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,


Saturday, January 18, 2020

Securing the Rights of Tamils: Six Arguments Tamils Must Start Avoiding Now


Hello World,

The entire nation is reeling under the clutches of a fascist right-wing regime since 2014 and the developments so far has been disastrous for the entire population. While the racist right-wing supporters disagree with any of the criticism, the more pressing issue on hand is the inability of the general population to differentiate stupidity from facts. 

My focus is more asserted when it comes to the same inability of my fellow Tamils. When I put together my observations of the arguments my fellow Tamils presented, I see an alarmingly dangerous trend of Tamils skipping the essentials in arguments. The way I see it, it is the inability to establish a negotiation table and debate the needs that is keeping Tamils away from securing their rights. Here, I present my observations of the Six Arguments that we Tamils must avoid so, in the long run we evolve as a community of levelheaded individuals who can stand up for themselves and secure the rights they truly deserve.

Before we begin, I think, setting up the context for this discussion to put things in perspective is in order. We need to start somewhere, and I am not attracted towards anything beyond the Graham’s Hierarchy of Arguments (or Disagreement) for a valid starting point. The western thinking hats is another approach I wouldn’t discount but for the purposes of this discussion, I believe Graham’s Hierarchy does the job of taking us to a relevant ground zero. We might as well begin.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Graham%27s_Hierarchy_of_Disagreement.svg

Refuting the central point, which in other words, disproving the basic premise with facts remains the highest form of argument as per Graham’s hierarchy given above.

Since we are discussing how Tamils can enhance their opportunities to debate right and secure their rights, Tamils who do not read and/or write English are ineludible. My observations indicate that those Tamils who are not very comfortable understanding English tend to ignore anything and everything in English and in the process become easy victims of schemes targeted against them as most of its details is not available in any language other than English. This, therefore, demands that in all fairness we present at least one helping hand to integrate the Tamils who are not necessarily comfortable with English content. I had made a crude attempt at translating the Graham’s Hierarchy of Arguments (Disagreements) here:



Graham’s Hierarchy of Arguments does present the crux of the discussion and clearly indicates what needs to be prioritized over the others. Our focus, however, is to investigate what we need to stop doing.

1. Never Ending Trip to the Next Station

If that is the case, then this is even better. Do you know that?

When we train ourselves to not tolerate loss, we grow ourselves a handicap of avoiding all circumstances that we perceive as a potential ‘loss.’ The consequence is that we gain a new habit of skipping the games we are not sure about winning. When this translates into our response to any argument, what we deliver is a brand-new argument instead of a counter to the one we are facing. What ensues is a never-ending loop of us saying something different from the other person migrating from argument to argument to find the one where the other debater doesn’t say anything.

2. Perception of 'No Counter' as a WIN

I shut them up. It means I put them in place and therefore I win.

The absence of a counter argument is not always a consequence of a better argument. It is also a case of the other debater choosing not to respond to stupidity. If it is a genuine case of the other debater not knowing much, he/she would ask probing questions to better understand the premise and the details. Perceiving silence as a ‘give up’ indicates the inability to identify the best option by eliminating the less relevant. It also means there is a lack of ability to investigate one’s own faults. Both inabilities are built on the core inability of not being able to reason with anything. People also refuse to debate a real logic within a creative bubble. There will remain no point in building an argument within a made-up story. The entire argument will be a waste of everyone’s time. When the rights of real people are in danger, why on earth should anyone be debating creative compositions?

3. Consideration of Everything as a Reason

As per Your Words, I am Right

A very popular one, especially among enthusiastic eleven year old’s. However, as grim as it may seem, this nonsense gets indoctrinated at a very tender age and for many of us, it becomes a habit that never leaves. We adults need to use our basic cognitive abilities to come up with logic and reason to support what we say. It is ok to feel the urge to claim us being right about something, but we need to allow our neurons to do their job, however uneasy it may seem to be. Not claiming being right is way better than saying ‘As per your words, I am right.’ This form of argument lets the other person know that we lack the abilities of a thirteen-year-old and our core specialization is restricted to that of an eleven year old. No offence intended towards the eleven year old's. Also, when we use what others are saying as the basis, we are rendering ourselves vulnerable to what we perceive as popular opinion. In such circumstances, as long as we are convinced with something as a popular opinion, we stop arguing and submit. 

4. The Idea of Everyone Saying It

Everyone believes and accepts this except a few. So, this must be true.

