives of millions through its long history. If today they find themselves as the victims of the monster that they created and fostered, they have no moral right to accuse others or play victim.
Pramod K. Kureel, New Delhi
C.S. Lakshmi is wrong in saying the Uttam Society in Chembur, Mumbai, has removed the portrait of Jayendra Saraswati. In fact, the Uttam Ganesh Mandir was consecrated by Jayendra Saraswati on Dec 11,1990. Saraswati is also a regular visitor to the mandir whenever he is in Mumbai.To this day we adore him and look forward to his visits. We have noticed in his teachings the essence of all that Adi Shankara stood for.
N.P. Vishwanathan, Ganesh Uttam Mandir Trust, Mumbai
C.S. Lakshmi may speak for herself when she says "ordinary Brahmins have been shaken by the arrest". She cannot speak for the entire community. The pictures of the acharya which were in the Uttam temple are still there. C.S. should have walked a few steps from her flat to the temple and verified the claim.
K. Gaurav, Mumbai
What Vinod Mehta in his Delhi Diary (Apr 11) says of his experience as an out-of-job editor is also true elsewhere. If socialites are fair-weather friends, so are the common people who recognise you only as long as you’re in power.
Amitabh Thakur, Lucknow
Yes, Ganguly’s performance as a batsman is to worry about (Mind the Gangway, Cap’n, Apr 11). But he made things happen in the team in the recent past which are no less than miracles. Let’s give him some more time despite his poor run with the willow.
Asadha Arul, Mugaiyur, Tamil Nadu
Rajinder Puri in Bull’s Eye (Apr 11) quotes just half of what Chinese ex-ambassador Cheng Ruisheng said. The Chinese ex-ambassador did say they did not see India as any real threat and that its nuclear tests were an annoyance. But he also said, in the same context, "Twenty or thirty years from now, India will be the only power to rival China. And China is just beginning to realise the importance of engaging India now...." Everybody, including China, knew India had a nuclear arsenal post-Pokhran. What Cheng means is okay we already knew, you conducted the tests and justified them on account of the Chinese threat. That’s what was offending from the Chinese point of view. Puri completely misreads him and in the process misleads readers.
Nilesh Brahme, on e-mail
Why are we afraid of the F-16 (Iffy-16 Goin’ On 30, Apr 11)? It’s a super plane compared to the flying coffins that are the MiGs. In the ’80s in Bekaa valley, Lebanon/Syria, the Israelis destroyed MiGs 83-0. We continue to buy junk Russian equipment in billions. We’re getting a junk aircraft carrier paying billions, a ship that was rusting and even was on fire! We don’t need US technology? The lca of India is based on engines supplied by the US. How’s that ok? We need to get F-16s, F-18s and the whole package from the US. That’s what Egypt did when the Israelis got them. Today there’s peace between them and deterrence.
Ramesh, Chennai
Ouch! Another sticky situation for Indian strategists. The F-16 offer by the US cannot be viewed as a simple case of them trying to mollify an aggrieved India. What the offer seeks to do is to gauge how far India’s been ‘softened’ as regards its disposition toward the US. Is the Cold War mentality truly behind the Indian establishment or does it still harbour a secret desire to stymie ‘imperialist designs’? Are India’s public pronouncements of intending to forge the closest of relations sincere or are they mere eyewash so as to use the US as a crutch to attain power status and keep political adversaries like China honest? The F-16s are being offered as a test to see if India ‘walks the talk’.
Nabarun Roy, Ottawa, Canada
It’s not a developing of capabilities but an obsession to beat Pakistan that forms the core of the thinking of Indian military heads. It’s apparent that Indian and Pakistan are dumping grounds for an outdated, outmoded, high-maintenance F-16s. The only reason these have been given to Pakistan is to trigger paranoia on the Indian side and make them buy the same as counter.
Sastri V., Hyderabad
Liked your attitude. Uncle Sam should learn to hear ‘No thanks’. It is essential for India to make the US realise there are other countries who’re potentially better players in many areas, including aircraft. It’ll also pay to be careful of a country which has a track record of blackmailing others.
Pavan Kaushik, New Delhi
Just having hundreds of aircraft in our fleet is not sufficient to win a war, if there is one. Wars today are fought on strategy. Any consideration of aircraft should take into account the vast stretch of land and ocean to patrol and defend, as also the varied topology. Pakistan can have any number of fighter planes it wants, it’ll burn holes in their pockets. We shouldn’t panic but buy optimum number of aircraft, preferably fifth-generation ones. And maintain the lead in offensive and defensive capabilities.
Kamalaksh, Ghent, Belgium
The article The Vanished Spies (August 2, 2004) mentioned Shamsher Singh as one of the nine vanished spies. He retired in 1976. We regret the error.
