Monday, February 17, 2020

The Key to Tamil Society’s Freedom: Rescuing Tamizhachis from the Temple-Driven Exploitation Schemes


Hello World,

While the nation is struggling to stick together in one piece under the evil right wing hindutva rule, the negative impacts are flowing into the Tamil society through the pre-existing cultural conduits, an output of the hindutva conspiracy from the past. It is about time the Tamil society acknowledges the problem appropriately, for the ignorance of the same will result in the extinction of the Tamil race in every sense of the phrase.

The Tamil society, much like other societies all over the world, relies on specific set of relevant thought leaders who end up shaping the respective societies over time. Amongst the many such thought leaders any society can have, the ‘Mothers’ form the first and fundamental group of thought leaders every society is invariably dependent on. The Tamil society is no exception to this fact. All of us learn the first things from our mothers before we get exposed to the other thought leaders as we grow up. The mothers, therefore, are the primary stakeholder group that the Tamil society needs to worry about, should sustainable freedom from hindutva terrorism over the long term be the core objective. The concern, in this regard, however, must be aimed at rescuing Tamil women from the evil clutches of the temple-driven inequality schemes for it is only after that, the possibility of a new generation of Tamils, immune to the inhuman concepts enforced by the evil hindutva terrorism framework, be realized in a sustainable manner.

While all women need to be saved, for the sake of the relevance, this discussion will primarily focus on saving Tamil women. This discussion, in all respect, will serve as the basis for the efforts to emancipate Indian women in general. However, any such usage is left to the readers’ free-will-driven conscious application. The Tamil society, will however, must focus more deeply into this as its freedom from oppression lies in the core of the real freedom of its women – The Tamizhachis.

For this discussion, the reference I am using is the book titled ‘Castes and Tribes of Southern India’ written by Kadambi Rangachari and Edgar Thurston. The book is a comprehensive compilation spanning seven volumes, documenting the findings of an elaborate census exercise, covering the physical, cultural and social anthropological aspects of Southern India, which, as per the authors, was started in 1894. This research was formally published in 1909.

The Much-Needed Realization of Truth

I am dumbfounded to have realized that ‘Deva-dasi’ is recorded as a separate caste group in this research. If a specific version of forced re-socialization can be so powerful that the victims of the organized crime be classified as a dedicated social group within a society, nothing more is needed to confirm that the fundamental reasons behind such violent, large-scale re-socialization efforts were aiming to secure a position of privilege for a foreign entity, inside an existing population, at the cost of the existing inhabitants, which in other words can be referred to as the original inhabitants of the land, speaking a specific language. In this case the victims are Tamils who lived in the land which later got to be known as Tamilnadu. The Deva-dasi system is being misrepresented by the evil right-wing conspirators in today’s time to revive the religion-driven subjugation of women. To notice the difference, it calls for a close and hard look at what was documented 111 years ago by Kadambi Rangachari and Edgar Thurston.

The Deva-dasi section of the search begins with the following:

In old Hindu works, seven classes of Dasis are mentioned, viz., (1) Datta, or the one gives herself as a gift to a temple; (2) Vikrita, or one who sells herself for the same purpose; (3) Bhritya, or one who offers herself as a temple servant for the prosperity of the family; (4) Bhakta, or one who joins a temple out of devotion; (5) Hrita, or one who is enticed away, and presented to a temple; (6) Alankara, or one who, being well trained in her profession, and profusely decked, is presented to a temple by kings and noblemen; (7) Rudraganika or Gopika, who receive regular wages from a temple, and are employed to sing and dance.”

The very beginning establishes the core aim of the evil hindutva framework. The definitions for the organized subjugation and exploitation of women is attributed to the output of an organized religion which in this case is Hinduism or the hindu religion. In the name of religious observance, women have been classified across classes, the definitions of which, violate the fundamental concept of humanity, to say the least. How cruel is the organized religion if this is what it has created for the female members of its followers, is something, we need to calmly introspect and let the facts sink into our minds before jumping to any conclusion. The ‘why’ and ‘how’ need to be given more weightage than the ‘what’. Such is the outcome warranted by the definitions of the different classes of Deva-dasi.

Recall some of the phrases used in the Deva-dasi definitions:
“…one who gives herself as a gift to a temple”
“…one who sells herself for the same purpose”
“…one who is enticed away, and presented to a temple”
“…one who, being well trained in her profession, and profusely decked, is presented to a temple by kings and noblemen”

It is very clear that the woman is equated to some object of trivial value much lower than that of a pet animal! There seems to be a complete absence of remorse when a certain system of practice defines a specific subsegment of its followers, as mere objects for a specific purpose. For some reason, the women are easily assumed to be objects of vanity to be owned and shared! Such a system is referred to with the phrase “In old Hindu works…!!!”

Please, also note that the place of this deposit, withdrawal and exchange of women, is nothing other than a temple – the primary place of worship belonging to the system that had held this commercial practice of slavery with a gender bias by design. This is by no means to indicate that the inhuman practice can be considered fair if men are also dedicated, sold and bought in a similar manner. Slavery is slavery and it is inhuman in every sense of the term.

If such is the practice accepted in the primary place of worship belonging to a specific faith system, how is that system a religion in the first place and how is the head of the religion even eligible to be a god, irrespective of its existence and associated beliefs?

How will any superpower rationalize the subjugation and exploitation of one specific gender group of its many creations?

Why would anyone with sanity even consider following the faith system that accommodates such a practice?

How come no Avatar came to the rescue of the Deva-dasi women?

It is almost as if the Hindu gods considered it good for a select group of their women followers to remain as sex slaves engaging in the inhuman practice via the primary places of worship dedicated to those very gods! To imagine my fellow humans frequenting these temples and spending large amounts of money on every visit to those temples is simply excruciating to me. My fellow Tamils doing the same in Tamilnadu is even more horrifying as I know, compared to many other states in the nation, mine is way forward in terms of education and economic prosperity.

The authors, while referring to what the Deva-dasis primarily did while being attached to the temples, note the following:

“For the following general account, I am indebted to the Madras Census Report, 1901: -
Dasis or Deva-dasis (handmaidens of the gods) are dancing-girls attached to the Tamil temples, who subsist by dancing and music, and the practice of ‘the oldest profession in the world.’ The Dasis were probably in the beginning the result of left-handed unions between members of two different castes, but they are now partly recruited by admissions, and even purchases, from other classes….”

The reference to prostitution is being made with an effort to establish its antiquity! However, I am even more horrified to see the phrase ‘Tamil temples!’

How come, for every other discussion in every other sense, the temples are referred to as hindu temples, saivite temples, vaishnavite temples, or temple titles referring to the primary piece of statue (some call it deity but a statue is a statue first, before any other form of imagination is allowed to take over) and just when it comes to documenting organized prostitution in the name of god, the term ‘Tamil temples’ is being used?

For all positive mentions, the faith system uses its own terminology to denote the relevant entities but when it comes to discussing a disturbing subject, it becomes a liberal out of the blue and uses my primary identity ‘Tamil’! The fact that Tamils are continuing to visit these temples is clear evidence that the Tamil proletariat has lost the memory of having anything even remotely related to self-respect!

The reference to the Deva-dasis goes on to say that they were a consequence of allegedly illegitimate mix of different castes and over time they became the consequence of ‘legit’ admissions and purchases! The description blindly accepts ‘purchase of women’ as an acceptable alternative to inter-caste marriage! This is the evidence that the so-called hindu system segregated its followers across castes that weren’t allowed to mix, while at the same time, tolerated the sale of women, all attached to its primary place of worship – temples!

Women were admitted or sold to temples and that was a cultural practice. For some reason, nobody dared to question such a tradition which is slavery! This includes the men who otherwise don’t shy away from taking pride in the so-called manliness! What is more disheartening is the fact that my fellow Tamils were, at the time, culpable of tolerating this anti-social practice designed exclusively against women! To visit the temples today and waste the hard-earned money there is merely an extension of acceptance of the same blame, we Tamils have been collectively carrying all along, without any remorse. All we have in our defense is the lost memory of us tolerating inhuman practices such as the Deva-dasi system in the name of god! We Tamils must accept the fact that we were focused on everything other than the organized exploitation of women, as we were conditioned to accept the gender bias by design. Women were considered to be inferior to men and were literally owned by men in the name of customs, tradition and even the non-existent god. All we did was fall in line, as we fell for the greatest fake news in human history – organized religion!

