Caste Among Indian Muslims: Causes And Consequences

By Masood Alam Falahi

[Excerpts from the paper presented by Masood Alam Falahi in Columbia University, New York for “Caste and Contemporary India” conference on 17th Oct. 2009]

Published on the Pasmanda Muslim Forum here

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Prior to independence of India, it was common that low caste Muslims were not allowed to cook good foods and even not allowed to choose good names for their children.

Presently there are three major categories among Indian Muslims, (1) Asharaf (2) Ajlaf (3) Arzal. Among these categories there are many sub-castes and in every category there are low castes and upper castes like Hindu caste system.

* Some 25 years ago there was a sufi “Shah Masood” (pupil of famous sufi Shaikh Abdul Qadir Raipuria) in a village Behat of district Saharanpur. He never allowed low caste Muslims to make Pakka (with cement and brick) house in his village.

* In “ Atki” , “ Hind Paddi” villages of district Ranchi in Jharkhand, the Arzal Muslims used to eat in a separate line in marriage ceremony. The same condition is in Barabanki of U.P state . One of my casteist teacher narrated the same story of his village of Azamgarh district, UP.

* Dr. Azmat Siddiqi from Centre for Women Studies of Jmaia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, told in her speech that in her village “phoolpur” of Allahabd, U.P, ashraf don’t eat food from sweeper / halalkhor community. She was against casteism and once she ate with them. Her cousins boycotted her as she ate with Halalkhor community.
* Professor Imtiaz Ahmad told me the following incident in a meeting, even he writes it in one of his articles:

“We had a Lalbegi woman come to clean the toilets in our house. She was on the best of terms with my mother and would sit for hours together gossiping with my mother. Whenever my mother would offer her pan, she would wrap her hand with her dupatta to receive it. My mother used to drop the pan in her hand, making sure that her hand did not touch the Lalbegi woman’s hand. On occasions of marriage the family would come and sit in a corner and wait until all guests had eaten and left. It would then be given food in vessels they brought with them. They did not eat the food there, but instead took it with them to be eaten at home. On sacrificial eid the family was not given any portion of the meat. It was given the intestines which were kept aside for them. It is possible that some of these forms of discrimination have changed, but there is no evidence to show that they have disappeared.

Some evidence exists to show that there is discrimination against these Muslim castes in the religious spheres. I found during fieldwork in eastern Uttar Pradesh that members of these castes did not go to the mosque for prayers and if they went they had to stand in the back rows. It has been mentioned by many observers that such groups often have their own mosques. N. Jamal Ansari notes that ‘in certain areas of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar there are separate mosques and burial grounds’ for these castes (Paper presented at the seminar on Dalit Muslims organized by Deshkal Society, New Delhi, 2004). Establishment of own mosque would call for a level of prosperity for the groups as a whole. Whether they have attained such levels of prosperity is something on which very little information exists.”

* Once I visted Nakhas Mohallah (street) of Lucknow on 30th of September 2009. This is a Muslim area. I saw a small mosque with a small madrasa, written on the mosque “Masjid-e-Rayeen” ( Mosque of vegetable sellers). In front of this mosque there is an Imam barah of Imam Baqir, belongs to Shait sect of Muslim. This small masques shows that there is discrimination against the vegetable seller caste, so they made the separate mosque.

* Dr. Ghauth Ansari writes same cases of caste based discrimination in U.P. He also adds that even ‘low’ caste Muslims are not allowed to pray in the mosque some time. They pray out side the mosque.

* The former editor of “Qawmi Morcha” Daily (National Front, Urdu News Paper) (Banaras) Mr. Tajuddin Ash’ar Ram Nagri wrote a letter to me after reading my book. He wrote that before independence of India, Muslim sweepers were not allowed to enter into the mosque in Banaras, U.P.

* In “ Desna” village of Nalanda, low castes are not allowed to sit in the first row of the mosque. Even low caste like Ansari and kalal castes do not allow Pamariya caste to sit in the first row while offering Namaz in the “Pandara” village of Lohar Dagga district.

* In “Ouchwa” the village of Gorakhpur, Upper castes wash the mosque in case somebody from low caste Muslim enters into the mosque.

* The famous news paper “Tehelka” New Delhi reports in its issue dated 18 Nov.2006 AD:

“In Bihar, the Bakkho sub-caste- formally a nomadic tribe- is held by other Muslims to be untouchables despite Islam categorically forbidding any such division… when someone in an upper caste family dies; we go to his house to condole, like we would go to any other Muslim home. But when someone from our caste dies, the upper castes people never come for the same.”

* In Rampur Bariya village of Champaran District of Bihar, a low caste groom was insulted and beaten up by upper caste Muslims because he was sitting on horse. In the same village upper caste Muslims broke the mosque built by low caste Muslims. They also burnt their houses.

* In my village there is only one graveyard and every caste has specific place for burial purpose. I don’t know the exact reason. But there are various reports that upper castes Muslims don’t allow low caste Muslims to bury dead bodies in the common graveyard for community. This is the reason low caste Muslims have separate graveyards.

* In “ Mohabbat Pur” village of Vaishali District in Bihar, Jugal Khalifa died. His dead body was not allowed by Shaikh caste to be buried in the common graveyard as he was a Nat, a low caste Muslim. Police took action and arrested many of upper caste members then only his dead body got buried.

* This is not enough, even in some places the low caste Muslims are not considered as Muslims by upper caste people. I have seen in my district Sitamarhi, Bihar, Shaikh castes consider them only as Muslim and others as non muslims. They use the term “we Muslims” for themselves and for others ‘low castes’ and used to call them with bad names like Julaha, Dhuniya, Kujda, Kasai, Nai etc.

* In some places Upper caste Muslims are taking “badhuwa Mazdoori” (work without pay) by low caste Muslims. Sometimes they have abused their women. They are destroying their houses etc.
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Read more here

Comparative Contexts of Discrimination: Caste and Untouchability in South Asia

Excerpts from the paper by Surinder S. Jodhka & Ghanshyam Shah, Working Paper Series, Volume IV, Number 05, 2010
Indian Institute of Dalit Studies, New Delhi

Read the full paper here
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Breaking ranks with the Government of India, the foreign minister of Nepal, Jeet Bahadur Darjee Gautam during a meeting of the United Nations in September 2009, welcomed the inclusion of caste based discrimination against Dalits as a case of human rights violation, to be treated at par with the racial discrimination. This move of the Nepalese government opened-up way for implementing the proposal mooted by the UNHRC to involve “regional and international mechanism, the UN and its organs” to complement national efforts to combat caste based discrimination.
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While caste indeed has a religious dimension and it finds legitimacy in religious texts of the Hindus, it is also a socio-economic system[1] which shaped local economies, social and cultural entitlements and political regimes. In other words caste was much more than an ideological system. The idea of caste and associated social and economic structures persisted with varied religious tradition of the South Asian region.
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Similarly, the Sinhala Buddhist communities of Sri Lanka seem to defy the theological position of their faith. Even when no one is “unclean” in the sacred meaning of the term, social anthropologists have documented the presence of caste like hierarchies, identification of occupations with social groups and even “outside untouchables” (Banks 1960; Leach 1960; Ryan 1993).
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However, it is the colonial constructs and theoretical models of caste that continue to dominate not only the popular but also academic imagining of caste. Even the leaders of nationalist movements in the subcontinent accepted this colonial common-sense on caste quite uncritically. Thus when the new states were formed, of India, Pakistan and even Sri Lanka, it was only India which had Hindu majority, recognised the need to deal with caste and untouchability and made provisions for the uplift of those who had been kept out of the system, the untouchable whom the colonial rulers had designated as Scheduled Castes.
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Though caste continues to be an important category of kinship and community classifications in Pakistan, Dalit question is a little more complicated there. Given that the term Scheduled Caste is still officially used for the “untouchable” communities of its small Hindu minority and that almost the entire Christian population of the country are converts from Dalit Chuhras of Punjab, caste question gets closely entangled with the minority question in Pakistan. However, quite like Bangladesh, caste and untouchability also exists among the Muslims of Pakistan. Though the mainstream Islamic ideology completely denies any place to caste in Pakistan, its presence, in the form of social intercourse, birth based occupation, segregation in residence and taboo in social relationship is very widely recognised and plays an important role in structuring kinship and political economy of the country (see Alavi 1972; Gazdar 2007). Popular categories with which Dalits of Pakistan are identified are not completely alien to Indians. For example Mochi (cobblers), Pather (brick maker), and Bhangi (sweeper) are mostly Muslims and considered “lower” castes on the basis of their family occupation, regardless of their religion. There are other titles, such as Musalman Sheikhs, Mussalis (both used for Muslim Dalits) and Masihi (Christians) universally refer to specific groups of people, also identified with specific occupation and used to segregate them from the rest as “untouchable” groups. It is not only the Dalits who are identified through caste names. Others too have caste names and maintain caste boundaries…

