Indeed, after years in political limbo, the Brahmins of UP have found their voice and are celebrating Mayawati’s victory as their own (Once More for the Twice-Born, Jun 4). Mayawati herself has emerged as a mature and shrewd tactician, one her mentor Kanshi Ram would be proud of. Her poll strategy was well thought out. Even as the Congress wooed the ‘backwards’ with ill-founded reservations, she decided to go beyond her traditional Dalit base and ally with the Brahmins. Thus, she resurrected the old Dalit-Muslim-Brahmin axis that once gave the Congress its sustenance. Tired of the misgovernance, goonda raj and corruption of Mulayam’s rule, the people of UP placed their collective confidence in Mayawati. One hopes she will at last be able to rid the state of crony capitalism while taking forward the development programmes of the previous government. Perhaps Uttar Pradesh will truly become Uttam Pradesh.
Dr S.K. Aggarwal, Amritsar
For better or worse, the caste system as originally envisaged has long since become extinct in India because modern society finds it completely inequitable, anachronistic and unsuitable. The labels, however, are still found to be useful in political games that divide society into neat and convenient votebanks. Was Brahminism, in the original caste system, ever about secular issues like "producing prime ministers or following Dalit (or non-Dalit) leaders or crafting strategies to alter the political landscape"? Outlook could perhaps have avoided the potentially divisive debate, as no positive purpose is served by it.
M.H. Rao, Hyderabad
It was gratifying to read a positive political piece about the Brahmin. However, it’s not as though the Brahmins have found a voice in the thumping victory of Mayawati in UP. Rather, it’s she who has realised the value of the twinned Brahmin-Muslim vote.
Sunil Makoday, Indore
In aligning with the Dalits in UP, the Brahmins have only done what they know best: be close to power. The Dalits, traditionally Congress voters, in the aftermath of the Mandalisation of the polity, realised that they needed a political platform of their own to bargain for power and privileges at the national and regional levels. The birth of the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Republican Party of India was a result of this. Brahmins, traditionally at the centrestage of political power, saw that in states like UP, the influence of the older ‘umbrella’ parties was shrinking even as parties associated with the weaker sections were consolidating their hold. Hence a wily switch of loyalty to become a part of the winning combination.
Kumud Singh, Village Nagla Nannu, Aligarh
Yes, the Brahmin has returned to power, riding piggyback on Mayawati. But it is scarcely an alliance of the oppressors and the oppressed. Rather, the oppressed and the ‘nouveau oppressed’ coalesced into an unbeatable political force. Being a Brahmin from Bihar myself, I’ve felt the heat the upwardly mobile obcs have turned on the upper castes, particularly the Brahmins. In the post-Mandal era, no one wanted the Brahmin’s vote. It’s only now that the Brahmins have managed to make their votebank an attractive proposition once again. Mayawati spotted the trend and so finds herself in the CM’s chair. But what will happen to the Dalit movement? Will Mayawati’s joining hands with the Brahmin emasculate Dalit power? Will she end up playing into the hands of the Brahmin? Will Dalits find themselves caught in the crossfire between obcs and upper-caste politicians? The Brahmin has wrested back what he so desperately needed for the last 15 years. The bsp, I am afraid, will lose the goodwill it has so assiduously built over the years. For proof, you need go no further than Maharashtra.
Pankaj Choudhry, New Delhi
I’m a Brahmin, but only by birth. The priest at the local temple here in London is not. But he has a good knowledge of the Vedas and shastras. We are proud he’s our head priest.
Hemanand, London
After using the Congress for almost four decades, followed by their very own bjp, which made a mess of things, the Brahmins were desperate for a vehicle which could keep them in the power loop. Mayawati, who after a bout of anti-Manuvaad sloganeering realised she needed the upper castes to expand her influence, proved the ideal choice. The lady’s opportunistic acrobatics are no secret; she can do anything for power. Now she has sold the pride of the Dalits to the very Brahmins who have persecuted them for ages. For the Brahmins, it was all too easy to ditch the bjp and use the Shudras as a conduit to get back to power. So meticulous was this media-backed strategy, it’s now being made to seem as if the bsp’s victory is due to the upper castes in UP. The fact is, Muslims are second only to Dalits in terms of the bsp’s votaries; numerically too, they are much more than the Brahmins. However, their role and their contribution to the rise of the bsp is being underplayed and undermined deliberately to deny them their due share in power. It’s nothing new. The Congress has done it before, the so-called secular parties are doing the same; and the bsp is going the same way. When the political classes are so biased, why blame the masses?
