Brute Majority of Minorities in Kerala

(An abridged version of this blog appeared in the New Indian Express, Kochi, on August 12, 2006. The portions deleted by the editors are shown in red colour)

Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore was ranked nineteenth among world’s universities in scientific research last year, ahead of IITs and all Asian universities. When we exploded the atomic device in Pokhran this institution won the distinction of being blacklisted by the US. This great institution known as the academic birthplace of space research in this country was started by Jamshedji Tata, a distinguished citizen belonging to a miniscule minority community in India, namely the Parsis. Even today, decades after the institute was dedicated to the Nation and handed over to the Government, this is “Tata Institute” to the local populace, a towering monument of minority communities’ contribution to higher education in India.

It was neither an accident of history nor any political compulsion that prompted the founding fathers of our Constitution to make (made) adequate provision to safeguard the rights of minorities. They did it consciously and deliberately to protect the unity and integrity of this secular nation. It is possible that they were guided by two historical reasons: Firstly they were under the illusion that the nation of their dreams with equality and social justice would be born on the day of independence. Secondly, it was a conscious effort to avoid in independent India, the kind of inequities and indignities meted out to the non-Muslim minorities in Pakistan. The thoughtful safeguards in the constitution were to enable minorities to protect their cultural identity and rights to worship. Our leaders went ahead one more step to provide special rights to establish and maintain their own educational institutions- a right unavailable to others.

In the course of defining “minorities” a hypothetical “majority” came into being by default, like an arithmetic residue. This fictitious majority consists of a multitude of disjoint communities holding infinite number of religious beliefs and practices, speaking languages and dialects unknown to one another and distributed over the entire subcontinent from the Himalayas to Kanyakumari. “Hindu” was a convenient name to call these people for another reason in history: This Persian word “Hindu” (not seen in any Indian scripture) was used from time immemorial by Persians to indicate the inhabitants of the Indus valley and the land east of it. There was no such thing called “Hindu Religion” because the concept of structured religions with a prophet, clerical hierarchy and a well defined line of authority was absent here unlike in Semitic religions. Yet, the rest of India was dubbed to follow a nonexistent “majority” religion. Even if Hinduism is considered to be a religion, it is, at best, an agglomerate of a multitude of beliefs, practices and philosophies without cohesion or commonality. (It is interesting to note that most of the village deities of Tamil Nadu and Kerala are unknown in the adjacent district and never heard of in the northern states.). Thus it is by default that the burden of majority was bestowed upon the arithmetic residue which itself is a collection of minorities consisting of disorganized castes and tribes. These castes and tribes were thus positioned at the giving end of all concessions.

If a few Dalit citizens decide to uplift their community by starting an engineering or medical college they are thoroughly mistaken. That is the fate of Nambuthiris, Nairs and Ezhavas also. None of them are minorities; they all belong to what is known as the “majority community”. Muslims and Christians are the two powerful minority communities of Kerala. Only their colleges and establishments enjoy the constitutional right and special privileges. Constitution dictates they need more protection than Dalits.

In Kerala the so called Christian minorities have, traditionally been more advanced than any Hindu community in education, economic power and social stature. Muslims, despite their backwardness in education are far ahead in trade, industry and consequent financial power. The unity, diligence, wealth and clout of these minorities are reflected by the enormous number of self financing professional institutions they have sponsored. Thirty six out of forty nine engineering colleges and six out of nine medical colleges in the self financing (private) sector are owned by individuals or groups belonging to these communities. Many among the rest of the colleges are run by secular organizations like banks, while one or two are owned by the “majority community” (This euphemism in Orwellian Newspeak refers to any small faction- an obscure caste or tribe- of Hindus).

The Government of Kerala introduced the new Act on self financing colleges to bring about a social control on the managements who have been exploiting students extorting money in the form of Capitation fee. While the managements swear by Supreme Court judgments on minority rights they shamelessly gloss over the order that has banned Capitation fee in any form. The easiest way to continue their exploitation is to hide behind the “minority rights”, and go scot-free under the safety and protection of Law. In Tamil Nadu there was an interesting instance of a Hindu Gounder converting to Christianity (Hail Jesus!!), changing his name from Palani to Devasahayam to get minority status for his college. He really got it, and made mountains of money. In those days a popular pun on minority was “moneyority” in Shatri Bhawan, New Delhi. Robbery under the cover of minority status is carried out equally well by religious organizations and Charitable Trusts. Founding fathers of our Constitution must be turning in their graves at the sight of how “protection” given to the weak could wreak havoc by promoting exploitation, infringing upon the educational rights of the poor.