One of the most striking features of South Asia is the association of Dalit communities with certain types of jobs. For example, the cleaning of streets and latrines, dealing with dead animals, casual and bonded labour on land are almost everywhere identified with Dalit communities. Not only are these low status jobs, invariably they are also low paid jobs. Another common feature of Dalit life in these four countries is their residential segregation. They seem to be either living in segregated settlements away from the main village, or in the urban slums where living conditions are generally poor. The experience of untouchability and discrimination was also a shared reality but its details varied.
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The pre-colonial Sri Lankan state was built around caste-based privileges of the ruling elite and hereditary and mandatory caste services of the bottom layers in society. Unlike the Hindu caste system founded on the basis of religious notions of purity and pollution, the caste systems in Sri Lanka have relied more on a kind of secular ranking upheld by the state, land ownership and tenure, religious organisations and rituals, and firmly-rooted notions of inherent superiority and
inferiority. The official requirement and support to the caste systems has indeed eroded over the years but the state has also turned a blind eye to the deprivations caused by caste discrimination. The militant Tamil movement led by LTTE also imposed a ban on the practice of caste for consolidating Tamil identity, which only turned it into a kind of underground reality, not to be confronted openly through politics and policy.
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Dalits in Bangladesh also face discrimination in political sphere as well as in civic life. Many of them reported that they were not treated well even by the doctors and nurses in hospitals and clinics. They were also not allowed entry into their houses. The Hindu Dalits faced much more discrimination in religious life. They were not allowed entry into temples and were discouraged from participating in religious/community functions. Though in past some sections of Muslim Dalit
communities such as Lalbegi, Abdal and Bediya, (popularly known as Arzal), engaged in occupations such as toilet cleaning and garbage collection were often not allowed entry into mosques, there seemed to be no such restriction in place any longer. However, otherwise, the condition of Muslim Dalits did not seem to be any better than those of the Hindu Dalits. The number of Muslim Dalits complaining about practice of untouchability against them in tea shops was much higher (around 40 per cent) than the Hindu Dalits (around 15 per cent). Same was the case with having access to hotel rooms. Access to water from public and private sources was also denied to both categories of Dalits.
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Caste and religion have always been interwoven in complex ways. While Hinduism has often been seen, and rightly so, to provide a theological justification to caste hierarchy, the Pakistani state uses Islamic identity and ideology to completely deny the presence of caste in the social and economic life of country even when caste-based identities and caste related discrimination are quite rampant in the country, including among the Muslims. Such official denial of caste also works to the double disadvantage of the Hindu and Christian Dalits of Pakistan. While being members of a small religious minority, they confront a hostile majoritarian state and civil society; being Dalits they also remain marginalised within their own religious communities.
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Caste divisions and differences have perhaps not been as strong in countries like Sri Lanka, Bangladesh or Pakistan as they have been in India, or in some of its regions. However, unlike India, there has been no recognition of their special situation as socially excluded and deprived. Since the states in these countries do not recognise caste, they also do not collect data on their numbers and around variables of their economic status. In contrast the state policies have played a critical role in producing Dalit elite, which has played an important role in articulating Dalit aspirations and identity. No such process is visible anywhere else in South Asia. In this context Gellner’s  observation made about Nepal is worth quoting. Writing in 1995, Gleener observed:

… Nepalese state has so far taken no measures of positive discrimination in favour of those disadvantaged by the caste system, as have long been in place in India. Thus, in spite of the changes… it remains true that traditions, practices and ideas which have long been rendered controversial in India are still in Nepal relatively uncontested parts of everyday life (Gellner 1995:2).
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Read the full paper here

Footnote [1] For example, some scholars stress that the origin of caste system lay in the nature of agrarian production and generous of surplus in early agrarian system (see Klass 1980; Yurlova 1989). Similarly, some others have pointed to primacy of the political in structuring caste hierarchies in India (see Raheja 1988; Quigley, D. 1993)

On Caste Privilege

- Namit Arora

Excerpts from this post on Shunya.net

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Walk into a relatively nice neighborhood in, say, Ahmedabad, Pune, or Jaipur, perhaps one of the burgeoning gated communities of flats owned by professionals, public sector officials, and businessmen. This demographic will usually speak English, represent under 10% of the population but command far greater power. Notice that nearly all mailboxes have upper-caste names. The average man here might profess to be modern and secular, but don’t be fooled. His is an incipient modernity, without deep roots—more about clothes, gadgets, nuclear family, educating girls, and fewer food taboos. His idea of the individual, each with an equal human dignity, is terribly weak. Nor does he subscribe to the dignity of labor. Indeed, he would recoil at the idea of inviting his sweeper to sit on his sofa to have a chai and samosa as a fellow human. Worse, he would never have wondered why none among his servants, maids, and sweepers share his last name, or what role his caste played in getting him where he is today. What prevents such ideas from crossing his mind is a deeply internalized hierarchy—and therefore entitlement—evident in the way he makes demands on those in his employ, and the deference he expects from them and their kind.

In this social class, middle-aged members might casually observe, ‘I saw no casteism while growing up.’ Of course, it’s harder to see such things from above, analogous to the legions of men who internalize their sexism so well they don’t notice it at all. This is the class that is prone to reminisce the ‘unity’ and ‘harmony’ of the olden days. Now it feels cheated by reservations. Not surprisingly, a good many have come to champion the ‘merit-only’ line (that is, only test scores should be considered) and profess to be ‘caste-blind’. The ‘caste-blind’ stance, which perpetuates caste privilege, has wide currency with those who somehow see it as totally fair and impartial.

Explain the premise of positive discrimination and see eyes roll. ‘We don’t treat them badly anymore,’ one aunty told me, ‘what are they agitating about?’ Mention the benefits of diversity and question narrow ideas of ‘merit’, only to see hateful fear mongering spew out. ‘Oye, what if a scheddu civil engineer built a bridge that collapsed?’ (‘Scheddu’ is a derogatory reduction of Scheduled Caste, the administrative term for Dalits, formerly ‘untouchables’.) ‘What if a scheddu doctor killed a patient?’ The instinct is to associate low-caste with congenital stupidity. It doesn’t occur to them that the beneficiaries of reservation have to pass the same coursework and training as all others. Besides, they have no empirical data on how many fallen bridges were built by scheddus, nor do they know that Dalit children routinely die due to discriminatory practices by ‘merit’ doctors.[3] What, if not prejudice, makes them assume that scheddus build bridges that fall, rather than corrupt upper-caste engineers who steal public funds and use inferior materials? Nor do they hesitate in sending their own under-performing kids to shady engineering and medical institutes that have proliferated—the so-called ‘capitation fee’ colleges—where the sole criteria for admission is money, not ‘merit’, including obscure colleges in the former Soviet block countries cashing-in on the obsession this class has for ‘foreign degrees’.

Awed by the pop culture that trickles down from the West, this class knows little about the rest of India, nor has anything but disdain for its tribal and folk music, dance, and drama.[4] Of much greater concern is India’s image in the West, the health of the IT sector, new consumer goods, the peril from Pakistan, emulating China. Utterly materialistic in its values, it equates education with technical training, success with money, and sneers at the arts, social sciences, and the humanities. Its nationalistic pride is now yoked to its pride in Hinduism. Members of this class may feel irked by Dalits decamping to Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam, but they know ‘the problem’ Dalits have: their problem is one of underdevelopment, to be fixed by more aggressive ‘inclusive development’. Pieties and slogans aside, the members of this class make absolutely no demands on themselves. They never look at the mirror and see that they are squarely at the heart of ‘the problem’.

 

§

At a recent dinner party, a Brahmin friend, a graduate of the elite IIT system, criticized reservations on the grounds that they are socially divisive and instigate disharmony. I had to laugh. Isn’t the caste system all about social division, using graded notions of superior and inferior blood? Caste identities have been strong for ages; even today over 90% marry their own. If caste now also shapes political consciousness, it’s because, in part, its members share the experience of discrimination and inherited disadvantage. If the decibels have gone up, it’s because the lower-castes no longer tolerate the oppressive ‘harmony’ of the past. They want a piece of the pie, and they are seeking it via the ballot box. In another country, with the kind of inequities India has, the masses might have resorted to violent revolution long ago.

Why pursue reservations, he argued, when urbanization and industrial development are doing far better at defeating the inequities of caste. This is true up to a point, and a myth beyond. It is true that cities offer greater anonymity and a diversity of jobs unrelated to traditional caste occupations, thereby weakening many, perhaps even the worst, forms of rural casteism. An office-going Brahmin is unlikely to worry about being polluted if he brushes against a Dalit in a crowded bus, or object to eating out lest a Dalit prepared the meal. But even as many old caste abuses have vanished or weakened in the face of urbanization, others have arisen or evolved into malignant forms. Industrialization is a turbulent force working upon the caste system, but it is not in itself a socially progressive force. Introduced in a society with entrenched inequities, capital and industry build on preexisting social privileges and discrimination, as in India.[5]

As many historians of caste have noted, caste in the urban milieu has morphed to behave more like an ethnic community, whose members not only harbor notions of ‘ethnic’ distinctiveness but also a strong consciousness of rank vs. other caste communities. This continuing lack of egalitarianism then poisons urban civic life. It impacts hiring decisions; access to rental housing, health care, and public services; response from law enforcement; judicial verdicts; etc.[6] In our age of economic liberalization, even the Indian private sector oozes discrimination from all its pores. A recent and extensive study, Blocked by Caste, decisively dispels the belief that the private sector is mostly caste-blind and hires based on ‘merit’.[7] It shows that equally qualified Dalit and Muslim résumés are much less likely to get selected than upper-caste ones, and exposes other ‘hidden nuances of caste prejudice in the language of globalisation that contemporary India speaks.’[8] The obvious question this study raises is: why shouldn’t affirmative action be part of the strategy for equalizing opportunity in the private sector? It also shows that the beneficiaries of reservation can travel only so far in the presence of entrenched discrimination in public life. (Read this excellent survey of the reservations debate by Jayati Ghosh. [9])

Notably, my friend supported income- and gender-based reservations. A votary of a technocratic idea of ‘merit’, he was nevertheless willing to trade some ‘merit’ for other social goods, except when it came to caste. He saw the disability of poverty and gender, but minimized the disability of caste, refusing to see how common it is even in urban life, let alone in rural India, where most Indians live. I wondered if he had ever really pondered the sting of casteism, or what Indian society might look like from Dalit perspectives, urban and rural. He seemed to embody all the ignorance, doublethink, and moral myopia of the social class we both belonged to. I saw in him the same empathy deficit that I had been ashamed to discover within myself.

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Read the full post here.