The Simplicity of the Subjugation

While discussing the internal aspects of the Deva-dasi caste, the authors note:

“Among the Dasis, sons and daughters inherit equally, contrary to ordinary Hindu usage. Some of the sons remain in the caste, and live by playing music for the women to dance to, and accompaniments to their songs, or by teaching singing and dancing to the younger girls, and music to the boys. These are called Nattuvans. Others marry some girl of the caste, who is too plain to be likely to be a success in the profession and drift out of the community. Some of these affix to their names the terms Pillai and Mudali, which are the usual titles of the two castes (Vellala and Kaikola) from which most of the Dasis are recruited…”

As it turns out, ordinary hindu usage does not allow sons and daughters to inherit family property equally. That being outright unfair to women, is not the most disturbing part. The sons of Dasis, the men who remain in the group, had lived by playing music for the women of their own family to dance to. This could be taken in positive light when the situation deals with siblings getting involved in art forms and collaborating in creative pursuits. However, such is not the case, as here, the male siblings of the girls in the Deva-dasi group literally whored them out in the name of tradition!

How insane were the women that they raised their sons to tolerate and contribute to the organized prostitution of their own sisters and cousins?

How did this society tolerate such upbringing of children?

The phrase ‘…who is too plain to be likely to be a success in the profession’ literally confirms that our society had strongly ingrained the concept of aesthetic appeal as the elementary means of evaluating women, especially when they are being considered for prostitution. With a heavy heart, I feel a bit of relief that the so called ‘plain-looking’ women, at least, had the opportunity to get away from the evil flesh trade. The insult of aesthetic appeal, which is nothing but a concocted view of evaluating what one receives naturally from their parents, is much safer than the life of a prostitute. I am however not sure how many had the opportunity to escape this temple-based sex trade racket. It is an unavoidable irony where the lesser of the evils must be given a positive consideration.

As it turns out, those who drift out of the Deva-dasi group, had affixed to their names the terms ‘Pillai’ and ‘Mudali’! Now it is slowly opening that most of these individuals, both genders, were not entirely proud of their Deva-dasi lineage and created their own cover identities. The disturbing part there is that, even when these individuals wanted to free themselves from the oppression, all they chose was a fake identity from within the evil caste system that is the basis of the evil hindu system. 

The question however remains:
How many Pillai’s and Mudali’s had chosen those caste titles as a means of self-made emancipation from the organized prostitution in the name of god?

Irrespective of the number, the concern is more towards the social acceptance of this new identities the outgoing members of the Deva-dasi group adopted.

One is forced to wonder what kind of mentality would have prevailed among the Deva-dasi crowd back then, that their very lifestyle forced some of them, when being unsuccessful, by default or by design, to willingly leave the Deva-dasi identity, only to pick a new fictional identity from the same anti-social framework.

While discussing the lifestyle of the Deva-dasi community, the authors note:

“The daughters of the caste, who are brought up to follow the caste profession, are carefully taught dancing, singing, the art of dressing well, and the ars amoris, and their success in keeping up their clientele is largely due to the contrast which they thus present to the ordinary Hindu housewife, whose ideas are bounded by the day’s dinner and the babies.”

Girls were raised to dance, sing, self-groom and were also taught on the art of seduction with the secret recipe being the difference these women presented in contrast to the ordinary hindu housewife! The ‘ordinary hindu housewife’, as it turns out, was an individual restricted to dinner and the babies!

Now I am stuck as to what should be the more horrifying piece of history I should be fixated on: The Deva-dasi girls being raised to specialize in seduction or the non-Devadasi women being used as cooks and baby-making machines?

If such was the state of women back then and such practices has its roots in a faith system and its places of worship, how did the population rationalize visiting the places of worship and even follow the system. It was more filth than faith! The fact that we left our hard-earned money in those places of worship along with our self-respect outside, only reinforces the astronomical extent of backwardness, we, as a population had been conditioned with. Those who were responsible for building, running and maintaining these places of worship and the associated filth system do not deserve to be considered as humans, never mind any other fancy titles.

Comprehending the Non-Tamil Component

All this happening in Tamilnadu is absolutely discouraging but as it turns out, was the status quo across many parts of India especially the other provinces of south India. Describing the prevalence of the Deva-dasi system in the Karnataka region, the authors note:

“In the Canarese (or western) taluks of Bellary, and in the adjoining parts of Dharwar and Mysore, a curious custom obtains among the Boyas, Bedarus, and certain other castes, under which a family which has no male issue must dedicate one of its daughters as a Basavi. The girl is taken to a temple, and married there to the god, a tali and toe rings being put on her, and thence-forward she becomes a public woman, except that she does not consort with any one of the lower caste then herself.”

Bribing the gods is pretty much a common gimmick among all faith systems and this case is no different. The practice, as documented, has involved, families with no male child willingly offering one of their daughters to their gods! Not only were the girls being subjugated based on their gender, but also were exploited on account of the absence of the opposite gender in their families! The father’s male chromosome missing out results in a female child and over time, if the father establishes a failure to father a male child, one of the earlier born female children is gifted to the temple. Guess what, those girls were married to the idols and from then on, they became ‘public women’. They did get the luxury of not having to consort with any of the so-called lower caste customers. How fair??!!!

This makes me wonder why and how we ended up missing the inclusion of our own guillotine to bring these inhuman practices to an abrupt end. Oh, wait, I know: We were busy paying for the poojas and ceremonies in the same temples where this inhuman Deva-dasi system prevailed in the name of the same gods we revered! We should have never included salt in our diet system and disregarded the concept of having skin and blood.

Fathers and mothers had agreed to give up their daughters simply because they did not have a male child, and this was the state of our fellow citizens and the entity responsible for such a state was the hindu faith system and its place of worship.

It is very difficult to not notice the strange way the caste system established this game within the hindu faith system. Organized exploitation of women had them classified as a Deva-dasi caste and one version of the practice prevented the same victims from serving those who were classified under caste groups considered inferior to that of the Deva-dasis. This is how the concept of caste system was reinforced into our minds. We could consider disregarding people based on caste to our benefit and the practice just propagated itself across the society, all the while operating under the hindu banner. The irony is that, in this case, the victims of organized prostitution were allowed to use caste as a means to avoid being exploited by a select class of men, oblivious to the fact that, they were vulnerable to every abuse possible by the men belonging to the so called upper castes. Such was the state of women in our society and we tolerated that in the name of god and paid the temples and its operators our hard-earned money! One needs to wonder the real state of the paid blessings we enjoyed as a community back then!

It is about time we take a moment to recall the fact that we continue to visit these places of worship even today and willfully waste our hard-earned money on the aarthi-plates and undiyals! This however does not disregard the money we waste on ‘footwear protection at the temple doorstep’, ‘the pooja kit’, ‘the pooja token’ and other nonsense crafted to establish us as slaves to the greatest fake news in human history – organized religion.

Identifying the Source of Gender Bias

The authors discuss the Deva-dasi system in more detail and refer to other research works in this regard. While quoting Rev. M. Phillips’ work, the authors note:

“They read, write, sing and play as well as dance. Hence one of the great objections urged at first against the education of girls was ‘We don’t want our daughters to become dancing-girls.”

Now, this in very simple terms explains how, we, as a community, got ourselves conditioned to reject the idea of the girl child getting educated and exposed to art forms. Since the Deva-dasi system had the practice of training the victims to display knowledge and talent, the rest of the society detested the same for their own girl children. For once, our society decided to act against the Deva-dasi system, but our neural networks were so badly damaged that we collectively went berserk on our own girl children! Our society was not even capable of doing the bad thing right and our women alone paid the price for it, irrespective of them being a Deva-dasi or not. Every phase, every turn, every instance, the girl was subjugated to what the oppressors wanted her to do, almost as if, she had no such thing as free will. If there is a creator up there, what kind of a lousy creator she is (there is already enough testosterone in such fairy tales!) that she created a society that will discriminate its women in such organized fashion while also detesting the practice by means of discriminating against their own girl child!

Now do you realize where we got our ‘keep the girl uneducated’ mindset from?

