Letters

India and Sri Lanka

The article "A friend in need" in the Cover Story (June 20) was insightful and informative. If responding to a friend's need is the price one has to pay to dispel misplaced and wrong notions, that price is worth paying. The article came as a whiff of fresh air. That Indo-Sri Lankan relations have never been better than they are now would be music to the ears of all those who nurture goodwill towards both nations. Having said that, I would add that in order that India's goodwill is not misconstrued as hegemonistic intentions, it should desist from getting involved in the island nation's internal politics. After all, we have experience of such a policy to draw lessons from.

V.B.N. Ram received on e-mailThe Dravidian movement

This refers to Dr. Subramanian Swamy's article, "Is the Dravidian movement dying?" (May 20). The Harvard Professor has failed to do his homework. The backbone of the Indian National Congress was the middle class, which was facing the problem of unemployment. The avenues of government employment were overcrowded, and there was competition among the educated for the few vacancies that were available. The competition was among the British, the Brahmins and the educated from the non-Brahmin communities. The Brahmin often scored over his other Indians.

Brahmins also opted for other careers such as law, medicine and journalism. It was a struggle, and the fittest had an edge.

The Congress, from a petition-making body, was made to become more vociferous by Bal Gangadhar Tilak. Many Indians also ventured into various fields of activity from 1906. The Congress had two sections, the old guard and the Tilakites. The Swadeshi Movement was launched, and many paths were laid.

In the Madras Presidency, the advancement of Brahmins, especially in the field of education, and the opportunities that were consequently available to them, encouraged many sections to form sanghas (associations) in order to voice their grievances. Three spokesmen representing the three areas of the Presidency, Dr. T.M. Nair, Sir Thyagaraja Chetti and C. Natesa Mudaliar, integrated these small, independent sanghas into a federation, which emerged as the Justice Party. Its manifesto was anti-Brahmin, no doubt, but it drew attention to the unfulfilled aspirations of the non-Brahmin communities; in short, it was a movement against the educated Brahmins. It sought caps on the number of jobs given to Brahmins and the allotment of jobs to non-Brahmins. The non-Brahmin face, and not merit, was considered to be the major criterion.

Brahmins backed the Congress, and the Congress was opposed to entering the legislature. The Justice Party seized this opportunity to enter the legislature and use government power to block Brahmins in the field of education and government employment. Thus came the communal GO.

The Justice Party did not stop with that. It was convinced that Brahmins also controlled temples, thereby assuming spiritual leadership and creating a large non-Brahmin following. As a consequence, the Hindu Religious Endowments Act came into force. The Justice Party hounded the small Brahmin community. This cannot be called the Dravidian movement. It was a movement against Brahmins everywhere, and it was most pronounced in Madras Presidency as the Justice Party's manifesto clearly stated that the root cause of the backwardness of non-Brahmins was the dominance of the educated Brahmins.

In this exercise, the Justice Party could not gain the support of the Scheduled Castes. The Congress had always supported the cause of the Scheduled Castes and the Poona Pact proved that the Congress cared more for them. (Incidentally, the chief architects of the Poona Pact were Dr. B.R. Ambedkar and C. Rajagopalachari, who was a great supporter and protagonist of the Dalit cause). The Justice Party went to the extent of securing reservations for non-Brahmins in the legislature.

Reference has been made to E.V. Ramasami. A principled Congressman, EVR was unhappy with the Congress when it decided to enter the legislature. He did not like the way Gandhi was treated by the Bengal moderates. He was also unhappy with the way some Brahmins behaved. His perception was that Brahmins would dominate the scene in South India. He resigned from the Congress, but he had to remain in politics. The Justice Party was a party of landlords and zamindars and the moneyed. His visit, in the meantime, to the Soviet Union convinced him that he should launch a party with certain objectives, to veer non-Brahmins away from both the Congress and the Justice Party.

It was here that he relied on the Dravidian concept of godlessness. The people of India south of the Vindhyas had been greatly influenced by Buddhism and Jainism, and they had assimilated the best in both philosophies. In fact, their life even today is based on the codes of personal conduct enshrined in Buddhism and Jainism.

The three paths, Vedic Brahminism, which propagated the idea of God, and Buddhism and Jainism, which emphasised personal codes of conduct, were available to the community. EVR, therefore, believed that pure reason should be the basis of thinking based on Buddhism. Dravidians were also Mother worshippers, and that suited him to preach against Brahmanism. Buddham saranam gachami, dhammam saranam gachami and Sangham saranam gachami, the Buddhist tenets, appealed to him most. The three plans of Jainism, Right Path, Right Action and Ahimsa, got only secondary importance in his scheme. The Dravidians had started worshipping animals, like the elephant and the monkey. He disapproved the basics of this practice. Thus, he relied again on three tracks - godlessness, pure reason and non-worship of idols and animals - to support his Self-Respect Movement.

He formed the Dravidar Kazhagam as a reformation movement. He had some support, but the movement died because there was no large-scale support for it from the public. EVR's marketing strategy failed, as also his positioning of his product.

When the Constitution of India was adopted, proclaiming Liberty, Equality and Fraternity as its foundation and integrating India as a nation, the Dravidar Kazhagam slowly died. It was proclaimed dead when the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, which was part of it, pledged allegiance to the Constitution, gave up the demand for a separate Dravidastan, and contested the general elections.

What is the ideology of the DMK and the All-India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam? Small wonder then that both EVR and Dr. Ambedkar died as Buddhists.

R. Narasimhan Chennai* * *

Subramanian Swamy has once again proved that he has absurd political ideas. He wants to hide the real history of the Dravidian movement. He states that Ambedkar rejected the British offer of separate electorates but the fact is that it was Ambedkar who fought for separate electorates during the Round Table Conference of 1931, which was not accepted by other leaders. Gandhi undertook a "fast until death". In order to save the life of Gandhi, Ambedkar was asked by leaders such as Madan Mohan Malaviya to sign the Poona Pact on September 25, 1932.

