MC Rajah thoughts – currently reading
So I decided to get hi-res into Tamil politics due to the relentless anti-Tamizh-Brahmin hate propaganda and criminal threats by the elite Dravidian castes. A key part of that is to deeply understand the truly oppressed in whose name the Dravidian “Non-Brahmins” have taken up mantle of power for over a 100 yrs now. I have already read a good biography of Rettaimalai Srinivasan by Stalin Rajangam (in Tamil). After that I had decided to get hi-res into another Paraiyar leader who was quite influential but is largely forgotten and un-introduced in Tamil text books – Diwan Bahadur M.C.Rajah. Finally got a good biography at the Chennai Book Fair written by Ve Alex. It contains a ton of original source material along with authors commentary. I always look for original source material – this book has quite of bit of it.
I will write a detailed review later but here is a maxim from Hannah Arendt that any group that is targeted can live by. In endless debates in Tamil twitter I have run into this maxim proving itself to be true again and again.
I often say to Tamizh-Brahmins to respond to Dravidian non-brahmin upper caste invective as a Tamizh-Brahmin not as a democrat or liberal or a Congress or BJP or even as a Hindu. This is why I do not get distracted and share Anti-Tamizh-Brahmin content and chronicle it. This is why I zoomed in and engaged criminally vile anti-brahmin accounts like @ArakkarPeriyar. They are the source of the power.
Similarly, I watch quite a bit of video from emerging Tamil Paraiyar leaders like Airport Moorthy and Lemurian Shambavar. As an outsider, I notice they are taking the correct stand that TB ought to take- they openly call themselves Paraiyars and defend themselves as that against the oppressors. The Hannah Arendt rule here would be “if you are oppressed and taunted as a Paraiyar you must defend and hit back as Paraiyars” not as Non-Brahmins, or Dravidians, or anti Sanatana, or Periyarists, or Progressives etc.
Few pages into MC Rajah bio, he seems to be spot on this mode. Let me finish the book and write up a review. Could change a few pages in.
Reality Check India 
seen some videos of A Murthy. He is very clear eyed about about who are the enemies of paraiyars and dalits. He is scathing on DMK which does not make use of Indian laws to bring justice to paraiyars, and keeps suppressing dalits and giving excuses. He is also scathing on bogus dalit leaders like ThiruMa who are on the payroll of DMK. He may or may not be anti brahmin I don’t know, anyhow he sees through the games of caste leaders in DMK.
Not seen anything of the other guy Lemurian. If Paraiyrs have few leaders like Murthy that will do them great good
Latest outburst by the #D joker
Basically #D tropes rely on Tamil vs Sanskrit, now with the latest uneducated view of Indus Valley civ VS Vedic civ
an utterly bogus and loud distraction by the Vellala-Chettiar axis. Smokescreen to avoid scrutiny.
what do they even mean சமஸ்கரிதத்தை அனுமதிக்க முடியாது — ‘we wont allow sanskrit’ ? what is the scope of this ? why doenst he petition Chettiar controlled temples to ban sanskrit ?
I often say to Tamizh-Brahmins to respond to Dravidian non-brahmin upper caste invective as a Tamizh-Brahmin not as a democrat or liberal or a Congress or BJP or even as a Hindu.
Excellent maxim!
Dravidian identity was not forced down the throats of unwilling people. Elite and non elites embraced it voluntarily. It was a convenient label to isolate brahmanas wrt quotas in education/jobs. Tamil brahmanas is your take. They did not distinguish between tamil brahmanas or telugu Brahmans/maadhvas inside TN. Their issue was with Brahmins. The tamil B identity is as much a construct as the NB identity. TBs are divided by theology,sub caste and by point of origin.
Today a lot of vellalas have no issues with Bs as all the aims of dravida movement have been met.
Their present issue is tamil identity and regional autonomy. Stalin is fine with all the B elites who are well established and have no issues with the status quo.
After so many years, you are still ‘pretending’ that TBs are homogeneous or that dravida is something that was thrust on an innocent tamil population by deception. Sengunthars,pallis,kallars,konars,naadars,udayars were willing foot soldiers because they identify with tamil sub nationalism and they benefited from the discourse.
How can I forget kvgs,the greatest beneficiaries of this deception?
Also dravida gives a sense of assurance to the telugu and the smaller kannada minorities across TN(referring to the non brahmin communities).
Let us not the sons of soil badugas of Nilgiris and western krishnagiri. They might openly revolt if Tamil sub nationalism is promoted.
Perhaps i expect too much from you. I think you are incapable of accepting that it is Tamil identity that drives Dravida. You seem incapable of critiquing the claims of tamil dravida which are not axiomatic truths. எனக்கும் வெட்கம் மானம் இல்லாமல், i have tried to put across my view a number of times.
Let us not forget badugas and the linguistic minorities of western krishnagiri who have no reason to accept tamizh sub nationalism. Dravida disarms their dissent,dilutes their discontent, eliminates their options, lulls them into false solidarity by the deceptive sheath of dravida label. Vellalars and other tamil nationalists are not fools.
Hello spark – nice to see you here.
“TB are divided by XYZ factors” .. is irrelevant. You think I am incapable of recognizing these simple things ROFL.