Shaikh Nizamuddin, Mumbai
Pitting the poor Brahmins (For Work is Worship) against successful ones (The Durbar Hall Pundits) was a shrewd tactic. But I’m shedding no tears for the former. India has millions of poor: it’s bound to include a few Brahmins. The ratio of poor among other castes, particularly sc/sts, was and is disproportionately higher.
Arun Prakash, Doha, Qatar
The Brahmins of UP are really poor; some of them even have to work as patiwalas in Mumbai. It is this poverty that brought them together with Dalits to vote for Mayawati. When you are in the same boat, you have no choice but to opt for the same anchor.
Ramesh Raghuvanshi, Pune
Within this group of toilet cleaners and rickshaw-pullers, the Brahmins, I am sure, place themselves at a higher level.
Raj, Chicago
I don’t think the political weakness of the Brahmins in Tamil Nadu has anything to do with their "middle-class disinterest" (The Thread is Thin). The fact of the matter is that they’re numerically irrelevant in Tamil Nadu, and becoming more so with every passing day because of their large-scale migration out of the state. Irrespective of what Cho Ramaswamy has been saying (for at least a dozen years now) about anti-Brahminism being dead in TN, the truth is Brahmins perceive themselves to be better off outside the state, even if they have to face regional and linguistic hostilities. It’s closer to dread than disinterest.
R. Vijay, Chennai
All roads for the Brahmin in TN have been blocked ever since the Dravidian parties took power in 1967. Meritorious students have no scope in professional colleges, government jobs and even promotional opportunities in universities. Anna University has denied promotions to excellent faculty members for over 10 years just because they were Brahmins.
V. Nagarajan, Chennai
I wonder how Brahmin-haters like M. Karunanidhi or Kancha Ilaiah will react to the return of the Brahmin. Luckily for them, most Brahmins have either embraced Communism or do not practice Brahminism at all.
J. Akshobya, Mysore
As a non-Brahmin, I can say with confidence that the anti-Brahminism nurtured by the Dravidian movement is not for social justice or social harmony but is oriented towards pure hatred of Brahmins. The nature of the hatred is racist and is as pseudo-scientific as the hate the Nazis had for the Jews. Only if Tamil Brahmins wake up to this reality and counter the bullies of the Dravidian movement (Kanimozhi and Azhagiri included) on the streets can TN be saved.
A. Neelakandan, Nagercoil
DK chief Veeramani will be the happiest to see Brahmins in the ‘lowly’ state you describe. He has always wanted Brahmins to do menial jobs. Unfortunately for him, it’s not likely to happen in the south, especially in Tamil Nadu.
R. Narasimhan, Chennai
Your cover photo supposedly showing a Brahmin has one thing drastically wrong. The thread worn by Brahmins sits on their left shoulder and goes across the chest and over the right hip. The photo depicts it the other way, the way it is when Brahmins are performing the last rites of somebody. Is that a subliminal message?
Yashovardhana Kote, Salinas, California
How Brahmin is the model posing as one on your cover? He is wearing the thread on the wrong shoulder.
S.V. Raghavan, Chennai
Brahmins wear the upaveedham (sacred thread) on the left shoulder, not on the right. He does the opposite only on inauspicious occasions. I sincerely hope this was an oversight and you did not intend conveying that the return of the Brahmin is inauspicious!
N.R. Chandran, on e-mail
How ignorant can Outlook get? The ‘Brahmin’ on its cover burdens the wrong shoulder with the weight of his yagnopaveetham. But since I’m a Tam- Brahm, I won’t drag Vinod Mehta to court for hurting my community’s sentiments.
Krishnan Ayyangar, Chennai
I was quite surprised to see a victorious Brahmin on the cover of a secular magazine like yours. I wondered if it would create any problems for you. It did, but from another quarter. I myself have no complaints. Being a Bengali Brahmin, I was just happy to see four Bengali names (Sitaram Yechuri speaks fluent Bangla and got elected to the Rajya Sabha from West Bengal) among the top eight Brahmin politicians of India.
B. Bandyopadhyay, on e-mail
The last time I saw the place some 25 years ago, a resplendent Edward VII, framed on a wall, conveyed to all those who entered the Calcutta Club the message that this was a wailing ground of manumitted slaves pining for their bygone masters (Is Beige the New Brown?, Jun 4). There is such an awful lot easily available for lambasting India’s prosperous Rip Van Winkles and sleepwalkers. You weakened your write-up by quoting someone who used to sneak into the Delhi Gymkhana to rub shoulders with those in high places. After he was caught and thrown out, you allowed him to say that the place was for babus who looked for cheap booze and food. And isn’t he the one who was caught trying to steal books from the India International Centre and told to keep out from there?