The brute majority of minorities and their unfettered right to extort are closely linked to the “vote bank politics” of Kerala. Religious leadership has always supported and safeguarded the interests of the wealthy in the name of religion. The secular parties, in their eagerness to placate religious leaders flout all secular values and assist minority pressure groups to occupy higher echelons of secular establishments. Minority politics and vote bank politics work exactly like the organized sector dictating terms to the vast numbers of disorganized ordinary people. The disorganized “majority community” has no option but to succumb to the blackmail of the well organized capitalists working under the cover of special privileges and enjoying the patronage of religious leaders and political parties. The residual population or the “majority community” need not hope for anything better. The days are not far when they are reduced to tourist attractions like the American Indians.

Dialogue: Jayanth MPC

Jayanth Responds to President Abdul Kalam's Hyderabad Speech

>>Why is the media here so negative?(Media has a watchdog role.Watchdogs bark when a thief enters the house, not otherwise.They are in fact doing a constructive role)

>>Why are we in India so embarrassed to recognize our own strengths, our achievements? We are such a great nation. We have so many amazing success stories but we refuse to acknowledge them. Why?

>>(Our rishis taught us to to cultivate a mind that is devoid of thoughts and attain supreme bliss or NIRVANA.They called it PARAMATMATATWA.So the yogis were able to sleep inside a stinking toilet without any discomfort.We mistook this for greatness.But, systematically, this sort of religious indifference allowed our country to become one of the dirtiest in the world.We consistantly allowed the earth to be raped thinking that everything is destined by GOD.So it is time someone pointed to our failings and start corrective action.There is nothing wrong in such negativism that triggers positive action)

>>We are the first in milk production.

>>We are number one in Remote sensing satellites.

>>We are the second largest producer of wheat.

>>We are the second largest producer of rice.

>>Look at Dr. Sudarshan, he has transferred the tribal village into a self-sustaining, self-driving unit. There are millions of such achievements but our media is only obsessed in the bad news and failures and disasters.

(I do not want to list the areas where we will be on top of the ROGUE gallery.It will take all my computer space!)

>>I was in Tel Aviv once and I was reading the Israeli newspaper. It was the day after a lot of attacks and bombardments and deaths had taken place. The Hamas had struck. But the front page of the newspaper had the picture of a Jewish gentleman who in five years had transformed his desert into an orchid and a granary. It was this inspiring picture that everyone woke up to. The gory details of killings, bombardments, deaths, were inside in the newspaper, buried among other news.

>>In India we only read about death, sickness, terrorism, crime. Why are we so NEGATIVE?

( News papers have a defined role of projecting reality.For portraying inspirational values, we have the churches, temples and psychiatrists.)Another question: Why are we, as a nation so obsessed with foreign things? We want foreign T. Vs, we want foreign shirts. We want foreign technology.

(We badly need foreign technology.Believe me as I have spent my entire life trying to convince Indians to go for good technology from abroad.Just one example.We were trying to convince Indian Railways for the past 6 years to introduce robotic welding systems to weld bogie frames.They are yet to decide.In the same 6 years, the Austrian company sold 160 such machines to China.We are happy to go back to our culture by introducing mudpots in trains and our culturally advanced poor man continues to die in train accidents.)

>>Why this obsession with everything imported. Do we not realize that self-respect comes with self-reliance? I was in Hyderabad giving this lecture, when a 14 year old girl asked me for my autograph. I asked her what her goal in life is. She replied: I want to live in a developed India. For her, you and I will have to build this developed India. You must proclaim. India is not an under-developed nation; it is highly developed nation. Do you have 10 minutes? Allow me to come back with a vengeance. Got 10 minutes for your country? If yes, then read; otherwise, choice is yours.

>>YOU say that our government is inefficient.

>>YOU say that our laws are too old.

>>YOU say that the municipality does not pick up the garbage.

>>YOU say that the phones don't work, the railways are a joke, The airline is the worst in the world, mails never reach their destination.

>>YOU say that our country has been fed to the dogs and is the absolute pits.

