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One Shoe - Two Targets !

Jan 6, 2005
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Joginder Singh Foley

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Stoke On Trent
That Iraqi journo has a lot to anwser for when he threw his shoe at George W Bush though aparrently in arab/islamic world throwing a shoe at some one is considered a great insult dont know how this relates in sikhi but it looks like an example of one culture's practice spreadin outside of that culture and into general use :}{}{}:
 

spnadmin

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kds ji

I couldn't figure that out myself. But you know they are half-cow. It could be from that expression "sacred cow." Someone who is beyond criticism or challenge to authority.:rolleyes: So Jarnail ji threw a shoe and picked off two sacred cows at one time.

There is another expression -- I don't know if you have it in India. "Kill two birds with one stone." Very hard to do when you think about it. But Jarnail ji got two sacred cows with one jhutti -- making him for now the all time jhutti-toss champion. :wah::wah::wah:
 

kds1980

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BECAUSE THE PUPPETEER WHO HOLDS THE REAL STRINGS..IS THE "BRAHMIN" ( NOT ONE OR TWO HUMAN BRAHMINS..THE IDEOLOGY ...!!! of Mannu that the Brahmin upholds..

Gyani ji Do you seriously beleive that congress was following the ideology of manu?
If This is true then why congress allowed so many muslims to stay in India after partition and gave them personal law
 

Gyani Jarnail Singh

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KDS Jio,

Its not specifically who is following who ??
There is no such thing as the "super Brahmin" who is directing all this...
its the IDEOLOGY...that is violentlly OPPOSED to Buddhism, Jainsim..and NOW SIKHISM. If you read the hsitory fo India you will realsie how VIOLENTLY Buddhism was cleansed out of India and exiled abroad...Hundreds of thosuands of Buddhists massacred, their shrines taken over and converted to Hindu mandirs...jainism simply absorbed back.
The House of GURU NANAK is the next biggest threat to this IDEOLOGY...GURMATT and the SGGS and the 5 Ks of Sikhism pose the greatest challenge to this ideology..the Division of Indian sub-continet into Pakistan by eliminating Muslims..didnt quite work out so well...millions fo muslims stayed behind..and TODAY the Indian muslim population in India is GREATER than the one in pakistan+Bnagladesh combined !! PRE-1947 population statistics have resurfaced.
FROM DAY ONE..wehn Guru nanak challenged the Brahmin Supremacy by REFUSING the JANEAU...and then Caste through Guru ka Langgar...through the Khandeh Batte dee Pahul...common name Sigh/Kaur..its hitting at the very ROOTS of this Juggernaut that has had a BILLION Hindus in its tight GRIP for a thousand years GURMATT destroys the roots of each and every vital institution that the Brahmin depends on for survival...caste, pilgrimages, teeraths, alms, charity, power to decide shubh days, bad days for every important day, weddings, businesses, whatever..SIKHISM posed such abig danger..that attempts to destroy and UNDERMINE it began on Day ONE..in 1469...continued through Martyrdoms, adulterations in Gurbani, chugleean to Emperors, battles, wars, false promises in 1947...broken promises after 1947..and 1984..and beyond...the massive propoganda effort to declare Sikhs terrorists even in the Diaspora, aircraft bombers..blowers-Ups, extremists, , etc is a continous effort. Sikhs cannot even have what they want in their Khalsa parades...the "powers to be"... want to dictate what photos to have, what photos to place in their Sikh Museums.. Gurdawra Walls, Libraries, etc etc..Martyrs to Sikhs are terrorists and murderers to them...???? Why even bother?? Sikhs dont bother what Hindus have in their Mandirs ...in their Parades...whether they carry open trishuls or swords..?? But a SIKH parade even in far off Canada is worrisome to the "powers to be" ?? WHY ??

This IDEOLOGY is in a lot of people...it was in Nehru..in Patel..in Gulzarilala nanda..it is in Vajpayee..in Advani..even in badal..a most unlikely candidate..but then it was in Genral lall Singh and Dhian Singh Dogra so why not ?? Appearances can be deceiving and they do decieve. No single party has a monopoly on these. They are in the Shiv sena, the Hanuman sena, the RSS, the BJP, the sangh parwar, the Congress, the Southern parties....