While I was busy pondering over the findings of the research, I was unassumingly allowing myself to drift into the self-forged understanding that all girls were forced against their will into the evil Deva-dasi system. I was terribly wrong, and I realized this when I came across the following petitions the authors had compiled:

“The following are examples of petitions presented to a European Magistrate and Superintendent of Police by girls who are about to become Basavis: -

Petition of ------------- aged about 17 or 18.
I have agreed to become a Basavi, and get myself stamped by my guru (priest) according to the custom of my caste. I request that my proper age, which entitles me to be stamped, may be personally ascertained and permission granted to be stamped.
The stamping refers to branding with the emblems of the chank and chakram.

Petition of ---------------------- wife of -----------------------
I have got two daughters, aged 15 and 2 respectively. As I have no male issues, I have got to necessarily celebrate the ceremony in the temple in connection with the tying of the goddess’s tali to my two daughters under the orders of the guru, in accordance with the customs of the caste. I, therefore, submit this petition for fear that the authorities may raise any objection (under the Age of Consent Act). I, therefore, request that the Honourable Court may be pleased to give permission to the tying of the tali to my daughters.

Petition of two girls, aged 17 and 19.
Our father and mother are dead. Now we wish to be like prostitutes, as we are not willing to be married, and thus establish our house-name. Our mother also was of this profession. We now request permission to be prostitutes according to our religion, after we are sent before the Medical Officer.”

The first petition refers to the stamping of the chank and chakram. This indicates there existed the practice of branding girls who, post branding, are officially deputed as dancing-girls of the respective temples who can consort to men who claim their company by means of a gift of money. The symbols used to mark a woman as a public property are, to this day, being revered as holy symbols of the hindu faith system, the chank (conch shell of religious importance) and the chakram (disk of auspicious vision). We have collectively traveled all along, in a horribly wrong direction, which can be attributed to no other entity than the evil hindu faith system thrust into our society!

The second petition is mentally excruciating on two accounts: one being the fact that the parents of the girls themselves had applied for legal clearance for rendering their girl children as prostitutes; the other being the fact that the practice called for submission of one of the girls and the parents chose to give away both their daughters! Our society was so backward in thoughts and deeds, all while being devout practitioners of religious rites, that, parents collectively decided to give away their daughters to temples where the highest bidder can force them to submit to their sexual desires!

The third petition is the awakening one in my view, where the petitioners are girls who are willfully requesting the court to permit them to become prostitutes as their parents have died and they have no other means of sustenance. We had the education to write petitions and the courts to seek justice. However, all we did was use it to destroy ourselves as not all of us were educated and not all of us had the luxury of approaching the court for legal clearance of what we felt as rightfully ours. I am not sure if the girls were forced to sign the petition and or otherwise, but I cannot, for a moment put myself in their place and imagine the situation for such is the horribly inhuman nature of the same. We had a social set up, where when girls lost both their parents, they had nothing other than to take up prostitution as the only means of sustenance. This petition might well have been an exception, say one in a million. However, one instance of one girl being forced into prostitution is reason enough to go all out against the inhuman practice. A minima-based insignificance is not a valid excuse to disregard such violence against women, even if it is the case of the victim volunteering for it.

The authors have documented more than one instance of families giving up their girl child. One such instance referring to Coimbatore is:

“Among the Kaikolan musicians of Coimbatore, at least one girl in every family should be set apart for the temple service, and she is instructed in music and dancing.”

Deva-dasi system seems to have permeated the deep interiors of our social framework for such has been the reach of the faith system and its practices propagated via the numerous temples built on our land. While Deva-dasi groups were actively practicing music and dance, over time, those who had engaged in similar art forms became exposed to the evil system which, for reasons only they can explain, over time became acceptable to them and they followed suit in giving up the girl child. We were just busy with so many things and one of them was giving up our girl children to the temples!

It is not Coimbatore alone. The authors refer to other parts of Tamilnadu in:

“The funeral pyre of every girl of the dancing girl (Sani) caste dying in the village should be lit with fire brought from the temple. The same practice is found in Srirangam temple near Trichinopoly.”

The institutionalized prostitution forcing girls into submitting themselves to the service of the perverted, was so well organized that, it even included an honor system of offering respect to those who grew up not knowing what self-respect is. When a dancing-girl died, the funeral pyre should get the starter-flame from the temple she belonged to. The Srirangam temple near Trichy had such a practice. This means, every time we visit the Srirangam temple and spend our hard-earned money in the temple, we are essentially celebrating the perverted sex trade the temple had organized for the benefit of the rich in the name of service to god. When we do the same along with our family, we are also enabling our family to share the shame of supporting an institution that specialized in subjugating women in the name of god. Let that fact sink in.

The Consequences of Organized Exploitation

The Tamil land has been culturally invaded by practices from all corners and as it turns out, the negatives have persisted longer, as they served as the means of establishing political control over us and our land. After the authors cover the migration of one version of Deva-dasi practice from northern provinces (within South India) above, they go on to document their findings of similar practices from the south end of the Indian peninsula. They note:

“But the South Travancore Dasis are and indigenous class. The female members of the caste are, besides being known by the ordinary name of Tevadiyal and Dasi, both meaning servant of God, called Kudikkar, meaning those belonging to the house (i.e., given rent free by the Sirkar), and Pendukal, or women, the former of these designations being more popular than the latter. Males are called Tevadiyan, though many prefer to be known as Nanchinat Vellalas. Males, like these Vellalas, take the title of Pillai.”

So, this is where the iconic flagship bad word of modern Tamil profanity, ‘Tevadiyal’ originates. I cannot believe the nomenclature followed an elementary format and essentially told people that a woman who remains at the ‘Adi’ (feet) of the ‘Tevan’ (god) and performs a community service can therefore be called 'Tevadiyal'. The male children of the Tevadiyal were referred to as ‘Tevadiyan’. Over time, as these identities become easy reference to ‘inferior class’ and associated derogatory terms, those who were forced to carry these identities decided to change their identities and their first choice was ‘Nanchinat Vellalas’ and over time they started taking the title ‘Pillai’.

Now we can understand how the title ‘Pillai’ came to be held by both Tamils and Malayalees. However, that is the least significant thing we need to discuss at this point. What is more significant here is that the provinces in the south also had the practice of subjugating women into the prostitution rackets run by the hindu faith system and they forced the victims to fend for themselves via means as trivial as change of caste names and picking up titles to go along with their names.

If everything said and done in the name of god in temples are actually so pure, holy and positive, why were the victims of the Deva-dasi system so desperate to change their caste identities, jumping from one trivial title to another, hoping they will succeed in emancipating themselves from such organized oppression, in the name of the very religion they subscribed to?

The authors go on to document the practice of offering the girl child to the temple and they note:

“All applications for the presentation of a girl to the temple are made to the temple authorities by the senior dancing-girl of the temple, the girl to be presented being in all cases from six to eight years of age.”

At the tender age of six to eight, the girl is a little child still trying to better understand her surroundings every time she wakes up from sleep and the inhuman god-believers chose to submit the girl child for the service of the temple, which in the long run, forces the girl to survive by satisfying the perverted sexual desires of rich lunatics. The temples were the place of submission, the temple authorities were the key decision makers and the girls’ parents were voluntary donors. All this in the name of the god that, never mind its non-existence, the followers believed in. This horror of a practice was part of a faith system and to this day, this system is being referred to as a majority religion and the heads of this majority religion are assumed to be gods. It is now imperative that we take a good look at who were the key perpetrators in this organized sex crime racket our society had accepted in the name of god.

The authors, while describing the key stakeholder primarily responsible for this organized crime against women, note:

“The priest kindles the fire, and performs all the marriage ceremonies, following the custom of the Tirukkalyanam festival, when Siva is represented as marrying Parvati. He then teaches the girl the Panchakshara hymn if the temple is Saivite, and Ashtakshara if it is Vaishnavite, presents her with the cloth, and ties the tali round her neck.”

This is the initiation of the life of sexual slavery for girls who did not have people willing to raise them as normal humans and some of them were in fact the girls’ own parents. The temple priests had devised elaborate procedures to get the girls into the Deva-dasi life and they did it without remorse.

This is not something that can be easily assumed as an act of religious rite carried out on the request of the girls or their family. The temple priests were not merely conceding to the demands of the public. They ran the entire show. They drafted the rules and they controlled the institutions that run these sex rackets. Remember, the temple priests were and are claiming to be the capable and eligible middle-men, by virtue of their birth, who can connect the common man with the gods!

