Sunaad Raghuram forwards this piece by FRANCOIS GAUTIER published in The Pioneer, Delhi.
Gautier is not one of the more balanced journalists going around. Still, what does it say of the Indian intellectual atmosphere that it takes an European, a Frenchman at that, to tell us this? And why isn't the mainstream media debating issues like this?
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By FRANCOIS GAUTIER
At a time when the Congress government wants to raise the quota for Other Backward Classes to 49.5 per cent in private and public sectors, nobody talks about the plight of the upper castes. The public image of the Brahmins, for instance, is that of an affluent, pampered class. But is it so today?
There are 50 Sulabh Shauchalayas (public toilets) in Delhi; all of them are cleaned and looked after by Brahmins (this very welcome public institution was started by a Brahmin). A far cry from the elitist image that Brahmins have!
There are five to six Brahmins manning each Shauchalaya. They came to Delhi eight to ten years back looking for a source of income, as they were a minority in most of their villages, where Dalits are in majority (60 per cent to 65 per cent). In most villages in UP and Bihar, Dalits have a union
which helps them secure jobs in villages.
Did you know that you also stumble upon a number of Brahmins working as coolies at Delhi's railway stations? One of them, Kripa Shankar Sharma, says while his daughter is doing her Bachelors in Science he is not sure if she will secure a job.
"Dalits often have five to six kids, but they are confident of placing them easily and well," he says. As a result, the Dalit population is increasing in villages. He adds: "Dalits are provided with housing, even their pigs have spaces; whereas there is no provision for gaushalas (cowsheds) for the cows of the Brahmins."
You also find Brahmin rickshaw pullers in Delhi. 50 per cent of Patel Nagar's rickshaw pullers are Brahmins who like their brethren have moved to the city looking for jobs for lack of employment opportunities and poor education in their villages.
Even after toiling the whole day, Vijay Pratap and Sidharth Tiwari, two Brahmin rickshaw pullers, say they are hardly able to make ends meet. These men make about Rs 100 to Rs 150 on an average every day from which they pay a daily rent of Rs 25 for their rickshaws and Rs 500 to Rs 600 towards the rent of their rooms which is shared by 3 to 4 people or their families.
Did you also know that most rickshaw pullers in Banaras are Brahmins?
This reverse discrimination is also found in bureaucracy and politics. Most of the intellectual Brahmin Tamil class has emigrated outside Tamil Nadu. Only 5 seats out of 600 in the combined UP and Bihar assembly are held by Brahmins—the rest are in the hands of the Yadavs.
400,000 Brahmins of the Kashmir valley, the once respected Kashmiri Pandits, now live as refugees in their own country, sometimes in refugee camps in Jammu and Delhi in appalling conditions. But who gives a damn about them? Their vote bank is negligible.
And this is not limited to the North alone. 75 per cent of domestic help and cooks in Andhra Pradesh are Brahmins. A study of the Brahmin community in a district in Andhra Pradesh (Brahmins of India by J. Radhakrishna, published by Chugh Publications) reveals that today all purohits live below the poverty line.
Eighty per cent of those surveyed stated that their poverty and traditional style of dress and hair (tuft) had made them the butt of ridicule. Financial constraints coupled with the existing system of reservations for the 'backward classes' prevented them from providing secular education to their children.
In fact, according to this study there has been an overall decline in the number of Brahmin students. With the average income of Brahmins being less than that of non-Brahmins, a high percentage of Brahmin students drop out at the intermediate level. In the 5 to 18 year age group, 44 per cent Brahmin students stopped education at the primary level and 36 per cent at the pre-matriculation level.
The study also found that 55 per cent of all Brahmins lived below the poverty line—below a per capita income of Rs 650 a month. Since 45 per cent of the total population of India is officially stated to be below the poverty line it follows that the percentage of destitute Brahmins is 10 per cent higher than the all-India figure.
There is no reason to believe that the condition of Brahmins in other parts of the country is different. In this connection it would be revealing to quote the per capita income of various communities as stated by the Karnataka finance minister in the state assembly: Christians Rs 1,562; Vokkaligas Rs 914; Muslims Rs 794; Scheduled Castes Rs 680; Scheduled Tribes Rs 577—and Brahmins Rs 537.
