Hindu Caste Racism: Some thoughts on Periyar:

Monday 12 December 2011

Some thoughts on Periyar:

I feel a need to counter the canard and false propaganda against Periyar that is being spread by the likes of S. Anand (Anand Navayana), Ravi Kumar and Chandrabhan Prasad amongst people outside Tamil Nadu who cannot read the rebuttals to this calumny against Periyar in Tamil journals such as “Dalit Murasu” and who have not been exposed to the atheist – caste annihilating – freethinking – rationalist – feminist – ideals of Periyarist thought which fundamentally seeks the destruction of Hinduism.

I feel that the "twice born" Hindu caste supremacists led by Brahmans have spearheaded a false propaganda against Periyar through proxy writers in order to prevent the spread of Periyar's radical - atheist - rationalist - humanist - anti-caste - anti-Hindu ideology for annihilation of castes and destruction of Hinduism, a religion which has unleashed misery, exploitation and oppression on the masses through graded caste supremacist racist system. Periyar's ideas are seen by "twice born" Hindu racist supremacists as more of a threat to Brahmanical Hinduism than Babasaheb Ambedkar, due to Periyar’s potential appeal to all “non-twice born” backward castes and Dalits, because the Brahmans have succeeded in creating a false image of restricting Babsaheb Ambedkar as a leader only for Dalits, when in reality Babsaheb Dr. Ambedkar is a leader for all Dravidian (Bahujan – Dalit) peoples oppressed by the caste system who called for annihilation of all castes. Babasaheb Dr. Ambedkar also called for solidarity between backward castes and Dalits. But since Periyar has not been co-opted with such restrictive labels, Brahmans and "twice born" bigots feel a need to defame and distort Periyar with lies by using proxy writers to misrepresent and malign Periyar.

Periyar worked for the liberation of all peoples oppressed by the caste system including Dalits. Periyar conducted wrote, spoke and took socio-political action on many occasions for Dalit rights. But just as Babasaheb Ambedkar, Periyar emphasized the need for annihilation of castes and liberation of masses from the Hindu fold. To state that Periyar did not fight against the caste system but only against Brahmans is another blatant lie. Periyar called for the annihilation of all castes and also called for empowerment of all oppressed castes (backwards castes and Dalits) as long as the inequities of the caste system existed. When the Brahman bigot Rajaji brought in a law that forced school children to work in caste descent based degrading and inhumane occupations, which affected Dalits predominantly, Periyar fought that law tooth and nail and got it abrogated. One of Periyar's legacies is banning the use of caste names in people's surnames, not that it managed to annihilate caste bigotry totally but it was a manifestation of Periyar's ideological legacy to annihilate all castes. Periyar even advocated secession of Tamil Nadu from India to bring in laws to abolish the caste system. Periyar's separatism was motivated by annihilation of castes and not by ethnic nationalism. Periyar never said anything abusive against Dalit men or women but on the contrary emphasized the liberation of Dalits through religious conversion to Islam. It is also total falsehood to state that Periyar did not attack Hinduism. Periyar spent all his life attacking all aspects of Hinduism. It was Periyar's radical and no holds barred attack on Hinduism, Hindu Gods, Hindu caste system, untouchability and Hindu scriptures, which included the breaking of idols of Hindu deities and burning the images of “Rama” that makes "twice born" Hindu bigots led by Brahmans (and their Hindutva cohorts) to perceive Periyar as more of a threat than Babasaheb Ambedkar, which has led writers on the pay of Hindutva interests to defame and distort Periyar with lies. It is a shame that such appeasers of Hindutva and Brahmanist racism have infiltrated the Ambedkarite movement.

Periyar himself was a campaigning atheist who disowned Hinduism. Periyar introduced and obtained legal sanction for marriages conducted without profane Hindu rituals and devoid of Brahman priests. Periyar spent all his life attacking Hinduism and seeking the annihilation of the caste system, and agitated for all peoples oppressed by the caste system, both the backward castes and Dalits. Periyar organised and participated in campaigns and agitations for Dalits. A string of malicious lies about Periyar cannot become truth. S.Anand has viciously and vehemently misrepresented Periyar in many of his writings using lies and falsehood, which only belies an anger against Periyar by a Brahman racist supremacist.