The authors Kadambi Rangachari and Edgar Thurston refer to multiple court cases and in one of them, the note:

“The plaintiff, a Deva-dasi complained that when she brought offerings according to custom and placed them before the God at a certain festival, and asked the Archakas (officiating priests) to present the offerings to the God, burn incense, and then distribute them, they refused to take the offerings on the ground that the Deva-dasi had gone to a Komati’s house to dance. She claimed damages, Rs. 10, for the rejected offerings and Rs. 40 for loss of honour, and a perpetual injunction to allow her to perform the mantapa hadi (sacrifice) at the Chittrai Vasanta festival. The priests pleaded that the dancing-girl had, for her bad conduct in having danced at a Komati’s house, and subsequently refused to expiate the deed by drinking panchagavyan (five products of cow) according to the shastras, been expelled both from her caste and from the temple.”

The Deva-dasi had submitted the offerings to the priests officiating a worship event and the priests had denied her their service. When questioned, they had indicated that the Deva-dasi had gone to a Komati’s house and danced. Komati is a caste identity referring to a trading community. In other words, this caste identity refers to the Vaisya group as per the religious nonsense that propagated these made up nomenclature to segregate equal humans. Now, a Deva-dasi must heed to every other highest bidder and dance to the pleasure of them and those associated with the temple and go on to satisfy their sexual urges. However, when she does the same at the residence of a specific caste group, she becomes an outcaste.

Being a Deva-dasi is being an outcaste for any woman. As a Deva-dasi, women serve as sex-slaves of the rich. Them offering their services outside the established temple-based business model further outcasts them to such an extent that the priests, refuse to present her offerings to the idol in the temple.

Firstly, why in the world, does anyone need a middleman to deliver material to a non-existent entity? The material remains in front of the idol. These officiating priests merely scream some nonsense that nobody understands and then take a part of the offerings along with the hard-earned money from the gullible god-believers. This is extortion!

Secondly, how is forced prostitution in one place holy and the same done elsewhere a sin? Those women had to live a life of slavery and even that inhuman practice was outright unfair to them in every sense of the phrase.

What is even more disturbing is that the priests had offered a punishment or corrective measure, performing which the Deva-dasi becomes eligible for the priests’ services. The punishment was to drink Panchagavya which is a mix of cow-dung, cow-urine, cow-milk, curd and ghee. The modern day Panchagavya mix tends to include a few extras such as tender coconut, water, jaggery and banana. However, the very idea of mixing animal excrement/urine and consuming it is beyond anything acceptable as hygienic!

A Deva-dasi committed a sin, became impure and she had to drink a mix of animal excrement/urine to purify herself, post which the priests will be available to present her offerings to the idols. These temple priests have inculcated the habit of consuming animal excrement in the name of god and this unhygienic practice is present to this day in our society! As it turns out, the consumption of Panchgavya was a form of punishment for those who went against the god.

Who do you think decided when someone goes against the god – the temple priests!

What do you think is the basis for such an act of evaluation and punishment – the sanskrit shastras!

Tamil Population Under the Sanskrit Siege

This prolonged exposure to organized religion and its evil schemes have rendered the Tamil proletariat incapable of differentiating the fact from fiction. As long as something has an ancient Tamil term associated with it, the Tamil population quickly grabs it as if it is the fundamental core of its cultural identity, not realizing that the sanskrit siege operates across the spectrum and cleverly mixes its nonsense into what is originally Tamil and delivers a mixed version of anything and everything it uses to perpetuate the planned political propaganda using religion. Thanks to the kings who ruled the Tamil lands, they did everything this sanskrit culture invaders asked them to. These temple priests, like most monks across other cultures, had the uneducated monarchs as their slaves and promised them wealth and continued hold over political power, should those monarchs do as these priests say. The consequence was nothing but the establishment of multiple temples, increasing the presence and control of the priests over the Tamil land and its people. This subsequently led to an era of cultural captivity where Tamils lost most of their original cultural heritage and fell for the evil anti-human schemes perpetuated using sanskrit propaganda literature as the basis. The Deva-dasi system discussed above is nothing but a minute figment of the very large consequence of accommodating the temple-based practices dictated using the sanskrit propaganda literature as the basis.

People from faraway lands came, enslaved a few of the local population, created a dialect of their own, convinced the monarchs of invincibility and under their patronage , established a pseudo-society violating every essence of our Tamil culture. They came to the Tamil land, took away the Tamil identity, convinced Tamils to follow a new faith system and in the name of those made up gods, made Tamils voluntarily submit their own girl children to be exploited. While a few Tamils voluntarily allowed their girls to be taken away in the name of god, the rest of the Tamils believed in the same god and visited the same temples, participated in every religious event and even offered their hard-earned money and valuables!

The Fall of the Tamil Proletariat

The Tamil proletariat, to this day, remains a victim to this sanskrit siege, not realizing that sanskrit has nothing to do with anything even remotely Tamil! The following practices are the modern-day remnants of the centuries old sanskrit cultural ambush:

The Tamil proletariat continues to visit the so called hindu temples and wastes its resources in the process.

The moment a girl child turns, say 12 or 13 years old, her family does everything it can to make a ‘Pooja Performer’ out of the girl, not realizing, she is as much human as any other male in the same family!

The young Tamil girl is conditioned to keep thinking about the god and is forced to practice religious rites both at home and the local hindu temples. In many cases, they are given books about non-existent characters which they must read. Most of what they hear from the elder females in their family revolves around the concept of god, pooja and the do’s and don’ts in that regard. That Tamil girl can gain the same way as a boy by hearing about science and math but the Tamil women are conditioned to raise their daughters the religious way as they are forced to fear that if they fail in this regard, their daughters will get spoiled.

The moment a Tamil girl reaches puberty, she is made to believe in the concept of impurity arising out of what otherwise is a mere natural process common among all females of mammals across the animal kingdom! The Tamil girl is conditioned to believe that she cannot enter any place of worship while she is having her monthly menstrual period. For some reason nobody knows, the insignificant drops of blood oozing from the broken uterine wall of the Tamil girl makes her unfit for participating in many events, including the insignificant religious ones. This creates the culture where the Tamil girl is conditioned to believe that she is nothing but an object under the organized religion.

There are circumstances where the males in the family plan for a religious trip to a mountain-top temple to waste their time and money in the name of a non-existent god and they observe a fast for a few weeks prior to their trip. During these times the females are expected to not have their periods. Those who do have their monthly period, a natural event, either stay away from interacting with the males in the family or restrict themselves to one corner of their homes. In some cases, the Tamil women even take medicines to purposely prolong their monthly period, so their family’s males don’t get exposed to the impurity of their menstrual blood!

Connecting the History with the Future

Looking back at the evil Deva-dasi system and the current state of the Tamil proletariat, one cannot miss the fact that the temples have existed and have even grown in number. So has the habit of visiting these temples and wasting money on religious rites. The Tamil proletariat, at one time voluntarily participated in the organized exploitation of its own women on its own land and to this day the Tamil proletariat visits the same temples, losing its time, self-respect and hard-earned money in the process.

How is visiting the very places of worship where one’s own women were sold as commodities, beneficial from a positive energy perspective?

How is anyone, while operating within the cope of sanity, consider a participation in the institution that enslaved his/her women, a source of ‘peace of mind’?

How long are we going to tolerate evil hindutva forces simply because they operate in our Tamil language, persisting with the same hostile intent?

The Tamil proletariat needs to remember that the evil hindutva forces have assembled their allied forces comprising of the non-Tamil bourgeois who are already here on our land sucking the life out of our land and its resources. The same hindutva forces have long held a strong foot in the door in terms of the temples their ancestors built to support them. As it turns out, the Tamil proletariat has already fallen victim for the religious propaganda carried out by the evil hindutva forces and has been busy building more temples and places for further methodical brainwashing of the Tamils in the name of god.

Given the times of organized right wing hindutva propaganda destroying our social fabric, the consequences of the non-Tamil bourgeois holed up in Tamilnadu taking the side of the hindutva forces is only dissolving the Tamil identity steadily and strongly. If we Tamils do not take time to recognize evil as evil, very soon, we will, cease to exist and even if we do continue to exist, we will not be having anything left out of our Tamil identity!

The Next Steps Forward

To be able to counter the rising right wing hindutva propaganda, we Tamils need a sustainable, and long-term anti-divisive effort that can unite us using the one and only valid entity that connects us all – The Tamil Language! However, we cannot be doing so, if we continue to subjugate Tamil women, the Tamizhachis, to the evil religious schemes being propagated by the temples. 