Atin Gupta, on e-mail
Such clubs are ideal hideouts for losing money on the card table and winning the contracts. For such activities, any restriction is acceptable.
S. Soundararajan, Portsmouth, UK
What a colonial hangover! Most shockingly, even our intellectual brigade endorses such sick, discriminatory institutions. They tend to forget that, behind the veil of exclusiveness one tries to solicit through admittance to such an institution, lies a human being who hates being discriminated upon on any basis.
Gaurav Sharma, Vancouver
I feel Indians are among the most shabbily dressed people in the world. It is disgusting to see some ministers and MPs in dirty, crumpled clothes. The late V.K.K. Menon, an immaculate dresser, once described his cabinet colleagues as being "fit for coffins". Indians should give up dhotis and veshtis, responsible for much ugliness, and go for trousers.
T. Sathyamurthi, Folsom, US
It’s time the Browns took revenge by creating their own elitist clubs with garishly coloured decor and loudspeakers blaring Bollywood hits. Soon, even pavement-dwellers will be clamouring for their own exclusive clubs too!
B. Ramdeo, Springfield, US
It is unfortunate that your article, Rattle Of The Sabres (Jun 4), alleges sexual abuse by the Dera Sacha Sauda chief without providing reasonable proof. It’s based purely on the anonymous complaint of a woman disciple of the mission which was sent to the pmo and the high court.
Visvanathan, Alexandria, US
It was left to Daniel Lak, the author of Mantra of Change, to write the first objective report on Canada’s (and the world community’s) avowed disclaimer on the Kanishka episode. Many of us could in no way rationalise the spectacle of the sluggish activity of even human rights groups. The gaping difference with the Lockerbie follow-up and closure is also glaring. Probably this is what happens when Indians tend to occupy foreign soil as mendicants.
K.S.C. Nair, Indianapolis
Given Europe’s general abhorrence of migrants, it may be only a matter of time before the Italians start kicking out the illegal Punjabis (Lasagne Do Piazza, Jun 4). Their presence is one main reason why the EU isn’t interested in a free trade pact with New Delhi.
G.N. Rajan, on e-mail
A very balanced review of Ravinder Kumar’s book on Partition by Mushirul Hasan (Books, Jun 7) after Amitava Kumar’s callous review of Mihir Bose’s Bollywood—A History. However, it is rather strange that along with Train To Pakistan and Peshawar Express (both masterpieces in their genre), people often forget to mention Chaman Nahal’s novel Azadi—a very beautiful piece of Partition literature.
Nafay Kumail, New Delhi
Condoleeza Rice, strongest Republican candidate (Nandini Mehta’s New York Diary, Jun 7)? There are 10 Republicans, including John McCain and Rudolf Giuliani, who have already thrown their hat in the Republican ring. Fred Thompson and Newt Gingrich are still possibilities. Ms Rice isn’t even on the radar.
B.V. Raghavan, Gurgaon
Pray, which editor is Nandini Mehta talking about?
Suneet Jain, Memphis, US
While the vandalism at Baroda’s MS University should be deplored (Totem And Taboo, May 28), what Alka Pande says about irreverence and sensationalism by practitioners of modern art and the advice by Madhu Khanna of Jamia to exercise certain restraints can’t be ignored. Traditional Indian art, including sculpted images of amorous couples and fertility goddesses, are admirable, but some old art, like the 18th-century Rajasthan image, only outrage one’s sensibility. Why should the work of some artist in the past be taken as a benchmark worth emulation?
U.K. Sharan, on e-mail
Strange that there’s no interview with or a comment from Chandramohan in this publicity-driven era. I think the artist is himself not keen to protest unlike the pseudo-intellectuals across the nation. That’s what comes of undue media attention given to a non-issue.
Nirad P. Pandya, Baroda
I can understand why many of our clubs keep cine stars and politicians out (Is Beige The New Brown?, Jun 4). Barring a few, they are the cheapest and most uncivilised beings on earth. The same holds for a chunk of the nouveau riche too. I quite admire these clubs for insisting on some standards and traditions. If only they stop discriminating against women, these clubs can teach us a valuable lesson: money isn’t everything.
G. Natrajan, Hyderabad
