Dear DMK leader, Brahmin genocide of a different order has already occurred in Tamil Nadu

EV Ramasamy Naicker (EVR), unfathomably known as “Periyar” (Elder), holds the credit for initiating, instigating and executing perhaps the first known act of political violence in pre-Independence India. A comparative socio-historical and political analysis reveals that this brand of street-level hooliganism was modelled after the recurrent outbursts and violent upheavals in the late-medieval and a rapidly-industrialising Europe. EVR also has another first to his credit: of using street-level hooliganism as a means to acquire state power, which would then be used for propagating a specific political ideology. It was the first of its kind in the 7,000-year-long history of India. The communists followed closely but theirs was an imported ideology whereas EVR’s brand was wholly home-grown, a product of his visceral malice against Brahmins. The Collected Works of Periyar E.V.R., compiled by the ferocious Dravidian ideologue, K Veeramani is a primary source of EVR’s Brahmin-hatred. Putting it mildly, the work, in EVR’s own words, is a chilling treatise of xenophobia. There’s nothing that EVR does not hate about Brahmins. He hates the Manusmriti. He hates the Ramayana. He hates the Mahabharata. He hates the Puranas. He hates the Tamil Periyapuranam. He hates both the Shaivaite and Vaishnavaite sacred literature. He hates the Alwars and the Nayanmars. He hates the Swaraj movement. He hates Gandhi. He hates Rajagopalachari. He hates the Indian National Congress. He hates the communists. He hates Hindi. In his eyes, all these are components deliberately assembled by Brahmins into a gigantic oppression-machine. His solution: burn all the books that Hindus regard as sacred. Destroy every symbol and belief and practice and tradition and structure that Hindus have worshipped since time immemorial. And EVR did not disappoint. He garlanded a picture of Sri Rama with footwear and took it out in a public procession. He later burned his pictures. In 1952, he launched a statewide campaign in which murtis of Ganesha were publicly broken across Tamil Nadu. The less said about his other derogatory actions against Hindu deities, the better. Every real or imagined setback that EVR faced was naturally a Brahmin conspiracy and every victory was equally a vindication of his hate-Brahmin formula. In retrospect, the transformation of EVR’s so-called self-respect movement into the DK, and then its breakaway faction, which became the present DMK, is actually the victory of the cult of violence which finally acquired political power. This brief backdrop is essential for what follows. Time-tested EVR formula Till Date, anybody who wants to become a somebody in the DMK or anybody who has already become a somebody but wants further elevation, has to necessarily adopt this time-tested EVR formula: abuse Brahmins as often as possible and as viciously as possible. Bonus points if your DMK ground force can nonchalantly  assault  defenceless and  aged Brahmin Archaks in full public view. You know, just for fun. Just to show who is really in charge. And so, those who feel outraged at the violence-laden  outburst of contemporary DMK motormouths like R Rajiv Gandhi who called for an open genocide of Brahmins need to remember this history. R Rajiv Gandhi candidly admitted that EVR was his inspiration, and that he was only following “Periyar’s” dictum. This is what R Rajiv Gandhi tweeted: “If we Shudras had done what Periyar told us back then, we wouldn’t have had to struggle with Brahmins for justice, rights, education and equality. 3% of you (Brahmins) are still dominating some areas.” One wonders whether R Rajiv Gandhi would have had the same gumption to tweet that text by replacing the word “Brahmins” with “Muslims” or “Christians.” The rest is best left unsaid. Brahmins, the real minorities But to state the blunt truth bluntly, Brahmins have remained the real minorities throughout Indian history. Till date. I use the word “minorities” in the same perverted sense that it has been used by the Nehruvian vote-bank apparatus. In its most profound and highly original conception and practice, the Brahmin is actually a twofold ideal, broadly speaking: (1) that the brightest class of people (not necessarily Brahmins by birth) should voluntarily embrace a life of frugality if not poverty and engage themselves in a lifelong vow of penance, pursuit of spiritual knowledge and teaching; (2) that they should undergo the severest punishment for the most minor transgression from these lofty ideals. The social and cultural history of India has thousands of examples to testify for this lived reality. Even the most fanatical enemies of Hindus, historically, have been unanimous on this point. To cite a comparably recent evidence, all pre and post-colonial European accounts mention the reverence and respect that the Hindu society innately showed towards Brahmins precisely because they lived such lives. Brahmins were the first to be butchered mercilessly during the tidal waves of Islamic invasions. Muslim invaders took pride and delight in measuring the sacred threads of the slaughtered Brahmins by weight — specifically, in maunds (1 maund = about 15 kg in the medieval era). Brahmins also continue to remain the prized target of missionary attacks — since the days of Robert De Nobili in the 16th century. Every missionary who followed him in India have come to the unanimous conclusion: that unless the backbone of the Brahmins was broken, unless the rest of the Hindu society shunned the Brahmin, converting the rest of the idol-worshipping, heathen Hindus would be impossible. And Tamil Nadu was one of the first states where this vile project succeeded first on the intellectual and later, the societal plane. And EVR was the greatest catch of this missionary enterprise. In his own mind, in his formulations, in his activism and its execution, EVR was fighting against Brahmins. To the missionary machinery, he was just another heathen fighting against fellow heathens. And they were only happy to help. The long-term consequence: since the last three and half decades, the DMK has been severely beholden to its Christian vote bank. Christians, who were formerly Hindus. Small wonder that R. Rajiv Gandhi could not summon the same guts to call out the long-term perils of the rampant missionary activities which have received a renewed fillip under the new DMK regime. But on another level, R Rajiv Gandhi’s obnoxious tweet reveals another dangerous facet. This is how it translates in plain language: over a period of six-plus decades, we’ve driven out Brahmins, we’ve disenfranchised them, we’ve made them irrelevant — yet they still manage to succeed. Thus, short of committing their genocide, we have no other option. This is the real explanation of his comment, “three percent of you Brahmins are still dominating some areas.” The sad reality of Brahmins in Tamil Nadu is that there is nothing really left for the DMK or anyone else to persecute them. They neither have political power in the state nor do they count for much in public life. If even that pitiable condition is an eyesore for the ilk of R Rajiv Gandhi, it is more a reflection of his and his party’s patented brand of politics. EVR wanted a Brahmin-free state and he got one. But the question remains: has he or his generational Dravidian warriors replaced the supposedly evil Brahmin system with anything better_?_ The author is the founder and chief editor, The Dharma Dispatch. Views expressed are personal. Read all the Latest News , Trending News ,  Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.