Dravidianist Movement

[Guest]

Hilarious or what ?

http://www.newindpress.com/sunday/colItems...C20031025031940

[Guest]

<!--QuoteBegin-rajesh_g+Oct 28 2006, 02:21 AM-->QUOTE(rajesh_g @ Oct 28 2006, 02:21 AM)<!--QuoteEBegin-->Hilarious or what ?

http://www.newindpress.com/sunday/colItems...C20031025031940
[right][snapback]59882[/snapback][/right]
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Well written article.

[Bharatvarsh]

<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Thursday November 9, 08:00 AM Ilayaraja denies music to Periyar 

By www.behindwoods.com

Notwithstanding all the troubles, Periyar is progressing day in and day out for an early 2007 release. Now though, the movie is in news yet again after maestro Ilayaraja turning down the offer for composing music of Periyar.

Ilayaraja rendered music to director Gnanasekaran’s earlier movies such as the award winning Mohamul, Bharathy, and Mugham. Bharathy even brought home an award for the best play back singing.

Though Gnanasekaran shares a good rapport with the maestro, Ilayaraja politely turned down the offer stating that since he is a believer in God it would be against his principles to work for a movie that portrays the life of a leader who had preached against God and was an atheist. I would not compose for the movie even if you paid me a crore in return, Ilayaraja was quoted as saying.

Following this, Gnanasekaran has roped in Vidyasagar for composing Periyar’s music. As additional information, Periyar features 9 directors in its list of cast, which includes Manivannan, T.P. Gajendran, R. Sundarrajan, Manobala, Stanley, Bharathykannan, Keerthykumar, Balu Anand, and Anu Mohan.

http://in.movies.yahoo.com/061109/226/697jx.html<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--emo&:beer--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/cheers.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='cheers.gif' /><!--endemo-->

[acharya]

Creations

Who is an Aryan?

The recent ban on sacrifices by the Government of Tamil Nadu has resulted in a rash of statements by ill-informed and motivated politicians on the “Aryanisation” or “Brahminisation” of Dravidian culture, in which gods, systems of worship and rituals have all been divided into one or another camp. The British created an Aryan-Dravidian divide, which became a useful tool for Indian politicians. It is time to separate truth from falsehood.

The conventional belief is that the “Dravidians” of the Indus Valley civilisation originally populated North India. Along came the nomadic Aryan warriors who killed or enslaved most of the Dravidians, packed off the remainder to the South, destroyed their cities and imposed their language, religion and culture. How simple, how easy!

Firstly, we now know that the cities of the Indus Valley civilisation were destroyed by the environment and geological changes, not invasion.

Secondly, nobody moved south: The Indus Valley culture moved eastwards towards the Ganga, as did the Aryans. Even Tamil literature does not speak of a north-south migration. Then, there is absolutely no evidence that the Aryans came from any place other than modern Punjab-Sindh. So we must discard forever the theory of a foreign origin for the Aryans.

The writers of the Vedas called themselves Aryas, which meant a “noble person” and not an ethnic group. Who were the Dravidians? No such word is ever used in Vedic literature, and is a very late addition, adopted by British historians. There are references to Dasa, which meant enemy (Persian daha = enemy) and later, as defeated enemies were enslaved, came to mean slave. No racial differences have been found in any Harappan archeological site, wiping out theories of different races.

There is a presumption, created by British historians, that Aryan and Brahmin are synonymous, and caste was an Aryan creation. But Aryans included every caste and jati. There are several non-Aryan Brahmin and non-Brahmin Aryan castes. There is no mention of caste in the Rig Veda, the oldest and purest Aryan literature: its first appearance is as late as the Purusha Sukta. So, caste must have been non-Vedic - or non-Aryan - in origin. Further, people changed their castes as they migrated. In our times, Pattunool weavers from Saurashtra became Iyengars in Madurai, Shreshtis (merchants) of ancient India became Sethis and Seths in northern and western India, Shettys in Karnataka and Chettys in Tamil Nadu.

All castes and communities who speak Sanskrit-based languages are presumed to be Aryans, while the speakers of Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu and Kannada are considered to be Dravidians. Language is the least reliable of all ethnic characterisations. I speak and write English -does that make me English? People always adopt the language that serves them best, for language is, after all, a means of communication.

The Saurashtra Pattunool weaving community, the Marathas of Thanjavur, and the Telugu-speaking Nayakars are among the many examples of people who have migrated and adopted the Tamil language. In the North, scheduled castes and tribes of distinct non-Aryan origin speak Sanskrit-based languages. India has a long history of migrants who adopted the local language and customs, like the Parsees who landed in Gujarat. While Sanskrit and its descendant languages belong to the Indo-European group (which includes Persian), and Southern languages are grammatically different, speaking a language does not give you an ethnic identity.

Then there is this fallacy of an indigenous Dravidian religion and an imposed Aryan religion. The gods of the Aryans were Indra, Varuna, Mitra, Agni and so on. With the exception of Agni, the all-consuming and essential fire, all of them lost their pre-eminent position to Brahma the Creator, Shiva the Destroyer, and vishnu the Preserver, none of whom are even mentioned in the Rig Veda but are now described as the face of Aryan religion. These gods are both non-Aryan and Brahmanic.

