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Guru Granth Sahib
Composition, Arrangement & Layout
ਜਪੁ | Jup
ਸੋ ਦਰੁ | So Dar
ਸੋਹਿਲਾ | Sohilaa
ਰਾਗੁ ਸਿਰੀਰਾਗੁ | Raag Siree-Raag
Gurbani (14-53)
Ashtpadiyan (53-71)
Gurbani (71-74)
Pahre (74-78)
Chhant (78-81)
Vanjara (81-82)
Vaar Siri Raag (83-91)
Bhagat Bani (91-93)
ਰਾਗੁ ਮਾਝ | Raag Maajh
Gurbani (94-109)
Ashtpadi (109)
Ashtpadiyan (110-129)
Ashtpadi (129-130)
Ashtpadiyan (130-133)
Bara Maha (133-136)
Din Raen (136-137)
Vaar Maajh Ki (137-150)
ਰਾਗੁ ਗਉੜੀ | Raag Gauree
Gurbani (151-185)
Quartets/Couplets (185-220)
Ashtpadiyan (220-234)
Karhalei (234-235)
Ashtpadiyan (235-242)
Chhant (242-249)
Baavan Akhari (250-262)
Sukhmani (262-296)
Thittee (296-300)
Gauree kii Vaar (300-323)
Gurbani (323-330)
Ashtpadiyan (330-340)
Baavan Akhari (340-343)
Thintteen (343-344)
Vaar Kabir (344-345)
Bhagat Bani (345-346)
ਰਾਗੁ ਆਸਾ | Raag Aasaa
Gurbani (347-348)
Chaupaday (348-364)
Panchpadde (364-365)
Kaafee (365-409)
Aasaavaree (409-411)
Ashtpadiyan (411-432)
Patee (432-435)
Chhant (435-462)
Vaar Aasaa (462-475)
Bhagat Bani (475-488)
ਰਾਗੁ ਗੂਜਰੀ | Raag Goojaree
Gurbani (489-503)
Ashtpadiyan (503-508)
Vaar Gujari (508-517)
Vaar Gujari (517-526)
ਰਾਗੁ ਦੇਵਗੰਧਾਰੀ | Raag Dayv-Gandhaaree
Gurbani (527-536)
ਰਾਗੁ ਬਿਹਾਗੜਾ | Raag Bihaagraa
Gurbani (537-556)
Chhant (538-548)
Vaar Bihaagraa (548-556)
ਰਾਗੁ ਵਡਹੰਸ | Raag Wadhans
Gurbani (557-564)
Ashtpadiyan (564-565)
Chhant (565-575)
Ghoriaan (575-578)
Alaahaniiaa (578-582)
Vaar Wadhans (582-594)
ਰਾਗੁ ਸੋਰਠਿ | Raag Sorath
Gurbani (595-634)
Asatpadhiya (634-642)
Vaar Sorath (642-659)
ਰਾਗੁ ਧਨਾਸਰੀ | Raag Dhanasaree
Gurbani (660-685)
Astpadhiya (685-687)
Chhant (687-691)
Bhagat Bani (691-695)
ਰਾਗੁ ਜੈਤਸਰੀ | Raag Jaitsree
Gurbani (696-703)
Chhant (703-705)
Vaar Jaitsaree (705-710)
Bhagat Bani (710)
ਰਾਗੁ ਟੋਡੀ | Raag Todee
ਰਾਗੁ ਬੈਰਾੜੀ | Raag Bairaaree
ਰਾਗੁ ਤਿਲੰਗ | Raag Tilang
Gurbani (721-727)
Bhagat Bani (727)
ਰਾਗੁ ਸੂਹੀ | Raag Suhi
Gurbani (728-750)
Ashtpadiyan (750-761)
Kaafee (761-762)
Suchajee (762)
Gunvantee (763)
Chhant (763-785)
Vaar Soohee (785-792)
Bhagat Bani (792-794)
ਰਾਗੁ ਬਿਲਾਵਲੁ | Raag Bilaaval
Gurbani (795-831)
Ashtpadiyan (831-838)
Thitteen (838-840)
Vaar Sat (841-843)
Chhant (843-848)
Vaar Bilaaval (849-855)
Bhagat Bani (855-858)
ਰਾਗੁ ਗੋਂਡ | Raag Gond
Gurbani (859-869)
Ashtpadiyan (869)
Bhagat Bani (870-875)
ਰਾਗੁ ਰਾਮਕਲੀ | Raag Ramkalee
Ashtpadiyan (902-916)
Gurbani (876-902)
Anand (917-922)
Sadd (923-924)
Chhant (924-929)
Dakhnee (929-938)
Sidh Gosat (938-946)
Vaar Ramkalee (947-968)
ਰਾਗੁ ਨਟ ਨਾਰਾਇਨ | Raag Nat Narayan
Gurbani (975-980)
Ashtpadiyan (980-983)
ਰਾਗੁ ਮਾਲੀ ਗਉੜਾ | Raag Maalee Gauraa
Gurbani (984-988)
Bhagat Bani (988)
ਰਾਗੁ ਮਾਰੂ | Raag Maaroo
Gurbani (889-1008)
Ashtpadiyan (1008-1014)
Kaafee (1014-1016)
Ashtpadiyan (1016-1019)
Anjulian (1019-1020)
Solhe (1020-1033)
Dakhni (1033-1043)
ਰਾਗੁ ਤੁਖਾਰੀ | Raag Tukhaari
Bara Maha (1107-1110)
Chhant (1110-1117)
ਰਾਗੁ ਕੇਦਾਰਾ | Raag Kedara
Gurbani (1118-1123)
Bhagat Bani (1123-1124)
ਰਾਗੁ ਭੈਰਉ | Raag Bhairo
Gurbani (1125-1152)
Partaal (1153)
Ashtpadiyan (1153-1167)
ਰਾਗੁ ਬਸੰਤੁ | Raag Basant
Gurbani (1168-1187)
Ashtpadiyan (1187-1193)
Vaar Basant (1193-1196)
ਰਾਗੁ ਸਾਰਗ | Raag Saarag
Gurbani (1197-1200)
Partaal (1200-1231)
Ashtpadiyan (1232-1236)
Chhant (1236-1237)
Vaar Saarang (1237-1253)
ਰਾਗੁ ਮਲਾਰ | Raag Malaar
Gurbani (1254-1293)
Partaal (1265-1273)
Ashtpadiyan (1273-1278)
Chhant (1278)
Vaar Malaar (1278-91)
Bhagat Bani (1292-93)
ਰਾਗੁ ਕਾਨੜਾ | Raag Kaanraa
Gurbani (1294-96)
Partaal (1296-1318)
Ashtpadiyan (1308-1312)
Chhant (1312)
Vaar Kaanraa
Bhagat Bani (1318)
ਰਾਗੁ ਕਲਿਆਨ | Raag Kalyaan
Gurbani (1319-23)
Ashtpadiyan (1323-26)
ਰਾਗੁ ਪ੍ਰਭਾਤੀ | Raag Prabhaatee
Gurbani (1327-1341)
Ashtpadiyan (1342-51)
ਰਾਗੁ ਜੈਜਾਵੰਤੀ | Raag Jaijaiwanti
Gurbani (1352-53)
Salok | Gatha | Phunahe | Chaubole | Swayiye
Sehskritee Mahala 1
Sehskritee Mahala 5
Gaathaa Mahala 5
Phunhay Mahala 5
Chaubolae Mahala 5
Shaloks Bhagat Kabir
Shaloks Sheikh Farid
Swaiyyae Mahala 5
Swaiyyae in Praise of Gurus
Shaloks in Addition To Vaars
Shalok Ninth Mehl
Mundavanee Mehl 5
ਰਾਗ ਮਾਲਾ, Raag Maalaa
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<blockquote data-quote="Archived_member7" data-source="post: 95975" data-attributes="member: 2306"><p><strong>Are Brahmins today's Dalits?-An interesting article.</strong></p><p></p><p> <strong><a href="http://buzz.yahoo.com/article/pub/http%253A%252F%252Fbharatborn.sulekha.com%252Fblog%252Fpost%252F2006%252F05%252Fare-brahmins-today-s-dalits-an-interesting-article.htm" target="_blank">Buzz up!</a><span style="color: #666666"> </span>ShareThis</strong>May 27 2006 | Views 5104 | <a href="http://bharatborn.sulekha.com/blog/post/2006/05/are-brahmins-today-s-dalits-an-interesting-article/comments.htm" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0854a6">Comments (13) </span></a></p><p><a href="http://blogs.sulekha.com/tags/" target="_blank"><strong><span style="color: #0854a6">Tags:</span></strong></a> <a href="http://blogs.sulekha.com/tags/tag.aspx?tag=backward brahmins" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0854a6">backward brahmins</span></a> </p><p></p><p></p><p><span style="font-family: 'MS Mincho'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">An interesting article in Rediff Today dated 24 May 2006</span></span></span></p><p> </p><p><span style="font-family: 'MS Mincho'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">Home>News <http://ia.rediff.com/news/index.html>>Columnists>*FrancoisGautier</span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'MS Mincho'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">*</span></span></span></p><p> </p><p><span style="font-family: 'MS Mincho'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">Are Brahmins the Dalit of today?