>>YOU say, say and say. What do YOU do about it?

>>Take a person on his way to Singapore. Give him a name - YOURS. Give him a face - YOURS. YOU walk out of the airport and you are at your International best. In Singapore you don't throw cigarette butts on the roads or eat in the stores. YOU are as proud of their Underground links as they are. You pay $5 (approx. Rs. 60) to drive through Orchard Road (equivalent of Mahim Causeway or Pedder Road) between 5 PM and 8 PM. YOU come back to the parking lot to punch your parking ticket if you have over stayed in a restaurant or a shopping mall irrespective of your status identity...

In Singapore you don't say anything, DO YOU? YOU wouldn't dare to eat in public during Ramadan, in Dubai. YOU would not dare to go out without your head covered in Jeddah. YOU would not dare to buy an employee of the telephone exchange in London at 10 pounds (Rs.650) a month to, 'see to it that my STD and ISD calls are billed to someone else.'YOU would not dare to speed beyond 55 mph (88km/h) in Washington and then tell the traffic cop, 'Jaanta hai main kaun hoon (Do you know who I am?). I am so and so's son.Take your two bucks and get lost.' YOU wouldn't chuck an empty coconut shell anywhere other than the garbage pail on the beaches in Australia and New Zealand.

Why don't YOU spit Paan on the streets of Tokyo? Why don't YOU use examination jockeys or buy fake certificates in Boston??? We are stilltalking of the same YOU. YOU who can respect and conform to a foreign system in other countries but cannot in your own. You who will throw papers and cigarettes on the road the moment you touch Indian ground. If you can be an involved and appreciative citizen in an alien country, why cannot you be the same here in India?

(Because in other places mentioned above, they take their physical well being seriously.Here we have patented our spirituality which is somehow considered superior to these lousy foreigners!We have developed the Chalta Hai attitude and professional feel-gooders like our beloved president keep feeding us with the fairy tale that we are somehow superior and there is no problem with our country which is on the edge of being dysfunctional, but somehow functions neverthless.)

>>Once in an interview, the famous Ex-municipal commissioner of Bombay,Mr.Tinaikar, had a point to make. 'Rich people's dogs are walked on the streets to leave their affluent droppings all over the place,' he said. 'And then the same people turn around to criticize and blame the authorities for inefficiency and dirty pavements. What do they expect the officers to do? Go down with a broom every time their dog feels the pressure in his bowels?

>>In America every dog owner has to clean up after his pet has done the job.Same in Japan. Wil l the Indian citizen do that here?' He's right. We go to the polls to choose a government and after that forfeit all responsibility.

>>We sit back wanting to be pampered and expect the government to do everything for us whilst our contribution is totally negative. We expect the government to clean up but we are not going to stop chucking garbage all over the place nor are we going to stop to pick a up a stray piece of paper and throw it in the bin. We expect the railways to provide clean bathrooms but we are not going to learn the proper use of bathrooms. We want Indian Airlines and Air India to provide the best of food and toiletries but we are not going to stop pilfering at the least opportunity.This applies even to the staff who is known not to pass on the service tothe public. When it comes to burning social issues like those related to women, dowry, girl child! and others, we make loud drawing room protestations and continue to do the reverse at home. Our excuse? 'It's the whole system which has to change, how will it matter if I alone forego my sons' rights to a dowry.' So who's going to change the system?

>>What does a system consist of ? Very conveniently for us it consists of our neighbours, other households, other cities, other communities and the government. But definitely not me and YOU. When it comes to us actually making a positive contribution to the system we lock ourselves along with our families into a safe cocoon and look into the distance at countries far away and wait for a Mr.Clean to come along & work miracles for us with a majestic sweep of his hand or we leave the country and run away.

>>Like lazy cowards hounded by our fears we run to America to bask in their glory and praise their system. When New York becomes insecure we run to England. When England experiences unemployment, we take the next flight out to the Gulf. When the Gulf is war struck, we demand to be rescued and brought home by the Indian government. Everybody is out to abuse and rape the country. Nobody thinks of feeding the system. Our conscience is mortgaged to money.

