Dalits In Reverse

Not all Brahmins are reluctant. Prema Krishanmurthy, 54, a typical traditional Brahmin from Mylapore, has rarely stepped out of her house. But the Kanchi math issue has stirred her. At a protest meeting, she said: "All Brahmin women must become Durga swaroopinis (incarnate)." Spouting Sanskrit shlokas, she compares Jayendra's predicament to the mythical Prahlada's. Jayendra's tribulations have rekindled personal memories of persecution. "When I sported the madisaru-style sari at 18, people heckled me. When my son was 16, DMK workers pulled his kudumi (tuft)."

The Tamil Brahmin community is not unanimous in its opinion. K.R. Prakash and his wife Rama Prakash, both employed at the accountant-general office, were first shocked. Several of Prakash's Brahmin women colleagues cried. Rama says: "We regarded the earlier pontiff as our kula-guru. The present Shankaracharyas never touched our lives." Rama's brother S. Ramanathan says the developments around the math have hurt them, but prefers to be pragmatic. "Over the last decade, one could buy personal benediction from Jayendra Saraswati. He would visit anybody's house for a price." The math's commercialisation had alienated quite a few followers who, today, regret having to "defend the indefensible".

A. Srivatsan, who teaches at the School of Architecture, Anna University, and specialises in temples, says: "In arguing that Jayendra was political and commercial unlike Chandrashekarendra, his defenders are trying to rationalise the arrest. Talking of persecution is another way of coming to terms with the arrest." Counters Anita Ratnam: "On a visit to the Vaishnavite Srimad Andavan ashram, I felt an embarrassing silence about the Shankaracharya issue. One feels the Brahmin community is being seen as culpable."

Mumbai-based writer C.S. Lakshmi, better known as Ambai, says ordinary Brahmins have been shaken by the arrest irrespective of their opinion on Jayendra. "My 90-year-old mother used to keep a picture of all three Shankaracharyas. After his arrest, she removed Jayendra Saraswati's photo from the frame. In Chembur, Uttam Society runs a temple where they had a portrait of Jayendra. They have now removed it." She, however, says the Brahmins must not be complaining so much: "They may not dominate politics and the economy, but brahminic values have penetrated all strata of life and the media."

The lack of protests also owes to the math's poor following, according to Gnaani, editor, Dheemtarikita: "The math never had a mass following like Bangaru Adigalar or other non-Brahmin maths. Even among Brahmins, only the political right sees this as persecution." Says Srivatsan: "In reality, the Kanchi math has hardly been representative of Tamil Brahmins. The temple-worshipping culture of the Tamils owes its legacy to the Bhakti movement of Alwars and Nayanmars. The advaitic Kanchi math derives nothing from this tradition."

According to litterateur Sundara Ramaswamy: "There are many Brahmins who feel we must not attack Jayendra Saraswati at this moment even if he could be guilty. He worked for the uplift of Brahmins. His contribution to Hinduism is minimal. Jayendra never liked genuine Hindu leaders like Vivekananda as he was not a Brahmin. In terms of social transformation, this episode had little impact on society."

Indira Parthasarathy, playwright and winner of the Saraswati Samman, says it is only the 50-plus generation that has been shaken. "Jayendra Saraswati is not a rallying point for the community." Parthasarathy argues that there was no anti-Brahminism in Tamil society to start with. "There was no Brahmin-non-Brahmin antagonism during the Sangam and Bhakti periods. " He blames it on British colonialism: "In north India, British divided the society into Hindus and Muslims. In the south, the only divide possible was into non-Brahmin and Brahmin."

Points out Cho Ramaswamy, Rajya Sabha MP: "The Brahmin is harassed. There was a time when Brahmins dominated every field. This had to change. When Periyar started his movement, violence was systematically encouraged. The DK and DMK scandalised the Brahmin community. The Brahmin met the challenge and has emerged successful. Because of lack of reservation, the Brahmins had to perform better, work harder." Dismissing the comparison with Jews, Cho says, "There was no such persecution though Periyar may have wanted it to happen."

Who will the Tamil Brahmins now turn to? Tambras president Narayanan's final appeal is to Jayalalitha: "If Jayalalitha can offer a package for the tsunami-affected fisherfolk, she must also announce one for the aggrieved brahmin community and mollify them." The real tsunami did not affect the Tamil brahmins. But the epicentre of their grief lies 75 km southwest of Chennai, in Kanchipuram.