Appalling poverty compels many Brahmins to migrate to towns leading to spatial dispersal and consequent decline in their local influence and institutions. Brahmins initially turned to government jobs and modern occupations such as law and medicine. But preferential policies for the non-Brahmins have forced Brahmins to retreat in these spheres as well.
According to the Andhra Pradesh study, the largest percentage of Brahmins today are employed as domestic servants. The unemployment rate among them is as high as 75 per cent. Seventy percent of Brahmins are still relying on their hereditary vocation. There are hundreds of families that are surviving on just Rs 500 per month as priests in various temples (Department of Endowments statistics).
Priests are under tremendous difficulty today, sometimes even forced to beg for alms for survival. There are innumerable instances in which Brahmin priests who spent a lifetime studying Vedas are being ridiculed and disrespected.
At Tamil Nadu's Ranganathaswamy Temple, a priest's monthly salary is Rs 300 (Census Department studies) and a daily allowance of one measure of rice. The government staff at the same temple receive Rs 2,500 plus per month. But these facts have not modified the priests' reputation as 'haves' and as 'exploiters.' The destitution of Hindu priests has moved none, not even the parties known for Hindu sympathy.
The tragedy of modern India is that the combined votes of Dalits/OBC and Muslims are enough for any government to be elected. The Congress quickly cashed in on it after independence, but probably no other government than Sonia Gandhi's has gone so far in shamelessly dividing Indian society for garnering votes.
From the Indian Express: "These measures will not achieve social justice." The Indian government gives Rs 1,000 crore (Rs 10 billion) for salaries of imams in mosques and Rs 200 crores (Rs 2 billion) as Haj subsidies. But no such help is available to Brahmins and upper castes. As a result, not only the Brahmins, but also some of the other upper castes in the lower middle class are suffering in silence today, seeing the minorities slowly taking control of their majority.
Anti-Brahminism originated in, and still prospers in anti-Hindu circles. It is particularly welcome among Marxists, missionaries, Muslims, separatists and Christian-backed Dalit movements of different hues. When they attack Brahmins, their target is unmistakably Hinduism.
So the question has to be asked: are the Brahmins (and other upper castes) of yesterday becoming the Dalits of today?
Let me start off by saying that Gautier is one of the best writers out there today. He knows more about India than a LOT of our own.
I do agree on a lot of his points. For one, the plight of priests is appalling. The sad part is that other than brahmins, nobody seems to realize this.
Another very valid point is Tamil Nadu politics. Around 12 years ago, my father was travelling from Bangalore to Mysore and an Iyer boy was sitting next to him. According to the Iyer boy, he had come in search for a job in Karnataka. Apparently, when he went for an interview for a Tamil Nadu state government job, his marks sheets were torn by the interviewers right in front of him. His name plus the fact that he scored 98% was good enough to tear the marks sheets. Sure, this may not be the norm, but a bird’s eyeview of Tamil Nadu society.
Another good friend of mine is from Tamil Nadu. His neighbor, who scored 92% in class XII could not get into any professional course since he is a Brahim. The dude has now joined TCH. Nothing wrong in doing TCH, but a boy who scores 92% in class XII and who has aspirations of studying something else, deserves much more than a TCH.
Overall, even though Gautier’s article makes you believe that most Brahmins are at the rock bottom of the society today, I am not sure that is entirely true. At least, a lot of city bred brahmins still are well off. But Madam Sonia’s frustrating and divisive politics is taking India to the brink.
Do you guys remember the hue and cry when PVN was the PM, SDS was the President and ESV was the Chief Justice of the supreme court….of how the Brahmins dominated the entire society and stuff…..
Another note, a few years ago, I had read a cover story in ‘Outlook’ which was titled something like ‘Resurgenece of Brahminism’. Does anyone have a link to it ? That article didn’t seem to agree with Gautier completely.
Isn’t it a wakeup call for all the Brahmins NOT to vote for Madam Sonia and her ‘vaMdimAgadhAs’. But then, as Gautier points out correctly, who cares about Brahmin votes ?