>>Dear Indians, The article is highly thought inductive, calls for a great deal of introspection and pricks one's conscience too.... I am echoing J.F. Kennedy's words to his fellow Americans to relate to Indians..... ASK WHAT WE CAN DO FOR INDIA AND DO WHAT HAS TO BE DONE TO MAKE INDIA WHAT AMERICA AND OTHER WESTERN COUNTRIES ARE TODAY'

>>Lets do what India needs from us. Forward this mail to each Indian for a change instead of sending Jokes or junk mails.

Finally I agree with the idea that we INDIANS have to contribute as individuals.We have to first get rid of our pseudo-indianness and face the reality that we have the one of the lowest per capita incomes, lowest life expectancy and lowest literacy.Let us work to change all this.

Jayanth

MPC Replies to Jayanth

Dear Jayanth,

I do not know how to agree or disagree with a set of self-contradictory realities. I can cetrainly tell you that you are barking up the wrong tree when you blame India's spirituality for all evils. Have you thought about the sustainability of "Development" at local and global levels? Have you thought about the relation between sustainability and speed of "Development" ? If the rich countries in the world (Singapore is after all a parody to the word 'country') sustain their riches it is because poor countries take all the garbage. That is true with the rich men in Bobmbay too. Their drainage seeps into wells of the poor and the effluents of their automobiles are inhaled by the poor. Sustainable local development is posible only by listening to the rishis who lived in harmony with Nature and valued the right of all living creatures to share this planet (You are wrong if you think rishis slept in stinking toilets. In fact we, the so-called developed people suffer the stink of toilets)

In fact I am disappointed by the President's address if it is to all Indian people. He means to correct only the microscopic minority of the rich and educated. He should be kidding if he was addressing the slum dwellers of Mumbai and Chennai who couldn't care less on where to throw the cigarette butts in order to make their city look like Singapore, because they themselves are eking out a living on the garbage they live in.

Our perception on the Indian People should change. Who are they? The slum dwellers? The villagers who do not use even half a unit of electrical energy? Or just the IT professionals who make cheap labour for American Express bank? This last lot should in fact worry about their cigrette butts. They can also be a little more patriotic and start drinking Kingfisher Beer instead of Heinikan Beer.

MPC

Jayanth writes to MPC

Dear Sir,

I own the fault of addressing our concerns from an urban perspective.Thanks for opening up that vision as to what India in reality is.But I am still not willing to let our symbolic religion off the hook for being mainly responsible for our backwardness.Harmony with nature is still possible in developed world.I am reminded of this while touring in Switzerland.If developement is a dirty word, then life in LUZERN should have been worse than life in KORAPUT.Our villagers also do not live in harmony with nature anymore.They have started enjoying Coke, unfortunately.They should be saved from the clutches of inactively symbolic religion,I believe.May be we need more Gandhis and Narayana Gurus.(Too much to expect in times of our globe trotting marginal politicians and community leaders like the ugly Vellapally Natesan!

Jayanth

Jayanth Continues..

Frankly, I have my doubts if sustainable local development is possible only by listening to the rishis who lived in harmony with nature.In principle the logic sounds robust, but somewhat romantic.Just as technology helps us to evolve smaller but complex and efficient machines that do more with less energy,may be our big and ugly cities may be replaced by smaller energy efficient environment friendly rural communities.May be these compact communities can use technology to harness energy sources that are locally available, like wind and solar power.I firmly believe that sustainable development can be brought about by advanced technology by using recyclable materials and energy sources.I have no quarrel with spirituality, if it helps us curtail our greed for cornering resources more than what we need as Gandhiji had wished.

I welcome the spirituality of Gandhi and Einstein rather than that of our rich Bishops and Amrithanandamayis who presides over large coffers of wealth.

We must teach our children from young age that nature has all answers but the resources have to be frugally used.Sensible technology only can help reduce poverty in developing countries.Otherwise the greed with which we charge developed nations for having looted nature will also destroy developing countries.Koraput , in orissa is a timeless tribal belt untouched by development.I go through that area once in 3 months.One common sight is tribal women, cutting trees and carrying the firewood to city based lorry drivers to sell for peanuts so that they can buy garishly coloured synthetic clothes from the exploitative weekly market.Unfortunately, developing countries are following the same anti-nature attitude exhibited by developed countries 50 years ago.There is need to encourage scientific temper to fight problems arising out of environmental degradation,greenhouse effect,and energy crisis.If the spirituality can support such holistic scientific push towards sustainability, I have no quarrel with such spirituality.

Regards,

Jayanthram.