WHY Congress allowed the Millions of MUSLIMS in 1947. The DIVISION itself happeend due to the NEHRU GREED to grab power as fast as possible...He really had no time to wait anymore...Gandhi was opposed to division...but Gandhi was not in PM candidture...Nehru was..and eh couldnt wait.
It is virtually IMPOSSIBLE to CUT OUT each and every Muslim..out of India...they were scatterred all over...the EASY way OUT was taken...Divide the MAJORITY AREAS. This is WHY the SIKHS LOST OUT. They were admittedly the THIRD FORCE...after the Hindus and Muslims...BUT SIKHS were so scatterred all over..NOT a SINGLE tehsil in Punjab...even had a CLEAR and OVERWHELMIMG MAJORITY SIKH POPULATION. What the SIKHS finally goit was due to their joining with the HINDUS..and as SYMPATHY from the BRITISH..due to the GURDWARAS...IF NOT for the GURDWARAS...there would be NOTHING.
AMRITSAR was a Heavily majority MUSLIM TOWN...should have gone to paksitan...BUT DIDNT..because the BRITISH KNew that the Sikhs would all rather DIE...so BECAUSE of DARBAR SAHIB..Amritsar came to INDIA. JUST BECAUSE OF HARMANDAR SAHIB ONLY. IF harmandar shaib ahd been in LAHORE..lahore would be Indian...Nankana sahib not being that important..was traded in... Simple as that..plain British SYMPATHY...for SIKHS.
HYDERABAD in the Smack Centre of India was Muslim majority...HOW to drive them all out in a short time...UP..BIHAR..large muslim populations...Kashmir..large muslim population..being near the border of pakistan..helped them rebell...and what happeend..till TODAY..the cancer festers !!! OLD Delhi..majority Muslim...
Together with his greed to become PM fast..Nehru also wanted to show how "secular" he was...and he was pretty sure the Muslims could be tamed...Its just like the new Owner of a building..lets the Tenants stay....because ensurign the complete clear-out of all tenants MAY take time...so he is satisfied with being given OWNERSHIP....he is under the impression..that as owner he can "deal" with the tenants later...the Godhara Riots..the Mumbai Riots..and periodical riots against Muslims are the "DEAL' by the new owners with troublesome tenants....!!!

The BEST governemnt for India would have been the one led by TRUE PATRIOTS like SHUBASH CHANDER BOSE....those who fought bravely - unlike the sly ones like Nehru who plotted in the background. This NATIONALISTIC STREAK is what the BENGALIS and the PUNJABI SIKHS have in common....and thats why the NEHRU CLIQUE struck back by DIVIDING only BENGAL and PUNJAB...the two THORNS in their side.

I sahll stop here..the reply is getting too long...:D:D:D:D
 

kds1980

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Its not specifically who is following who ??
There is no such thing as the "super Brahmin" who is directing all this...
its the IDEOLOGY...that is violentlly OPPOSED to Buddhism, Jainsim..and NOW SIKHISM. If you read the hsitory fo India you will realsie how VIOLENTLY Buddhism was cleansed out of India and exiled abroad...Hundreds of thosuands of Buddhists massacred, their shrines taken over and converted to Hindu mandirs...jainism simply absorbed back.

Yes its true that Hinduism crushed budhism, and jainism but that happened when there were hardly any semitic religions in India.After islam came they brutally crushed budhism and hinduism.So its better that we sikhs live in present rather than past.



This IDEOLOGY is in a lot of people...it was in Nehru..in Patel..in Gulzarilala nanda..it is in Vajpayee..in Advani..even in badal..a most unlikely candidate..but then it was in Genral lall Singh and Dhian Singh Dogra so why not ?? Appearances can be deceiving and they do decieve. No single party has a monopoly on these. They are in the Shiv sena, the Hanuman sena, the RSS, the BJP, the sangh parwar, the Congress, the Southern parties....