Do you remember ‘sati’? A religion driven tradition of burning women along with their dead husbands used to exist in this part of the world. At that time, everyone believed it, accepted and did say, “That’s the tradition we follow.” Succumbing to this perceived-mass-approval psychology renders our cognitive abilities stunted to say the least. When the understanding becomes ingrained into one’s personality, their ability to argue becomes stunted too. If we allow ourselves to fall into this perceived-mass-approval trend, we force ourselves to believe in this mirage that dictates the idea of falling in line with everything that appeals to us as ‘what everyone agrees with.’ Our argument in that mode will almost always be driven by conformity as opposed to the otherwise original way driven by reason and logic backed by facts. By looking for what everyone else is saying, we are essentially showing ourselves out of the argument.

5. Passion for the Absence of a Popular Acknowledgement

There is no report indicating or saying the same. Therefore, this view needs to be ignored.

Remaining in an argument is elementary and that makes it top priority if there is an intent of arriving at a conclusion. Please note, solution and conclusion are very different entities. As for this discussion, we will keep ourselves to the conclusion as the argument remains the means to that. When we build an argument, be it the initiation or the counter, if we must rely on exclusion of a denial as the basis for approval, we are committing ourselves to the converse of the perceived-mass-approval psychological trends. While this is at one end of the stupidity spectrum, what lies at the other end is even more deeply disturbing. If someone is insistent on extending such a debate, then that is an indication of two possibilities; One being the deliberate intent to distract attention towards insignificance (as a means of short-term escape) and the other being outright stupidity. The world can do without both.

6. Reliance on the Studies that Don’t Exist

Studies show that meat eaters are rude. Yeah, that’s how it is.

The world can also do without the studies that don’t exist. How will food choices define the personality of a human being? Basing an opinion on a study is increasingly becoming a popular trend and every time someone starts their argument with the phrase ‘studies suggest” the immediate response is almost always an approval. However, nobody seems to be asking what study is being referred to and who documented it under what circumstances and for what objective. The consequence of this trend is that arguments are being framed based on unnamed studies being the facts behind them. When we use such a secretive study that we haven’t seen and/or verified, we train ourselves to become victims of deliberate fake arguments thrown at us. When someone with real intent of preventing an argument from proceeding further, they would likely use this tactic and if we remain conditioned in this regard, we will silently accept it, not realizing, we have been sidelined on purpose. Try looking up the recent ongoing efforts to rewrite our history and you will see the development of such studies to be shown when anyone might ask for the study that supports a crooked view. When someone is trying to rewrite history, their ulterior motive is to establish a specific hold over cultures. When we hold on to the argument pattern of relying on studies, we remain ineligible to counter such arguments aiming at establishing a uniform culture, destroying many in the process.

6. Everything as a Consequence of Culture

This is what we were doing thousands of years ago. Therefore, this is best for us and this must remain a standard for all.

Culture is a consequence. It is as simple as that. That precisely is also why cultures tend to evolve over time. This ends up rendering rights as wrongs and those important as insignificant, among the other million possible changes, all over time. One example is public transport rendering caste-based hatred insignificant (to a very large extent). Once upon a time people of a certain class/group would only be allowed to travel together on the bullock carts or even sit together on the bench at a tea shop. In came the buses, trams and trains and now we sit based on the seat number our ticket says and not based on ethnic or economic class definitions. This brings us to the point where we must realize that presenting an argument based on culture should accommodate a fair element of ambiguity and variance, failing which the argument becomes insignificant. Remember, slavery, sati, female infanticide and racism were part of the culture, and sadly some of these persist in many parts of the world including Tamilnadu. However, they cannot be accepted as a consequence of culture for further social, legal and political conformity. Building arguments justifying opinions and actions in today’s time referring to culture can be dangerous, especially when we argue in defense of what is against the concept of humanity. Such an argument presenting the idea of something being right on account of it being the consequence of culture indicates the lack of ability to reason on the basis of facts from the past and their validity within the society with respect to which the argument is primarily being built. The consequence of this broken argument format is that the victims can easily be convinced with anything as long as the argument refers to culture, irrespective of it being real and/or logical. Looking at this from the other direction, when we rely on cultural definition for support of our opinion, we open the door for any counter opinion which can easily be floated as ‘also based on culture’ and as long as the counter argument refers to a claim of a superior culture, then we are forced to stand down. We don’t have to and we shouldn’t. However, it is impossible if we remain in approval of such an argument based exclusively based on an illusionary cultural consequence.