This makes for very depressing reading. I entirely concur with DS. I still remember my classmates in Engineering were kids from TN who had scored 90% plus and yet could not get a merit seat. In fact they were made fun of at interviews.
Today when I see the kids at the various Mutts (which are the only refuge for poor brahmin boys), what appals me is the poverty levels they come from. Yet when we do something, its labelled as “Brahminism”.
Is it a wake up call? Is it time to do something? I think so…
It’s true. I must say that not only Brahmins but also several other general classes are becoming dalits. The situation, which prevailed during the independence was something that was very different from the present. Actually it is exactly the opposite. At that time reservation was provided to few backward classes for their upliftment. Nearly sixty years have passed, the upliftment has taken place and now it’s overserving the purpose. In the present situation more than the Dalits and other backward classes, general catagory students are deprived of jobs irrespective of merits they get in various competetive examinations. And if reservation is acceptable than it should be applied in all central services, like Army, Navy, Airforce, Para military forces etc. Its high time to understand that 20 years down the road, the same reservation policy will come up for general category which will again serve the political interest of our great political leaders.
Krishna, you write that “Francois Gautier Gautier is not one of the more balanced journalists going around.” In relation to whom? Praful Bidwai? Kuldip Nayar? N. Ram? Vinod Mehta? Swapan Dasgupta? Vir Sanghvi? Tavleen Singh? Dileep Padgaonkar? Shobha De? Sudheendra Kulkarni? There’s nobody “balanced” out there, my friend. Not when they write columns.
We must note that Gautier’s piece is not a report but a column. Any claim of an “objective” column would be pretentious. I’m sure Gautier is a balanced reporter if he’s lasted so many decades, but as a columnist, well, don’t all columnists cater to a market? They provoke or evoke. Some more adventurous ones create their own market.
Gautier has always had the guts to call a Dalit a Dalit, a Thakur a Thakur, or a Brahmin a Brahmin (so to speak). Unlike many of the elite English writers, he recognizes and stands up for the best of Indian culture and accomplishment. He is smart and articulate, even though he sometimes does not adequately document his claims. I usually agree with Gautier’s views, and I always enjoy reading him.
Having been to temples all over South India I can agree with one thing. All the Carbs (rice heaps) seems to have taken its toll. The priests look really unhealthy with huge bellies hanging off their frail frames.
Don’t know if its the additional allowance the need to increase protein in their diets or a lesson in nutrition.
I think the Fate has turned full CIRCLE and showing in reality what happened to Dalits not long ago ( Not that I am a casteist or anti brahmin or pro dalit ) .even 30 years back , I still remember in my village how ‘WE’ used to treat Dalits ( This refers to within our Household folks) .I did not know much about untouchability those times .When Dalits used to stand hands folded in front of our house and were served in separate Thatte and Lotas ( Which they maintained )
Well this is the PAYBACK time . NO REGRETS .
So no great deal when we have oppressed them for centuries .
Just because we are educated ‘NO NEED’ to raise a big hue and cry over the present state of upper caste , After all we are being paid by the same coin.
I still see lots of casteism in name of Brahmin and Politics which happens in premier institutions like IISc,ISRO etc .I have witnessed lots of favourism to students ( who are Brahmins) , departmental postings etc.
kali yuga yella yekuttu hogle beku!
Prakash, nin noddre Indiadalli badaki uLLdilla ansatthe bahushaha USA irabahudu… magane eega bandu aa “dalitrige” nimmaneli neevu upayogisuva thatteli oota haaki photo haaku avaaga neenu heLida maathige bele kodthini.
ofcourse yeega discrimination illve yilla ….no doubts.
no profanity please…
All these comments raise one fundamental issue. Why don’t we do systematic analysis on what actually is the nature of the problem? We have so many Ph.Ds doing studies on caste related problems, and yet we cannot answer any one of the problems connected with quota today.
What perecentage of reserved quota for SCs and STs at IITs get filled? (some claim that it is never filled ) and why isn’t it filled ? What can be done to improve it? What % is it from the creamy layer?