And what about the vehicles of the Gods? All this makes the Brahmins the chief promoters of non-Aryan religion! If Kartikeya or Murugan is now called the “Tamil God”, let us not forget that he owes his origin to the Greek Kshatrapas and Kushanas. The chief God of the Tamil Silappadikaram is Indran: Does that make the epic “Aryan”?

Sacrificing animals is, we are told, basic to Dravidian culture: banning sacrifice is “Aryanisation” or “Brahminisation”. Firstly, the earliest instances of animal sacrifice are recorded in Sanskrit literature, when the Aryans also sacrificed animals. In time, as religion and people evolved, Brahmins stopped sacrificing animals, thanks to the preaching of the Upanishadic rishis, the Buddha and Mahavira.

The indigenous Bhakti movement that originated in the Tamil country and slowly spread over the whole of India, spoke out against killing animals for food or sacrifice, and took the message of devotion to a personal God to the common man. One should laud the religious evolution and abjuring of primitive and cruel practices that was preached by our saints.

Sacrifice was basic to all ancient religions, a life for a life, blood for blood. As philosophers and schools of philosophy developed, the contrast between good and evil, right and wrong were extended to cover previously accepted practices. Thus slavery, human sacrifice and the caste system were condemned as crimes against people, while vegetarianism and condemnation of animal sacrifice were regarded as respect for all life.

Even those who claim that sacrifice is essential to “Dravidian” religion - whatever that means - will not eat meat on Saturdays or on the New Moon (Amavasya) day, nor will they sacrifice an animal in the pooja rooms of their homes, affirming that non-killing of animals is the higher goal. The so-called rationalists support animal sacrifice in the name of “Dravidian” culture and oppose “Brahminisation”, understanding neither and unable to define either, losing in the process, all rationalism.

Today's Hinduism is an amalgam of every tradition to be found in this country. The religion has absorbed and encompassed local traditions and gods. Thus deities like Kamakshi of Kanchi, Meenakshi of Madurai, the Ashta Vinayak of Maharashtra, Balaji of Tirumala, Ranganatha of Srirangam and Vaishno Devi of the Himalayan foothills may not find themselves in any Vedic text, but have more devotees than the Vedic Gods.

Are they Aryan or Dravidian, or even local tribal gods? Who knows and, more importantly, who cares?

The only pure Aryan ritual left is the presence of Agni or Fire, who was essential to Vedic religion. There are several non-Vedic variations to every ceremony and festival in every community, such as the mangal sutra or thaali in the wedding ceremony, the various birth rites and even forms of disposing the dead - from cremation to burial to cremation-burial. The religion has evolved and adapted over 5000 years. The best example is the festival of Ganesha, who was never a Vedic God. His worship remained localised for centuries until Lokamanya Tilak decided to utilise Ganesh Chaturthi to unite Indians to fight for self-rule. Ganesha came out of the family pooja and into the public arena, a symbol of resurgent India. Today the festival is probably the largest pan-Indian celebration after Deepavali. Yet none of these developments have scriptural sanction, nor are they Aryan or Dravidian.

So it is time politicians stop hoodwinking people about Aryan and Dravidian, and cease to blame Brahminisation to score points against each other or cover their own failures. No demarcation is possible in Hinduism. We should ask ourselves whether a law is good or bad, and support or oppose it thereafter. And stop politicians from dividing us over non-existing Aryan and Dravidian differences.

The author may be reached at nankrishna@vsnl.com

[Guest]

<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>The perversity of Periyarana </b>
V SUNDARAM
        A detailed study of Karl Marx is called Marxiana. A detailed study of Gandhi is called Gandhiana. A detailed study of Churchill is called Churchilliana. A detailed study of Periyar is called Periyarana.

        I have read all the writings of that great intellectual giant Periyar, called the Socrates of Tamilnadu or Bernard Shah of Europe. Personally I have received great inspiration, illumination and rational instruction from his mighty intellectual outpourings. l am giving you some flashes of time-defying wisdom and original genius from the Intellectual Armoury of 'Periyarana'.

        <b>'Tamil is a barbourous language and Tamilians are barbarians'

        '15 August 1947 is a day of mourning and sorrow'

        'I want to be surrounded by fifty bloody fools, so that I am heard without any undue disturbance at all my public meetings'

        'Parimelazhagar who wrote the commentary on Thirukural was a 'Parppanar' (Periyar was always more interested in Dravidian substance than in Aryan shadow!). ' </b>

        Periyar was a world renowned authority on public administration. Writing about The Board of Revenue in 1965, he stated as follows at a public meeting on the Marina Beach:

        'The Board of Revenue today consists of senior civil servants who are drawing very fat salaries. Unfortunately, not one of them is a Tamilian: The first member of the Board of Revenue is T A Verghese ICS. He is a Malayalee. He is not a Tamilian. The second member of the Board of Revenue is C A Ramakrishnan ICS. He is a 'Parapannar'. He is also not a Tamilian. The third member of the Board of Revenue is M S Shivaraman ICS. He is also a 'Parpanar'. He is not a Tamilian. The fourth member of the Board of Revenue is E P Royappa IAS. Unfortunately he is also not a Tamilian. He is only a Christian'.

