On Fri, Oct 14, 2016 at 6:40 PM, Narayanan Ramakrishna Iyer < nrv...@gmail.com> wrote:
> *I hope the following text is the relevant in the context as I do not have > any clue of * > *what I sent:* > > *Brahmins : One of the poorest and maligned ‘Castes’ in India* > > > *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(2006) — 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. > > *Who are the real ‘Dalits’ of India?* > > *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(2006): 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. > > *Caste shouldn’t overwrite merit* > > *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. > > *The Indian* government gives Rs 1,000 crores (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. > > *How reservations fracture Hindu society* > > *Anti-Brahminism* > <http://www.hinduhistory.info/origins-of-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. > > Francois Gautier > > *The State Of Brahmins* > > The True State Of Brahmins In India > <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4k65p7H-44Y> > > Watch Video : https://youtu.be/4k65p7H-44Y > > http://www.hinduhumanrights.info/brahmins-one-of-the-poorest > -and-maligned-castes-in-india/ > > > On Fri, Oct 14, 2016 at 4:29 PM, Raman Kanakan Iyer <rkiyer1...@gmail.com> > wrote: > >> No attachment received. Pl send it. >> On 10/14/16, Narayanan Ramakrishna Iyer <nrv...@gmail.com> wrote: >> > ---------- Forwarded message ---------- >> > From: Radhakrishnan Nerur Ramanathan >> > Date: Thu, Oct 13, 2016 at 4:46 PM >> > Subject: Re: Document from Radhakrishnan N R >> > >> > On 13-Oct-2016 3:48 PM, "Radhakrishnan Nerur Ramanathan" wrote: >> > >> >> >> > >> > -- >> > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >> Groups >> > "Thatha_Patty" group. >> > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send >> an >> > email to thatha_patty+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. >> > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. >> > >> > > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Thatha_Patty" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to thatha_patty+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