How Tamils Remain at the Losing End

Since we have accommodated diverse cultures along with ourselves, we have benefitted by learning from the diversity and have been contributing to the cultures which have mingled with us all along. The southern half of India is way better economically in comparison to the northern half and diversity is the main reason for this. However, every contribution comes at a set of costs, some of which are overhead. One of those, in this case, is that, we now have, staunch supporters of inhuman policies and practices largely lobbying for the implementation of the right-wing propaganda. The consequence is that their efforts take away the rights of people in many circumstances and almost always, it is the Tamil right that gets dropped, ignored or outright violated. That is not the problem though. Please do not mistake this for a reason to develop any retaliatory hatred. Hate, be it preemptive or retaliatory, is not going to deliver any value. The problem I am referring to is the rising trend of silence against such efforts that do not care about violating the rights of Tamils. Those who remain silent are either open supporters of the Hindutva right wing or those who have the habit of building insignificant arguments mentioned above. This section of the population includes Tamils as well.

Setting Up The Right Markers for Historical Epochs 

Anytime in the far future, say 100 years from now, for instance, the welfare of Tamils will remain dependent on relevant political and intellectual history of Tamils taken up from select historical epochs. Given the current rise of the right wing hindutva propaganda, it is about time we Tamils establish a few such relevant epochs, the political and social responses of which will come up during the recall in the far future, hopefully enabling us to stand up for our rights including our strong resolve to protect those around us irrespective of them being Tamil or not. We need to exist and we need to remain protected from danger to be in a state of well being that can allow us to pursue the safety of all those around us as dictated by our Thirukural in the phrase ‘Pirappokkum Ella Uyirukum.’ However, we can only exist and remain in good well being when we establish the right formats of political and intellectual history which in other terms translates to what we do right now. There is no better time than now, to set the epochs right for the future.

Tamils need to counter the right wing hindutva terrorism head on and it cannot happen without debating the making and workings of the right wing. The Tamil proletariat is slowly succumbing to organized economic exploitation and cultural oppression by anti-Tamil entities ranging across segments. That being said, I would gently remind my fellow Tamils that the Tamil and non-Tamil bourgeoisie that is silently tolerating the said economic exploitation and cultural oppression of the Tamil proletariat remain the stronger source of evil as they remain in close proximity to us, most of them being amongst us as well. Just because they speak Tamil doesn’t mean they have to care for Tamil and in many cases, much to my surprise, those who are Tamil themselves remain ignorant of the violation of the rights of Tamils.

I am not sure what will bring the real issues to the attention of people. Nobody seems to care when North Madras is suffering. Should Nanganallur also burn before people agree that we have a problem at hand? May be Mylapore, Mandaveli and Mambalam can get added to such a disaster and then people start noticing the violation of Tamil rights. This is a violent thought but inevitable now. However, I do not see this as a reasonable basis for any further statement. Again, I am not sure if such an argument is even valid in the first place.

That precisely is my point at this juncture. We Tamils need to form the right arguments and we need to revisit our methods of argument to begin with. The Tamil proletariat has to understand that the ownership of Tamilnadu is slowly leaving the Tamils as the very basis of political constitution which might support the safety of Tamils is slowly succumbing to the competition of the right wing propaganda and much worse, the Tamil and Non-Tamil bourgeoisie is tolerating it. This brings up the question of why a common, collective ownership of Tamilnadu cannot be established with the inclusion of Tamils in a state of equality, despite the Tamils being open to non-Tamil cultures?

The answer could me many and in many perspectives. What remains unchanged is that we Tamils are failing to raise the right questions as we are failing to build the right arguments. While there can be a million ways to form the right argument, at this juncture, we need to stop building the wrong arguments. What I have here are merely six such arguments Tamils should stop using in order to create an atmosphere for any possible solution. Solutions are possible when we have the appropriate conclusions. Appropriate conclusions are only possible when they are derived from relevant, correct arguments. Given the current circumstances, there is a dearth of appropriate conclusions and therefore there is no atmosphere for any solution for Tamils and Tamilnadu.

Tamils need to argue hard and fast to secure their rights and it is more of a negotiation in the democratic context. For any such negotiation to sustain, there needs to be a negotiation table with one seat for the Tamils. If Tamils are going to leave the negotiation table as a result of incorrect arguments they place or the perception of the non-existent win in the argument, then the other party need not worry about building their side of the argument. Tamils’ ignorance must come to a hard stop and it must happen now. The question then remains:

Can the Tamil proletariat’s fight for their rights, though greatly undermined, yet a form of resurrection of Tamil Marai as prescribed by Thirukural, pass on strongly from the intelligent minority to the ignorant majority within Tamilnadu, in the form of strong, relevant arguments?