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HINDU CASTE RACISM

A blog against the racism of the Hindu caste system. The Hindu caste system is nothing but a system of racism founded on on descent (birth) based supremacy and bigotry that degrades and imprisons people in a system of vertically graded caste inequality of descending inferiority and ascending superiority, with each caste considered as inferior and superior to castes above and below in the vertically graded bigoted system, with the "twice born" Hindus led by Brahmins (at the summit of the caste system as the "most superior" caste) unleashing this bigotry to divide and rule the Indian working (Dravidian - Mulnivasi) masses. The castes lower to the "twice born” Hindu castes are degraded as "Shudras" (backward castes) by the Hindu scriptures who were traditionally restricted to physically laboring vocations and excluded from education, wealth and governance for millennia, until the advent of British rule. The “Shudras” (backward castes) are segregated from Dalits (who are enslaved at the bottom of the caste system as outcasts - untouchables). Dalits are bonded to the most degrading and inhumane labour while being subjected to heinous and manifold forms of physical segregation called “untouchability”. The "twice born" racist supremacist castes [Brahmins (priestly caste) - Baniyas (“Vysyas” or traders’ caste) – Kshatriyas (regal castes)] lord over as the ruling class of castes controlling the government, central (federal) government bureaucracy, army officers corps, top judiciary, business corporations, elite academia, arts and the mainstream media. Dalits are in the receiving end of violent atrocities, untouchability and segregation perpetrated by all Hindu castes (caste Hindus) above Dalits in this vertically graded and bigoted caste system.

All people who live by physical labour or descended from castes bonded to physical labour were derided as “Shudras” (slaves) by the Hindu religion and bigoted Hindu scriptures such as “Mansumiruthi” which codify the caste system, even if they acquire wealth. According to Hindu law, all people who do not belong to “twice born” trio of upper castes (Brahmans, Baniyas-Vysyas and Kshatriyas) are “Shudras” including those belonging to “untouchable” castes. The term “Shudras” literally means “slaves” or “slaves who serve Brahmins” apart from other degrading meanings ascribed to the term “Shudras” by Hindu religious scriptures such as “descendants of prostitutes”, "bastards", etc.

“Shudras” were profanely derided as “descendants of prostitutes” and accorded a “bastard” status by the bigoted Hindu scripture “Manu Smiruthi” and were entailed to serve the Brahmins as the latter’s slaves even if the “Shudra” acquires wealth. Shudras were traditionally proscribed from education despite some of them being land owners. “Shudras” are further divided into hundreds of vertically graded castes with each caste bonded to a physically labouring occupation and professing superiority over those castes below, with the “untouchable castes” at the bottom. “Shudras” were traditionally banned from literacy and education for millennia, until the advent of the British rule. Education was made available to “Shudras” and untouchables only after the advent of the British rule. The Hindu caste system as codified by the Hindu religious scriptures considers all people who make a living by physical labour and all descendants of castes bonded to physical labour as “Shudras” including those derided as “untouchables”, even though the “untouchable Shudras” are also referred to as “Panchamas” or scheduled castes, while the “touchable Shudras” are referred to as “backward castes” in governmental parlance. The so called “untouchables” are further divided into vertically graded castes, who are all forced to live in segregated slums in each town and village across India. The “twice born” supremacist trio off upper castes (Brahmins. Vysyas – Baniyas and Khatriyas) are explicitly excluded from all kinds of physical labour, while being given the monopoly over education, commerce and governance for millennia, which has made the "twice born" trio the ruling elite of the Indian governing establishment. The Indian working masses wholly consist of the backward castes and scheduled castes, who are divided by the caste system of the Hindu religion despite being members of a common working class. Backward castes and scheduled castes were traditionally excluded and banned from education, governance and acquisition of wealth, which started changing slowly only after the advent of British rule and the dawn of the independent India, while the core of the ruling elite still comprises of Brahmins, Baniyas (Vysyas) and Kshatriyas under the religious and ideological leadership of Brahmins.

Even a wealthy “Shudra” still remains only a “Shudra” in the Hindu caste system – as codified and governed by the bigoted Hindu scriptures. According to the bigotry of the Hindu caste system, a wealthy Shudra is still deemed and doomed to be a “Shudra” (“slave of the Brahmin”) who should use his wealth to serve the Brahmin and the latter’s bigoted agenda while wallowing in his inferiorized “Shudra” status in the caste system. Thus acquiring wealth does not abolish the inferiorized and degraded “Shudra” (slave) caste status and the allied caste identity of a person nor does it grant him a social status on par with Brahmins and “twice born” trio of supremacist upper castes (Brahmins, Baniya-Vysyas and Kshatriyas) in the caste system. A famous example of this was the refusal of Brahmins to coronate the Maratha warrior and leader Shivaji as “King” because he was born into a caste deemed to be “Shudra” by the Brahmins. Thus, even a wealthy person cannot escape his “Shudra” status and the allied inferiorized caste identity which are determined by birth and not by wealth. The same applies to the wealthy amongst those belonging to various castes stigmatised and segregated as “untouchables” by the Hindu religion – since acquiring wealth does not abolish the inferiorized and stigmatised “untouchable” caste identity of a person. This is why true advocates of social justice want affirmative action to be awarded to backward castes (Shudras) and scheduled castes (Dalits) irrespective of their economic status.