</span></span></span></p><p> </p><p><span style="font-family: 'MS Mincho'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">May 23, 2006</span></span></span></p><p> </p><p><span style="font-family: 'MS Mincho'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">At a time when the Congress government wants to raise the quota for Other </span></span></span><span style="font-family: 'MS Mincho'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">Backward Classes to 49.5 per cent in private and public sectors, nobody </span></span></span><span style="font-family: 'MS Mincho'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">talks about the plight of the upper castes. The public image of the </span></span></span><span style="font-family: 'MS Mincho'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">Brahmins, for instance, is that of an affluent, pampered class. But is it so </span></span></span><span style="font-family: 'MS Mincho'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">today?</span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'MS Mincho'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">*</span></span></span><span style="font-family: 'MS Mincho'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">There are 50 Sulabh Shauchalayas (public toilets) in Delhi; all of them are </span></span></span><span style="font-family: 'MS Mincho'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">cleaned and looked after by Brahmins (this very welcome public institution </span></span></span><span style="font-family: 'MS Mincho'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">was started by a Brahmin). A far cry from the elitist image that Brahmins </span></span></span><span style="font-family: 'MS Mincho'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">have!</span></span></span><span style="font-family: 'MS Mincho'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">There are five to six Brahmins manning each Shauchalaya. They came to Delhi </span></span></span><span style="font-family: 'MS Mincho'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">eight to ten years back looking for a source of income, as they were a </span></span></span><span style="font-family: 'MS Mincho'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">minority in most of their villages, where Dalits are in majority (60 per</span></span></span><span style="font-family: 'MS Mincho'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">cent to 65 per cent). In most villages in UP and Bihar, Dalits have a union </span></span></span><span style="font-family: 'MS Mincho'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">which helps them secure jobs in villages.</span></span></span></p><p></p><p><span style="font-family: 'MS Mincho'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'"> Did you know that you also stumble upon a number of Brahmins working as </span></span></span><span style="font-family: 'MS Mincho'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">coolies at Delhi's railway stations? One of them, Kripa Shankar Sharma, says </span></span></span><span style="font-family: 'MS Mincho'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">while his daughter is doing her Bachelors in Science he is not sure if she </span></span></span><span style="font-family: 'MS Mincho'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">will secure a job.</span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'MS Mincho'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">"Dalits often have five to six kids, but they are confident of placing them </span></span></span><span style="font-family: 'MS Mincho'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">easily and well," he says. As a result, the Dalit population is increasing </span></span></span><span style="font-family: 'MS Mincho'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">in villages. He adds: "Dalits are provided with housing, even their pigs </span></span></span><span style="font-family: 'MS Mincho'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">have spaces; whereas there is no provision for *gaushalas* (cowsheds) for </span></span></span><span style="font-family: 'MS Mincho'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">the cows of the Brahmins."</span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'MS Mincho'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">*The middle class deserves what it is </span></span></span><span style="font-family: 'MS Mincho'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">getting *<http://specials.rediff.com/news/2006/may/15sld1.htm></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'MS Mincho'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">You also find Brahmin rickshaw pullers in Delhi. 50 per cent of Patel</span></span></span><span style="font-family: 'MS Mincho'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">Nagar's rickshaw pullers are Brahmins who like their brethren have moved to </span></span></span><span style="font-family: 'MS Mincho'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">the city looking for jobs for lack of employment opportunities and poor </span></span></span><span style="font-family: 'MS Mincho'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">education in their villages.