If at the tender age of 12, a Tamizhachi is brainwashed to focus more on insignificant Pooja gimmicks and if the same Tamizhachi is brainwashed to believe in the non-existent impurity of menstruation, are we Tamils not designing for the colossal failure of our own future?

These young Tamizhachis are going to be future mothers, who are going to raise the future Tamils who will carry on the responsibility of establishing a fair, inclusive and division-free Tamilnadu. For this to happen, we need these young Tamizhachis to be educated on par with the male Tamils and be treated as equals. We cannot have Tamizhachis remain as victims of religious nonsense and still expect a future Tamil generation which can stand up to the evil hindutva forces.

Remember, the Tamil proletariat needs its future generations to be raised within the scope of the Tamil culture before getting exposed to other cultures and this cannot happen until we let the young Tamizhachis of today to make their own decisions. The girl child is morphologically different from the male child but that does not render the girl child inferior in any sense. Enabling today’s Tamizhachis to stand up on their own is the very core of the future survival of the Tamil proletariat.

There are many thought leaders who end up influencing the masses and the Tamil proletariat is no exception to this. However, the Tamil proletariat needs to remember that to counter the rise of the oppressive hindutva propaganda aided by the non-Tamil bourgeois, the first and foremost thought leader group to be evolved are brave, educated Tamizhachis. 

All the Tamil proletariat needs to do are these:

Stop forcing young Tamizhachis to pick up insignificant practices such as those of organized religions. Emancipating them from the clutches of the temples is paramount in this regard.

Educate Tamizhachis on par with their male counterparts.

Stop encouraging any format of practices, places or literature that is connected to the evil temple-based schemes that enslaved Tamizhachis (women in general) and exploited them.

The Tamizhachis are evolving. From mere sex-slaves in temples, they have now come far into the mainstream across all areas of legitimate professional and social life. All they need to be is free to think, decide and act on their own.

Sadly, we live in times, where we are gently going backwards from a cultural standpoint and consequently the Tamizhachis are being put in the backseat. Some of them are still stuck there. With gender bias reviving itself into newer forms, it is about time the Tamil proletariat makes a firm decision to stand by its Tamizhachis and enable them to recover the lost ground in their own terms. We cannot have brave Tamils of the future standing up to evil hindutva forces if we have Tamizhachis of today afraid of raising their voice against sexual harassment and gender bias of all sorts!

The Final Word

Remember, the Tamil proletariat is in an unevenly matched war against an unfairly advantaged hindutva propaganda and the only solution lies not in the present but the coming decade and beyond. The future Tamil generations need both strong fathers and mothers. If the Tamil proletariat can enable the Tamizhachis of this generation establish a mark on their own in their own terms, then nothing more is needed for a strong Tamil future. Ideally, the Tamil proletariat will benefit from having its Tamizhachis stand up against the very temple infrastructure that enslaved and exploited them. Such an onslaught will present the ideal example for the entire Tamil proletariat moving forward. Should anyone else wish to take inspiration from the Tamizhachis, nobody is going to stop them.

My dear Tamizhachis, the freedom of the Tamil proletariat is in your hands. It is undeniable that today, your hands are tied by many knots totally uncalled for. However, should you resolve to retake the rights of equality that you truly deserve, there is nothing that can stop you from doing so. Remember, you are merely disadvantaged, not dismembered or dismantled. In your recovery of gender equality, lies the future Tamil society’s freedom from the evil hindutva oppression. I think, I have made my point. I will let you think about this, decide and act as per your independent thought.

Reference:

Castes and Tribes of Southern India
Authors: Kadambi Rangachari, Edgar Thurston

Best regards,


Monday, February 3, 2020

Understanding Tamil Slavery: The Aanda-Parambarai Assimilation in the Vandheri Paradox

Hello World,




Tamils are facing a cultural ambush, crafted and executed by the evil Hindutva right wing propaganda and Tamils are in no position to recognize that, as they have already succumbed to the consequences of the biggest fake news in human history: organized religion. In the Indian context, organized religion is built using the caste framework which, much like religion, has been crafted for specific political propaganda the monarchs evolved, to ensure their sustenance in positions of power. To ensure the population falls well in line with the concocted caste hierarchy, the existing tribe names were taken in, new names were added in, some tribe names got replaced and some made up out of thin air, to be clumped together into the caste hierarchy, which served as the Indian version of the sub-monarch feudal hierarchy that enabled the monarchs remain in power, while allowing the organized religion conduct its operations in the name of the made up caste hierarchy.

The consequence is that the population has evolved to believe that their tribe identities are now caste identities with specific ranks associated with it. Over time came tougher economic circumstances and the population had to submit itself to the hierarchy it has subscribed to, not knowing the fake nature of the same and what ensued further is what has been responsible for the plight of the common man in current times. While the trend remained the same across the nation, its impact has been rather intensified here in Tamilnadu as this economy grew relatively faster than the rest.

In this discussion, my objective will be to establish, with examples and evidence, the mechanics of caste upliftment which served as the basis of the social hierarchy that has historically conditioned Tamils as social and economic slaves to non-Tamils. In the process, I also intend to disclose the facts that I came across, so Tamils can have a better understanding of the reality of whatever they presume to be the status quo today. As it turns out, what we Tamils hear today is hardly the fact and our acceptance of these made up stories is the essence of Tamil slavery where Tamils have been conditioned to remain subservient to non-Tamil entities all the way. Some of the Tamils receiving financial benefits for the subservience might force us to assume that they are doing well while falling in line, but we fail to understand it is those stakeholders who set the wrong examples for the rest of the Tamil population.

For the purpose of this discussion, the reference I chose is the book titled ‘Castes and Tribes of Southern India’ written by K. Rangachari and Edgar Thurston. The book is a comprehensive compilation spanning seven volumes documenting the findings of an elaborate exercise which, as per the authors, was started in 1894. This book was formally published in 1909. Given the level of detail and coverage of the Southern parts of India rather comprehensively, I am sure the writing part alone took at least a year or two. This means that the overall exercise must have taken about 12 years at least. It had been a laborious task to even merely going through the seven volumes, but I have to say, the travel was more enriching than expected. Here are the excerpts from this work along with my views for your consideration.

The Reality of Aanda-Parambarai: A Brief Sample

In the Palli or Vanniyan section, the authors begin with the following:

Writing concerning this caste the Census Superintendent, 1871, records that “a book has been written by a native to show that the Pallis (Pullies or Vanniyar) of the south are descendants of the fire races (Agnikulas) of the Kshatriyas, and that the Tamil Pullies were at one time the shepherd kings of Egypt.” At the time of the census, 1871, a petition was submitted to Government by representatives of the caste, praying that they might be classified as kshatriyas, and twenty years later, in connection with the census, 1891, a book entitled ‘Vannikula Vilakkam: A treatise on the Vanniyar caste,’ was compiled by Mr. T. Aiyakannu Nayakar, in support of the caste claim to be returned as Kshatriyas, for details concerning which claim I must refer the reader to the book itself. In 1907, a book entitled Varuna Darpanam (Mirror of Castes) was published, in which an attempt is made to connect the caste with Pallavas.”

As it turns out, when one group was asked who they are, they presented something they published earlier which declares them as descendants of fire races and that the ‘Tamil Pullies’ were once ‘The Shepherd Kings of Egypt.’

Why would Tamils have their ancestors in Egypt?

If someone really does have their ancestry in Egypt, why would they call themselves a native Tamil today?

Is this not a case of ‘Vandheri by Design’?

This group realized someone is attempting to document the details of the population they belong to and their immediate response was to file a petition requesting to be classified as kshatriyas.

If someone writes a petition to be classified as a warrior, how on earth is that person a warrior in the first place? 

Since when did warriors started fighting the publication war?

The authors make a reference to a book published in 1907, about 2 years before this research was published, indicating an attempt to connect the caste with Pallavas. Now history has it that the Pallava dynasty was Telugu by origin and Pallava dynasty had an established rivalry with Tamil kings of that time. Their territory does cover the top part of modern Tamilnadu which makes sense with respect to how they could have migrated within their territory. However, I refrain from using anything beyond this book as evidence for this discussion. The question at this point is:

If Pallavas were indeed Telugu and Telugu inscriptions prove it, how come those who claim the lineage as that of Pallava can call themselves as Tamils in modern times?

