Tamil Vs. Sanskrit Part I

Political and Economic Imperialism of the Brahmins

through Cultural imperialism via Sanskrit!

An open letter to the Secretary, Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India, New Delhi.

Sir,

1.   Although the United Nations has realised the importance of all the languages and recognised the inalienable right of every man to love and protect his mother language, and declared that February 21st as the International Mother Language Day, the Brahmin bureaucrats who occupy disproportionately and unjustly, high share of the Group A and B posts in the Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of External Affairs, RAW and IB want to run the nation in a way that would be convenient only for Brahmin domination, do not come forward to celebrate the International Mother Language Day. Because, they are afraid that such a celebration of Indian languages would not help Brahmin domination. They believe that resurrection of Sanskrit would alone give them upper hand in social and political arena, as was in the past.

2.   The purpose of the International Mother Language Day, as declared by the United Nations, is:

"We hope that the spirit of the International Mother Language Day will help develop in us a deep respect for not only one's own mother tongue, but for those of others as well; help the expression of all kinds of majority and minority languages and put an end to the dictates of one language over the other."

3.   But, the non-Hindi people of India are denied this privilege of celebrating their mother-tongues. The people who see their Sanskrit in Hindi do not want the common people of the nation to celebrate their individual mother languages. This, in spite of the fact that The Government of India has been under an obligation to take measures for the development of these languages, such that "they grow rapidly in richness and become effective means of communicating modern knowledge."-(Official Languages Resolution, 1968, para. 2). As per Para 2 of the Official Language Resolution, 1968, it is “necessary in the interest of the educational and cultural advancement of the country that concerted measures should be taken for the full development” of all the major languages specified in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution.

4.   Now that the BJP has come to power, these bureaucrats believe that the time is opportune for them to enforce their hidden agenda. That is why they issue orders to spend public money to celebrate Sanskrit week and propagate Sanskrit.

5.   First of all, there is no provision in the Constitution to give special treatment to Sanskrit to promote only that language, especially by spending the money collected as tax from the people of other languages. It is just like any other language in the Eighth Schedule and if at all Sanskrit week is to be celebrated, it must be preceded by the celebration of all other languages. While some special status had been manipulated to be given, in the Constitution, to Hindi through Art. 343, the consoling factor is that that is also yet another amendable provision, which may happen in due course.

6.   Secondly, there is no need to popularize Sanskrit among the people who do not have it as their mother-tongue. Already, people who have studied Sanskrit and Vedas and passed the required examinations have not been given postings as priests in the money-spinning temples. Of what use is there for non-Brahmins, then, to learn Sanskrit, which, still, promotes apartheid? The entire exercise of the MHRD is only to create an aura around Sanskrit, although it does not deserve it. So long as the Brahmins try to uphold their superiority by birth, by arrogating the priesthood only for themselves in the money-spinning temples, sociological analysis based on Varna System becomes not only a legally valid exercise but also a democratic necessity. History testifies to the fact that the Vedic religious order based on Sanskrit was intended to and had, actually, benefitted the temporal lives of the Brahmins, who cornered the economic benefits of the society mainly for themselves.  Viewed in that context, there should be no need for a poly-glot nation to promote and try to rejuvenate Sanskrit.

7.   Thirdly, the Director of the Central Board of Secondary Education, has, in her statement in the circular dated  30.06.2014, mentioned that “the Central Board of Secondary Education is committed towards promoting the teaching and learning of Sanskrit”. I would like to know when the CBSE had made such commitment and to whom.  I would also like to know why it did not commit itself to promote the other languages. Besides, I find that the Director of the CBSE amuses herself stating that Sanskrit is “the mother of all languages”. It is a total lie. It is anti-history. It is unlawful.

8.   Please refer to the struggle of the people over language all over the world. Kindly desist from taking such actions, which provoke another language agitation. Historically, there had been great antipathy among people against Sanskrit, even in the days of Buddha, when that language was created. When the Brahmins who became Bikkus told Lord Buddha that the non-Brahmin Bikkus were “polluting the Buddha's words by preaching them in their own local dialects. And now, Venerable sir, we shall render the Buddha's words into chandaso (One who knows Vedas- i.e., Brahmins language, i.e. Sanskrit).”, Lord Buddha rebuked them saying “How you foolish persons speak thus?”.  The need felt by Buddha to be cautious about Sanskrit, is still there. There is nothing glorious about Sanskrit, when the apologists of Sanskrit, just because they have occupied power centres, claim undeserved superior status to it and denigrate the other languages, in that process.

9.   Propaganda can be and is being used as a weapon for only for elections. Propaganda devoid of truth cannot be used to poison young minds in the schools. Sanskrit is an artificially created language. It was never the language of the masses. The details are given below with evidence. Kindly withdraw the circular immediately, which has been issued under the assumption that the nation is in the era of Manu when common people were, by law, denied education and the knowledge of truth.