Of those who join using the quota, how many complete IIT?
Of those who join IITs, how many use it to appear for IAS and then leave it before completing it?
What % of OBCs are already enrolled at IITs today even without quota?
What % of the so called forward castes if we apply the yardsticks of educational and economic backwardess will be classifed as OBCs?
If we eliminate creamy layer from SC, ST, OBC quota (example like K. R. Narayanan’s daughter caliming quota under SC quota) how many would be able to get into the colleges in South Indian colleges today where quota is claimed to be successfull?
How can we claim that reservation is a success in South India?
Well these are just some questions one should know before one can claim that quota will help them.
Reservations are good for Brahmains!
Blasphemy? Think about it. When the british were ruling over us, whom did they employ to be their clerks and administrators? Brahmins mostly. Brahmins have never been prosperous till recently. Bada brahmana is a well known phrase. They have never held positions of power in the olden days.In my father’s time all brahmins wanted to get into government service and they were taken in because of their education. By the sixtees, you had search for brahmins in government offices. So, they migrated to private organisations. Better still, they became entrepreneurs and successful industrialists(not all of them, of course). When things were getting worse, they went abroad and flourished.
Let us not worry too much. Education, enterprise will see the brahmins through.
Praskasha,
So, it’s “PAYBACK” time, so “NO REGRETS” , huh ?
So, going by that argument, I assume you wholeheartedly endorse Babri Masjid demolition. Tit-for-tat seems to be your idea of equal society, right ?
And, to strech it a little further, how about narrow nationalism and imperialism ? You think it’s time India goes to England in the name of setting up an “East India Company II” ?
Revenge, in any form does not solve problems my friend. IMHO, I will hit you because your great grandfather hit my great grand father is the most unhealthy argument.
Oh yilla Guru Stud , PAYBACK deliberately is BAD .
Kaliyuga nodu ..adrastakke adhe aaguthe..Tappagi tilkobedamma.
Adeno heltharalla “naavu maadidhu naave theerastheevi” antha ..yee Govt policygaLu ..theerso haage maadive aste……nanna Tharka yenanthya
Well said, Stud. Well grovelled, Prakash.
Loved reading Dr. Bhamy Shenoy: Excellent points, sir. Wonder if any of our MPs read Churumuri. Hope they do.
Prakasha, che che ninnannu tappagi tiLkoLagatta ? eShTAdru nInu nammavanu …LOL (Guys, that’s just a joke…I am NOT a casteist).
Anyway, your first post seemed to imply that you believe in “Sins of the fathers are bestowed upon their sons”. Am I right ? Even though I agree that indeed is the case here, I have very strong reservations (no pun intended) against it.
So, “naavu mADiddu nAvE tIristIvi”, is not true. Definitely not the case with respect to the reservations. Why should today’s generation pay a price for the wrongdoings of some other century ? And, that’s exactly the case now.
First it will be quota reservation,then it will be percentage of passes proportionate to the reservation and later it will be ‘Backlog’.So a time will come that at one time under ‘Backlog’ only reserved catogories will get admission and nobody else.
i think after reading the above it is obvious we people have to become one other wise we will lose our place in the society and will become the harijans of modern india so let us fight for this to kep our place secured.iam giving one good expansion of brahmin
B – BRILLIANT
R – RELIABLE
A – ACTIVE
H – HONEST
M – MODEST
I – INTELLIGENT
N – NOBLE
SO plz send this to the other brahmins throughout your relatives or friends and ask them to pass this to others.
Exclusive denial of scholarships to poor Hindu children
The Government of India through the State Governments is implementing the following schemes of educational financial assistance exclusively and only for the school-going children of SC/ST/OBC/Minorities whose family income does not exceed Rupees one lakh (Rs.1,00,000/-) per annum.
The schemes of financial assistance are as follows:
(a) Free supply of stationery to SC/ST/OBC/Minorities students;
(b) Scholarship to SC/ST/OBC/Minorities students; and
(c) Reimbursement of tuition fee of SC/ST/OBC/Minorities students studying in recognised private schools.