Footnotes:

3. Sanghmitra S. Acharya, ‘Access to Health Care and Patterns of Discrimination: A Study of Dalit Children in Selected villages of Gujarat and Rajasthan’, 2010 (download).
4. An example comes from Professor Subramanium, Chennai Academy of Music, who said the following during a classical music recital: ‘There is folk music and classical music. Carnatic music is scientificallv organized, folk music is not so … people who are not properly trained just sing out of emotion, enthusiasm. Folk music can be sung by any child. Quacks! Carnatic is not like this, you need a talent.’ (source)
5. Amy Chua, ‘World on Fire’, a very good study of many Asian, African, and Latin American countries (not India but lessons apply) that shows how neoliberal economics can worsen ethnic strife. Here is a review.
6. Such crippling negative discrimination can stymie most positive discrimination policies. But even for the blacks in the US, whose situation today is much better than that of Dalits, a ‘results gap’ continues to exist. This article by Orlando Patterson in the Nation explains why.
7. Madhura Swaminathan, ‘Caste & the labour market’, The Hindu, Mar 9, 2010. Among older studies is one by MN Panini, who showed that during the ‘permit raj’ era, the private sector was far from caste neutral or ‘merit based’ and routinely tapped into its caste networks.
8. Latha Jishnu, ‘The economics of caste inequity’, Business Standard, Dec 18, 2009.
9. Jayati Ghosh, ‘Case for Caste Based Quotas in Higher Education’, EPW, June 17, 2006.

கதைசொல்லி பாமா / Storyteller Bama

கூடுதமிழ்ஸ்டூடியோவில்  லிவி எழுதியது

Written by Livi at KooduThamizhStudio

முழு கட்டுரையை இங்கே படிக்கலாம். இந்த வலைபக்கத்தில் பாமா சொல்லிய கதைகளின் ஒலிப்பதிவையும் கேட்கலாம்.

Read the full essay in Tamil here. You can also listen to the audio of Bama telling a few stories in Tamil by scrolling down this page.

One of Bama’s stories has been translated into English and published in the Little Magazine. Here is an introduction to Bama by her translator Lakshmi Holmstrom.

“பாரச்சிலுவையை
சுமக்கவும் வேண்டும்
கல்லிலும் முள்ளிலும்
இடறல் படவும் வேண்டும்
முகம் குப்புற விழ‌வும் வேண்டும்
கசையடி படவும் வேண்டும்
பனிமலையுச்சிக்கு நடக்கவும் வேண்டும்
இவையனைத்தும் தாண்டுதல்
அறையப்படுவதற்காகவே “

- பானுபாரதி

“The load of the cross
Must be borne.
Stumble, we must,
On stone and thorn,
Fall on our face, we must
Feel the whiplash,
Walk to the peak of snowy mountains.
We cross all these
Only to be crucified.”

-Banubharathi

…

சாதியென்பதை எதிர்த்து இலக்கியத்தில் வலிகளின் பதிவும், அதை எதிர்கொள்ள ஏற்றுக்கொண்ட துணிவும் முன்னெடுத்த பாதைகளுமே நாளைய வரலாற்றை மாற்றி அமைக்கும். நூற்றாண்டுகளாக அடிமைப்படுத்தப்பட்ட தலித்துகளின் வாழ்க்கை பதிவை அவர்கள் போல் காத்திரமாக யாராலும் முன்வைக்க இயலாது என்பதை உணர்த்தியது கருக்கு. மதம் சக மனிதனை நேசிக்கச் சொல்லித்தந்தாலும், எந்த சாதி சார்ந்த மனிதனிடம் அன்பு செலுத்துவது என்பதையும் அதன் நிறுவனம் உட்புகுத்திச் சொல்லித் தரும் என்பதை தெளிவாக்கியது அவர் கன்னியாஸ்திரியாக பூண்ட துறவறம்.
…

The literature against caste, with its register of pain and the paths that were followed with the courage to face it, will rewrite our tomorrows. Karukku reminds us that none can tell the life stories of dalits with the same rage as dalits whose forebears have been enslaved for centuries. Her experiences as a nun make it clear that even if religion teaches us to love one another, its institutions will interject and tell us to which castes we may show our affections.
…

பாமாவின் மூத்த சகோதரர் ராஜ் கௌதமன். அவர் தேர்ந்த விமர்சகராக அறியப்படுபவர். சிலுவை ராஜ்சரித்திரம் அவரின் புகழ் பெற்ற நாவல். கருக்கு நாவலில் அவரை கல்வி கற்க ஊக்கப்படுத்தும் அதே அண்ணன் தான். தமையனிடம் இருந்து தான் எழுத்தைப் பெற்றுக் கொண்டீர்களா எனக் கேட்டவுடன்உடனே மறுதலித்தவர் தன் தந்தையிடம் இருந்து தான் எழுதும் திறன் கடத்தப்பட்டிருக்க வேண்டும் என்றார். “என் தகப்பனார் அறியப்படாவிட்டாலும் நாடகங்கள் எழுதுவார், பாடல்கள் இயற்றுவார். எழுத்துத்திறன் ஜீனில் வந்திருக்க வேண்டும் ” என்றார்.

Bama’s older brother is Raj Gauthaman. He is known as a skilled critic. Siluvai Rajasarithram is his famous novel. He is the brother who is mentioned in Karukku as encouraging her to study. So did your writing come to her through her brother? She immediately refutes the suggestion. ‘The skill of writing must have been passed on to me from my father’, she says. “Even if my father was not well-known, he wrote plays and composed songs. The skill of writing must have come through my genes.” she said.

பாமாவின் எழுத்து அவரின் கிராமத்தில் உள்ள மனிதர்களின் வாழ்வியலை அவ்வாறே பதிவு செய்வ‌து. அவர் நாவல் எழுதுவது என்று திட்டமிட்ட வடிவுடன் எழுதாததால் பெயர்களையும் மாற்றாமல் நிகழ்காலத்தில் அழைக்கும் பெயர்களுடனே கருக்கு நாவலிலும் குறிப்பிடிருக்கிறார்.

Bama’s writings documents the life of people in the village exactly as it is. Since, she did not begin writing with the aim to write a novel, names have found place as they are. The names that are used by people currently have found place in the Karukku novel.
…

…பாமாவும் தான் எழுதிய கருக்கு நாவலால் ஒரு வருடம் பாண்டிச்சேரியில் தன்னுடைய தமயன் வீட்டில் வனவாசம் இருந்திருக்கிறார். அதிகம் படிக்க தெரியாத மக்கள் பிறர் மேலோட்டமாக படித்துச் சொன்னதை அப்படியே கேட்டுவிட்டு ஆத்திரத்தில் கொதித்திருக்கிறார்கள். அந்த நாட்களில் பாமாவின் ஊரைச் சேர்ந்த எட்டாம் வகுப்பு வரை மட்டுமே படித்த ஒருவர் பாமாக்கு கடிதம் ஒன்றை எழுதியிருக்கிறார். அவரை கொஞ்ச நாட்கள் ஊர் பக்கம் வரவேண்டாம் என்று சொல்லிவிட்டு, அங்கிருக்கும் மக்களை கூட்டாமாகச் சேர்த்து நாவலை வாசித்துக் காட்டியிருக்கிறார். அவர்களின் பட்டப்பெயர்கள் இன்ன இன்ன இடத்தில் தான் உபயோகித்திருக்கிறார். எதையும் அவர் தவறாக எழுதவில்லை என்பதை விளங்கப் படுத்தியிருக்கிறார். அதன் பின்னரே அம்மக்களும் சமாதானம் அடைந்திருக்கின்றனர்.

…Bama too spent a year in exile in her brother’s house in Pondicherry for her novel, Karukku. The people who did not read much had listened to those who had read her work superficially and were enraged. In those days, a man from Bama’s village who had only completed his eighth standard had written a letter to her. He told her not to come near the village for a few days, then he had gathered the people and read the novel to them. He had explained that she was using their nicknames in specific places and that she had not written anything that was wrong. Only after this did the people grow calm.

பாமாவின் ஊரில் திறக்கப்பட்ட ‘அம்பேத்கர்’ சிலைக்கு அவரையும் சிறப்பு விருந்தினராக அழைத்துள்ளனர். இன்று ‘கருக்கு பாமா’ எனவே அவர்களால் அறியப்படுகிறார். பாமா இருப்பது அவர்களுக்கு பெருமிதமும் கூட. ‘இப்பொழுதெல்லாம் அவர்களே என்னிடம் வந்து கதைகளைக் கூறி இந்த கதையை எழுது என்று உரிமையுடன் சொல்கிற நிலைக்கு வந்துவிட்டது’ என்றார். ‘இப்பொழுது சுதாகரித்து விட்டேன் பெயரைமாற்றியே எழுதுகிறேன்’ என்று சிரித்துக் கொண்டே சொன்னார்.
…

She was also invited as a special guest to open the Ambedkar statue in her village. Today, she is known as ‘Karukku Bama’ by her people. Her existence is a source of pride for them. ‘Nowadays, they come to me of their own accord and tell me stories. It has come to a stage where they tell me, ‘write this story’ with authority’, she said. ‘Now I have learnt and change names when I write,” she said with a smile.
…

ஆதிதிராவிடன் 2 / Adi Dravidan 2

ஆதிதிராவிடன்: ‘கற்பனை’யாக்கப்பட்ட இதழ் (உண்மெய்யும் திரிபும்)
ஸ்டாலின் ராஜாங்கம்

காலச்சுவடு இதழ் 93-இல் வெளிவந்த கட்டுரை

Adi Dravidan : The magazine that was made ‘imaginary’ (The truth and the falsification)
Stalin Rajangam

Essay published in Kalachuvadu, Issue 93

Read the first half of this essay in translation here

…

ஆதிதிராவிடர் என்னும் அடையாளம் அரசியல் தளத்தில் முக்கியத்துவமடைந்த சமகாலத்தில்தான் ஆதிதிராவிடன் என்னும் மாத இதழ் இலங்கையிலிருந்து வெளியானது. 1912ஆம் ஆண்டு மார்ச் மாதம் இலங்கையில் ஆரம்பிக்கப்பட்ட தென் இந்திய ஐக்கியச் சங்கத்தின் சார்பில் இவ்விதழ் 1919ஆம் ஆண்டு தொடங்கப்பட்டது. எஸ்.பி. கோபால்சாமி என்பவர் இதன் ஆசிரியராவார். இச்சங்கம் 1922இல் இந்தியன் ஒடுக்கப்பட்ட இந்திய மக்களின் ஊழியன் என்று பெயர் மாற்றம் பெற்றது. இரண்டாண்டுகளுக்கும் மேலாக இவ்விதழ் வெளியானதாகத் தெரிகிறது. இரண்டாண்டு முடிவில் முதலாண்டு இதழ்கள் ஒரு தொகுதியாகவும் இரண்டாமாண்டு இதழ்கள் மற்றொரு தொகுதியாகவும் தொகுத்து வெளியிடப்பட்டன.

