The intense Political fight for supremacy in the Dravidian States of Tamil Nadu & Kerala has once again brought the focus on Dravidian Politics, and it’s relevance in present day India. One cannot fathom the reasons for National Parties to have become irrelevant in the South. Specifically, Tamil Nadu. What are the real reasons behind the Aryan-Dravidian divide which rendered the National Parties totally irrelevant in Tamil Nadu, since they were sought to be Aryan dominated?
Catching the Bull by the Horns, is there really such a divide, or was the Aryan-Dravidian narrative introduced to serve a larger interest? If it were so, than, what and whose are those interests? Finally, is there such a concept as Aryan or Dravidian?
One would notice in the due course of my attempt that, like the roots of all present day evils, the root of this devilish narrative too exists in the dying days of the British Raj and the emerging new leadership who were about to take control of a newly created India. Having started on this premise, let me emphatically state that, there is no such Aryan or Dravidian race in India. We are all Hindus and of Vedic origin. The origins of this divide lies in the failure of the Christian Church to introduce Christianity in massive swaths as it imagined it should have in India, under 250-300 year of Christian British Rule.
It will be interesting for many to note that, the Southern States of Andhra/Telangana, Karnataka & Kerala do not identify themselves as Dravidians as much as the State of Tamil Nadu does. In fact, Andhrites & Kannadigas identify themselves as Aryans rather than Dravidians. And Keralites identify themselves as descendants of the Aryan Asura King Bali Chakravarti (Mahabali), grandson of Prahlad in whose honor the festival of Onam is celebrated. It was Lord Vishnu who came in his Vamana Avtar and pushed Mahabali into the Netherworld with his foot. It is believed and said that King Mahabali is one of the 7 Chiranjeevis as per Aryan Philosophy and culture who are still alive on Earth. The other Chiranjeevis being Lord Hanuman, Ashwathama, Parashurama, Sage Vyasa, Vibhishina, Markandeya & Kripacharya. All 7 being so called Aryan heroes.
No one has thought to ask or question that, being surrounded by Aryan States, how and from where did Tamil Nadu gain for itself a title of Dravidian State? In fact the title was stuck so thick that, even the neighboring states were swallowed into this identity vortex. And, no attempt too was made by the States of AP, Karnataka & Kerala to refute this identity. The entire machinations of trying to identify the entire South of India located to the South of the Vindhyas as a different Cultural Group started when the Struggle for Freedom was raging. The Christian Missionaries with the help of the Colonial British were successful in impregnating all its colonies with a sufficient amount of Christian spawn. Result being, each and every Colony which the British had abdicated was left as a totally Christian or a Christian majority State/Country. The biggest failure of the Christian Missionaries being India. 250 years of British Rule could at best bring about a conversion of only 2% of Indians to Christianity. To the British this was a huge failure. The fact that it was having to leave India it’s Golden Geese was not as much considered as a failure as much as it leaving India religiously intact which was considered as a bigger failure.
The British monitored the leading lights of the Freedom Struggle. Contrary to uneducated Politicians of today, 100% of the Leaders of the Freedom Struggle were educated. Not just educated, but highly qualified. Majority of them being Barristers, and that too London returned. Prolific Personalities, who were respected by the poor, underprivileged, lower Middle Class & Middle Class of India. The British noted that, majority of these leaders were Upper Castes and mostly Brahmins, whichever region they came from, North, West, East or South. Some like Subhash Chandra Bose were Kayasthas whose marriage to Hindu way of life and Philosophy was thick as blood in their veins. The majority Brahmins and other Higher Caste Hindu Leaders from the North would have spilled blood on the streets if they smelt an attempt to tamper with Hinduism by the British while abdicating. But, the British saw a window of opportunity through certain Playboy Hindu Leaders in the North and among the Shudra Higher caste leaders in the South.