</span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'MS Mincho'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">Even after toiling the whole day, Vijay Pratap and Sidharth Tiwari, two </span></span></span><span style="font-family: 'MS Mincho'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">Brahmin rickshaw pullers, say they are hardly able to make ends meet. These </span></span></span><span style="font-family: 'MS Mincho'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">men make about Rs 100 to Rs 150 on an average every day from which they pay </span></span></span><span style="font-family: 'MS Mincho'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">a daily rent of Rs 25 for their rickshaws and Rs 500 to Rs 600 towards the </span></span></span><span style="font-family: 'MS Mincho'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">rent of their rooms which is shared by 3 to 4 people or their families.</span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'MS Mincho'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">Did you also know that most rickshaw pullers in Banaras are Brahmins?</span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'MS Mincho'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">*Do our institutes connect with the real</span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'MS Mincho'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">India?*<http://in.rediff.com/news/2006/may/22guest1.htm></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'MS Mincho'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">This reverse discrimination is also found in bureaucracy and politics. Most </span></span></span><span style="font-family: 'MS Mincho'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">of the intellectual Brahmin Tamil class has emigrated outside Tamil Nadu.</span></span></span><span style="font-family: 'MS Mincho'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">Only 5 seats out of 600 in the combined UP and Bihar assembly are held by </span></span></span><span style="font-family: 'MS Mincho'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">Brahmins -- the rest are in the hands of the Yadavs.</span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'MS Mincho'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">400,000 Brahmins of the Kashmir valley, the once respected Kashmiri Pandits,</span></span></span><span style="font-family: 'MS Mincho'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">now live as refugees in their own country, sometimes in refugee camps in </span></span></span><span style="font-family: 'MS Mincho'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">Jammu and Delhi in appalling conditions. But who gives a damn about them? </span></span></span><span style="font-family: 'MS Mincho'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">Their vote bank is negligible.</span></span></span><span style="font-family: 'MS Mincho'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">And this is not limited to the North alone. 75 per cent of domestic help and </span></span></span><span style="font-family: 'MS Mincho'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">cooks in Andhra Pradesh are Brahmins. A study of the Brahmin community in a </span></span></span><span style="font-family: 'MS Mincho'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">district in Andhra Pradesh (*Brahmins of India* by J Radhakrishna, published</span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'MS Mincho'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">by Chugh Publications) reveals that today all purohits live below the </span></span></span><span style="font-family: 'MS Mincho'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">poverty line.</span></span></span><span style="font-family: 'MS Mincho'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">Eighty per cent of those surveyed stated that their poverty and traditional </span></span></span><span style="font-family: 'MS Mincho'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">style of dress and hair (tuft) had made them the butt of ridicule. Financial</span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'MS Mincho'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">constraints coupled with the existing system of reservations for the</span></span></span><span style="font-family: 'MS Mincho'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">'backward classes' prevented them from providing secular education to their </span></span></span><span style="font-family: 'MS Mincho'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">children.</span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'MS Mincho'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">*Who are the real Dalits of</span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'MS Mincho'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">India?