As the identity called Adi Dravidar became important in the political sphere, at the same time, a monthly magazine called Adi Dravidan was published from Sri Lanka. On behalf of the South Indian Aikiya Sangam – which was begun in Sri Lanka in March, 1912 – this magazine was begun in 1919. S.P. Gopalsami was the editor. The Sangam changed its name in 1922 to Indian Oppressed Peoples’ Servant. It seems that the journal was published for over two years. At the end of two years, the journals of the first year were published as one volume and those of the second as another.

ஆதிதிராவிடர்களின் கல்வி, ஒழுக்கம், கலாச்சாரம், லௌகீக விசயம், ராஜ விசுவாசம் ஆகியவற்றை நோக்கமாகக்கொண்டு தொடங்கப்பட்டதாகச் சொல்லிக்கொண்டாலும், ஆதிதிராவிடர்களுக்கான கல்வியையே முதன்மை நோக்கமாய்க்கொண்டு இயங்கியது. கேசவ பிள்ளை, சிதம்பரம் நந்தனார் பாடசாலை சுவாமி சகஜானந்தர் ஆகியோர் இலங்கை சென்ற காலத்திலேயே இவ்விதழ் உருப்பெற்றது. சமய அடிப்படையில் சைவ சமய உணர்வைப் போற்றிய இதழ் இது.

Though the stated aim was to foster the education, discipline, culture, spiritual guidance and loyalty to the King among Dalits, it functioned with education as its primary aim. This magazine had taken shape in the time when people like Kesava Pillai, Chidambaram Nandanar, Paadasaalai Swami Sagajaanandar had gone to Sri Lanka. With a religious base, this magazine fostered the Shaivite religious sentiment.

தெய்வமிகழேல், சக்கர நெரிநில், ஊக்கமது கைவிடேல் என்னும் வாசகங்களை முகப்பிலே தாங்கி 16 பக்கங்களில் வெளியானது. இதழின் பக்கங்களைக் கூட்டவும் வார இதழாக மாற்றவும் தொடர்ந்து விருப்பத்தை வெளிப்படுத்திய இவ்விதழ் விருப்பம் நிறைவேறாமலேயே நின்றுபோனது. 1000 சந்தாவினை நெருங்கியிருந்த இந்த இதழ் தமிழகம், கோலார் தங்கவயல், பர்மா ஆகிய இடங்களுக்கும் அனுப்பப்பட்டது. தொடர்ந்து நன்கொடை, சந்தா ஆகியவை கிடைத்துவந்தபோதிலும் இதழ் நிலைப்பதற்கு போதுமானவையாக அவை இல்லை. ஆயிரம் பிரதிகளை நெருங்கியிருந்த இவ்விதழ் ஆதிதிராவிடர்களின் அறிவுசார்ந்த வேட்கையினை அடையாளம் காட்டக்கூடியதாக இன்றைக்கு மாறி நிற்கிறது. ஆதிதிராவிடர் அல்லாதாரும் சந்தாதாரர்களாகவும் பங்களிப்பாளர்களாகவும் ஈடுபட்டு வந்தனர் என்பது குறிப்பிடத்தக்கது. இதழ் பற்றிய விமர்சனம் சுதேசமித்திரன் இதழிலும் வெளியானது.

With aphorisms such as ‘Do not despise god’, ‘Stand by ethics’, ‘Do not abandon enthusiasm’ on the cover, it was published with 16 pages. Though the wish that pages could be increased and that the journal be made a monthly was expressed frequently, this never happened. This magazine, which had a subscriber base of close to 1000, was sent to places including Tamil Nadu, Kolar Gold Fields and Burma. Though it received continuous donations and subscriptions, these were not sufficient to keep the magazine going. This magazine, that reached a print run of close to 1000, today has become proof of the Adi Dravidar’s intellectual thirst. It is notable that non-Adi Dravidar also participated in this magazine as contributors and subscribers. A review of the magazine also appeared in the Sudesamitran.

பின்னாளில் திராவிடன் இதழின் ஆசிரியராக விளங்கிய கனக சங்கர கண்ணப்பன் சூத்திரர் யார்? ஆதிதிராவிடர்களின் தொழில் போன்ற கட்டுரைகளைத் தொடர்ந்து எழுதிவந்தார். ஆதிதிராவிடர்கள் விவசாயம், நெசவு, போர், இசைத் தொழில், வள்ளுவர் எனப் பல்வேறு தொழில் புரிந்தவர்களாகவே இருந்து வந்துள்ளனர் என்றெழுதிய அவர் இக்கருத்தினையே எஸ். சோமசுந்தரம்பிள்ளை போன்ற சென்னை வாழ் ஆதிதிராவிடர்களும் கொண்டிருக்கின்றனர் என்று குறிப்பிட்டார். ஆதிதிராவிடர்கள் பல்வேறு தொழிலிலும் ஆற்றல் பெற்றவர்களாக இருந்தனர் என்னும் வரலாற்றுரீதியான நம்பிக்கையினைப் பலரும் கொண்டிருந்தனர் என்பதை இதன்மூலம் அறியமுடிகிறது. அதேபோல இவ்விதழில் வெளியான சுவாமி சகஜானந்தரின் உரைகள் மூலம் அவருக்கிருந்த விரிவான தமிழறிவு புலப்படுகிறது. சகஜானந்தரைப் போற்றிய இவ்விதழ் நம் தலைவர் எம்.சி. ராஜா என்று எம்.சி. ராஜாவையும் போற்றத் தவறவில்லை. இத் தலைப்பிலேயே வெளியான கட்டுரையொன்றில் “இம்மஹான் நம் ஆதிதிராவிட குலசிரேஷ்டர், சென்னை, ஆதிதிராவிட மஹாஜன சபைக்கு செக்ரடேரியும் தற்காலம் வந்துலாவும் சென்னை ஆதிதிராவிடன் பத்திரிக்கைக்கு ஆசிரியருமாவார். . . ஆதிதிராவிட மக்களில் சட்ட நிருபண சபைக்கு மெம்பராகத் தெரிந்தெடுப்பது இதுவே முதல் தடவை” (1919 ஆகஸ்ட் 15) என்று புகழ்கிறது. இதே காலத்தில் சென்னையிலிருந்து ஆதிதிராவிடன் என்னும் இதழ் எம்.சி. ராஜாவை ஆசிரியராகக்கொண்டு வெளியானது எனும் குறிப்பும் இக்கட்டுரை மூலம் கிடைக்கிறது.

Who was Kanaga Sankara Kannappan Soothirar, the editor of the Dravidan magazine in later days? He continually wrote essays such as the work of Adi Dravidar. Mentioning that the Adi Dravidar were involved in agriculture, weaving, war, music, fortune telling and other such work, he mentions that Adi Dravidar Chennai residents like Somasundaram Pillai said the same. Through this, we learn that many people believed the Adi Dravidar to have skill in many trades. Similarly, the speeches of Swami Sagajaanandar show the breadth of his knowledge of Tamil. The same magazine that praised Sagajaanandar did not fail to praise M.C. Raja as ‘our leader M.C. Raja’. In an essay that was published under this headline, he is praised as, “This great man of our Adi Dravidar clan is Chennai secretary of the Adi Dravida Mahajana Sabha and is editor of the Chennai Adi Dravidan magazine as well…this is the first time that a member of the Adi Dravida people has been selected to the Legislative Council” (1919, August 15). Through this essay, we learn that a magazine called Adi Dravidan was being published from Chennai with M.C. Raja as the editor.

பெண்கள் முன்னேற்றம் பற்றித் தொடர்ச்சியாக எழுதப்பட்ட இவ்விதழில் மறைமலையடிகள் எழுதிய நூல்கள் குறித்த விளம்பரங்கள் விரிவான அறிமுகக் குறிப்புகளுடன் பன்முறை வெளியிடப்பட்டன. ராமநாதபுரம் மாவட்டம் கல்லல் பகுதியில் ஆதிதிராவிடர்கள் படும் சாதிக் கொடுமைகள், இலங்கையில் நடக்கும் சாதிப் பிரச்சினைகள், தென்னிந்திய ஐக்கியச் சங்கத்தின் பணிகள் போன்ற பல செய்திகளும் இடம் பெற்றன.

In this magazine that continuously wrote about the advancement of women, Maraimalai Adigal’s books were advertised several times with extensive introductions. There was also other news about the caste atrocities that were inflicted upon Adi Dravidar in the Kallal region of the Ramanathapuram district, the caste problems in Sri Lanka and the work of the South Indian Aikkiya Sangam.