        As a world renowned anthropologist, sociologist and ethnologist Periyar had highly original, iconoclastic and racist Ideas about who is a Tamilian? The public of Tamilnadu have a right to know whether Periyar belonged to Karnataka or Tamilnadu and whether his mother tongue was in fact Tamil. These questions become relevant because of the mysteriously Magisterial Verdict given by him above on the origins of some of the ICS/ IAS civil servants in Tamilnadu. Today these questions have become more relevant because the members belonging to the Dravida Kazhagam and Periyar Dravida Kazhagam are fighting not for the soul of Periyar but for the installation of the statue of Periyar opposite the Rajagopuram of Srirangam Temple in Tiruchirapalli.

        The enlightened public of Tamilnadu, regardless of caste, colour, creed or religion, (the Brahmins and forward communities not excluded!) would like to ask the following pertinent questions:

        a) Why did Tamilnadu government, which is usually in a state of self-chosen rational coma in all situations affecting public peace and welfare, galvanize itself into a state of combat readiness to deal with the Da Vinci Code film issue which had been fully cleared by the Film Censor Board of the Government of India some months ago? Tamilnadu Government gave clear signals to the effect that it is their public duty to show great concern for the religious feelings and susceptibilities of Christians in minority in the State. It is a different story that later on, on par with the stand taken by the Andhra Pradesh High Court, Madras High Court also took the same stand and overruled the decision of the Government of Tamilnadu to ban the screening of the film in Tamilnadu.

        b) Why is Tamilnadu government indifferent and contemptuous towards the religious feelings and susceptibilities of the Hindus who are in absolute majority in terms of numbers in Tamilnadu?

        c) Why is it no immediate action was taken under Sec. 153-A and 295-A of the Indian Penal Code against those elements who wanted to install the statue of Periyar opposite the Rajagopuram of Srirangam Temple?

        d) Are not some of the anti-social elements reportedly acting under the banner of the DK and the Periyar DK 'inciting violence, disturbing public tranquility, promoting, on grounds of religion, feelings of enmity, hatred and ill-will between different religious communities and insulting other religions or beliefs of other communities in Tamilnadu'? (Exact words seen in the IPC).

        The great sensitivity shown by Tamilnadu government on the nominal Da Vinci Code film issue has not been shown on a more sensitive and more substantive issue involving the time-honoured religious feelings and sentiments of the Hindus in majority. Many Hindu temples have been ravaged supposedly by the DK and the PDK elements. The common man in Tamilnadu doubts the bone fides of the elected and contrived minority Government of Tamilnadu and its commitment in the matter of absolute maintenance of law and order on the one hand and giving protection to the majority Hindus against the planned onslaught of anti-social elements deriving their so-called inspiration from the umbrella of Periyarana.

        The shameful Congress Party, which calls itself a national party, has degenerated into a mere suppliant of the DMK party in Tamilnadu. Congress party is a major partner in the conspiracy of political silence on this vital and sensitive issue of maintenance of communal and religious harmony in Tamilnadu.

        Following the installation of the EVR statue in the stealth of the night on 21 November, a self-respecting Hindu approached Vigil secretary G R Swaminathan, a practicing lawyer in the Madurai bench of the Madras High Court to file a writ protesting the installation and seeking an injunction that pending disposal of the case no further move should be made by the DK to inaugurate the statue. It has been reported that an extremely hostile division bench remarked: 'Swaminathan, the street doesn't belong to Hindus alone, it belongs to all people'. The common man in Tamilnadu would like to ask as to why this kind of response is never shown by the judiciary when Muslims object to Ganesha procession passing down the Triplicane road in Chennai every year?

        The bench made it clear that although the statue had been installed without prior government permission, yet it would not grant the injunction prayed for to stop further moves on the statue. The defendants were advised to approach the Government for permission before inaugurating the statue. By giving such an advice, in terms of plain law, was not the High Court condoning, if not ignoring, the blatantly illegal act of those who were responsible for the erection of the Statue without obtaining prior Government permission as prescribed by the Government through a Government order? I have consulted a few legal luminaries in this regard and all of them are of the view that the decision of the High Court amounted to condoning the blatantly illegal act of the D.K., which is akin to post-facto regularization of unauthorized and illegal construction.

        In this context, I would like to quote the beautiful words of Felix Frankfurter, one of the greatest names in the history of American Judiciary: 'For the highest exercise of judicial duty is to subordinate one's personal pulls and one's private views to the law of which we are all guardians - those impersonal convictions that make a society a civilized community, and not the victims of personal rule'. Justice Herlan Stone in another historic Judgement in 1936 proclaimed: 'While unconstitutional exercise of power by the executive and legislative branches of the Government is subject to judicial restraint, the only check upon our own exercise of power is our own sense of self-restraint'. Justice William Douglas, in a landmark judgement in 1947 in USA, declared: 'There is no special perquisite of the judiciary which enables it, as distinguished from other institutions of democratic Government, to suppress, edit or censor events which transpire in proceedings before it'.