Isn’t the ‘Vandheri by Design’ concept irrefutable in that regard?

Please note, the term Vandheri can be used liberally and its usage here is with no intent of insulting anyone in anyway. The term merely refers to immigrants, in this case non-Tamil communities of equal humans.

K. Rangachari and Edgar Thurston have done a wonderful work of covering all relevant pieces of research and bringing about a comprehensive view based on all the findings.

In further discussion about Pallis or Vanniyans, the authors mention, referring to Manual of the Madhura District:

“The Vanniyans,” Mr. Nelson states,” are at the present time a small and obscure agricultural caste, but there is a reason to believe that they are descendants of ancestors who, in former times, held a good position among the tribes of South India.”

The Manual of Madhura District has a mention of the same group being ‘a small and obscure agricultural caste’ and this indicates that their real history had been everything but the warrior tales of fire and terror that they have been conditioned to believe today. It does include that some of their ancestors were holding relatively higher positions.

This is exactly my contention at this point. In every tribe, a select few who were economically privileged, were able to afford the luxury of operating outside the realms of the caste hierarchy. These were the small-time kings and zamindars who survived by offering subservience to bigger rulers like Krishnadevaraya/Pallavas. However, most of the tribes remained as commoners in the peasant class who hardly owned any land and were mere laborers. Some of them were landowners but again they were a select few. Over time, as the caste identities started gaining prominence owing to the monarchs increasingly using them as reference for sharing their prosperity, the economic needs drove the commoners to claim superior status so they get a piece of the pathetic pie of economic slavery and what came out as a consequence was this publication driven propaganda, connecting humans to fire, sun and kings from the past. These propaganda cleverly sidelined the linguistic identity of the tribe and conditioned the tribe to fall in line with the made up story where the origins always had to do with sun, far away lands and almost always someone regarded as strong communities, even if it may be the silliest of creative compositions.

While discussing the origin of the name Vanniyan, the authors refer to H. A. Stuart:

“The name Vanniyan,” Mr. H. A. Stuart writes, seems to have been introduced by the Brahmans, possibly to gratify the desire of the Pallis for genealogical distinction. Padaiyachi means a soldier and is also of late origin. That the Pallis were once an influential and independent community may be admitted, and in their present desire to be classified as Kshatriyas they are merely giving expression to this belief, but, unless an entirely new meaning is to be given to the term Kshatriya, their claim must be dismissed as absurd. After the fall of the Pallava Dynasty, the Pallis became agricultural servants under the Vellalas, and it is only since the advent of British rule that they have begun to assert their claims to higher position.”

‘…have been introduced by the Brahmans…’ is a very interesting phrase which in many ways puts this entire discussion in perspective. However, I am more focused on the ‘have been introduced’ part of it as that is of the most significance with this discussion we are having. These caste titles that we have today is a mix of original tribe identities (those that did not in any way have a social ranking associated with them) along with the made up names for deliberate motive-driven ‘inserts’ into the made up system. ‘Vanniyan’, as it turns out, is one such made up name for a deliberate insert.

The phrase ‘…their present desire to be classified as kshatriyas…’ indicates that those who were the few influential among this group, decided what rank they will continue to have in the future and made a formal request for the same. 

When names and ranks can be changes based on request, isn’t it evident that the whole caste system was made up and it had nothing to do with caste titles being a consequence of birth and/or of mythical origin?

H. A. Stuart clearly puts history in perspective indicating how the once high-ranking group under the Pallavas became agricultural servants under the ‘Vellalas’ and how the group started claiming higher rank once the British rule came into existence.

All the ‘Aanda-Parambarai’ claims have already been refuted beyond reasonable doubt and it is also clear as to why such a claim came into the modern political discourse. When a community is forced to the economic corners while having enjoyed a history of better economic states, the community starts responding to recover what it has lost. Thanks to lack of education and the concentration of wealth with a select few, all these groups did was claim social superiority when in reality their need was something very fundamental: social equality that avoids economic disparity.

While making an insignificant decision is one thing, implementing it with further ambiguity is a whole different thing which needs to be looked at. The authors, further discussing the Pallis, mention:

They have published pamphlets to prove their descent from that caste, and they returned themselves in thousands, especially in Godavari, as Agnikula Kshatriyas or Vannikula Kshatriyas, meaning Kshatriyas of the fire race.”

If someone’s history, as per their own claims, puts them in or around Godavari, which in modern times flows across multiple regions covering the languages Marathi, Telugu, Odiya and Chattisgadi, how can they call themselves Tamils by origin?

For the Tamil land, will they not remain a Vandheri by design irrespective of whatever they speak today?

K. Rangachari and Edgar Thurston had referred to the North Arcot Manual and here is what they found:

In the North Arcot Manual, Palli is given as a sub-division of the Telugu Kapus.”

Palli was categorized as part of Telugu speaking tribes at some point and as it turns out, in the years after, they lobbied for a higher social rank and got themselves branded as Vanniyans who are Kshatriyans.

If someone was classified as a part of a Telugu group, how do they become Tamils later?

Is there a process to change the linguistic identity as well?

The authors go on probing the historical background of this group’s identity and one of their further findings is:

The Pallis, Mr. Francis writes further, “as far back as 1833 tried to procure a decree in Pondicherry, declaring that they were not a low caste….”

This group has been fighting for a higher social rank for quite some time it seems. There is documented piece of history that, about 61 years before K. Rangachari and Edgar Thurston began their effort, this group ‘Palli’ has been fighting for a higher social rank.

If someone was really Aanda-Parambarai and/or higher social rank, why would they ever have a need for a declaration that will certify their higher rank?

This group, in Pondicherry, tried to procure a decree that would declare that they were not a low caste. This clearly indicates the awareness of the atrocities of caste hierarchy in our society. Someone saw how the so-called ‘low castes’ were being treated and out of fear decided to get classified as anything other than a ‘low caste’ and their choice was Vanniyan the Kshatriya.

History has it that every time someone decided to standup against inequality their claim was for equality of all and such a claim is a common link connecting the greatest humans who have walked this earth promoting equality. Be it Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. or Nelson Mandela or Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, they have all fought against inequality in the name of equality for all.

However, this group under study, as per documented history, seems to have fought for their own state of social superiority. This indicates the extent of economic disparity they had to go through which forced them to take such a stance. Although, unacceptable, it is understandable as at that time, the decision-making control was left with a few rich and influential stakeholders while the common man was left to follow the orders of the bourgeoisie. Even the so-called fire race was no exception.

The Pallis, as it turns out, were not happy with the way they were placed in the social hierarchy and instead of fighting the inequality, settled down for a higher rank for themselves. This segmented thinking is the essence of the slavery the caste system had conceptualized, to make sure the segmentation remains unchanged. The man-made caste hierarchy is so elementary for the hindu faith system and if all of a sudden, the population decides to pick up any other identities and unite on that basis, the ‘hindu’ identity will cease to exist and with that will go the economic power that enabled the sustenance of the monarchs. If the ‘hindu’ system had actually worked, those monarchs would still be here but, let the facts show, that even the most devout of the monarchs who constructed magnificent temples evaporated into the same oblivion irrespective of what racial identity he or she claimed to be.

This presence of religion as the undertone, while largely invisible, is something we need to look at as it has been the platform where the caste hierarchy and social ranking had all originated. K. Rangachari and Edgar Thurston, while discussing this side of Pallis, note that:

The Pallis have the right to present the most important camphor offering of the Mylapore Siva temple. They allege that the temple was originally theirs, but by degrees they lost their hold over it until this bare right was left to them. Some years ago, there was a dispute concerning the exercise of this right, and the case came before the High Court of Madras, which decided the point at issue in favour of the Pallis.”

It doesn’t matter how far we go or how specific we make our scope, Mylapore almost always makes its way into the discussion, especially when it comes to organized social discrimination. However, my focus is on the mention of Pallis losing the control of their place of worship to those who later controlled the Mylapore Siva Temple. As it turns out, they had even gone to the court demanding their right to offer the most important camphor offering. All the ‘warrior’ traits evaporated and what was left was that of mere law-abiding citizen which prompted them to take the legal course of action. The warriors could have fought for their rights. They didn’t. The fire race could have resurrected their fire gods to avenge them. They couldn’t. All that was left out was appeal via peaceful civilian means and expect the court to decide their temple activities for them. How martial?