ஆதிதிராவிடர்களின் கல்வி சார்ந்து இவ்விதழில் பதிவுகள் தனியாக எழுதுமளவுக்கு விரிவாக அமைந்துள்ளன. ஆதிதிராவிடர்கள் கல்வியின் மூலமே சாதிய இழிவை விலக்கிக்கொள்ள முடியும் என்று உறுதிபட எழுதியது. கிறித்தவப் பாதிரிமார்கள்கூடக் கல்வியின் பெயரால் இம்மக்களைப் பயன்படுத்திக்கொள்கிறார்கள் என்னும் கோபத்தை வெளிப்படுத்திய இவ்விதழ் இம் மக்களின் தனித்துவமான நடவடிக்கைகளினாலே இவை சாத்தியமடைய முடியும் என்று சொல்லவும் செய்தது. அதாவது, “இலங்கை தென்னிந்திய ஐக்கியச் சங்கம், தென்னிந்திய ஒடுக்கப்பட்டவர்கள் ஐக்கியச் சங்கம் மற்றும் குலாபிமானிகள் முன்னின்று நடத்தினால் மட்டுமே” கல்வி உள்ளிட்ட சீர்திருத்தங்கள் கைகூடுமென்று எழுதியது.

There are separate essays that find place in this journal on the theme of the education of the Adi Dravidar. It was written firmly that the Adi Dravidar would be able to remove the slights of caste through education alone. The magazine expressed anger against Christian pastors who were ‘using’ these people in the name of education, while acknowledging that the unique practices of the people made this possible. The magazine carried exhortations that only the uniting of the Sri Lanka South India Aikkiya Sangam and the South India Oppressed People’s Aikkiya Sangam and other leaders from the community could lead to reforms in areas including education.

கோயம்புத்தூர் ஆர். வீரையன் போன்றோர் ஆதிதிராவிடர் கல்விக் குறித்துத் தொடர்ந்து எழுதிவந்தனர். அவர் பெயரில் வெளியான அறிக்கை ஒன்று:

People like Coimbatore R. Veeraiyan wrote continuously about Adi Dravidar education. A statement that was issued in his name:

அறிக்கை

நண்பர்கள்!
வீணாக காலங்கழிக்காதீர்கள். கோயம்புத்தூரில் நடைபெற்றுவரும் நக்ஷ்த்ரவாசக சாலை இரவு பள்ளிக்கூடத்தில் இரவு 7 மணியிலிருந்து 9 1/2 மணி வரைக்கும் இலவசமாக வாசித்து முன்னேறுங்கள்.
“முன் கசக்கும் பின் இனிக்கும்”
திருமால் வீதி                                   ஆர். வீரையன்
கோயம்புத்தூர்

Statement

Friends!

Do not waste time. Go to the Nakshatravaasaga Road Night School that is being run in Coimbatore between 7 and 9.30 at night, read for free and progress.

‘What is bitter to start with, will be sweet later’

Thirumal Street                                    R. Veeraiyan

Coimbatore

 

என்று வெளியாகியிருந்தது. 1919ஆம் ஆண்டிலேயே சிதம்பரம் நந்தனார் பாடசாலையில் சுமார் 100 மாணவர்கள் படித்தார்கள் என்னும் குறிப்பையும் இதழ் தருகிறது.

is published thus. We learn from this magazine that the Chidambaram Nandanar School has about 100 students in the year 1919 itself.

பிராமணரல்லாதார் அரசியல் தலித் மக்களையும் உள்ளிழுத்துக்கொண்டு திராவிடர் என்னும் ஒற்றை அடையாளத்திற்குள் இணைத்தபோதுதான் தனித்துவத்தின் அடையாளமாக ஆதிதிராவிடன் என்னும் சொல்லாடல் மேலுக்கு வந்தது. எனினும், இந்நடவடிக்கையில் முன்னின்ற எம்.சி. ராஜா நீதிக்கட்சியோடு இணைந்து பணியாற்றியதோடு தன் முயற்சியின் காரணமாக அச்சொல்லுக்கு அரசின் அங்கீகாரத்தையும் பெற்றார். ஆதிதிராவிடன் இதழுங்கூடப் பிராமணரல்லாத அரசியலையும் ராஜாங்கத்தின் கல்விப் பணிகளையும் ஆதரித்து எழுதிவந்தது. டாக்டர். டி.எம். நாயரின் மரணம் பற்றி விரிவான இரங்கல் அறிக்கையும் எழுதப்பட்டது.

It was when the non-Brahmin politics pulled in the Dalit people under the unified identity of Dravidan that the term Adi Dravidan came into use to identify difference. M.C. Raja, who worked with the Justice Party, through his labour, found government recognition for the term. The Adi Dravidan magazine, too, wrote in support of the non-Brahmin politics and Rajangam’s work in education. It published a long condolence message for the death of Dr. T.M. Nair.

ஆனால், 1921ஆம் ஆண்டு சென்னை பின்னி ஆலை வேலைநிறுத்தப் போராட்டத்தை ஒட்டியெழுந்த கலவரத்தின் பின்னணியில் ஆதிதிராவிடன் இதழ் நீதிக் கட்சிக்கு எதிராக எழுதியது. இப்போராட்டத்தின் போது, எம்.சி. ராஜா தலித் மக்களை வேலைக்குத் திரும்பும்படி கோரியதால் அம்மக்களும் வேலைக்குத் திரும்பினர். அதனால் இம்மக்கள் கடுமையாகத் தாக்கப்பட்டனர். வீடுகள் எரிக்கப்பட்டன. புளியந்தோப்பு கலவரம் என்று சொல்லப்பட்ட இக்கலவரத்தைத்தான் பறையர்களைச் சென்னையைவிட்டே அப்புறப்படுத்த வேண்டுமென எழுதப்பட்ட சர்.பி.டி. தியாகராயரின் அறிக்கையைத் திராவிடன் இதழ் வெளியிட்டது. நீதிக்கட்சியும் திராவிடன் இதழும் தலித்துகளுக்கு எதிராக நேரடியாகப் பேசின. இவ்விடத்தில் எம்.சி. ராஜா நீதிக்கட்சியிடமிருந்து விலகி நின்றார். இன்றைக்கும் சென்னை பின்னி மில் கலவரம், நீதிக்கட்சியின் தலித் எதிர்ப்பு ஆகிய அனைத்திற்கும் கிடைக்கும் தகுதி வாய்ந்த தலித் தரப்பு ஆதாரம் இவ்விதழ்தான்.

Yet in 1921, during the violence that followed the strike at the Binny Mill, the Adi Dravidan magazine wrote against the Justice Party. During this struggle, M.C. Raja requested the Dalit people to return to work and they did so. They were severely attacked in consequence. Houses were burnt. The Adi Dravidan magazine published a statement from Sir P.T. Thiagarayar saying that the Paraiyar should be removed from Chennai, during these riots that are termed the Pulianthope riots. The Justice Party and the Dravidan journal spoke openly against Dalits. At this point, M.C. Raja stood apart from the Justice Party. Till date, the only authoritative Dalit recording of the Chennai Binny Mill violence and the Justice Party’s opposition to Dalits is this journal alone.

நீதிக்கட்சியும் திராவிடன் போன்ற பத்திரிகையும் ஆதரவாயிருப்பார்கள் என்று நம்பிய ஆதிதிராவிடன் இதழ் சாதிஇந்துக்களும் கைவிட்டுவிட்டனர் என்று வருந்தி எழுதியது. திராவிடன் போன்ற இதழின் ஆதிதிராவிடர் விரோதப் போக்கைத் தொடர்ந்துதான் ‘ஆதிதிராவிடர்களுக்கு தினசரியோ வார இதழோ நடத்த வேண்டும் அல்லது ஆதிதிராவிடனையாவது வார இதழாக மாற்றிட’ வேண்டுகோள் விடுத்தது இவ்விதழ். அதோடு இலங்கையில் கூடியளவு நல்ல நிலைமையிலிருக்கும் இந்தியரும் ஆதிதிராவிடர்களும் இயன்ற அளவு தொகை அனுப்பும்படியும் உதவிசெய்பவர் பெயர் ஆதிதிராவிடனில் பிரசுரிக்கப்படும் என்றும் அறிவிக்கப்பட்டது. அதேபோலச் செய்யவும்பட்டது.

The Adi Dravidan journal that had once believed that the Justice Party and the Dravidan journal would support them, expressed grief that the caste Hindus had abandoned them. It is an expression of the hostility towards the Adi Dravidan journal that the Dravidan journal asked that ‘the Adi Dravidar should have a daily or a weekly or the Adi Dravidan should be made a weekly’. Immediately, it was announced that the names of those who contribute for this – either well-to-do Indians in Sri Lanka or other Adi Dravidar – would be published in the pages of the Adi Dravidan magazine. This was done.

ஆதிதிராவிடர் நலனில் அர்ப்பணிப்புள்ள இந்த இதழை நீதிக்கட்சியை அம்பலப்படுத்தியது என்ற காரணத்தினாலேயே ‘கற்பனையான பத்திரிக்கை’ என்று சொல்லிவிடவும் இங்கு முயற்சிக்கப்பட்டது. எஸ்.வி. ராஜதுரையும் வ. கீதாவும் இணைந்து எழுதிய பெரியார்: சுயமரியாதை சமதர்மம் என்னும் நூலில் “நீதிக்கட்சி பத்திரிக்கையான திராவிடன் இழிவுக் குறிப்போடு எழுதியதாகச் சிலர் கூறுவதும் அதன் பொருட்டுக் கற்பனையான சில பத்திரிகையொன்றை ஆதாரம் காட்டுவதும் அடிப்படையில்லாதவை”(பக். 381) என்று குறிப்பிடுவது ஆதிதிராவிடன் இதழைத்தான். அதேபோல 1940களில் ‘திராவிடஸ்தான் போல எங்களுக்கும் ஆதிதிராவிடஸ்தான் வேண்டும்’ என்று முனுசாமிப்பிள்ளை அறிக்கை ஒன்றை வெளியிட்டபோது, அதற்கு மறுப்பாக “திராவிடர், திராவிடம் என்பவை சரித்திரச் சான்றுகளைக் கொண்ட சொற்கள், ஆதிதிராவிடன் என்ற சொல்லுக்கு சரித்திர ஆதாரமில்லை” என்று விடுதலை தலையங்கம் சொன்னது. திராவிடம் என்னும் கருத்தாக்கத்தை உறுதிபடக் கட்டியெழுப்பிய கால்டுவெல்லின் விளக்கமே இந்த மண்ணின் பூர்வகுடிகள் ஒடுக்கப்பட்டவர்களே என்பதுதான்.