        About two years ago I had written an article in News Today under the Title 'Decoding the Dravidian Drival' in which I wrote: 'By his highly original writings and platform speeches Periyar tried to educate the Tamilians that he was being rational when in fact he was being racist'.

        The quintessence of rational-racial Dravidianism is that spiritual knowledge is superstitious and secular ignorance is rational; character is superstitious and debauchery is rational; chastity is superstitious and prostitution of mind, body, heart and soul is rational; discipline superstitious and indiscipline is rational; accepted truth is superstitious and blatant untruth is rational, refinement is superstitious and brutality is rational; justice is superstitious and rapacity is rational, counsels of the wise and the good are generally superstitious and the flattery of knaves particularly rational. And finally to crown it all having a legally wedded wife is superstitious and irrational and having innumerable concubines is logically rational.

        One can go on like this in this vein endlessly in a superstitious and irrational manner, because the clear stream of Dravidian perversity and unabashed bestiality is indeed perpetual and even perennial. It may not be too much to say that all the leading actors in the highly exciting and even titillating Dravidian Drama have succeeded condomising everything excepting the condom itself in the name of rationalism and social justice.

        The climax of this lurid and artificial drama will be reached on 16 December, 2006 at the same spot at Srirangam where the DK has planned to conduct a 'Moodanambikkai Maanaadu', which is pitted against the Hindus and Hindus alone and not against any other religion. It only means that all Muslims and Christians are rational according to the DK.

        (The writer is a retired IAS officer)
        e-mail the writer at vsundaram@newstodaynet.com
http://www.newstodaynet.com/2006sud/06dec/1112ss1.htm
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->

[Bharatvarsh]

<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->http://www.observerindia.com/analysis/A436.htm <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Not working anymore, new link is below:
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Changing Mores of the Dravidian Movement

N Sathiya Moorthy
16 May 2005


The 'Mother's Day' on Sunday, May 8, and the 'Akshaya Tritiya', or Akha Teej', falling on Wednesday, May 11 this year, may have marked a further turning-point in the traditional Dravidian mores. It had witnessed a revival and the peak through the 20th century Tamil Nadu, but evolving circumstances had begun rendering it inconsistent, redundant and irrelevant to the times in the last quarter. The two celebrations within a matter of three days in 2005, apart from proving to be further symbols of consumerism in the India of the 21st century, also turned out to be a reflection on the changing ethos of an evolving society, which one had once thought was beyond further change and evolution on the social and societal fronts.

Not that Indians as a whole, or the Tamils in particular, should not celebrate motherhood in the same way as the westerners do, but it's only in the last decade or so that the likes of the Mother's Day, and more so the Valentine's Day, have become a festive habit for the Dravidian youth - urban or rural, male or female. The white man had pitched his tent along the Coromandel Coast over five centuries ago, but he had not brought either the Valentine's Day with them, nor left the Mother's Day behind him. Nor did the westernized Indian generation adapt them either, though it was in the Dravidian heartland that the British Raj had founded its roots - militarily and administratively first, and politically and socially, later.

Compared to the Mother's Day, May Day, which celebrates the triumph of labour, has been here for decades now - and not just in Tamil Nadu. But then, the May Day has been losing much of its original charm and inspiration for the working class - organised or otherwise - in recent years. This is particularly so since the advent of the reforms era. The perceptible attitude-shift in public perception regarding approaches to life and lifestyle influencing such changes may require a deeper study.

That way, the Akshaya Tritiya becoming a day for every woman and every home across Tamil Nadu to purchase jewellery is an even more recent phenomenon. If it had been a low-key affair even the year before in metropolitan Chennai, this year it was preceded by weeks of media campaigns by individual jewellery marts -- across the State. Many of them also opened advance booking-counters for the day's purchases, and shops began doing brisk business even before the crack of dawn. 

As an aside, media reports quoting a local official of the World Gold Council in Chennai put five days of Akshaya Tritya-related gold sales in the State at 25-30 tonnes, valued at Rs 1,500-1,800 crores. This compares with the whole year's sale in 2004 for all of south India, and also the rich west Indian States of Maharashtra and Gujarat -- weighed totally at 15 tonnes. It should have been a revelation to the economist and the industry that so much of household money (not much of it hardcore savings) could be mobilized in a matter of days. 

It is not just about consumerism, or even the traditional Indian love for the yellow metal. Nor is it just about the kind of money that is available to expend in a matter of days, in a State that was stricken by years of drought. The economist could take note of the floating money, which could be canalized for development. To some, it's the kind of money, which ends up as unproductive, return-less 'dead investment' that in turn should be discouraged. Yet, in tradition-bound India, gold has got divinity and religiosity of a kind attached to it, with possession of the yellow metal seen as a sound and dependable investment, capable of being liquidated at a high premium.

The celebrations of the Mother's Day and the Akshya Tritiya kind have relevance to the Dravidian psyche in the changed circumstances. One, it has marked a departure from the 'Tamil social ethos', to which the Dravidian societal identity had been stapled for decades now. Two, it means the ready acceptance of 'celebrations' identified with the 'aliens', and unaccustomed to the locals. This is more so in the case of Akshya Tritiya, which only the once-much-despised 'Aryan-Brahmin' community in the State had known - and observed as a universal remembrance day for the departed family members, if at all.