Regards,



Tuesday, January 7, 2020

2021 TN State Elections: Predictions & Paranoia That Can't be Ignored by Tamils

Hello World,



Coming 2021, Tamilnadu will have its state assembly elections and given the current circumstances, political parties are gearing up for their campaigns for the same. It is about time we the taxpaying citizens get a good view of what the worst case scenario will be before we are forced to take a hard stand on the same ending up polarized in the process. 
Remember, prevention can only be done when we envision the possible bad and plan accordingly.
In this discussion, I wish to present the top predictions in the developments that will lead us to the voting day in 2021. Between now and the voting day in 2021, there are going to be events of strong significance that we as a society will not be able to ignore. It doesn't matter what side we take at that point, what will remain irreversible is that we will stand strongly divided. That is going to cost all of us Tamils very dearly in the long term.
It is about time we start thinking the following:
1. What type of events will catch our attention, forcing us to take a side?
2. What will be the state of electoral politics towards the voting day in 2021?
3. How will the parties plan and execute their respective political campaigns?
Here's what I have as top answers when I ask myself these questions:
At least 2 communal riots about 3 months before election followed by freebie announcements within the last 60-days to election day will set the overall tone for the elections.
The price-per-vote will remain in the INR 10-20K range across the state. If the current government does what it is already doing, then the overall poverty in the state will grow and eventually influence the price-per-vote drop to INR 7-12K. More desperate voters means their asking rate comes down.
The state will have each political group fielding its caste oriented campaigns trying to unite their respective caste groups but the overall voting trend will follow a strong Dalit vs. Non-Dalit tone. Each caste group will have their caste-loving audience support them on account of their COLLECTIVE HATRED FOR DALITS! As it turns out Dalits only make up 20.1% of the population and so everyone will be focusing on securing as much as possible of the remaining 80%. With the right wing caste strategy playing out, voters need a common enemy to unite and this time, it is going to be a strong Dalit vs Non-Dalit divide which will reflect in the election.
The caste-campaign will begin with a THEY ARE ALSO BAD tone and end up with a DALITS MUST BE TAUGHT A LESSON tone!!! In between this, to neutralize the criticism from those who believe in equality, these caste based campaigns will introduce a ‘I SUPPORT MY CASTE DOESN’T MEAN I HATE OTHERS’ white noise which will distract the voters and buy some more time for more stronger caste-oriented campaigning. In the end, all they will aim for is to make a hater out of everyone and group each hater under their relevant caste identity!
There will be a few surprises here and there as educated rational voters will continue to disregard caste and vote the best candidate (best among those who contest) but then they will remain a minority. They might probably have concerns such as this:
They might also decide their political orientation based on this:
However, will it be the case will remain a wait and watch!!!
One might be easily driven to think that the citizens can always approach the courts for justice when such untoward violent incidents happen but that is not going to help.
Here is a retired high court judge explaining how the judiciary is not in a position to help achieve all forms of justice and reforms:

Remember, planning for worst case scenario is not an option for Tamils. The election results doesn't really matter. What matters is the polarized divide we citizens will stand across as it will directly impact our daily lives in ways we would never imagine!!! We would, at that point, be at a point of no return. Hypothetically, the growing trend of unfair governance disregarding the equal treatment of Tamils will create a large number of butterfly flutters, each one manifesting itself into a distinct hurricane of astronomical force. The ensuing chaos will be the trend of truck drivers losing their licenses for reckless driving and specific apartment complexes becoming increasingly vulnerable to short circuit fires. The Tamil common man will be forced to seriously consider tolerating the life, liberty and pursuit of happiness of himself and more importantly that of those responsible for the unfair governance which might drive him to that point. 
One might feel driven towards being highly observant and hyper-sensitive but the fact is that we Tamils need to be outright paranoid! One lazy wink or a quick stare away and we will remain lost in that glitch forever. Again, being paranoid, is not a choice anymore. It really matters we plan for the worst and carefully plan the mental heuristics and the 'ways out' of the fast approaching delirium delivered by caste based politics conceived by the right wing. It is the same game except this time, as we approach the 2021 state elections, the game will have very different rules!
Our worst enemy, will be no other than ourselves for at that point, we will remain the victim of the right wing conspiracy that takes pride in splitting the society into pieces irrespective of whatever the collateral may be.  Completely avoiding getting polarized is not going to be possible for all. The best way out is to have contingencies in place and enough redundant means of accessing the same. Inside our brains, when we are in the caste game run by the right wing, we will have to find our way out without knowing where we are, where we are headed and how we are getting there.  All escape routes will remain in a 'drop-like-a-stone' mode. 
One quick contingency that I think will help all of us is this: 
ALL HUMANS ARE EQUAL!!! 
Store it in multiple sections of your brain, lock them up and lose the keys. Remember the algorithm to get to the nearest keys. When the game begins, each one of us will be on our own. Again, the election doesn't really matter but what matters is the consequence of the political campaigns.
What do you think the road to 2021 Tamilnadu state elections will have in store that we need to worry about?
See you at the other end of the chaos in 2021!
Regards,