Since this magazine that had given itself to the service of the Adi Dravidar had ripped the mask off the Justice Party, there was an effort to brand this magazine as ‘imaginary’. S.V. Rajadurai and V. Geetha in their jointly-written Periyar: Suyamariyathai Samatharmam, refer to the Adi Dravidan magazine when they say ‘Some say baselessly that the journal of the Justice Party, the Dravidan, had used derogatory words and quote imaginary magazines as proof’. Similarly, in the 1940s, when Munusamipillai issued a statement that ‘We need Adi Dravidastan, just like Dravidastan’, the Viduthalai journal published an editorial that ‘Dravidar and Dravidian were words with historic proof, whereas Adi Dravidan did not have any historic standing’. It was to prove that the marginalised people of this country were its indigenous inhabitants that Caldwell built up the Dravidan ideology.

தலித்துகள் தங்கள் கருத்துக்கு ஆதரவாக இருக்கும்வரை அவர்களை ஆதரவாளர்களாகச் சொல்லுவதும் தனித்துவமாக எழுதவோ செயற்படவோ முனையும்போது, அவர்களின் இருப்பையே காலிசெய்யும் நிலைமைக்குத் துணிந்ததையுமே இப்போக்குகள் சுட்டுகின்றன.

As long as Dalits are supportive of their ideas, they were called supporters. The tendency to negate their very existence, when they sought to write or act separately, is visible here.

தொடக்ககால ஆதிதிராவிட முன்னோடிகள் பௌத்தம், வைணவம், சைவம் என்று வெவ்வேறு ஆன்மீக நோக்கங்களில் ஆர்வம் கொண்டிருந்தாலும் ஆதிதிராவிடர்களுக்கான நலன் எனும் பயணத்தில் ஒன்றுபட்டிருப்பதைக் காணமுடிகிறது. வித்வான் க்ஷி.கி. முனிசாமி பிள்ளை எழுதிய தெய்வப்புலமைத் திருவள்ளுவ நாயனார் புராணம் என்னும் நூல் வள்ளுவர் ஆதிதிராவிடரே என்பதை நிறுவவந்த நூலாகும் என்று ஆதிதிராவிடன் (1919 ஜூன் 15) கூறுகின்றது. 26.04.1920 சுதேசமித்திரனில் ஸ்ரீமான் கோ. குப்புசாமி என்பவர் வள்ளுவர் பஞ்சமரா? என்று சகஜானந்தரை நோக்கிக் கேள்வி எழுப்பினார். இதற்குப் பதிலளித்துப் பெருமாள் நாயனார் என்பவர் வள்ளுவர் பஞ்சமரே பறையரே என்று ஆதிதிராவிடனில்தான் (1920 ஜூன் 15) எழுதினார். வள்ளுவர் தொடர்பான இத்தகு விவாதம் இருபதாம் நூற்றாண்டில் பரவலாக நடந்ததாகவும் அதில் ஆதிதிராவிட அறிவாளிகள் பலரும் வள்ளுவர் பஞ்சமரே என்று நிறுவுவதில் ஒன்றுபட்டிருந்தனர் என்றும் தெரிகிறது. அயோத்திதாசப் பண்டிதரும் இத்தகு விளக்கத்தில் ஈடுபட்டிருந்தார் என்பது குறிப்பிடத்தக்கது.

While the Adi Dravida leaders had various spiritual leanings including Buddhism, Vaishnavism and Shaivism in the early years, we can see that they were united in the journey towards the well-being of Adi Dravidar. Vidwan K.K. Munisami Pillai’s Theivappulamai Thiruvalluva Naayanaar Puranam tried to establish that Valluvar was an Adi Dravidar, according to the Adi Dravidan (1919 June 15) magazine. In Sudesamitran, issue dated 26.04.1920, Sriman K. Kuppusamy asks Sagajaanandar if Valluvar is a Panjamar. In reply to this, Perumal Nayanar writes in Adi Dravidan (1920 June 15) that Valluvar was indeed Panjamar and Paraiyar. Though this debate around Valluvar has been widespread through the 20th century, it is clear here that Dalit intellectuals were united in proving that Valluvar was truly a Panjamar. It is notable that Iyothee Thass was also involved in such explanations.

பயன்பட்ட ஆதாரங்கள்:
1. ராஜதுரை, எஸ்.வி., கீதா, வ. – பெரியார்: சுயமரியாதை – சமதர்மம். மே, 1999, விடியல் பதிப்பகம், கோவை.
2. ராஜதுரை, எஸ்.வி. – பெரியார் – ஆகஸ்ட் 15. பிப்ரவரி 1998, விடியல் பதிப்பகம், கோவை.
இதழ்கள்:
1. ஆதிதிராவிடன் (இரண்டு ஆண்டு இதழ் தொகுப்பு): மதுரை தலித் ஆதார மையம்.
2. தலித் – 2004 (ஜூலை-ஆகஸ்ட்) – ஆ.இரா. வேங்கடாசலபதியின் கட்டுரை.

References:

1. Rajadurai, S.V., Geetha, V. – Periyar: Suyamariyaathai – Samatharmam, May 1999, Vidiyal Pathippagam, Coimbatore

2. Rajadurai, S.V. – Periyar – August 15. February 1998, Vidiyal Pathippagam, Coimbatore

Journals

1. Adi Dravidan (Collected volume): Madurai Dalit Support Centre

2. Dalit – 2004 (July-August) – A. R. Venkatachalapathy’s essay

ஆதிதிராவிடன் 1 / Adi Dravidan 1

ஆதிதிராவிடன்: ‘கற்பனை’யாக்கப்பட்ட இதழ் (உண்மெய்யும் திரிபும்)
ஸ்டாலின் ராஜாங்கம்

காலச்சுவடு இதழ் 93-இல் வெளிவந்த கட்டுரை

Adi Dravidan : The magazine that was made ‘imaginary’ (The truth and the falsification)
Stalin Rajangam

Essay published in Kalachuvadu, Issue 93

தீண்டப்படாதோரின் இதழியல் பயணம் நாமறிந்து 19ஆம் நூற்றாண்டின் மத்தியிலேயே தொடங்கிவிட்டது. அன்று தொடங்கி இன்று வரையிலும் பல்வேறு அரசியல் கருத்துகளையும் மாற்றங்களையும் வெளிப்படுத்துபவையாக அவை வெளியாகி வருகின்றன. அவற்றிடமிருந்து பிறந்த கருத்துகள் பல இன்று சிறந்த அரசியல் ஜனநாயகக் கருத்துகளாக ஏற்றுக்கொள்ளப்பட்டுள்ளன. ஆனால், அவை தலித்துகளிடமிருந்து பிறந்தவை என்னும் உண்மை மட்டும் சொல்லப்படுவதில்லை. இந்நிலையில் கடந்தகால இதழ்களின் வரலாற்றைச் சொல்லுவதை இழந்துபோன அறிவடையாளத்தை மீள்கண்டுபிடிப்புச் செய்யும் சமூகச் செயல்பாடாகவே புரிந்துகொள்ள வேண்டும். தீண்டப்படாதோர் வெளியிட்ட இதழ்களில் சில: சூரியோதயம் (1869), பஞ்சமர் (1871), ஜான் ரத்தினம் நடத்திய திராவிட பாண்டியன் (1885), வேலூர் முனிசாமி பண்டிதரின் ஆன்றோர் மித்திரன் (1886), டி.ஐ. சுவாமிக்கண்ணுப் புலவரின் மகாவிகட தூதன், இரட்டைமலை சீனிவாசன் நடத்திய பறையன் (1893), இல்லற ஒழுக்கம் (1898), தசாவதானம் பூஞ்சோலை முத்துவீரப் புலவரின் பூலோக வியாசன் (1900), அயோத்திதாசப் பண்டிதரின் தமிழன் (1907), சொப்பனேஸ்வரி அம்மாள் நடத்திய தமிழ்மாது (1907), மற்றும் ஆதிதிராவிடமித்திரன் போன்ற இதழ்கள் தொடக்கக் காலத்தவையாகும்.

The journalistic journey of the untouchable community begins, to our knowledge, in the middle of the 19th century. These journals have been published to express many political thoughts and changes from that period till date. Many ideas that emerged from them have been accepted today as exceptionally democratic political concepts. Yet, the truth that they were born from dalits is, alone, not acknowledged. In such a condition, the act of telling the history of these journals of the past has to be understood as a social act that is recovering a lost intellectual identity. Some of the journals published by the untouchable communities include : Suryodayam [Sun Rise] (1869), Panjamar (1871), Dravida Pandian (1885) that was run by John Rathinam, Vellore Munisami Pandithar’s Aandror Mithran (1886), D.I. Swamikannu Pulavar’s Mahavikada Thoothan, Rettaimalai Seenivasan’s Paraiyan (1893), Illara Ozhukkam [Domestic Order] (1898), Dasavadanam Poonjolai Muthuveera Pulavar’s Poologal Viyaasan (1900), Iyothee Thass Pandithar’s Thamizhan (1907), Soppanesvari Ammal’s Tamizh Maathu (1907) and Adi Dravida Mithran were among the journals that belonged to the initial period.