These are instances pointing to a stagnation, if not reversal in anti-Brahminism, and also a possible restoration of symbols associated with the Brahmin community in 'Dravidian Tamil Nadu'. It is generally accepted that the Akshaya Tritiya had not been associated with gold-purchases until last year, or maybe the year before. For one thing, such stories have a genesis in the perceived practices of the North, which used to be another hated commodity in the Dravidian scheme of things until not very long ago. More importantly, even such beliefs, if proved to be tradition, would have been dismissed as 'superstition' (some of them associated with the Brahmin community) by the 'rationalist Dravidian movement' in another era.

Talking of Dravidian ethos and superstitions, it was only a year or two back that the whole of Tamil Nadu went on a shopping-spree for 'green-coloured saris', bright or light, Kancheepuram silk, or cheap cottons. The rumour had it that brothers needed to give away green-coloured saris to their sisters for the longevity of the latter's husband. It was superstition, pure and simple, but at the end of the year, the whole of Tamil Nadu had picked up close to one-crore green saris, totally priced at Rs 300-400 crores. This year too, a similar rumour on yellow or maroon-coloured saris began doing the rounds, but not many were fooled. 

Ahead of such rumours had come the story of Ganesha idols drinking milk. This had thrilled the Hindu community across the world as never before, and just for a day or less. There were many takers for the same in 'Dravidian Tamil Nadu' as well, what with many families in urban and rural areas having sons or siblings settled in western nations. Most of these overseas kin has had their education back home, and were holding hi-tech jobs in 'advanced nations' like the US.

In a way, it had begun in the early Seventies, only years after the Dravidian flag-bearer in the DMK had captured political power in Tamil Nadu. It was then that the annual pilgrimage to the hill shrine of Lord Ayyappa in Kerala came to be introduced to interior Tamil Nadu. Until then, the pilgrimage was a low-key affair restricted mostly to the regions bordering Kerala, that too to the southern districts that had formed part of the erstwhile princely State of Travancore, where the hill shrine is located. Soon it caught on, and became fashionable, until it had acquired the status of a family religious habit in most Tamil homes. 

Interestingly, at least a part of Lord Ayappa's introduction to the Tamil masses owed it to the earlier phases of the 'Dravidian campaign'. against the Hindu faith. Even while ridiculing the Ganesha, and asking when would the day come for them to blast off the Srirangam temple, the Dravidian leaders would pick on the mythology about Ayappa's birth. They mused, and amused themselves, as to how a child could be born out of a wedlock between two men - Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu, the latter in the Mohini avtar. 

It may not just be a coincidence that the 'black dress' of the Dravidian movement's followers was contemporaneous with the 'Black Shirts' of Adolf Hitler. Nor could it be argued that the militant anti-Brahminism of the former had not drawn from the 'ethnic-cleansing' against the Jewish population across Europe (which, of course, had preceded Hitler and his Nazi Party). Maybe because the Brahmins nearer home were seen as a 'lesser evil', or maybe because the Dravidian movement had no access to back-up political power at the peak of its advent, acceptance and spread, militancy against the community had stopped with cutting off their tuft and sacred thread. A third reason could be the need for social moderation when political power became an obsession. 

Today, in contrast, the 'black shirt' of the Dravidian movement from the days of 'Periyar' E V Ramaswamy Naicker is better known as the traditional attire of the Sabarimala pilgrim during his annual 41-day abstinence period. Better still, it's in Tamil Nadu of the late 20th century, and not in Kerala, that the 'black dress' of the Ayappa devotee became popular, first. More black, and alternate saffron dress for the pilgrims sell now in Tamil Nadu in a year or less than through decades of Dravidian glory. What more, no one now talks about the equality of women, as used to be the Dravidian wont at one time, what with the Sabarimala laws precisely restricting their participation to the 'non-reproductive' age-group.

Compared to the Sabarimala pilgrimage, the advent of the annual Ganesh festival, on the lines of the more popular ones across Maharashtra, is a late entrant to Tamil Nadu's socio-political scene. 'Political' because the exercise was introduced by the 'Hindutva brigade' long before the phrase itself had gained currency in the region, and the traditional Dravidian forces, in power and out of it, were vociferous in their criticism and strident in their efforts to stall them, year after year. If anything, this only helped the 'Ganesha movement' to spread and grow at a faster pace than possibly envisaged. Of course, neither Ganesh, nor the annual Ganesh, popularly known as Pillaiyar in the State, is new to Tamil Nadu. But it was only in the late Seventies and early Eighties that the 10-day long street-corner celebrations became known, along with the end-day visarjan in the sea or other water bodies.

There is now greater moderation on both sides, which in a way is an acceptance of each other's presence on the horizon. Yet, the fact that the revival of the cult of the 'elephant god', which used to be another butt of criticism, joke and homily for the Dravidian movement even as late as the early Seventies, should acquire ready acceptance across a wider and larger segment of the Tamil population is also a yardstick for measuring the changing mores of the society. If anything, the clock has come a full circle, and there is more religion and religiosity across the State now than possibly before the 'Periyar movement' broke on the scene some 60 or 70 years back.