10.   A piece of the real history behind Sanskrit is given below to make you know that we know the truth. “It is better to explore and accept history rather than to repress and deny it”-Edward W Said- Culture and Imperialism. The imperialistic tendency of the protagonists of Sanskrit had, as we have seen, gone to extent of calling their Sanskrit as Deva Baasha and belittling the languages of the others as Neecha Baasha. We have seen Sankaracharyas of Kanchi and others demonstrating this kind of imperialistic bent of mind. These agent provocateurs create unnecessary social unrest in society.  We know that this cultural imperialism of the Brahmins through their Sanskrit, over centuries, had resulted in economic development only the Brahmins. An assessment by a scholar whose integrity had been vouchsafed by none other than Max Muller shows that even at the beginning of the nineteenth century, it was the Brahmins who had been predominantly been in the top slots economically. 

Caste and economic status

The standard of living of the people at the commencement of the 19^th century provides a solid proof of the link between caste and economic status.

Abbe J. A. Dubois, a saint who arrived in India in the year 1792 at the age of 27 and remained in India for 30 long years and left India on 15.01.1823 had travelled throughout India and especially Tamil Nadu and wrote the famous book “Hindu manners, customs and ceremonies”. Max Mueller, who is praised sky-high by our Brahmins who appropriated him and highlight his services for Sanskrit, has said the said book is “containing the views of an eyewitness, of a man singularly free from prejudice”.

                                                                                           

Sl. No.	Class	Quantum of Property	Ratio of the population	Category of the people
1	First and the lowest class	Below   £ 5	9/20 or half of the population	Sudhras including leather workers
2	Second	£5 to   £25	6/20	Chiefly of Sudhras
3	Third	£  25 to      £ 50	1/10	--
4	Fourth	£  50 to     £ 100	3/40	Chiefly Brahmins or well-to-do Sudhras
5	Fifth	£ 100 to          £ 200	1/30	Chiefly Brahmins or Vysyas and often the wealthiest among Sudhras.
6	Sixth	£  200 to  £ 500	1/50	Brahmins form quite half of this clan. Others are of other castes.
7	Seventh	£  500 to   £ 1000	1/100	At least half of them are Brahmins. Rest Vaisyas and Sudhras.
8	Eighth	£ 1000 to  £ 2000	1/200	“It is almost entirely composed of Brahmins with a small percentage of Vysyas and Sudhras”.

Source: Pages 88 to 91 of the 1953 Reprint of the said book published by the Oxford Press.

It is the fear of loss of this undue advantageous position that makes the oppressors to oppose reservation in educational institutions and services, allocation of proportionate number of posts in Group A and B posts, appointment of non-Brahmins as Priests in all the temples, etc., Projecting Sanskrit as a great language is one of their steps to promote themselves. Sanskrit was and is not the language of the subjugated classes. Its literature perpetuates apartheid.

  Apartheid is soul deep in Sanskrit woks

The statement filed by the Hindu Fundamentalists, in the Supreme Court challenging the amendment to the Tamilnadu HR&CE Act of 1970 made as per the recommendation of the Committee on Untouchability, Economic and Educational Development of the Scheduled Castes, contained the following argument in support of the policy of apartheid perpetuated by them for millennia: (***)

• If the person who goes near the deity is a Brahmin who is not a priest Samprotchanam must be done with pure water. 
• If he is a Kshatriya the Samprotchanam must be with 7 pots of water. 
• If he is a Vysya , (a) Samprotchananm must be  performed with 24 pots of water and (b) Santhi homam must also be performed. 
• If he is a Shudhra, (a) Samprotchanam must be performed with 108 pots of water, (b) Mahasanthi homam must be performed besides  (c) offering food to Brahmins.

12.   Now, a few facts pertaining to Sanskrit, in the article written in a different context, are brought to your kind notice. The Article titled “Sanskrit: A Talibanic Offshoot” is forwarded herewith:

Thankyou!

Yours faithfully,

Vaeyuru Tholibangan

Note ***: 

In the year 1969 the Committee on Untouchability, Economic and Educational Development of the Scheduled Castes had suggested in its report that the hereditary priesthood in the Hindu Society should be abolished, that the system could be replaced by an ecclesiastical organisation of men possessing the requisite educational qualifications who might be trained in recognised institutions in priesthood and that the line should be open to all candidates irrespective of caste, creed or race. The Government of Tamilnadu had, accordingly, amended Sections 55 and 56 of the Principal Act, the Tamil Nadu Hindu Religious and Charitable, Endowments Act, 1959 to facilitate Non-Brahmins also to acquire the qualification and officiate as priests. The matter went to Supreme Court of India (Seshammal & Others Vs. State of Tamilnadu – 14-03-1972). But, those who perpetuated apartheid had the day, for peculiar reasons. If only the British had learnt the tricks of these Hindu Fundamentalists and enforced apartheid in South Africa in the name of religion, Nelson Mandela would not have won. In South Africa, apartheid was skin-deep. In Hindu religion, apartheid is soul-deep.