*<http://in.rediff.com/news/2005/oct/18franc.htm></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'MS Mincho'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">In fact, according to this study there has been an overall decline in the </span></span></span><span style="font-family: 'MS Mincho'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">number of Brahmin students. With the average income of Brahmins being less </span></span></span><span style="font-family: 'MS Mincho'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">than that of non-Brahmins, a high percentage of Brahmin students drop out at </span></span></span><span style="font-family: 'MS Mincho'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">the intermediate level. In the 5 to 18 year age group, 44 per cent Brahmin</span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'MS Mincho'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">students stopped education at the primary level and 36 per cent at the </span></span></span><span style="font-family: 'MS Mincho'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">pre-matriculation level.</span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'MS Mincho'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">The study also found that 55 per cent of all Brahmins lived below the </span></span></span><span style="font-family: 'MS Mincho'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">poverty line -- below a per capita income of Rs 650 a month. Since 45 per</span></span></span><span style="font-family: 'MS Mincho'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">cent of the total population of India is officially stated to be below the </span></span></span><span style="font-family: 'MS Mincho'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">poverty line it follows that the percentage of destitute Brahmins is 10 per</span></span></span><span style="font-family: 'MS Mincho'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">cent higher than the all-India figure. </span></span></span><span style="font-family: 'MS Mincho'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">There is no reason to believe that the condition of Brahmins in other parts </span></span></span><span style="font-family: 'MS Mincho'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">of the country is different. In this connection it would be revealing to</span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'MS Mincho'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">quote the per capita income of various communities as stated by the </span></span></span><span style="font-family: 'MS Mincho'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">Karnataka finance minister in the state assembly: Christians Rs 1,562,</span></span></span><span style="font-family: 'MS Mincho'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">Vokkaligas Rs 914, Muslims Rs 794, Scheduled castes Rs 680, Scheduled Tribes</span></span></span><span style="font-family: 'MS Mincho'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">Rs 577 and Brahmins Rs 537.</span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'MS Mincho'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">Appalling poverty compels many Brahmins to migrate to towns leading to </span></span></span><span style="font-family: 'MS Mincho'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">spatial dispersal and consequent decline in their local influence and </span></span></span><span style="font-family: 'MS Mincho'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">institutions. Brahmins initially turned to government jobs and modern </span></span></span><span style="font-family: 'MS Mincho'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">occupations such as law and medicine. But preferential policies for the </span></span></span><span style="font-family: 'MS Mincho'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">non-Brahmins have forced Brahmins to retreat in these spheres as well.</span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'MS Mincho'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">*Caste shouldn't overwrite merit*<http://in.rediff.com/money/2006/apr/12ram.htm></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'MS Mincho'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">According to the Andhra Pradesh study, the largest percentage of Brahmins </span></span></span><span style="font-family: 'MS Mincho'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">today are employed as domestic servants. The unemployment rate among them is </span></span></span><span style="font-family: 'MS Mincho'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">as high as 75 per cent. Seventy percent of Brahmins are still relying on </span></span></span><span style="font-family: 'MS Mincho'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">their hereditary vocation. There are hundreds of families that are surviving</span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'MS Mincho'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">on just Rs 500 per month as priests in various temples (Department of</span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'MS Mincho'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">Endowments statistics).</span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'MS Mincho'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">Priests are under tremendous difficulty today, sometimes even forced to beg </span></span></span><span style="font-family: 'MS Mincho'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">for alms for survival. There are innumerable instances in which Brahmin </span></span></span><span style="font-family: 'MS Mincho'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">priests who spent a lifetime studying Vedas are being ridiculed and </span></span></span><span style="font-family: 'MS Mincho'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">disrespected.