1. The battle is played by the rules the enemy sets. It is TB vs NonBrahmins with the Vellala Elites commanding the NonBrahmin coalition. Telugu Dravidian leadership are solidly in the NonBrahmin camp and active baiters funders and enablers. You being some sub set of Iyengar or Iyer is of little relevance. There is no treaty a sub-sect can cut with the Dravidians and escape.
2. I require knights – chroniclers, doers – with the targeted violence constraints using the weapons and headcount at hand.
3. I am spending hours grinding though hundreds of pages of shT Dravidian source material in Tamil. You think you need to coach me but the right way to do that is to *contribute* yourself. I cant use your instincts or feelings or gyan – as correct as they might be. Write and catalog, then lets talk. You dont get o make me do the work and fill in the blanks in your ‘instincts or gyan.
spark takes many forms- what is the point
Dravida is just an exonym. Bharathidaaasan who was a dravida ideologue became a tamil ideologue later. Anna too knew the difference but he used dravida to win over the telugu population. Telugus had lost all traction in Tamil politics once Andhra was formed. Their comeback was enabled by Anna and Rajaji to craft the NB alliance which was primarily a vellalar project. Vignesh and Rajavel both agree that dmk was hijacked by karunanidhi.
Both Bharathidasan and Anna were sengunthars.
The telugu comeback had a cost for that community. They had to negate their separate identity in politics for a tamil centric dravida. They traded the language identity for political power and preferential treatment. That has not stopped admk or dmk itself casting aspersions on their loyalties. Though they escaped the stigmatisation of Bs, they too are at the receiving end of tamil nationalists. It is not as if tamil nationalists are paragons of virtue. They are even more revisionist, revanchist, etc etc in their understanding of our past.
Dravida is a perfect shikhandi like front, a facade, a mask, a smokescreen par excellence, a shadow puppet play to confound other southerners and people of North India. One has to give credit to the resilience,pride,strategy,tactics of the ‘vellala elite'(who again are not homogeneous) to protect the home turf by creating buffers and distractions.
One to to admire the conservative impulses of tamil elite who were up against the marauding forces of modernity and ‘colonial smarthas’ like Rajaji. The very same Rajaji later aligned with dmk after realising his mistake.
A rapproachment between Bs and NBs can take place only when TBs accept that tambrahm too is a construct, though a natural construct in the period 1916 to 2017. Of course, there is the other possibility that tamil sub nationalism will be steam rollered by a resurgent North centric Hindutva or it might happen that North power centres will settle an alliance with dmk completely by-passing the increasingly politically irrelevant TB community. ‘We’ had a jolly good ride for 100 years….
Note: Rajaji was temperamentally an arrogant smartha. He was no orthodox SV. The very patriotic VVS Iyer too was an ‘arrogant’ smartha as has been ‘noted’ by RC. It was not as if Rajaji and VVS Iyer saw eye to eye on important social issues.
The Prof Vaiyapuri Pillai edited Madras University Tamil lexicon defines Tamils as tamil speaking குடிகள் other than Bs and Paraiyars. Nothing angered vellalars more than Bs trying to outflank them. Only an inclusive tamil culture respectful but not obsequious to tradition can bring people together. 1 paisa thoughts.
Look how ‘brilliantly’ dmk has set up the valluva pandaram Kuruma to counter pmk.
the ‘brilliance’ of DMK consists of making sure Karunidhi, stalin and their descendants keep DMK in their hands, become richer every year with more scams, top brass of DMK roll in unforeseen wealth with more alcohol supply contracts from the govt, even while more people are becoming drunkards, Tamil less important in life except as a means of a cult.
Sir, it is not that simple. People are kaari thuppifying at stalin. He is so unpopular. Tamil sub nationalism is no longer under vellala control. It is on auto pilot. Telugus too not part of mainstream. Periyaarism is clutching at straws and statement. Today’s dmk is the flicker of a dying flame. Today anti B is coming from Ambedkarite and Tamil nationalist streams.Vignesh is quite accurate on certain aspeCTS but he is filled with rage against Tamil. OTOH,i agree that Tamil has an ancient literary tradition but Tamils do not have a separate culture and Tamil reservation policies should be put to scrutiny. I have been following RC for 16 yrs and a bit more. TN is claiming exceptional treatment today based on linguistic exceptionalism which is unacceptable. RC who had a laser sharp focus in 2006 focus is now getting distracted.
Bs are abused because we question the politics of today. Telugus are complicit not by commission but by chosing to go along with Vellalars and other tamils including those who have benefited by democratic empowerment. That includes kallars,pallis,udayars,chettiars,sengunthats,naadars and kvgs.
End.
Telugus not part of mainstream-Dravida is under attack from both tamil nationalists and tamil hindus. Telugu dravida has been dead for long. They are clutching at straws and strawmen.
Whatever vitality is there in dravida,it does not come from Periyar. It comes from bharathidasan,reservation policies, thevaneya paavanar,perunchitranaar.
Telugu dravida is dead as a dodo after jayas reign which catapulted thevars and kvgs into key political power centres, emergence of seeman after 2009, formation of pmk,PT and vck.
>> RC who had a laser sharp focus in 2006 focus is now getting distracted.
This means that I am only now focusing on the right things. 🙂