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Anti-Brahminism

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Anti-Brahmanism is hostility toward or prejudice against Brahmins as a religious, or ethnic community, which can range from individual hatred to institutionalized attempts to vilify Brahmins.

Like the Jews in Europe, the Brahmins form a small and elite community in India. While they are generally middle class in financial status, they have historically enjoyed considerable respect in the Indian society as scholars and priests.

Organized anti-Brahmanism is a relatively new phonemonon in India. It arose during the British period, as a result of government sponsorship. Today several organization both inside India and outside are actively involved in promoting anti-Brahmanism.

Anti-Brahmanism must be distinguished from the opposition to the view that the Brahmins are inherently superior. Buddhism, while opposing Brahmin superiority, was never opposed to Brahmins; in fact a majority of the well-known Buddhist authors (Nagarjuna, Buddhaghosha etc.) were Brahmin. While modern Sikh institutions, influenced by the British sponsored Tat Khalsa movement, tend to be anti-Brahmin, the Sikh institutions during the life-time of the Gurus actually relied on the support of Brahmins.

Anti-brahminism is often encountered in these regions.

  • Tamilnadu: (Iyers etc.). Tamilnadu is home to one of the oldest anti-Brahmin Dravidar Kazhagam movement. As a result of this movement, a significant fraction of Tamil brahmins have migrated outside of Tamilnadu or even overseas.
  • Punjab: The Tat Khalsa movement sponsored by the British government to create a pool from which loyal soldiers can be recruited. Punjab is home to Khalistani separationists who are generally strongly anti-Brahmin. The movement still received considerable support from overseas groups.
  • Eastern India: Successful proselytization by overseas organizations have created regions in eastern India where anti-Brahmanism flourishes.

Justification of anti-Brahmanism has now been incorporated in the curriculum of some states in India, and many intellectuals feel comfortable with anti-Brahmanism.

It should be noted that anti-Brahminism is often supported by organizations which are opposed to Hinduism or India.

History of attitudes towards Brahmins

In Brahmanical Hinduism, the Brahmins have historically served as the philosophers, authors, teachers and priests. In modern Hinduism, these roles are no longer reserved for Brahmins. Prominent non-Brahmin Hindu religious personalities include Vivekananda, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, Srila Prabhupada, Sathya Sai Baba, Ammachi and Pramukh Swami in the Swaminarayan sect. Still brahmins enjoy a unique place in the Hindu society.

Non-Brahmanical Indian traditions:

  • In Buddhism: Contrary to the popular view, Brahmins were active members of the sangha both during the lifetime of Gautam Buddha and the following fifteen centuries until the near-demise of Buddhism in India. Ambedkar, the father of neo-Buddhism, in India was ambivalent towards the Brahmins. However in the past two decades, a section of the neo-Buddhists has turned increasing hostile towards the Brahmins. See detailed article Brahmins in Buddhism.
  • In Sikhism: All the Sikh Gurus were Khatri, a community with close historical connections with the Brahmins. Chhibbers, a Brahmin family, was associated with the Gurus for many generations. The attitudes towards the Brahmins were completely reversed by the British sponsored Tat Khalsa movement, which took over the Sikh institutions in early 20th century.
  • In Jainism: In general, while the Jains reject varna-based superiority, they are not antagonistic towards Brahmins as a group. A recent Jain acharya, Sushil Kumar, was born a Brahmin, and in some regions the Jains employ Brahmins as ritual specialists in some temples.


In non-Indian traditions:

  • In Indian Christianity: Although the claim (for example in The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy whose mother is a Syrian Christian) that the Syrian Christians are descendants of the celebrated Nambudri brahmins, is not historically supported, it is widely made. The Christian missionaries have observed the respect commanded by the Brahmins, they have made considerable efforts to convert Brahmins, but with extremely limited success. A Jesuit missionary Roberto de Nobili (1577-1656) started claiming to be Brahmin, when he realized that his claim of being a Kshatriya has not been very effective. In the past couple of decade, some of the missionary organizations, having given up on Brahmins, have started focussing on the dalits and the tribals, and have initiated an active anti-brahmanist campaign.

See also

External links

Here are some example of vilification of the Brahmins. Most of these documents have been prepared by individuals supported by overseas organizations.

Documents created by a USA-based missionary group:

Documents created/hosted by Khalistan supporters:

Documents created by missionary organizations in India:

References

  • Politics and Social Conflict in South India, the Non-Brahman Movement and Tamil Separatism, 1916-1929. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1969. By Prof. Eugene Irschik