அயோத்திதாசரின் தமிழன் இதழை அவரது மறைவிற்குப் பின் அவருடைய மகன் க.அ. பட்டாபிராமன் 05.05.1914 முதல் 18.08.1915 வரை நடத்தினார். பின்னர் ஜீ. அப்பாத்துரையாரும் பி.எம். ராஜரத்தினமும் சேர்ந்து கோலார் தங்கவயலிலிருந்து 09.07.1926 முதல் 27.06.1934 வரை மீண்டும் தமிழன் இதழைக் கொணர்ந்தனர். அயோத்திதாசர் காலத் தமிழன் இதழுக்கும் பிந்தையோர் நடத்திய தமிழன் இதழுக்கும் நிறைய வேறுபாடுகள் உண்டு. இதற்கான சமூக அரசியல் பின்புலங்கள் தனியே ஆராயத்தக்கன. மேற்கண்ட இதழ்களில் தமிழன் தவிர வேறெந்த இதழும் முழுமையாகக் கிடைக்கவில்லை என்பது மாபெரும் இழப்பாகும். 20ஆம் நூற்றாண்டின் நடுப்பகுதி வரை நடத்தப்பட்ட இதழ்களின் கதியும் அதுதான். அத்தகைய இழப்பு இப்போது அரசியல்ரீதியான இழப்பாகவும் மாறி நிற்கிறது. இதனால் தலித் அரசியல் வரலாற்றில் நிகழ்ந்த கடந்தகாலப் போராட்டங்கள், வெற்றிகள், இழப்புகள், ஏமாற்றங்கள் என யாவும் மங்கலாகவே தெரிகின்றன. எனினும் தலித்துகளின் நீண்ட கால அரசியல் தொடர்ச்சியினைக் கண்டெடுக்கக் கடந்த காலத்தின் மீதான வரலாற்றுரீதியான பயணமும் தேவைப்படுகின்றது.

Iyothee Thass’ Thamizhan journal continued to be published after his death by his son K. A. Pattabiraman from 05.05.1914 to 18.08.1915. Afterwards, G. Appadurai and B.M. Rajarathinam together brought out the Thamizhan journal again, jointly publishing it from Kolar Gold Fields between 09.07.1926 and 27.06.1934. There are many differences between the Thamizhan journal that Iyothee Thass published and the journal that others published after him. The social circumstances that were responsible for this require separate research. Of the journals listed above, except Thamizhan, it is a great loss that we have not recovered even one journal fully. Journals that were published till the middle of the 20th century have suffered the same fate. Such a loss has also become a political loss now. Undertaking a historical journey into the past to find out the long, unbroken political movement of dalits is an imperative.

நாமக்கல் பகுதியிலிருந்து வெளியான சமத்துவம் (1945), வேலூர் பகுதியிலிருந்து நடத்தப்பட்ட பள்ளிக்கொண்டா கிருஷ்ணசாமியின் சமத்துவச் சங்கு, 1942இல் ஆம்பூர் ஈ.சுப்பிரமணியத்தால் மாதம் இரு முறையாகத் தொடங்கப்பட்ட தென்னாடு, 1941 முதல் வார இதழாகவும் 1946 முதல் மாதமிருமுறை இதழாகவும் வெளியான ஜே.ஜே. தாஸ், மூர்த்தி ஆகியோர் இணைந்து நடத்திய உதயசூரியன், 1930களில் க.அ. பட்டாபிராமதாஸால் நடத்தப்பட்ட ஆங்கில-தமிழ் மாத இதழான தர்மதொனி போன்ற இதழ்கள் இருபதாம் நூற்றாண்டின் நடுப்பகுதியில் வெளியாயின. அதற்கும் சற்றே பின்னால் நடத்தப்பட்ட அன்பு பொன்னோவியத்தின் அறவுரை, மக்கள் அறம், டி. குப்புசாமியின் பௌர்ணமி, சென்னை நீலக்கொடி, வீராசாமியின் தொண்டு, ரத்தினம் நடத்திய எரிமலை, ரத்தினமும் எக்ஸ்ரே மாணிக்கமும் இணைந்து நடத்திய சிவில் உரிமை, டாக்டர் அ. சேப்பன், சக்திதாசன் ஆகியோர் இணைந்து நடத்திய உணர்வு, மேலும் அம்பேத்கரிஸ்டு, அறிவுவழி ஆகிய இதழ்கள் இங்குக் குறிப்பிடத்தக்கவை. இத்தகைய நெடிய மரபில் இருபதாம் நூற்றாண்டின் கால்பகுதியிலேயே வெளியான இதழ்களிலொன்றுதான் ஆதிதிராவிடன் என்னும் இதழ்.

Samththuvam [Equality] (1945) that was published from the Namakkal region, Pallikonda Krishnaswami’s Samaththuva Sangu that was published from the Vellore region, Ambur E. Subramaniam’s Thennadu [Southern Country] that was published bi-monthly in 1942, J.J. Thass that was published from 1941 as a weekly and from 1946 as a bi-monthly, UdhayaSooriyan [Rising Sun] that was published by people including Moorthy, the English-Tamil monthly Tharmathoni that was published from the 1930s by K.A. Pattabiramathass and similar journals were among those that were published towards the middle of the 20th century. Magazines that were published slightly later such as Anbu Ponnoviyam’s Arivurai [Advice], Makkal Aram [People's Ethics], D. Kuppusami’s Pournami [Full Moon/Poornima], Chennai Neelakodi, Veerasami’s Thondu [Service], Rathinam’s Erimalai [Volcano], Civil Urimai [Civil Right] that was jointly published by Rathinam and X-ray Manickam, Unarvu [Feeling] that was jointly published by Dr. A. Seppan, Sakthithaasan and others, Ambedkarist, Arivu Vazhi [The Path of Knowledge], are among the note-worthy journals. In this long tradition, Adi Dravidan is among the journals to have been published in the first quarter of the 20th century.

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சமூகத்தளத்திலும் அரசியல்தளத்திலும் திராவிடம், திராவிடர் என்னும் சொல்லைக் கையாண்டு முதலில் அமைப்புகளையும் கருத்தியலையும் உருவாக்கியவர்கள் தாழ்த்தப்பட்ட சமூகத்தினரே ஆவர். திராவிடம் என்பதை மொழி, இனம் என்னும் தளத்தைக் கடந்து சாதிபேதமற்ற சமூகம் என்னும் நிலையில் பொருள்படுத்தியவர்கள் இவர்களே. எனினும், எண்ணிக்கை பலங்கொண்ட பெரும்பான்மை இந்து சாதியினர் அச்சொல்லையே தங்களின் அடையாளமாக மாற்றிக்கொண்ட வேளையில், சிறுபான்மை தலித் சாதி அறிவாளிகளும் அரசியல் செயல்பாட்டாளர்களும் ஆதிதிராவிடர்கள் என்னும் கூடுதலான அரசியல் அடையாளமுள்ள பெயரின் மூலம் தங்களை வெளிப்படுத்திக்கொண்டனர். அயோத்திதாசர் காலத்திலும் அதிகம் புழக்கமில்லாத இச்சொல் அவர் மறைந்த காலத்திற்குப் பின்பே அழுத்தம் பெற்று மேலெழுந்தது. 1910களின் மத்தியில் பிராமணரல்லாதார் இயக்கம் உருபெற்றதன் பின்னணியில் இச்சொல்லிற்கான தேவை கூடுதலாகியது. 1920களில் தமிழக தலித் அரசியலில் கோலோச்சிய எம்.சி. ராஜா, இரட்டைமலை சீனிவாசன் போன்ற செயற்பாட்டாளர்களின் காலத்தில் இச்சொல் நிலைபெற்றது. இப்பெயரில் அமைப்புகளையும் இதழ்களையும் அரசியல் விண்ணப்பங்களையும் இம்மக்கள் வெளிப்படுத்தினர்.

In the social and political spheres, the organisations and ideologies that first used the words Dravidianism and Dravidian were from the marginalised communities. Beyond the realm of Dravidian as relating purely to language and race, they identified the word to mean a society free of caste. At the time when the majority caste-Hindus adopted that word to mean their identity, the minority Dalit intellectuals and political activists took on the additional political identity of Adi Dravidan to express themselves. This word, that was not much in use in Iyothee Thass’ time, received emphasis and rose in importance after his death. In the middle of the 1910s, in the context of the emergence of the non-Brahmin movement, the need for this word increased. In the 1920s, in the time of people like M.C. Raja and Rettaimala Seenivasan who left their mark upon Dalit politics, this word was established. The people began to establish organisations and magazines and publish political petitions using this word.

கோபால் செட்டியாரின் ஆதிதிராவிடர் வரலாறு (1920), திரிசிரபுரம் ஆ. பெருமாள்பிள்ளையின் ஆதிதிராவிடர் வரலாறு (1922) போன்ற வரலாற்று நூல்கள் வெளியானது இக்காலத்தில்தாம். ஆ. பெருமாள்பிள்ளை ஆதிதிராவிடர் வரலாறு எழுதக் காரணமாக இருந்த எம்.சி. ராஜா சென்னை மாகாணச் சட்டப் பேரவையில் 1922இல் ஆதிதிராவிடர் என்னும் சொல்லினை அரசுப் பதிவாக்கக் கோரிக் கொணர்ந்த தீர்மானம் ஏற்கப்பட்டது. ஆதிதிராவிடர் என்னும் சொல்லைத் தலித் சாதிகள் பலவற்றையும் குறிப்பதாக இத்தலைவர்கள் மாற்றவும் செய்தனர். 1938ஆம் ஆண்டு ஆலயப் பிரவேசம் என்னும் சிறுபிரசுரத்தை வெளியிட்ட இரட்டைமலை சீனிவாசன் அந்நூலில் செடூல் காஸ்ட்கள் என்னும் 86 வகுப்புகளையும் சேர்த்தே ஆதிதிராவிடர் என்னும் சொல்லால் குறிக்கிறார்.

