Caste and the City

Being a late entrant to the discussion, I tried to go through all the posts but could not.. Looks like much of what has been written is about TN and the usual stuff from usual culprits..

Being from Chennai, belonging to the IT generation, and having seen friends and relatives marrying into different religions and castes, I think I am qualified enough to comment on the situation.

Today`s kids are more concerned about education and jobs than castes.. The forward castes (meaning just the brahmins, all others get some kinda backward certificates) get a raw deal during admissions to professional education and form a hatred towards others and see them as un-deserving.. The others have been in-grained with a steady dose of anti-brahminism thanks to the DK/DMK folks.. But once they start mingling with ``others`` in college and work, quite a few see the differences were just superficial and accept the ``others`` as ``equal``. We can see lots of ``love`` marriages between classmates and colleagues..

I think for a better society the government needs to encourage such couples and create a special affirmative action category called the ``love`` category.. and provide various benefits...After all that`s how people got married in the glorious ``sangam`` period.. ``thalaivan`` and ``thalaivi`` meet, fall in love, separate and suffer from ``pasalai`` disease :-)

Ref Asli-Masanamuthu #168

[What`s going on between you & the queen of poes gardens? If she was worth a trip for a shared intimate dip in the sewer water, she couldn`t possibily be all that bad.]

What, are you having nightmares like MK Stalin that he might get arrested?

How did you spend Dec 25? Did you buy daughter Love Queen presents or did you explain to her that JC is a fraud on the unsuspecting public? Or did you spend it in mourning for MGR who died Christmas Eve 17 years ago?

[Re: sangam versus sangham, as there`s no ``gh`` sound in tamil, it couldn`t be sangham, no?]

So, I suppose you are claiming ``sangam`` is a Tamil word? Tell that to any North Indian; he will at least get a laugh.

[Please use your brahminometer and tell me which of the poets were brahmins. Were they iyer or iyengar? Did they write erotic poems or analytical ones?]

I think you can read the commentaries on ``Akananooru`` and ``Purananooru``. They do tell us who the authors are and in some cases their castes.

By the way, the guys who wrote the Tamil grammars, such as the Sage Agastya and Tolkappiyar were brahmins. Sage Agastya... the guy who crossed the Vindhyas to settle deep in Tamil Nadu..... you are NOT going to claim an invader from the North as a native Tamilian, are you? One doesn`t need a brahminometer for that.

Here is a simple brahminometer for you: if somebody can say ``Thamizh`` properly he would be a brahmin. The rest of you fcukers cannot even say that properly despite having names like Tamil King, Senthamizh Selvan, etc.

re:#159 by soysauce
I got a question for this idiot.
Let us stop talking about how brahmins have become a minority. Perhaps they were a minority for centuries. AFAIK, there is no census documenting their numbers over the centuries.
Historically, reservation (or Affirmative Action, as it is called in USA) is reserved for minorities. For eg, in USA, some Universites (UC Berkeley comes to mind) reserve some seats for Blacks and Hispanics. This is to correct a historical imbalance in which the above groups were rendered socially and economically deprived. This is my understanding though i may be wrong. But these groups are in a minority (significant minorities at that).
The situation of Brahmins in Tamil Nadu is different. Brahmins today constitute less than 5% of the population. 30 years ago when DMK came to power, brahmins were ousted from their position of political power. Slowly, they were ousted from all academic positions, govt jobs etc. Today, they are the ones who are in need of reservation! That many of them are good and did not give a damn to govt jobs and sought fortunes elsewhere does not diminsh the problems faced by this group today.
Let Soysauce answer my question then. Why does DMK party keep harping on this Forward Class and Backward Class even 30 years after coming to power? Why are brahmins still categorised as the ``Forward Class`` when they are in a minscule minority?
Sridhar

harimau iyer,
What`s going on between you & the queen of poes gardens? If she was worth a trip for a shared intimate dip in the sewer water, she couldn`t possibily be all that bad.
Re: sangam versus sangham, as there`s no ``gh`` sound in tamil, it couldn`t be sangham, no? Please use your brahminometer and tell me which of the poets were brahmins. Were they iyer or iyengar? Did they write erotic poems or analytical ones?

Ref Asli-Masanamuthu aka Turd-for-Brains #163

[unkalji, I must admit I`m slow on the uptake. I finally figured out what you meant by 2 stars.]

Just SLOW on the uptake? There has been NO uptake at all!

[Danke.]

Would this be an ancient Tamil word?

Ref Kannayiram (``Thousand Eyes``) #162

[In sangam literature, to the spurned lover even honey tastes bitter.]

Do you know the name of the author of that poem? Was he brahmin by caste? After all, we do know that there were several brahmin Tamil poets -- you know, Invaders through the Khyber Pass and all that -- who held membership in the Sanghams.

Note that aspirated `gh` in ``Sangham``, not ``Sangam``, a sound that does not exist in Glorious Tamil nor does the word `Sangham` so that ought to leave you and the Elder Son of Mother Tamil scratching their heads about what Tamil name to call the three Sanghams of Tamil Poets.

What a bunch of pathetic losers, not even having a word for a literary assembly!

#164 sadna
Sorry, denial won`t do. Did you or did you not claim that brahmins` numbers have been reduced on the basis of some random, cooked-up evidence? And did you or did you not preach to me about identity politics? What was the assumption that went into it sinceI had not claimed any sort of caste identity? Again, what was the reason for asking the questions you did out of the blue in the first place in a post addressed to me?
BTW, I`m going to be advising my relatives to stay put until Sadna puts on her superhindutva cape and comes to their rescue. But first they`d have to sit thru her lectures of course.

soysauce #159
Your post makes absolutely no sense to me.