And what about Sonia Gandhi Entire Congress Party went to her when Rajiv was Assasinated and begged to her to become PM.Congress was almost on the verge of collapse when she Decided to become president of congress.It is sonia That ruled India behind the face of Manmohan.Also The base of southern Parties like DMK,AIADMK is totally on anti brahmanism.As far as Vajpayee is concerned He was the only person who helped sikhs in 1984 .Recently I read an article that clearly mentioned that barring from Vajpayee No other RSS or BJP Leader really helped sikhs in 1984.

As Far as loss of sikhs is concerned The biggest enemy of sikhs in today's world is Their small numbers.
Badal and other sikh leaders go the dera's and make alliances because they know that Number of sikhs is too small to vote them into power.After all democracy is all about numbers.

Just conduct an election in Jungle and we will find that sheeps and rats will emerge as Kings while Lions and tigers will lose By big margins.:D:D:D:D
 

Gyani Jarnail Singh

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Yes its true that Hinduism crushed budhism, and jainism but that happened when there were hardly any semitic religions in India.After islam came they brutally crushed budhism and hinduism.So its better that we sikhs live in present rather than past.





And what about Sonia Gandhi Entire Congress Party went to her when Rajiv was Assasinated and begged to her to become PM.Congress was almost on the verge of collapse when she Decided to become president of congress.It is sonia That ruled India behind the face of Manmohan.Also The base of southern Parties like DMK,AIADMK is totally on anti brahmanism.As far as Vajpayee is concerned He was the only person who helped sikhs in 1984 .Recently I read an article that clearly mentioned that barring from Vajpayee No other RSS or BJP Leader really helped sikhs in 1984.

As Far as loss of sikhs is concerned The biggest enemy of sikhs in today's world is Their small numbers.
Badal and other sikh leaders go the dera's and make alliances because they know that Number of sikhs is too small to vote them into power.After all democracy is all about numbers.

Just conduct an election in Jungle and we will find that sheeps and rats will emerge as Kings while Lions and tigers will lose By big margins.:D:D:D:D

Kds Ji,
Here is a small essay by Dr Amdekar on the Decline and Fall of Buddhism..
Read through patiently..its agood read and contaisn soemon Soujth indian histroy as well.. SIKHS are not the only oners crying "wolf about the Brahmin"...this is a real issue.

DECLINE AND FALL OF BUDDHISM
(A tragedy in Ancient India)