</span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'MS Mincho'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">At Tamil Nadu's Ranganathaswamy Temple, a priest's monthly salary is Rs 300</span></span></span><span style="font-family: 'MS Mincho'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">(Census Department studies) and a daily allowance of one measure of rice.</span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'MS Mincho'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">The government staff at the same temple receive Rs 2,500 plus per month. But </span></span></span><span style="font-family: 'MS Mincho'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">these facts have not modified the priests' reputation as 'haves' and as</span></span></span><span style="font-family: 'MS Mincho'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">'exploiters.' The destitution of Hindu priests has moved none, not even the </span></span></span><span style="font-family: 'MS Mincho'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">parties known for Hindu sympathy.</span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'MS Mincho'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">The tragedy of modern India is that the combined votes of Dalits/OBC and </span></span></span><span style="font-family: 'MS Mincho'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">Muslims are enough for any government to be elected. The Congress quickly </span></span></span><span style="font-family: 'MS Mincho'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">cashed in on it after Independence, but probably no other government than </span></span></span><span style="font-family: 'MS Mincho'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">Sonia Gandhi's has gone so far in shamelessly dividing Indian society for</span></span></span><span style="font-family: 'MS Mincho'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">garnering votes.</span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'MS Mincho'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">*From the Indian Express: 'These measures will not achieve social</span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'MS Mincho'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">justice' *<http://www.indianexpress.com/story/4916.html></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'MS Mincho'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">The Indian government gives Rs 1,000 crores (Rs 10 billion) for salaries of </span></span></span><span style="font-family: 'MS Mincho'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">imams in mosques and Rs 200 crores (Rs 2 billion) as Haj subsidies. But no </span></span></span><span style="font-family: 'MS Mincho'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">such help is available to Brahmins and upper castes. As a result, not only </span></span></span><span style="font-family: 'MS Mincho'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">the Brahmins, but also some of the other upper castes in the lower middle </span></span></span><span style="font-family: 'MS Mincho'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">class are suffering in silence today, seeing the minorities slowly taking</span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'MS Mincho'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">control of their majority.</span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'MS Mincho'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">*How reservations fracture Hindu</span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'MS Mincho'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">society*<http://in.rediff.com/news/2006/may/09rajeev.htm></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'MS Mincho'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">Anti-Brahminism originated in, and still prospers in anti-Hindu circles. It </span></span></span><span style="font-family: 'MS Mincho'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">is particularly welcome among Marxists, missionaries, Muslims, separatists </span></span></span><span style="font-family: 'MS Mincho'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">and Christian-backed Dalit movements of different hues. When they attack </span></span></span><span style="font-family: 'MS Mincho'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">Brahmins, their target is unmistakably Hinduism.</span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'MS Mincho'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">So the question has to be asked: are the Brahmins (and other upper castes)</span></span></span><span style="font-family: 'MS Mincho'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">of yesterday becoming the Dalits of today?</span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'MS Mincho'"><span style="font-size: 10px"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">*Francois Gautier* <http://ia.rediff.com/news/franc.htm></span></span></span></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Archived_member7, post: 95975, member: 2306"] [B]Are Brahmins today's Dalits?