The reason for this disconnect could be that you did not read any of my posts and I did not read any of harimau`s posts - and you are replying to his posts in your posts to me.

Or it could be that you are under some personal stress.

Or this is just dramay-bazi on your part.

Whatever it is. TC and g`bye.

unkalji, I must admit I`m slow on the uptake. I finally figured out what you meant by 2 stars. So I went from 5 to 2 stars? Hopefully, at this rate, I`ll go below 0 stars & set a record. That ought to freak you out even more. Get your friends & family to rate me. Danke.

#161
unkalji, are you saying you try to figure out frame rates and strange aliasing effects while you`re watching porno? Or is it classical music - you confuse me. As they say argue with a mad man & it`ll be hard to say which is which.
You make it sound as though brahmin reproduction occurs via abiogenesis. Relax, old man.
Why are you so bitter towards your bathing partner? In sangam literature, to the spurned lover even honey tastes bitter. Could it be, could it be..

Ref Asli-Masanamuthu #160

[unkalji, tut tut. Are you equating classical music concerts to watching porn films?]

Einstein once said, ``Mathematics is music for the mind; music is mathematics for the soul.`` To an analytically minded person -- who can only be brahmins in India -- classical music hence becomes an excellent soul-satisfying mental exercise.

On the other hand, low-caste mufukkas like you will be spending your spare time -- time that is not spent at the local Center for the Study of Thanthai Periyar`s Thoughts and Circle Jerk Society -- in watching porn movies.

[You mean you get the same kind of jollies from listening to music as you would from watching pondi? Man you are walking encyclopaedia of psychiatric disorders!]

You know, you are becoming like that freak Headshrinker and that other janitorial shrink Studebaker. One disappeared from the scene and the other got banned.

[BTW, have you had a tryst with your object of affection, her virgin self, during any of these events? If you did, it would add to the thrill I suppose.]

It may surprise you that most brahmins do not think along the lines that you cheap Tamil-cinema-watching scum do. Since we supplied Jayalalitha to the screens, it ought to be obvious that we have our own steady supply of good-looking females whom we marry. It is fcukers like you to look at even a fat, aged movie actress and lust after her.

#158 sadna
Are brahmins still the primary oppressors -where did this question even come from - was it related to anything that had been discussed in the thread until then?
What is most amazing to me is that you had several opportunities to clarify yourself with respect to your claim that brahmins have been reduced to numerical insignificance. You weren`t asking are brahmins responsible for the current situation given their position, numbers, etc. But no, you meant what you had written, not a word of it out place, it was I who had the problem. You had deduced this from a careful observation of visa application pattern. If you call that anecdotal evidence & hindutva-type logic, then you must be into identity politics, you`re one of those driving the poor brahmins out.
Is that a pretty good summary?
This was not the first time you have alluded to my caste despite my pleading not to make assumptions about me. This has happened at least once before on a previous thread. I suggest you examine your prejudices carefully if you find casteism abhorrent.
Finally, may I request you not to club me with harimau? I`d rather be a sulekha loser (whatever that is) than an unhinged lunatic like harimau.

#157
unkalji, tut tut. Are you equating classical music concerts to watching porn films? You mean you get the same kind of jollies from listening to music as you would from watching pondi? Man you are walking encyclopaedia of psychiatric disorders!
BTW, have you had a tryst with your object of affection, her virgin self, during any of these events? If you did, it would add to the thrill I suppose.

soysauce #155
I posted an HRW report and quotes/reports from the press to support my contention about DMK/AIADMK/BC complicity in Dalit attacks. Go back to my posts and look at them.

In any case, why must I present facts to ask if reservations have worked in TN and whether Brahmins are still the primary `oppressors`?

Let us agree that
-you have no answer
-you are trying hard to pretend no such question was repeatedly asked and
-you are trying hard to label those who do ask such questions as morally inferior to yourself. You and harimau are not that different finally.

You are free to have the last word.

Ref Asli-Masanamuthu #156

[unkalji,
Your threadcrapping may be indicative of lowered dopamine levels. You should see a physician ASAP.]

Anytime I feel unwell, I will get myself treated, don`t you worry your puny head about it. Except that, I will do exactly what Murasoli ``Drumbeat`` Maran did: fly to the US for a REAL doctor. The non-brahmins are no good at being doctors as he knew.

[BTW, you should be wary of Jang. He is tricky guy who is damning you with faint praise. To wit, he says calling you a runofthemill brahmin is an insult to brahmins. As the Tamil advice goes, you should pull your tongue out & die :0]

Is that a medical discovery of ancient Tamils that was covered up by the invading brahmins: pulling out one`s tongue causes death? Is this what they teach in medical schools in Tamil Nadu?

[Just kidding, go see a physician anyway. Lack of time should be no excuse since you`re on vacation. How could I tell?;) ]

You could tell because I told Dost-Mittar I am too busy because of the music season in Chennai. I would attend classical music concerts during my vacation; you would get your fill of porn movies.

#154 sadna
If the shoe fits, wear it. You speak of identity politics, the only identity politics in this board has been from casteists like you who readily bestow caste identity on others & get all hot, bothered & indignant when that`s pointed out. Your fake indignation begs the question, why. Why are you a casteist, why do you so readily lie, etc. (Thanks for bringing it to my attention that you may have been lying when I thought you were merely mistaken.) What`s in it for you?
Any facts other than that brahmins are being wiped out of TN that you`d like to enlighten us with?