For all this however, the emaciated Dravidar Kazhagam (DK), now under K Veeramani, a political and familial heir of Periyar, continues to be a social organisation, training its guns against 'brahminism' even while selectively backing a Brahmin Chief Minister like Jayalalithaa, in her acts of 'anti-brahminism'. In a way, Jayalalithaa's emergence as the 'supreme leader' of the Dravidian movement, despite her Brahmin background, is seen as an end of 'Dravidian' social supremacy in the political affairs of the State. In an intervention in the State Assembly during her first term as Chief Minister, Jayalalithaa described her ascendancy as the 'ultimate stage in the evolution' of the Dravidian movement. 'Evolution', or 'parinaama-valarchchi', a derivative-phrase in Tamil coined by the Dravidian movement, which continues to be a favourite term of Dravidian scholars like DMK president M Karunanidhi. That was also the term that Jayalalithaa had used, with confidence and purpose. 

Before Jayalalithaa, the AIADMK founder and popular Tamil film star, the late M G Ramachandran, was a Malayali by birth. However, the DMK could not spur 'anti-Malayali feelings' on this score when he walked out of the party as it had done with 'anti-Brahmin feelings' in an earlier era. That way, even Periyar was a Kannadiga by birth, and at the height of the 'Malayali controversy' surrounding MGR, his AIADMK supporters floated a theory that 'pachchai Tamizhan' Karunanidhi was had Telugu origins. In the current generation, MDMK General Secretary Vaiko, who is seen by many as more Tamil than most, including Karunanidhi, is a Telugu by birth, and is believed to feel more comfortable in the language while in family circles.

Education and employment, apart from the passage of time since the inception and evolution of the Dravidian movement have all contributed to this change in attitudes. What is now acknowledged as the 'Dravidian movement' has had origins in the 'non-Brahmin movement' of the Justice Party variety and the like in the first quarter of the 20th century. A single-agenda organization, the Justice Party served out its purpose after coming to power in the then Madras Presidency, by introducing reservations in education and employment in the Government service through two "Communal G.O's", of 1921 and 1924. Not long after came the Government take-over of most temples and temple lands, often identified with the Brahmin community at the time.

Having served out its agenda while in power, and given the evolving socio-political climate in which Gandhiji's Congress was displacing local movements of the kind, the Justice Party became redundant after a time. It had to await the re-discovery by Periyar a decade later, when the Congress itself had acquired political power under the Government of India Act of 1935, and was seen as closer to serving out its own 'one-point agenda' of Independence. Whatever social agendas that the Dravidian movement had managed to revive through greater militant-posturing in matters concerning 'Brahmins and their gods' were served out when what is now commonly accepted as 'anti-incumbency factor' against the Congress Government of the day, contributed to the elevation of the DMK to power in a geo-politically shrunken Tamil Nadu of 1967. 

Much of the 'Dravidian agenda' was served out with the advent of the Dravidian political-power. Adding strength to the argument would be the 1972 split in the DMK, which until then was only an 'umbrella organisation' of Tamil nationalist-rationalist forces - precisely as the Congress was one on a larger plane until Independence was achieved. The immediate purpose and agenda having been served, the inherent deficiencies and differences within such umbrella organizations had to come out, and that's also what happened to the Congress after Independence, and to the DMK after 1967. Yet, to their credit, it should be said that the DMK and the AIADMK between them have managed to retain politico-electoral power since, to the exclusion of other social and political ideologies. Political power in a democracy has also meant moderation, and inclusion of larger sections, as the more strident BJP too found out after coming to power at the Centre decades later. This, coupled with the distance in time and consequent emotional-linkages, has also robbed the Dravidian movement of its greater relevance as used to be the case. 

The inevitable exposure of such inherent weaknesses in the Dravidian movement again is reflected in the emergence of other social groups, and their political parties, like the PMK, identified with the numerously-strong Vanniar community. Earlier, the Vanniar community had identified with the DMK, until it felt sidelined in the internal scheme of the party. It should thus surprise none that the AIADMK is identified similarly with the equally militant Mukkulathore community in the South. If at one stage the Scheduled Castes and Tribes in the State had seen the Congress as its saviour, and shifted allegiance to the AIADMK for some time, today, there is a spurt of social organizations and political parties promoting the interests of differing denominations of the Dalit community. Today, the very acceptance of the Hindi term 'Dalit' for referring to the 'untouchables', whom the Dravidian leaders had resented calling as 'Harijans', a term coined by Gandhiji, should be another symbol of the evolutionary process.

Starting from the chief ministership of the late Congress leader Kamaraj, full 13 years before the DMK came to power, Tamil Nadu had begun witnessing socio-political changes on the education and employment fronts, to which the Indian Independence too had contributed in a small measure. If anything, the attainment of Independence meant that the nation was ready for the next national agenda, which should be and turned out to be an internal affair, focusing on socio-economic reforms. Yet, it was only States like Tamil Nadu that had evolved enough on the socio-political front, to be able to exploit the emerging situation. It was also thus that the DMK, when formed after a rift in Periyar's Dravidian movement in1949, could marginalize the Communist Party, which at one time was seen as an emerging functional alternative to the Congress in the region.