The Kshatriya Conspiracy

K. Rangachari and Edgar Thurston do document their coverage of the term that refers to the warrior varna and to bring perspective to their record, note:

The claim to the title is not confined to the old military classes desirous of asserting their former position, for we find it put forward by such castes as Vannias and Shanans, the one a caste of farmers and labourers, the other toddy-drawers. It is not possible to distribute these pseudo-Kshatriyas among their proper castes…”

The phrase ‘It is not possible to distribute these pseudo-Kshatriyas’ clearly indicates that the current social ranking being claimed is not the original and the consequent resentment to accommodate the change is documented. Please note, Edgar Thurston had nothing to do with our varna-shastra and how we took up the warrior clan tales as a part of it. The dissent must have been from K. Rangachari himself who is not opposed to the term ‘pseudo-Kshatriyas.’ The term ‘kshatriya’ itself is made up and there is an attempt to claim the same as one’s identity and such a claim, although granted by temple and government instruments, is not very much welcomed by one of the authors and co-researcher involved in this work.

To me, this is just hilarious. There is a fake warrior identity, and someone claims to be one of the warrior clans and the researcher documenting them is refusing to completely accept the new title and revised rank as claimed. To be fair, K. Rangachari had good reasons to deny the rank change. Please have a look at the Pallis (or Vanniyas) whom they met while conducting their research:

Image Source: Castes and Tribes of Southern India, Kadambi Rangachari, Edgar Thurston
The question however remains:

How can social rank change be possible for a select group of humans while not for the rest?

This entire social rank game had been designed and conducted with so many rules which, in the odd occasions when the wealthy players entered, bent themselves to accommodate their special needs. Again, this game restricts itself to those involved within a particular faith system, which in this case is the so-called hindu system.

The authors in their discussion about the Vellalas, note:

This is the first attempt made by the brahmins to bring the Tamils under their caste system. But in the absence of the Kshatriya, Vaisya, and Sudra castes in Tamilakam, they could not possibly succeed….”

It cannot be anymore specific and to the point. A direct mention of what brought Tamils into the caste system and who owned it along with why such an attempt did not possibly succeed by then.

This is evidence enough to emphasize on the fact that the Tamil population, by default did not have any social ranking system which placed one over the other. Our Thirukural refers to equality of all living creatures and none of our ancient literature before the times of religions has any mention of god or religions or any such social ranking.

However, facts do conclusively show that the Tamil population had eventually fallen for the made-up story of caste and entrapped itself into the conspiracy of organized religion. The bourgeoisie with their wealth could manage workarounds and made necessary arrangements to revise their social ranking within the caste system, and as it turns out, not all of that bourgeoisie were indeed Tamil in the first place. The Tamil proletariat, consequently, was left to fend for itself which, in the face of economic disparity and lack of education, formally submitted itself to the evil plays of the caste wielding religion. This further resulted in the breakdown of the Tamil proletariat into mere sects defined by names with altered meanings or outright made up names referring to identities nowhere near the real identity of Tamils.

It is not easy and fair to conclude things based on just one instance of the bourgeoisie being able to change their social rank to benefit from the suppression of the rest of the population, mostly falling within the proletariat.

K. Rangachari and Edgar Thurston, while documenting their findings regarding the Saurashtra brahmans, note:

In Madura their claim to brahmanhood has always been disputed. As early as 1705 A.D. the Brahmans of Madura called in question the Patnulkarans’ right to perform the annual upakarma in the Brahman fashion. [Eighteen members of the community were arrested by the Governor of Madura for performing this ceremony.] The matter was taken to the notice of the Queen Mangammal, and she directed her State pandits to convene meetings of learned men, and to examine into it. On their advice, she issued a Cadjan (palm leaf) sasanam (grant) which permitted them to follow the Brahmanical rites.”

Again, someone who migrated into the Tamil land, decided to pick up a higher social ranking within the artificially established caste hierarchy and they made every effort to reclassify themselves. Another instance where inequality did not go well with one group and all they cared about was themselves. Again, the fact that cannot be disregarded is that they are not Tamils by origin. At least, unlike the Pallis, the Patnulkarans wanted the top rank of the caste hierarchy and even went by themselves with the procedure to transform. They displayed more ‘warrior’ traits than those who claim to be from warrior clans. However, in this case, instead of the temple-based lobby accepting the offer, rejected it and went all the way to file a complaint, against which the then Governor of Madura even arrested the perpetrators, who in this case were Patnulkarans.

Governance was in such a state that any violation of religious restrictions, especially those pertaining to that of the caste hierarchy, warranted strict and direct response from the administrators. However, to me, with regards to our discussion here, what is more disturbing is that the Queen Mangammal, in response to the plea from Patnulkarans, delegated pandits from her court to investigate and resolve this issue. The court lobby succeeded in resolving the impasse between the Patnulkarans and the temple lobby in charge of caste-based hierarchy and eventually advised the Queen Mangammal, who then officially declared the Patnulkarans eligible to practice Brahmanical rites. From then on, the Patnulkarans are Saurashtra brahmans.

Queen Mangammal belonged to the Nayak dynasty installed by the Vijayanagar Empire and has Telugu origin.

Again, it is a case of some non-Tamil population wanting to go up the man-made social ladder and the request is granted while the domestic Tamil population remained a mute spectator. As it turns out, the one who grants the approval for caste change and upliftment of social rank is also a non-Tamil stakeholder. Vandheri by design helping a Vandheri by design while disregarding the welfare of the original inhabitants of the Tamil land: The Tamil Proletariat.

Vandheri by Choice

We Tamils have ourselves bought this story of caste and Hindu religion, something very definitely alien to us in all respects and have since been paying the price for it. Those of us who let the Vandheri by design establish the rules of the game with an unfair offset against us, did that with full consciousness simply because the caste-hierarchy was presented in the name of gods who had magical powers to punish us, should we ignore the same. Yes, not all of us were educated back then but we had the opportunity later to understand reality and that is when we, the Tamil population failed in unison over centuries. We let the Vandheri by design establish their safe grounds at the cost of us and by that we made ourselves Vandheri by Choice!

If Tamils had taken the steps to combat inequality in the name of religion and caste, today will not be a time when the Tamil proletariat is struggling to survive in the modern world of economic chaos cleverly designed to support the Modern Bourgeoisie totally under the controls of non-Tamil stakeholders: Vandheri by design. Those who requested name changes and rank changes relied heavily on the brahmans and the rulers of the time. Those who asked for special provisions and those who gave them were all non-Tamils. It needs to be mentioned that the blame is to be shared by the Tamil stakeholders who managed to sneak into the Modern Bourgeoisie not realizing they are making a Vandheri by Choice out of themselves.

The modern Tamil society is split across the economic line where the bourgeois section sits on top of the proletariat such that the proletarians have no means of sustenance if the bourgeoise ignored it. The new laws for equality have established the guidelines but their implementation has hardly even begun. What we have is the caste-based society that sprouted from the ruins without doing away with the caste antagonisms. The non-Tamil bourgeois has even added to the antagonism in an attempt to further reduce the Tamil society into mere castes which hate each other with passion, eventually rendering the Tamil proletariat incapable of  even realizing the atrocities it is subjected to, never mind standing up to ask for what the constitution dictates.

The modern Tamil society is now completely under the control of the non-Tamil bourgeoisie, which has only established new social ranking and new conditions for oppression, creating new struggles in addition to the old ones for the original Tamils of the Tamil society. Sadly, some influential and economically sound Tamils know about this and have willingly chosen ignorance over intervention in this regard. In short, Vandheris by design have slowly taken over the Tamil population and the Vandheris by choice are persisting with the knowledge, pre-occupied with their own welfare. The Tamil proletariat is nothing but a thin spread of insignificant shreds, each shred representing a caste identity, not willing to embrace equality and the true state of being that matters: Being Tamil.

All those who claim to be Aanda-Parambarai, irrespective of what the facts were, got an opportunity to uplift themselves from the negative impacts of the caste system. The fact also remains that they kept their efforts towards the safety of ‘their own’ and as it turns out, they are non-Tamils and those whom they ignored are Tamils. The Tamil proletariat is busy building its own fake identities based on the religious propaganda using the evil caste system, working all along to develop the very scheme that was designed to enslave it. Ignorance cannot be accepted as an excuse and given the state of Tamils in Tamilnadu, it cannot remain an option as well.