It is also highly condemnable that the social reformer EVR `Periyar' is described as having given a militant edge to the Dravidian movement. It is because of EVR that M. Karunanidhi, who belongs to a lower caste, could become the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. More than that, it was he who awakened the Tamils, particularly the Dalits and Other Backward Classes, and made them aware of their rights. It was he who foiled Rajaji's attempt to introduce Kula Kalvi Thittam, which was devised to deny education to the OBCs and Dalits.

The truth is that without the Dravidian movement, the OBCs and Dalits would have really suffered at the hands of Brahmins.

D. Karthikeyan Coimbatore* * *

Subramanian Swamy has assessed the present state of the Dravidian movement correctly. The Dravidian or the anti-Brahmin movement began in Tamil Nadu long after it began in Maharashtra but spread vigorously. The movement was a self-defeating one. The adoption of democracy and adult suffrage ended the importance of caste and minority groups. The Poona Pact closed the doors for separation. Swamy has failed to take note of V.P. Singh's major decision to adopt the Mandal Commission report. It served the lolli-pop of reservation to every caste.

Brahmins in North India are numerically much stronger than those in the south. They utilised the Mandal theorem. Thus the plank of reservation has now boomeranged, with the Rajasthan government's decision to provide reservation for the poor among the upper castes.

W.H. Pande Akola, Maharashtra* * *

Subramanian Swamy's article on the decay of the Dravidian movement is well presented. It is unfortunate that the partisan politics of the D.K. triggered an attack on Sanskrit. The doublespeak was clear when EVR insulted Rama but praised Kambar (the author of Kamba Ramayanam).

The real contribution to the growth of Tamil literature was made by organisations such as the Saiva Siddhanta Kazhagam and the Kamban Kazhagam. They have genuinely published the works of saints such as Nammazhwar and Kannappar. These saints praised Sanskrit and even had a mastery over Sanskrit texts.

Malolan Cadambi Austin, TexasMedicos' strike

This has reference to "Medicos against privatisation"(June 6). It was sad to know that doctors went on strike from May 9 to May 14. It is unfortunate that such a highly educated class does not understand its responsibilities. To express their unhappiness towards the government, the doctors targeted the poor patients.

The idea of blocking the opening of new medical colleges is not correct. If a person or an institute is willing to set up a medical college in a backward region, such a move should be welcomed. Otherwise, students from these regions will have to shell out more money for accommodation and other facilities to pursue their studies. Moreover, such a move will only provide more bargaining power to the existing colleges.

The doctor-to-patient ratio is irrelevant unless it is ensured that doctors serve society in the backward and rural areas.

Vasudev Sripathy received on e-mailShiv Sena project

Udhav Thackeray, the working president of the Shiv Sena, has been quoted as saying ("A parochial project", May 23): "A Marathi-speaking person cannot even dream of going to Uttar Pradesh and becoming a Minister, but this is happening here (Mumbai)."

For Udhav's information, in the U.P. Cabinet of 1977-80, Madhukar Dighe was the Finance Minister. He was later appointed Governor of Meghalaya. Earlier, in the immediate post-Independence period, A.G. Kher held charge as Minister and went on to become the Speaker of the State Assembly. Both Dighe and Kher were of Maharashtra origin.

The Shiv Sena's current parochial attitude in Mumbai has reportedly created problems for some Maharashtrians living in Varanasi. Who created these problems? Ironically, the U.P. branch of the Shiv Sena.

I.M. Sahai Noida, Uttar PradeshAl Qaeda

In his lucid analysis, "Whither Al Qaeda" (June 20), R.K. Raghavan gives the spine-chilling warning: "It (Al Qaeda) will act whenever it wants and at a time of its choice."

The most effective way of thwarting the attempts of suicide-attackers is to pre-empt them and this is not at all easy for intelligence agencies to accomplish as it calls for sting operations by penetrating the terrorist networks spread out in several countries. The other alternative seems to be to put vulnerable areas on "high alert" at all times, which is a frightfully expensive proposition. In any case, the affected nations, especially the ones with democratic governments, will not convert themselves into police states just to ward off terrorist attacks.

What should India do under such circumstances even if it is not yet a target of Al Qaeda? Militant groups under different banners are operating in Kashmir, and these may be sourcing their inspiration and modus operandi from Al Qaeda. That they are able to infiltrate successfully through the LoC - which acts more like a sieve than a barrier - despite the presence of Indian troops numbering more than 500,000 proves Raghavan's point. That Pakistan has failed to contain them seems to be beside the point.

It is rather strange that while India goes about seeking the support and cooperation of governments such as those of the U.S., Britain, France and Russia to contain terrorism, it has not yet thought it fit to garner the active support of the one government which is in the best position to help out, namely Pakistan, which itself is a victim of terrorist operations on its own territory. Blaming Pakistan all the time for India's own difficulties has now outlived its utility.

Kangayam R. Rangaswamy Wisconsin, U.S.U.S. empire

This is with reference to "Empire and democracy" (June 6). Every rational individual who believes in global harmony and the integrity of nations would agree with Arundhati Roy that the United States has become an international bully. Moreover, in order to justify its policy of aggrandisement, it is employing the same jargon that its British counterpart employed decades ago, that of the "Civilising Mission".

Roy aptly drew people's attention to the blatant hypocrisy and double standards inherent in U.S. Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's response to the post-war anarchy in Iraq.

It becomes imperative for members of civil societies, not only in the U.S. but across the world, to protest as one against such dictatorship disguised as democracy.

Preeti Chaturvedi received on e-mail