Like the Arvind Kejriwal of today, who is trying to divert the Nation’s attention from the massive UPA Corruption by initiating an investigation on the PM’s degrees, the British engineered a diversion to the Indian Freedom Struggle under leading lights by propping up a certain Periyar (Ramaswamy Naicker), who ironically was a Shudra High Caste Telugu Naidu (like the author) and who moreover was not a Tamilian in the 1st place.
It would be interesting to note that Ramaswamy joined the INC (Indian National Congress) in 1919 but left it in 1925 protesting against the domination of Brahmins in the INC. His political activism against Brahmanism took its effect on INC Politics in the entire Nation which eventually led to the marginalization of pro-Hindu Nationalists (who were mostly Brahmins) in the INC by soft leaning leaders like MK Gandhi, Nehru etc. Seeing through the game of the British and the threat for Hinduism under these Soft Playboy Hindu Leaders after Independence, which was anyway seen as inevitable (since the hard work towards Independence was already done much before the entry of MK Gandhi or Nehru into the INC), the RSS was formed in 1925 to develop a parallel Organization committed to the hastening of Independence and also committed towards the protection of Hinduism after Independence. It was ironic that, Ramaswamy too left the INC in the same year the RSS was created.
Almost immediately, on expected lines Ramaswamy committed his thought process towards a rationalist ideology, which basically means, abhorring everything Hindu, but was careful to not directly condemn Hinduism. But all his arguments and teachings was to extol his followers to shun Hinduism totally. His teachings evolved into a Political thought which has stood centre stage in that state since 70 years since Independence. To inspire his followers to listen to him and to consume his teachings he fed them with a thought process that Tamilians were different from Aryans. They were in fact Dravidians. They were a totally different race. He gave them proof of their dark skin as compared to the fair skin of North Indians. The illiterate and poor who were fed up of the regular discrimination from High Caste Hindus consumed his philosophy like their evening toddy. Little did they realize that, the discrimination they were subjected were by other Hindu Shudra Higher Castes and not Brahmins. A true Brahmin never discriminated. If he had discriminated, than he himself would not have become the discriminated today. Be it in the INC prior to Independence or after Independence.
Little did they realize that, they were being fed a lie. A huge and a big lie. Since color of skin has got nothing to do with race. If it were so, millions of North Indians from UP & Bihar who emigrated to the West Indies, Fiji, and African Colonies of the British & French would not have been Dark skinned as of today. Almost all PIOs the majority of whom hail from UP & Bihar are dark skinned. The result of them being in temperate, humid sea side climate since almost 2 centuries since they had migrated.
If one scrutinizes carefully Periyar’s definition of Dravidian Theology, one would notice that, he was laying the foundation for a back door entry for Christian missionaries. An opportunity which was taken up by the Missionaries with both hands. That is why if one notices that the official population of Christians in Tamil Nadu is 6-7%. The highest percentage of Christians in any state after Kerala and a few North-Eastern States. Unofficially almost 10-12%. 100% of them converting after Independence. The 18% of Kerala’s Christians having a 2000 years history starting with the landing of St.Thomas on a Kerala beach. But, the 10-12% of Tamil Nadu Christians taking just 70 years.
If Periyar himself would have converted into a Christian his entire mission would have collapsed almost immediately, since the highly educated Political Class of that time would have realized his and the British goal. But, the entire intent was to engineer a massive change by staying Hindu and by despising Hinduism at the same time. Which, Periyar and some of his learned followers, like Annadurai did with great effect?
The Congress Party seems to have completely lost the plot in the South and has totally succumbed to the pressure of local Regional Politics. It has been virtually relegated to the dumps in Tamil Nadu. But the Silver Lining seems to be the performance of the BJP each successive election. It seems to be gaining slowly virtually each election.
The sooner the BJP & RSS come up with a sensible and logical argument that, there is or never was any Aryan or Dravidian concept, and all are Hindus in this great land, the sooner they can reap political benefit and bring this entire nation together.