-An interesting article.[/B] [B][URL="http://buzz.yahoo.com/article/pub/http%253A%252F%252Fbharatborn.sulekha.com%252Fblog%252Fpost%252F2006%252F05%252Fare-brahmins-today-s-dalits-an-interesting-article.htm"]Buzz up![/URL][COLOR=#666666] [/COLOR][URL="javascript:void(0)"]ShareThis[/URL][/B]May 27 2006 | Views 5104 | [URL="http://bharatborn.sulekha.com/blog/post/2006/05/are-brahmins-today-s-dalits-an-interesting-article/comments.htm"][COLOR=#0854a6]Comments (13) [/COLOR][/URL] [URL="http://blogs.sulekha.com/tags/"][B][COLOR=#0854a6]Tags:[/COLOR][/B][/URL] [URL="http://blogs.sulekha.com/tags/tag.aspx?tag=backward brahmins"][COLOR=#0854a6]backward brahmins[/COLOR][/URL] [FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New]An interesting article in Rediff Today dated 24 May 2006[/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New] [/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New]Home>News <http://ia.rediff.com/news/index.html>>Columnists>*FrancoisGautier[/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New]*[/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New] [/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New]Are Brahmins the Dalit of today?[/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New] [/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New]May 23, 2006[/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New] [/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New]At a time when the Congress government wants to raise the quota for Other [/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New]Backward Classes to 49.5 per cent in private and public sectors, nobody [/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New]talks about the plight of the upper castes. The public image of the [/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New]Brahmins, for instance, is that of an affluent, pampered class. But is it so [/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New]today?[/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New]*[/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New]There are 50 Sulabh Shauchalayas (public toilets) in Delhi; all of them are [/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New]cleaned and looked after by Brahmins (this very welcome public institution [/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New]was started by a Brahmin). A far cry from the elitist image that Brahmins [/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New]have![/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New]There are five to six Brahmins manning each Shauchalaya. They came to Delhi [/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New]eight to ten years back looking for a source of income, as they were a [/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New]minority in most of their villages, where Dalits are in majority (60 per[/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New]cent to 65 per cent). In most villages in UP and Bihar, Dalits have a union [/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New]which helps them secure jobs in villages.[/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New][/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New] Did you know that you also stumble upon a number of Brahmins working as [/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New]coolies at Delhi's railway stations? One of them, Kripa Shankar Sharma, says [/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New]while his daughter is doing her Bachelors in Science he is not sure if she [/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New]will secure a job.[/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New]"Dalits often have five to six kids, but they are confident of placing them [/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New]easily and well," he says. As a result, the Dalit population is increasing [/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New]in villages. He adds: "Dalits are provided with housing, even their pigs [/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New]have spaces; whereas there is no provision for *gaushalas* (cowsheds) for [/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New]the cows of the Brahmins."[/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New]*The middle class deserves what it is [/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New]getting *<http://specials.rediff.com/news/2006/may/15sld1.htm>[/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New]You also find Brahmin rickshaw pullers in Delhi. 50 per cent of Patel[/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New]Nagar's rickshaw pullers are Brahmins who like their brethren have moved to [/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New]the city looking for jobs for lack of employment opportunities and poor [/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New]education in their villages.[/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New]Even after toiling the whole day, Vijay Pratap and Sidharth Tiwari, two [/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New]Brahmin rickshaw pullers, say they are hardly able to make ends meet. These [/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New]men make about Rs 100 to Rs 150 on an average every day from which they pay [/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New]a daily rent of Rs 25 for their rickshaws and Rs 500 to Rs 600 towards the [/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New]rent of their rooms which is shared by 3 to 4 people or their families.