Stationery reimbursement amounts are:
(i). For Classes VI – VIII – Rs.450/- per annum;
(ii). For Classes IX – XII – Rs.750/- per annum
Merit Scholarships amounts are:
(i). For Classes VI – VIII – Rs. 500/- per annum
(ii). For Classes VI – VIII – Rs. 600/- per annum
(iii). For Classes IX – XII – Rs.1,350/- per annum
(iv). For Classes IX – XII – Rs.1,700/- per annum
The criteria to be fulfilled to be eligible for the above schemes are:
(a) Family income should not exceed Rs.1,00,000/- per annum;
(b) Minimum school attendance; and
(c) Minimum marks in previous class.
The Indian citizens have been classified into the following categories:
(a) Scheduled Castes
(b) Scheduled Tribes
(c) Socially and Educationally Backward Classes (euphemistically called (OBCs))
(d) Religious Minorities (comprising of Sikhs, Muslims, Christians, Buddhists and Parsees; and
(e) UNRESERVED CATEGORY HINDUS (This category has been derived by eliminating the categories (a-d) people from the country’s total population)
Annual Budget from public money
The annual budget of the Central and State Governments together for the above schemes exceeds a mammoth Rs.2000 crs per annum.
Denial of financial assistance exclusively to poor Unreserved Hindu Children
The three schemes of financial assistance (from public money over which all citizens and all sections of the society have rights) are available to all children of low-income families (a-d) except the poor children of the Unreserved Category Hindus (e).
Why this exclusive denial to only one section of the society, that too Hindus?
Why should only one section of the Indian society (that too poor children) be targeted for denial of scholarships from public money, which belongs to all? When all other poor children are entitled for scholarships, why should one section of the poor Hindu children alone be deprived of its share? What is the wrong they have done? What is their crime?
What do the advertisements for the schemes say?
The advertisements announcing the schemes of scholarships etc state that financial deprivation is preventing poor children of SC/ST/OBC/Minorities from pursuing education.
If the above contention is correct, wouldn’t financial deprivation prevent the unreserved category Hindu children from pursuing education?
A study of the financial status of children studying in Delhi Government-owned schools (based on information obtained through RTI) reveals that almost 100% of the children of the Unreserved Category Hindus fall in the below Rs.1,00,000/- income slab. Considering that money value is the same for all human beings, and based on the income criteria, shouldn’t the Unreserved Category Hindu children also be entitled to financial assistance from public money which belongs to the nation?
Total violation of Article 15(1) of the constitution
Article 15(1) categorically prohibits discrimination by the State on the basis of caste, religion etc. By denying ‘scholarships’ etc to a poor section of the society only because they belong to a particular ‘caste’, is it not a total violation of Article 15(1)?
One Crucial Fact
Rs.25000/- crs is reportedly the budget for holding Commonwealth Games which is not going to bring about any change in the lives of ordinary individuals. Rs.200 crs each year is the subsidy for private religious yatras (such as haj, kailash) which yield no benefit to the nation. Several hundred crores each year are given as grant to the developing countries like Palestine, Afganistan etc. But there is not a paise for poor Hindu children all because they belong to a particular caste!!! Could anything be more unfair?
Request
Hereby, an appeal is being made to your goodself to request the Government through (President/PM/MP/MLA/Councillors or any other politician) known to you to end this unjustified and targeted exclusion of one section of the poor Hindu children from accessing public resources which is otherwise available to all other poor children.
Please circulate this to all persons known to you.
Thanking you
very sad to hear how the Messengers of God are falling down
Really Someone should come to change all these
Hi,
Iam a brahmin in karnataka bangalore , let me assure you that anit-brahminism is very present in all the private companies i have worked in. I understand that children are taught by their parents to hate brahmins and things like they are dangerous cunning etc are circulated in their minds. So naturally when they are older it is practised. I had a boss named d.v.rama rao, he was intent on kicking me out of the office becos i was a brahmin . However i was lucky and god gave me another job under a brahmin itself who took pity on my story and offered me a job, so the evil is omnipresent, we have to adapt and survive,