The non-Tamil bourgeoisie has historically made every attempt to safeguard itself and used it as means to secure its persisting hold on Tamilnadu politics as it realized, when those in power can grant changes in social ranking for economic prosperity, being in power makes the whole game much easier to manipulate in favor the non-Tamils. The welfare of Tamils, sadly, has never been a variable of that equation. Each step in the development the non-Tamil bourgeoisie has historically been accompanied by the political advancement of the same. The non-Tamil stakeholders, over the decades of carefully designed plays within and around the caste-based hierarchy, have conquered for themselves, in Tamilnadu, an exclusive political sway. The Tamil proletariat is still busy filling the temples with its hard-earned cash, in the desperate belief that the god will bestow upon them the blessings in exchange for their hard-earned resources.

The government in the Tamil land, right now, is but a convention of the non-Tamil bourgeoisie, heavily guarded by a few Tamils who are but mere economic slaves to them. A brief look at a few examples of non-Tamils benefiting through workarounds within the caste based hierarchy indicates that , they were operating in line with the religious order, and effectively made the propositions where their offers, in the end, seemed too hard to resist and the consequence was their emancipation from the negatives of the caste system as instituted by the temple based political propaganda of that time. However, what we have right now in Tamilnadu, is a more evolved non-Tamil bourgeoisie which has cleverly reinforced the caste-based game using economic enslavement, boiling it down to the only significant form of self-interest: ‘cash payment.’ What used to be executed in the name of gods and traditions and other religious illusions have now been substituted with shameless, direct, brutal voluntary submission to the exploitation involving the acceptance of wealth by the Vandheris by Choice, the Tamils who have chosen the caste and religious smoke screen as the primary reference for their very lives.

The Vandheris by choice are everywhere, supporting the non-Tamil bourgeoisie not realizing, they are digging their own graves in the process. The non-Tamil bourgeoisie has reduced the Tamil population into castes and has created enormous caste associations, many of which are preying on the Tamil population vulnerable to the limited options of the rural life. It has made the entire state of Tamilnadu dependent on caste groups, implementing the scattering of the Tamil proletariat while concentrating the control of governance in a few hands, most of which, as it turns out, are that of the non-Tamil bourgeoisie itself!

This institutionalized political centralization is what the non-Tamil bourgeoisie is aiming for as it has, over the centuries, learned that Tamils remaining as a separate entity with their own interests will keep the door open for future circumstances which can put their ‘Revised Social Ranking’ in jeopardy. Instead of planning to fight the competitor it has decided to include the Tamil population as a part of its grand scheme of unfairness, all in the name of caste and religion, buying out the odd ones who tend to stem up to question its authority. It is about time, this concerted centralization of political power in the name of castes in Tamilnadu is well positioned to  support the right wing hindutva propaganda that aims at lumping diverse cultures into one nation, with one government, one code of laws, one national class-interest and everything else that goes against the fundamental concept of democracy.

Be it the times of the monarchs or that of the current democracy, things change, circumstances pan out and people move. Migration is inevitable and is much needed for the sustainable development of any land. Tamilnadu will not be boasting relatively strong economic indicators if it had not accommodated the diversity through immigration. We Tamils have always welcomed every non-Tamil community with open arms and have let them do what they want all along. However, the non-Tamil bourgeoisie seems to have stuck to its initial intent of operating with hidden hostility because of the oppression they faced from wherever they emigrated from. While they claimed higher social ranking in the past, in today’s time, they are wielding the same ‘acquired higher social ranking’ as a weapon to usurp the entire state’s political and economic controls. The Vandheri by design is not evil by mere virtue of being a Vandheri. If someone’s ancestors chose to move to a new land, there is nothing wrong about it and that cannot be used a reason for any form of accusation. It is the intent with which the Vandheris by design operate that threatens the welfare of Tamils. When the non-Tamil bourgeoisie claims that a non-Tamil can deliver good governance for Tamils while over 7 crore Tamils are alive, the intent behind such a proposition clearly proves that the non-Tamil bourgeoisie is not after the welfare of everyone, but of its own. Any response from Tamils is rendered insignificant, as in comes the timely contribution of the Vandheris by Choice, who, empowered by the ignorance and inherent affinity towards religious beliefs and caste identities, have nothing more to care about than the ‘cash payment’ they get at the far end of the deal. The Vandheris by Choice are, in fact much more dangerous than the Vandheris by Design. The latter is merely a victim of fear and fake news, but the former is a willing participant of an economic enslavement program where self-preservation based on caste and god is all that matters, provided they get their share of the loot. The unaware Tamil proletariat, therefore, is left to lose its economic and political rights and is well positioned to succumb to this legalized genocide. 

Ancestry doesn’t define the ‘villain nature’ but the affinity towards everything against the welfare of Tamils in Tamil lands is the key differentiation. Be it Vandheri by Design or Vandheri by Choice, as long as there is a deliberate ignorance of the collective progress of everyone in Tamilnadu, with Tamils on the same plane as everyone else, the consequent orientation is the essence of the ‘Anti-Tamil Vandheri’ identity, irrespective of any claim of warrior status and the native language spoken. All this discussion on Vandheri and what we realize is that the one who ignores the equality and welfare of all is the real danger. Such is a the nature of The Vandheri Paradox.

Remember, the adversary (the non-Tamil bourgeoisie)  speaks Tamil (at least outside their homes), looks Tamil and behaves like a Tamil. However, what lies beneath the Tamil mask is a fearful non-Tamil Vandheri by Design who will not compromise on the caste-based hierarchy as institutionalized by the hindu religion, and will do everything it takes to ensure the welfare of the Vandheris by Design. Their master is elsewhere, again, a non-Tamil entity not necessarily even concerned about speaking or knowing about Tamil. The Vandheris by Design have, in their pockets, the Vandheris by Choice, who are Tamils subscribing to the caste and religion-based beliefs and are willing to make the compromise as long as they feel they got compensated. The Vandheris by Design have most of those claiming the Aanda-Paramparai status and are being well supported by the Vandheris by Choice. The beginning of the end of the Tamil race needs no more influencing factors or catalysts.

Again, this discussion has nothing to do with any form of hatred against those who have emigrated into Tamilnadu. Tamils have and will always cherish the diversity as All Humans Are Equal and that is the essence of the Tamil culture.

The current times call for the union of the Tamil proletarians for peaceful and intelligent cooperation towards a common aim: Emancipation of Tamils from the Non-Tamil Bourgeoisie. However, the Tamil proletariat cannot possibly get together against the non-Tamil bourgeoisie without restoring equality, self-respect and unity among its own. It also cannot happen if the Tamil proletariat is misled towards the ways of retaliatory hatred towards everyone non-Tamil. Such a situation will only worsen the trouble we are already facing in Tamil land now.

In place of non-Tamil dominance, we need Tamil self-sufficiency. We have already accepted others as a part of us. We only need to secure our own rights. What we cannot afford at this moment is to ignore the rise of the non-Tamil bourgeoisie purely based on one’s own experience. Inequality anywhere is a relevant threat to equality everywhere and the plight of Tamils in Tamilnadu is no different. The Tamil proletariat must unite disregarding the caste and religious identities to be able to stand up against the rising atrocities of the non-Tamil bourgeoisie. One cannot win a game through more training and effort when the game is designed to favor the other team. No point in wasting time with religious and caste sentiments as every bit of activity in that direction, only enables the non-Tamil bourgeoisie to execute one more blow on the Tamil population.

The Aanda-Parambarai and Vandheris will remain active in any form and there is no doing away with them. The right wing hindutva propaganda will enable further migration of Anti-Tamil Vandheris by design and grooming of more vandheris by choice, and they will be trained to nestle everywhere, settle everywhere and establish hierarchical establishments in line with the revived caste based hierarchy to establish a game layer much beyond what we can possible imagine, only to ensure, the prosperity of the Tamil land is unevenly shared such that the Tamils remain dependent on the non-Tamils for everything, moving forward. The ideal response, as a baseline, is a open-minded effort to understand the essence of Tamil slavery, without which the Tamil proletariat will forever remain the unassuming slave of anyone from anywhere, within the Tamil lands, for the rest of the future, until a point beyond which the Tamil identity will cease to exist. Trust me, there is nothing even remotely positive, hidden in this future for Tamils.

The question in the end is: At what point do we admit?


Reference:
Title: Castes and Tribes of Southern India
Authors: Kadambi Rangachari, Edgar Thurston
First Published: 1909


Best regards,