Historical books such as Gopal Chettiar’s Athithraavidar Varalaaru [Adi Dravida History] (1920), Thirisirapuram A. Perumalpillai’s Athithraavidar Varalaaru [Adi Dravida History] (1922) were published in this time. M.C. Raja – who was the reason for A. Perumalpillai to write an Adi Dravida history – successfully brought in the resolution seeking for the government to register the word Adi Dravida in the Madras Presidency Legislature in 1922. The word Adi Dravida was changed to refer to the many Dalit castes by these leaders. In 1938, Rettaimalai Seenivasan published a small tract on temple entry and refers to the 86 classes of Scheduled Castes jointly with the word Adi Dravidar.

தொடரும்…

To be continued…

Caste on Orkut

Shobha, a blogger and journalist from Mumbai, writes on her blog:

Caste communities on Orkut

What do you guys think of the Orkut Communities where the common underlying purpose of their origin is CASTE? There are so many of them viz. Iyers, Brahmins, Iyengars, Panchals, Patels, etc. In India, surnames are the prime indicators of which section of the society one belongs to. Asking for one’s surname is a rampant thing in Maharashtra. Whenever I am asked my name, people are never satisfied if I say my name is Shobha. Their immediate question would be, ‘Shobha what?’ thus emphasizing the need for a surname. This is one of the ways to identity the caste you belong to.

Personally, I am extremely uncomfortable being a part of such communities. For me, joining a community where the only thing I have in common with others is the fact we all belong to a SAME CASTE is something I am just not comfortable with. Sometimes I wonder what could be discussed in forums like these…. There can be interesting discussions based on understanding of certain rituals, festivals and lot of other stuff. But I still wonder, do we need a forum based on a certain CASTE for that? Can’t people do it in any other way? Most of the discussions I have seen are sad {my personal opinion}

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Read the full post here

Gaurav Mishra has written about caste-based websites and Orkut communities on the Digiactive blog…

Caste Based Communities on Orkut Mirror India’s Splintered Society

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Caste-based communities on Orkut are another disturbing example of online communities mirroring the dysfunctions in Indian society.

For instance, there are more than 1000 communities for Brahmins on Orkut. There are 461 Brahmin communities listed under culture and community, 591 under religion and beliefs, 87 under activities and 117 under others.

One of the most popular Brahmin community, with 28, 726 members, randomly claims: “we r clever & hardworking .no one can fool us…” The Brahmans community with 41952 members and the Brahmins of India community with 30588 members are also very popular.
The other popular Brahmin communities are those for the various Brahmin sub-castes like Gawd Saraswat Brahmin (GSB) (12,189 members), Kokanastha Brahmin (4038 members), Deshashtha Brahmin (4083 members), Garhwali Brahmin (3067 members), Daivadnya Brahmin (2654 members) and Gaur Brahmin (2055 members). Another group, Brahmin Culture and Tradition is “dedicated to the purpose of uniting Brahmins to revive, preserve, protect and propagate the Brahmin culture to descendants without intimidation or dilution from anti-Brahminical forces.”

Interestingly, it seems that most of the threads under topics related to Brahmins have to do with defining the different types of Brahmins under various sub-castes.

There are also more than 1000 communities for Yadavs on Orkut, including gems like modern yadav girls and boys (5759 members).

Similarly, there are more than a 1000 Rajput communities on Orkut, including the Rajput the Royal Family community with 35,481 mebers, which asks people to join the group “if your soul justifies that you are Rajput both by soul and by nature.”

Dalits have about 200 mostly small communities on Orkut.

Perhaps, the low number of Dalit communities on Orkut says something about Indian society in general, and Orkut users in particular. Higher, more powerful, castes like Brahmins, Rajputs and Yadavs tend to have more money and easier access to the internet and old disparities are further accentuated by the internet.

Caste-based communities, however, aren’t unique to Orkut.

Brahminsamaj.org is “a global platform for the Brahmin Community where you will learn, share and find lot of information, knowledge and fun.” Thambraas Muhurtham wants that “all Brahmins should come forward to marry breaking the sects and subsects within Brahmins, particularly Brahmins of Thamizhnadu.” It also points out that “the entire sects and subsects of South Indian brahmin population are totally vegetarians unlike certain brahmins of other parts of India.” A couple on the homepage of Marry A Brahmin claim that its “focused approach on Brahmin matches helped us find each other as true soul mates.” Brahmin Connections is “proud to present an opportunity and a platform to our young Brahmins and their parents to connect with each other across the world for the matrimonial purpose.” Brahmins Matrimony says that “it is the right place to search for your life partner!”

There are dedicated websites for sub-castes as well. Sakhdwipi aims “to provide a common forum for the Shakdwipis to know each other and interact with each other.” KeralaIyers aims “to delve into the history, trace the roots, portray the life of modern day Kerala Iyers, and chronicle the achievements of this community.” iKalyanam claims to be “the only exclusive site for Iyer matrimonials.” Shivalli Brahmins wishes “to bring together all Shivalli Brahmins residing in different parts of the world, through meaningful discussions about their traditions.” GSBMatch is a matrimonial website for the Gowd and Saraswat Brahmin community. ModhBrahmin.org and BrahmanSamaj.org claim that “history proves that the people of Modh Brahmin Samaj are very enterprising and very resourceful” and aims to “bring all brothers and sisters of Samaj close.” Jangid Brahmin Samaj is a community for Jangid Brahmins. RSBNet is “a single stop source of information regarding the origin, customs, culture, history of Rajapur Saraswath Brahmins.”

Similarly, there are dedicated websites for other castes as well.
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Gaurav Mishra heads the digital and social media practice for the MSL Group Asia.

Read the full post here

Caste-ing names

Shruthi Padmanabhan writes about community certificates and classrooms, the castes of names and food and how her family’s history impacts her present.

My name has been a big factor in people assuming that I’m a tam-Brahm. Apparently, no one sent them the memo that Shruthi and Padmanabhan are Hindu names, not specific Brahmin names.

My parents, actually my mother because my father was in the army and away, spent more time trying to convince my brother and me to not beat the nonsense out of each other than telling us about caste. I knew more about the INA than I did about being an Ezhava.

The last thing you’re thinking of, at least when you’re a student, is caste. You like to be a generic individual. One amongst the many. The un-classified person. But no, the prissy man sitting in the department does not have to be nice about your lofty aspirations. He only says, “where is your community certificate ma? You got admission in the BC quota”, and for some reason, you find yourself back on terra firma with a nice, firm thud and you’re wondering how acing a test stopped having a relationship with getting admission.

Getting that certificate in class 10 meant fulfilling some CBSE regulation, when I was getting my MA admission, I didn’t think it even counted, but it mattered plenty to the prissy man documenting my certificates and me.

The professors in the department got a little crazy about this detail as well. A senior professor in the department calls me and my friend aside after class and says, “you are English-speaking girls who are in this position despite being from your respective communities [both of us BC], so please teach the class and help them upgrade to your level”.

This was when I realized that I had forgotten the lessons taught to us in our Malayalee school in Chennai. We were children of Sree Narayana Guru’s movement of One Caste, One Religion, One God for man. My maternal and paternal ancestors were not allowed to cover the upper parts of their bodies. These people were also not allowed into the Guruvayoor Temple. The Nairs liked it like that! Despite being part of one of the largest communities in the state, we were treated like we didn’t matter by the upper-caste Hindus.

When my greatgrandfather moved out of Kerala and went to Singapore during the British rule, he left behind a lot of baggage. When my maternal grandfather chose to settle in Chennai after his time in the INA, he also left behind a lot of baggage. My maternal family was removed from the nonsense that Kerala mostly is. And growing up in a home with a freedom fighter, the values my brother and I were instilled with had more to do with patriotism than they did with caste.

However, after school and college, the more people I met were surprised by the fact that I’m not Tam-Brahm. Their first reaction? “You’re mal? But your name…” [I would like to substantiate this - as recently as April 24, 2011, someone asked me how in the hell my Iyengar-toned name ended up on a Malayali girl! This coming from a half-Malayali. Again, did no one get the memo?]

The plot thickens! My father is from Palakkad and he went to an all-Brahmin school. My paternal grandfather’s colleagues didn’t approve, or didn’t like the sound of I’m not sure which, of my father’s original name (Nirmalan) and had it Brahminised to Padmanabhan. More than my caste, my name has caused immense confusion amongst the twice-borns. My being vegetarian (meat allergies), make this confusion even more interesting for me.

I’ve grown up in Chennai, so my story is once and maybe even twice-removed from the realities of a lot of people. Truth be told some of my very good friends are Nairs and Tam-Brahm, and caste is not the first topic of conversation or any topic of conversation. I only tell the twice-borns one thing – my life is less complicated because it’s free from worrying about who touched my food and where and how it was cooked!

I just want to reiterate one fact, I’ve never had a problem per se. I’m amused by most of the “I won’t eat in a restaurant that serves non-vegetarian food because their cooking methods are not as per our personal standards” variety. I’m irritated with the type that thinks people can’t be fair and have a certain last name because certain names are the prerogatives of certain castes.

I have it way better than the people who have suffered so much indignity in the name of upper-caste Hindus, but that doesn’t mean I’m removed from the narrative.

Shruti has written more on her blog.
…

However, despite this being 2010, I have a profile listed in a matrimonial website that specifies that the boys or boys’ families asking for my hand in marriage should be the same caste as me…It’s a hard subject to articulate and debate, especially for me. I don’t know enough jargon to pull this off. Nor am I going to justify my usage of a word, in whatever spirit, in my posts. Suffice to say, it is what it is and it exists. I read the papers and sometimes there are stories of how an innocent, consenting, adult couple had to deal with the consequences of disapproval.

Read the full post on her blog.