Early education under the British rulers may have helped Tamil Nadu to kick-start employment-related issues in the form of 'reservations' long before Independence became visible. Greater educational opportunities for the downtrodden classes, first under the 'Kamaraj rule', when free education and free mid-day meals became the order for school children, and then under the 'Dravidian rule' of the DMK and the AIADMK, have created a new awareness among larger sections of the society. Now communities are learning that the Brahmins alone might not have been their only, or immediate 'curse', after all. Definitely, 'Brahminism' was at the top of the social and administrative pecking order, and needed to be demolished if the 'percolation effort' were to be induced. This in turn has led to the revelation that for the lowest of the low in the State, their 'greater curse' comes in the form of immediately superior, or dominant caste in individual villages and taluks. There is diffidence on the one hand, and demand for greater employment opportunities, on the other. 

The birth of a new generation under new socio-economic conditions, and their own education has meant the advent and acceptance of new ideas, and often the dumping of old concepts and perceptions - either consciously, or otherwise. Tamil Nadu today turns out 75,000 engineering graduates and doctors each year, not to mention thousands of graduates and post-graduates in other streams. The 'passive influence' of the media in effecting the change-over, and reflecting the same, too cannot be overlooked in this context. Hindi serials 'speaking Tamil' on Doordarshan in the early days of television explosion might have contributed to the average Tamil youth and housewife giving up the politically-induced resistance to anything from the North of an earlier generation. 

Today, even road-side shops in small hamlets sport the Valentine's Day cards, and their natives studying in engineering colleges in the bigger towns greet their 'Moms' on the Mother's Day - on their mobiles. While the Sabarimala pilgrimage, with its abstinence-component built in to it, has become a way of life for many Tamil homes, and the Ganesh festival, or Vinayaka Chathurthi, too has come to stay with certain moderation and modifications compared to the militant advent of the Seventies, 'Akshaya Tritiya' has become a new fad.

Once steeped in culture and tradition, the average Tamil is not overly concerned about remembering his dead on the Akshya Tritiya, if at all that's the significance of the day. Instead, their women now crowd jewellery shops on a day that would have been considered inappropriate and inauspicious even by the religiously-minded and superstition-conscious sections of the populace until not very long ago. There are also larger crowds in temples across the State on the New Year Day by the Georgian calendar than on the Tamil New Year Day, which anyway is a crowd-puller in its own right. All of this goes to add strength to the argument that the larger Tamil community, and also the Dravidian movement, which has played catalyst to the socio-political evolution in the region, has come a full circle in the past century - which could be correctly described as the 'Dravidian century'.

* Views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Observer Research Foundation.

http://www.orfonline.org/cms/sites/orfonli...11&mmacmaid=156<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->

[ramana]

The largest component of pilgrims to Tirupati is from deep interior of Tamilnadu and not just Chennai region. The next largest is from Karnataka and then Andhra Pradesh. Now Tirupati temple has an all India appeal attracting gropus from Maharashtra, Gujarat and Punjab.

Actually in the big picture the Dravidian movement is a late reaction to the displacement of Buddhism from South India which got interrupted by the Islamic and British colonialisms.

[Bharatvarsh]

<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Actually in the big picture the Dravidian movement is a late reaction to the displacement of Buddhism from South India which got interrupted by the Islamic and British colonialisms. <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Ramanaji what makes you say that, these Dravidianists don't make any claims regarding Buddhism, they are self proclaimed "rationalists" who behave like pompous asses, none of them had any appreciation for Buddhism, infact they might hate that Aryan fascist Buddha and his North Indian religion.

[Guest]

<!--QuoteBegin-ramana+Jan 12 2007, 10:17 PM-->QUOTE(ramana @ Jan 12 2007, 10:17 PM)<!--QuoteEBegin-->

Actually in the big picture the Dravidian movement is a late reaction to the displacement of Buddhism from South India which got interrupted by the Islamic and British colonialisms.
[right][snapback]63032[/snapback][/right]
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->

Usual Nonsesne. Dravidanist idiots garland hindu gods with chappals and for all practical purposes they are anti hindu. I am just surprised how other hindus of TN let them do such crap.

-Digvijay

[G.Subramaniam]

Here is my summary of the dravidianist movement

For all hindus, the real god is money, not the gods in the temple

That is why we have various ills like vote banking , selling of cows to butchers etc

Periyar and the Dravidianist movement are the 'apparent' money gods of tamil nadu
Their effort was instrumental in getting more jobs in the white collar area away from the brahmins who had a disproportionate share
Periyar did his work on behalf of the tamil upper castes,
Chettiar, Mudaliar, Pillai but his propoganda machine appeared that he did it on behalf of the OBCs and Dalits

Thanks to the money god, tamil hindus overlook Periyars treason with Jinnah and the british
Saiva Adheenams, ( non-brahmin saivite mutts ) patronised periyar, inspite of his attacks on the hindu religion

[Guest]

is it true that south india has a lot of brahmins and lower castes (sudhras, dalits) but not much of the ksatriya and the vaisya caste ??

in north indian communisties brahmins, ksatriyas, vaishyas and sudhras make up roughly 20 percent of each community.

