JALANDHAR: When E V Ramaswamy started the Self Respect Movement or the Dravidian movement in Tamil Nadu in 1925, it was as much ‘anti-North India’ and ‘anti-Hindi’ as it was about fighting the caste system and superstition and inculcating self-respect among all. Periyar, as Ramaswamy was better known, would perhaps never have imagined that the Dravidian movement would one day manifest in northern India.
Now, more than 90 years later, many dalits in Punjab have started embracing what they call their ‘Dravidian identity.’ Many of them don’t even know about Periyar and the movement in the 1930s, but say they feel the need to define themselves differently. At nearly 32%, Punjab has the highest percentage of dalits among all states in the country.
This new assertion is finding maximum traction among members of the Valmiki community (traditionally involved in scavenging and considered lowest in the caste hierarchy). Although initial attempts to create such an identity in Punjab go back almost 50 years, it was mainly confined to a few activists. The recent Supreme Court order, which many saw as dilution of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, however, led to a renewed interest on the issue among Punjab dalits. They now wear this new identity on their sleeve and describe themselves as ‘Dravidian’ or ‘Anarya’ (non-Arya).
July 6, 2018 at 8:25 pm
Use your platform to build, not tear down. Keep in mind how much progress has been made in India. It’s all about perspective. While there are still things to correct, we’ve come a long way. I’m thinking of Islamists who want to replace the constitution with sharia law. I am thinking of Christian Evangelists who in their zeal to undermine Hinduism are undermining Indian Constitution. I am thinking of Marxists of all hues whose penchant for violence is corroding the national spirit. Protest in the country has gotten out of hand. It has moved into the realm of incivility – from the new culture of shaming to the violence perpetrated by various groups. It is now a common occurrence on college campuses that speakers who are deemed by the Left as venturing out of their “safe spaces” are shouted down. Not much freedom of speech there. In your quest to right the wrongs of caste injustice, don’t add fuel to this fire. It’s not going to end in a pretty place. Dravidians are not a race. The Brahmins of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Andhra and Tamil Nadu were caked “Pancha Dravidas” as explained in Rajatarangini of 12 the century written by Bilhana, So Dravids were Brahmins. Adi Shankara, the most famous Brahmin, called himself “a Dravid sisuvu”, Aryans is also not a race. There was no Aryan invasion. The white man said Rig Veda was written in 1500 BCE by the so called “Aryans who crossed Harappa and other urban centres”. White man did not explain why Aryans did not write their conquests of Urban centres in Rig Veda. This means clearly Rig Veda was written long before Indus Valley Civilization which is itself much older close to 9000 BCE than what the white man said. Arya means good- so Aryan is a good person. Aryavarta means a good place. Aryaputra means son of a good man. Sita called Rama “Arya Putra” and Mandodari called Ravana also “Arya putra”. If Ravana was a Dravidian as sold by white man, how can he be an Arya putra? As a matter of fact, Ravana was a Brahmin unknown to Karuna Nidhi and other Marxists. The DNA of Brahmans is not different from that of Dalits. Think before you protest. Don’t believe the propaganda of Romila, Irfan and Harbans who are slaves of Maxmuller and even Ramaswamy Periyar who was not an archeologist, not an anthropologist, not a historian but a bigot full of hatred for Brahmins. His statements are opinions not evidence based.