A Prayer to Lord Ayyappa

This is a dialogue between MPC and his former student, AP Jayanthram, Now Vice President of Empire Machine Tools, Chennai


JAYANTH wrote:

I am seriously begining to wonder how thinking Bhaktas will feel comfortable in their pilgrimage to Sabarimala anymore!
It started with a miserable actress of yester years confessing that she did the Maha sin of touching the lord's feet!
Not a single woman politician spoke against this institutionalised discrimination.That stupid actress should have said that let the lord punish her if she had done any wrong.
Incidentally, who made these rules? Was it the Thanthri who was caught red handed in a prostitutes den?May be not he, but definitely his forefathers who were never caught!
This temple is not anyones private property.It is funded by the devotees and the government.Kerala govt gives Rs 80 lakhs every year to the temple.It is our money.
If we get angry with temples that do not allow dalits or OBCs, we have a reason to be angry with temples that do not allow women.
Let our relationship with GOD be intensely personal.Those who do not believe in specific GODS, let them believe in values that are above god and godmen.Let us not silently accept the tyranny of tradition.
Jayanth

MPC Wrote to Jayanth

Dear Jayanth,

Perhaps I have grown more tolerant to traditions these days.

Unlike churhes, mosques, and Northern temples Tanthric temples of Kerala were not conceived and built as public places of prayer and worship. I understand that every temple has its own specific rules of worship. What has been flouted in Shabarimala is not entry to women, but the rules of penance and Brahmacharya (absolute celebacy coupled with a lfe in harmony with nature) for 41 days before starting the pilgrimage. When this rule was in force it was natural that girls after puberty and women before menopause could not undergo this penance for 41 days because of the intervening menstural periods. Unfortunately the rule was understood and operated as "No entry to women". If you want to regain the purity of the temple devotees should avoid the "quickie" penance. If you talk about discrimination, Guruvayoor admits fully dressed women up to the santum sanctorum and demands that men should appear half naked. (Most of us would in fact appreciate the rule being imposed on women also!!!)

It is not true to say that Govt. contributes Rs.80 lakhs a year. Sabarimala gets much more than 80 lakhs (even after the swindling!!!!) and the money goes to the treasury which funds everything you name!!! In a pseudo-secular scenario the "majority religion's" money is public money. OUR MONEY!!!

What has happened in Sabarimala was that roads and ropeways were built in the name of "Development" (synonyms: commercialisation, profiteering, corruption), leopards and King Cobras that protected the Lord's gardens were driven away to be replaced by corrupt officials. Then pilgrims grew wiser and knew that Lord's punishment was an old story. Naturally Jayamalas (age 27, perhaps during her periods if she really wanted to desecrate the temple) with influence in proper places could do whatever they wanted.

I am not a devotee of any specific god or goddess. But I would pray to Lord Ayyappa to follow the example of Jesus Christ who cleaned up Jerusalem Temple with a few whip-lashes. He should crack it on the Manthris,Thanthris, Devasom Board, Panickers, Jayamaalas and prostitutes in that order.

MPC

PS: An ex-minister of Kerala was overheard thus: : "Enikkini manthri aavanda; thanthri aayaaal mathi"


AP Jayanthram wrote

Dear Sir,
I am sending some of my thought pieces to you, basically to get an alternative matured view from ABOVE and also compare the legitimacy of my line.In most of the issues that confront us, there are no right or wrong views.It so happens that we take a stand early in life and stick to it.I am no exception.But, I try to be objective as far as feasible.Even a great mind like Stephen Hawking had decided at the age of 14 that there is no GOD.But later he wrote that one could calculate probabilities, but could not make any definite predictions and perhaps GOD plays dice sometimes.I am a composite bundle of contradictory thoughts.I worked for KSU and youth congress, but propagated leftist leaning ideas and cooperated with organisations like Prabhat book house and Shastra sahitya Parishad.I had my early initiation to religion having born near temples and among a god fearing community, but later read a lot of rationalist literature.So forgive me for the contradictions that I represent.
I am glad that you do lament the commercialisation of religion.Converting pilgrimage to tourist activity is a part of our plastic culture.
Your tolerance to traditions is apreciable. But, if these traditions are not respected for their original intentions, then why allow politicians,pujaris and instant salvation seekers to make a mockery of it?
Regards,
Jayanth