[/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New]Did you also know that most rickshaw pullers in Banaras are Brahmins?[/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New]*Do our institutes connect with the real[/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New]India?*<http://in.rediff.com/news/2006/may/22guest1.htm>[/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New]This reverse discrimination is also found in bureaucracy and politics. Most [/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New]of the intellectual Brahmin Tamil class has emigrated outside Tamil Nadu.[/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New]Only 5 seats out of 600 in the combined UP and Bihar assembly are held by [/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New]Brahmins -- the rest are in the hands of the Yadavs.[/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New]400,000 Brahmins of the Kashmir valley, the once respected Kashmiri Pandits,[/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New]now live as refugees in their own country, sometimes in refugee camps in [/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New]Jammu and Delhi in appalling conditions. But who gives a damn about them? [/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New]Their vote bank is negligible.[/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New]And this is not limited to the North alone. 75 per cent of domestic help and [/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New]cooks in Andhra Pradesh are Brahmins. A study of the Brahmin community in a [/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New]district in Andhra Pradesh (*Brahmins of India* by J Radhakrishna, published[/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New]by Chugh Publications) reveals that today all purohits live below the [/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New]poverty line.[/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New]Eighty per cent of those surveyed stated that their poverty and traditional [/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New]style of dress and hair (tuft) had made them the butt of ridicule. Financial[/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New]constraints coupled with the existing system of reservations for the[/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New]'backward classes' prevented them from providing secular education to their [/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New]children.[/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New]*Who are the real Dalits of[/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New]India?*<http://in.rediff.com/news/2005/oct/18franc.htm>[/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New]In fact, according to this study there has been an overall decline in the [/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New]number of Brahmin students. With the average income of Brahmins being less [/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New]than that of non-Brahmins, a high percentage of Brahmin students drop out at [/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New]the intermediate level. In the 5 to 18 year age group, 44 per cent Brahmin[/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New]students stopped education at the primary level and 36 per cent at the [/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New]pre-matriculation level.[/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New]The study also found that 55 per cent of all Brahmins lived below the [/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New]poverty line -- below a per capita income of Rs 650 a month. Since 45 per[/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New]cent of the total population of India is officially stated to be below the [/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New]poverty line it follows that the percentage of destitute Brahmins is 10 per[/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New]cent higher than the all-India figure. [/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New]There is no reason to believe that the condition of Brahmins in other parts [/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New]of the country is different. In this connection it would be revealing to[/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New]quote the per capita income of various communities as stated by the [/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New]Karnataka finance minister in the state assembly: Christians Rs 1,562,[/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New]Vokkaligas Rs 914, Muslims Rs 794, Scheduled castes Rs 680, Scheduled Tribes[/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New]Rs 577 and Brahmins Rs 537.