[ramana]

The key to understand caste composition in South India is the fact that most of South India accepted the Lord Buddha and Mahavira's message and were their followers from 250BC to 750 AD (~ 1000 years).

The Hindu revival in South India was due to the efforts of the 23 Nayanars, the Pallava and Chola kings, and Adi Sankara. They were able to reverse the logic of Buddhism gradually with minimal violence. This lead to a new Hindu soceity which was getting Vedicised and the varna accretion was in process when the Islamic and the European colonialisms attacked and stopped the process. The plethora of South Indian castes are actually occupations that have not been accredited to a particular caste when they were enummerated by the Brits.

The Modern Dravidianist reaction is the late flowering of the reaction to the Hinduisation of South India which was encouraged by the British. The Sri Lanka LTTE tussle also has elements of this.

Recall that in the background of Silipaddiakaram is a tussle between two faiths-Hindu and Buddhist.

[Hauma Hamiddha]

<!--QuoteBegin-ramana+Jan 17 2007, 11:03 AM-->QUOTE(ramana @ Jan 17 2007, 11:03 AM)<!--QuoteEBegin-->The key to understand caste composition in South India is the fact that most of South India accepted the Lord Buddha and Mahavira's message and were their followers from 250BC to 750 AD (~ 1000 years).<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->

Ramana you may need to reconsider your hypothesis -- the earliest Tamil works like Tolkappiyam, Purananuru, Agananuru show a strong Hindu rather than jaina or bauddha component. So the HIndu presence was always strong in TN from the earliest records we have of Tamil literature. We also see that the Tamil elite of that era kShatriyas and brAmaNas were performing vedic rituals as per these Tamil texts. In the silapadhikaram the main protagonist Kolvalan was a jaina vaishya. His wife Kannagi appears to have been based on a local South Indian goddess Pattini Ammal.

[ramana]

H^2, I maybe wrong on Silipadikaram as I read the serailized version in Illustrated Weekly long time ago. But I stand by my hypothesis. Thats the only way to explain all the idols that are found to 'self manifest'. Those idols are long neglected temples during that millenium.

[Bharatvarsh]

<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->"With financial assistance of Rs. 95 lakhs from Tamilnadu government, Periyar film is being produced. We hope that his emphatic published views will find a place in the film. As examples of such views, some excerpts from his speeches and works are published here. Apart from helping the producers, we have no other motive." (Thuglak, Nov. 29, 2006)

http://hinduthought.googlepages.com/<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->

[Hauma Hamiddha]

The more one looks at this the Xtian hand becomes apparent : Dravidians in Action

Gita and Ramayana will be burnt, says Veeramani

Chennai, Mar 12:

Dravidar Kazhagam (DK) president K Veeramani has warned that the sacred book of the Hindus, the Bhagawad Gita and the Indian epic Ramayana, would be burnt as part of a demonstration to be organised soon.

Participating in the Maniammayar birth anniversary day celebrated by the party's women's wing as Women liberation day, Veeramani said Periyar's stand was that women had all the rights that men enjoyed.

That was why he asked men to do household chores like cooking, instead of women.

'In countries like the USA, both men and women go for work. Cooking is done there by the spouse who comes home first from work. There is no discrimination. Such a thing should blossom here too,' Veermani said and alleged that Ramayana, one of the oldest and well known epics of the world, besmirched women.

The DK leader also said that the Bhagavath Gita and Manusmruthi too denigrated the women folk. Hence, a demonstration would be held soon and these works would be burnt to ashes. The place and time would be announced soon, he said

[Guest]

<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->'In countries like the USA, both men and women go for work. Cooking is done there by the spouse who comes home first from work. There is no discrimination. Such a thing should blossom here too,' Veermani said and alleged that Ramayana, one of the oldest and well known epics of the world, besmirched women. <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
He should visit US and see himself most abused women on earth.
India had female PM in 1969 and US is still debating whether US is ready for female President. These DMK morons shot themselves in public.

[Guest]

<!--QuoteBegin-Hauma Hamiddha+Mar 12 2007, 09:15 PM-->QUOTE(Hauma Hamiddha @ Mar 12 2007, 09:15 PM)<!--QuoteEBegin-->The more one looks at this the Xtian hand becomes apparent : Dravidians in Action
'In countries like the USA, both men and women go for work. Cooking is done there by the spouse who comes home first from work. There is no discrimination. Such a thing should blossom here too,' Veermani said and alleged that Ramayana, one of the oldest and well known epics of the world, besmirched women.
[right][snapback]65568[/snapback][/right]
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->

Gee.. could it be because of this: In US, 51% of Women Are Now Living Without Spouse
This Veermani seems to be clueless on plight of women anywhere.

[shamu]

When Periyar married Maniamma, he was in 70s and Maniamma was in 20s. So much for women's freedom. Only close comparison is the marriage between Muhammed and Ayesha

http://www.geocities.com/tamiltribune/05/1201.html

If anybody in this forum has Wikipedia account, please put this information there. It is deliberately missing.

[Guest]

check this site out !!!

http://www.cwo.com/~lucumi/india.html


also note the links at the botttom of the page.