1.
The Parallel between anti-Brahminism and anti-Semitism
Posted by
Thursday, July 03, 2008
The Parallel between anti-Brahminism and anti-Semitism
To be against "Brahminism" is part and parcel of the political
correctness of progressive scholars in twenty-first- century India,
much like being against Muslims is part of the message of their
Hindutva colleagues. ...
by Jakob De Roover
Social science debate in India has been hijacked by the struggle
between secularism and Hindutva for decades now. Usually the Sangh
Parivar is blamed for this turn of events. However, it could well be
argued that the Hindutva ideologues simply adopted the stance of the
secularists. Perhaps the best illustration is the case of
anti-Brahminism.
To be against "Brahminism" is part and parcel of the political
correctness of progressive scholars in twenty-first- century India,
much like being against Muslims is part of the message of their
Hindutva colleagues. This indicates that something is very wrong with
the Indian academic debate. Promotion of animosity towards a religious
tradition or its followers is not acceptable today, but it becomes
truly perverse when the intelligentsia endorses it.
In Europe, it took horrendous events to put an end to the propaganda
of anti-Semitism, which had penetrated the media and intelligentsia.
It required decades of incessant campaigning before anti-Semitism was
relegated to the realm of intellectual and political bankruptcy. In
India, anti-Brahminism is still the proud slogan of many political
parties and the credential of the radical intellectual.
Some may find this parallel between anti-Brahminism and anti-Semitism
ill-advised. Nevertheless, it has strong grounds.
First, there are striking similarities between the stereotypes about
Brahmins in India and those about Jews in the West. Jews have been
described as devious connivers, who would do anything for personal
gain. They were said to be secretive and untrustworthy, manipulating
politics and the economy. In India, Brahmins are all too often
characterised in the same way.
Second, the stereotypes about the Jews were part of a larger story
about a historical conspiracy in which they had supposedly exploited
European societies. To this day, the stories about a Jewish conspiracy
against humanity prevail. The anti-Brahminical stories sound much the
same, but have the Brahmins plotting against the oppressed classes in
Indian society.
In both cases, historians have claimed to produce "evidence" that
cannot be considered so by any standard. Typical of the ideologues of
anti-Brahminism is the addition of ad hoc ploys whenever their stories
are challenged by facts. When it is pointed out that the Brahmins have
not been all that powerful in most parts of the country, or that they
were poor in many regions, one reverts to the image of the Brahmin
manipulating kings and politicians behind the scene. We cannot find
empirical evidence, it is said, because of the secretive way in which
Brahminism works.
Third, both in anti-Semitic Europe and anti-Brahminical India, this
goes together with the interpretation of contemporary events in terms
of these stories. One does not really analyse social tragedies and
injustices, but approaches them as confirmations of the ideological
stories. All that goes wrong in society is blamed on the minority in
question. Violence against Muslims? It must be the "Brahmins" of the
Sangh Parivar. Opposition against Christian missionaries and the
approval of anti-conversion laws? "Ah, the Brahmins fear that
Christianity will empower the lower castes." Members of a scheduled
caste are killed? "The Brahmin wants to show the Dalit his true place
in the caste hierarchy." An OBC member loses his job; a lower caste
girl is raped? "The upper castes must be behind it." So the story
goes.
This leads to a fourth parallel: in both cases, resentment against the
minority in question is systematically created and reinforced among
the majority.
The Jews were accused of sucking all riches out of European societies.
In the decades before the second World War, more and more people began
to believe that it was time "to take back what was rightfully theirs."
In India also, movements have come into being that want to set right
"the historical injustices of Brahminical oppression." Some have even
begun to call upon their followers to "exterminate the Brahmins."
In Europe, state policies were implemented that expressed the
discrimination against Jews. For a very long time, they could not hold
certain jobs and participate in many social and economic activities.
In India, one seems to be going this way with policies that claim to
correct "the historical exploitation by the upper castes." It is
becoming increasingly difficult for Brahmins to get access to certain
jobs. In both cases, these policies have been justified in terms of a
flawed ideological story that passes for social science.
The fifth parallel is that both anti-Semitism and anti-Brahminism have
deep roots in Christian theology. In the case of Judaism, its
continuing vitality as a tradition was a threat to Christianity' s
claim to be the fulfilment of the Jewish prophecies about the Messiah.
The refusal of Jews to join the religion of Christ (the true Messiah,
according to Christians) was seen as an unacceptable denial of the
truth of Christianity. Saint Augustine even wrote that the Jews had to
continue to exist, but only to show that Christians had not fabricated
the prophesies about Christ and to confirm that some would not follow
Christ and be damned for it.
The contemporary stereotypes about Brahmins and the story about
Brahminism also originate in Christian theology. They reproduce
Protestant images of the priests of false religion. When European
missionaries and merchants began to travel to India in great numbers,
they held two certainties that came from Christian theology: false
religion would exist in India; and false religion revolved around evil
priests who had fabricated all kinds of laws, doctrines and rites in
order to bully the innocent believers into submission. In this way,
the priests of the devil abused religion for worldly goals. The
European story about Brahminism and the caste system simply reproduced
this Protestant image of false religion. The colonials identified the
Brahmins as the priests and Brahminism as the foundation of false
religion in India. This is how the dominant image of "the Hindu
religion" came into being.
The sixth parallel lies in the fact that Christian theology penetrated
and shaped the "secular" discourse about Judaism and Brahminism. The
theological criticism became part of common sense and was reproduced
as scientific truth. In India, this continues unto this day. Social
scientists still talk about "Brahminism" as the worst thing that ever
happened to humanity.
Perhaps the most tragic similarity is that some members of the
minority community have internalised these stories about themselves.
Some Jews began to believe that they were to blame for what happened
during the Holocaust; many educated Brahmins now feel that they are
guilty of historical atrocities against other groups. In some cases,
this has led to a kind of identity crisis in which they vilify
"Brahminism" in English-language academic debate, but continue their
traditions. In other cases, the desire to "defend" these same
traditions has inspired Brahmins to aggressively support Hindutva.
In twentieth-century Europe, we have seen how dangerous anti-Semitism
was and what consequences it could have in society. Tragically,
unimaginable suffering was needed before it was relegated to the realm
of unacceptable positions. In India, anti-Brahminism was adopted from
Protestant missionaries by colonial scholars who then passed it on to
the secularists and Dalit intellectuals. They created the climate which
allowed the Sangh Parivar to continue hijacking the social sciences
for petty political purposes.
The question that India has to raise in the twenty-first century is
this: Do we need bloodshed, before we will realise that the
reproduction of anti-Brahminism is as harmful as anti-Muslim
propaganda? What is needed to realise that the Hindutva movement has
simply taken its cue from the secularists? Do we need a new victory of
fascism, before we will admit that pernicious ideologies should not be
sold as social science?
Visit Your Group
Need traffic?
Drive customers
With search ads
on Yahoo!
10 Day Club
on Yahoo! Groups
Share the benefits
of a high fiber diet.
Y! Groups blog
the best source
for the latest
scoop on Groups.
Need to Reply?
Click one of the "Reply" links to respond to a specific message in the Daily
Digest.
--~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups
"Green Youth Movement" group.
To post to this group, send email to [email protected]
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
For more options, visit this group at
http://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth?hl=en-GB
-~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