[/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New]Appalling poverty compels many Brahmins to migrate to towns leading to [/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New]spatial dispersal and consequent decline in their local influence and [/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New]institutions. Brahmins initially turned to government jobs and modern [/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New]occupations such as law and medicine. But preferential policies for the [/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New]non-Brahmins have forced Brahmins to retreat in these spheres as well.[/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New]*Caste shouldn't overwrite merit*<http://in.rediff.com/money/2006/apr/12ram.htm>[/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New]According to the Andhra Pradesh study, the largest percentage of Brahmins [/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New]today are employed as domestic servants. The unemployment rate among them is [/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New]as high as 75 per cent. Seventy percent of Brahmins are still relying on [/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New]their hereditary vocation. There are hundreds of families that are surviving[/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New]on just Rs 500 per month as priests in various temples (Department of[/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New]Endowments statistics).[/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New]Priests are under tremendous difficulty today, sometimes even forced to beg [/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New]for alms for survival. There are innumerable instances in which Brahmin [/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New]priests who spent a lifetime studying Vedas are being ridiculed and [/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New]disrespected.[/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New]At Tamil Nadu's Ranganathaswamy Temple, a priest's monthly salary is Rs 300[/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New](Census Department studies) and a daily allowance of one measure of rice.[/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New]The government staff at the same temple receive Rs 2,500 plus per month. But [/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New]these facts have not modified the priests' reputation as 'haves' and as[/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New]'exploiters.' The destitution of Hindu priests has moved none, not even the [/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New]parties known for Hindu sympathy.[/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New]The tragedy of modern India is that the combined votes of Dalits/OBC and [/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New]Muslims are enough for any government to be elected. The Congress quickly [/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New]cashed in on it after Independence, but probably no other government than [/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New]Sonia Gandhi's has gone so far in shamelessly dividing Indian society for[/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New]garnering votes.[/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New]*From the Indian Express: 'These measures will not achieve social[/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New]justice' *<http://www.indianexpress.com/story/4916.html>[/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New]The Indian government gives Rs 1,000 crores (Rs 10 billion) for salaries of [/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New]imams in mosques and Rs 200 crores (Rs 2 billion) as Haj subsidies. But no [/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New]such help is available to Brahmins and upper castes. As a result, not only [/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New]the Brahmins, but also some of the other upper castes in the lower middle [/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New]class are suffering in silence today, seeing the minorities slowly taking[/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New]control of their majority.[/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New]*How reservations fracture Hindu[/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New]society*<http://in.rediff.com/news/2006/may/09rajeev.htm>[/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New]Anti-Brahminism originated in, and still prospers in anti-Hindu circles. It [/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New]is particularly welcome among Marxists, missionaries, Muslims, separatists [/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New]and Christian-backed Dalit movements of different hues. When they attack [/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New]Brahmins, their target is unmistakably Hinduism.[/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New]So the question has to be asked: are the Brahmins (and other upper castes)[/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New]of yesterday becoming the Dalits of today?[/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New]*Francois Gautier* <http://ia.rediff.com/news/franc.htm>[/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=MS Mincho][SIZE=2][FONT=Courier New] [/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT] [/QUOTE]
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Hinduism And Christianity Are Kin. NOT So SIKHI !
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