Chapter 2 TECHNIQUES IN CAUSING FALL OF BUDDHISM
Decline and fall of Buddhism
As Dr. Ambedkar has explained, the causes of fall and decline are different. Muslim invasion was the cause of fall of Buddhism, not only in India, but also all over the world. Before Islam, countries like Bactria, Parthia, Afghanistan, Gandhar and Chinese Turkasthan, as well as whole of Asia were Buddhists. It had also spread to Europe and the Celts in Britain were Buddhists, according to Donald A. Mackenzie. [W&S, vol.3, p.230]
As The reasons why Buddhism was destroyed but Brahmanism survived the massacre by Muslims must be understood. There are three reasons enumerated by Ambedkar, (1) support of State to Brahmanism, (2) Buddhist Bhikkus, once perished had be created from scratch by rigorous training, while Brahmin priests are ready made by birth and (3) that Buddhist lay worshipers were driven to Islam by Brahmanic persecution. [W&S, vol.3, p.230]
Prof. Surendra Nath Sen very rightly observed, during the Indian History Congress held at Allahabad in 1938, that there were no satisfactory answers as yet to two problems concerning medieval history of India, one connected with origins of Rajputs and the other to the distribution of Muslim population in India. [W&S, vol.3, p.236]
The common belief that Islam followed the route of conquest forcing its faith over the subjugated people, Prof. Sen said, cannot explain Muslim conversion in eastern Bengal having no racial affinity with the conquerors, though it might explain conversions in western regions like Afganisthan and Punjab, which had some racial affinity since Kushana times. So the reasons are to be found elsewhere. That the reasons were persecution by Brahmins of the converted masses, who were predominantly Buddhists. Ambedkar thinks, Sen's following passage is very significant:
"It cannot be an accident that the Punjab, Kashmir, the district around Behar Sharif, North-East Bengal where Muslims now predominate, were all strong Buddhist centres in pre-Muslim days. It will not be fair to suggest that the Buddhists succumbed more easily to political temptations than the Hindus and change of religion was due to the prospects of the improvement of their political status." [W&S, vol.3, p.236]
That brings us to the real cause of the fall of Buddhism in India was persecution of the Buddhists, which went on for centuries causing gradual decline, and ultimately lead to its fall. Ambedkar gives examples of many kings persecuting Buddhists and concludes that the fall of Buddhism was due to the Buddhists becoming Muslims for escaping the tyranny of Brahmanism. "If it has been a disaster, it is a disaster for which Brahmanism must thank itself." [W&S, vol.3, p.238]
Before coming to the effects of fall of Buddhism, which is our main subject, we have briefly discussed the various causes that led to this tragedy which befell on this country. As exclaimed by L. M. Joshi, this tragedy is mostly ignored or distorted by the elite of this land for selfish motives. [L.M.Joshi:1977:xvii] Here we like to discuss the techniques used by Brahmanism.
Violent Methods of Brahmanic Conquest
One of the methods of spread of Brahmanism was by slow cultural Invasion. Question some times is asked why they did not resort to armed struggle. As a matter of fact, when the situation permitted, they even did that. The cultural invasion was the best means adopted by them, though armed aggressions were attempted throughout, right from the times of the Buddha. Even before Pushyamitra Shunga, Chanakya seems to have brought in Chandragupta Maurya on throne to annihilate Nanda kings. Unfortunately for Brahmins the coup backfired as Chandragupta became a Jaina and Ashoka became a Buddhist monk first and later upasaka. His images as a Bhikshu, were seen by Chinese traveler I-Tsing, and his rock edicts mention about his becoming a Buddhist. Major armed offensive was launched in times of Pushyamitra under guidance of Patanjali. Still the masses accepted Kushanas rather than submit to Brahmana rule. Brahmanas had to bring in the Guptas, and under Samudragupta Brahmin supremacy prevailed. It was after Harshavardhana in seventh century A.D., that Brahmins got the real chance of perpetrating their supremacy. One of the means was by creating the Rajputs. Those were the means of armed struggle arranged by Brahmins.
Conquest by peaceful means
During this period they spread to Kerala. The evidence for study of their invasion on Buddhist social culture is more easily available in south India and specially Kerala, where Brahmin penetration was much later and more difficult than in North India. Here their method was more of Cultural Invasion. It is therefore, necessary to concentrate on South India and presume the same techniques must have been employed in the entire country, which requisite regional adjustments. Mr. Nair explains as follows:
"Theoretically then we might ask why the Brahmins could not achieve a military conquest and achieve ethno- expansionism ... The answer is the Brahmins in the initial stages of their cultural conquest had only an intense apostolic motivation unaccompanied by the resources to organize themselves into armed bands. Indeed it is much later history when they were finally successful in entrenching themselves as a religious oligarchy within the kingdom of a "Kshatriya" prince and goading him to undertake religious wars and expansion through "Aswamedhayagas". [emphasis ours] Similarly the Nambudiri Brahmin in ancient Malabar could have only attempted a peaceful cultural conquest through astute ways and not through force as he was himself bereft of the means to compel the Nayars to follow his ways except that of persuasion through example and precept. [Nair:1959:10]
Story of Parshurama
But the stories in Puranas speak of armed struggle. For example story of Parashurama can be quoted. In recent times, a particular group of people have started celebrating Birth Anniversary of Parsurama, who is supposed to have avenged his father's murder by overpowering the Kshatriyas by their own military weapon. Nair mentions:
"...Dr. G. S. Ghurye reads into the story the desire of the Brahmins to show that the Brahmin's wrong would not go unavenged. Second, to impress the fact that the Brahmins if they took to arms, would prove themselves immensely superior to the Kshatriyas in warfare and last to humiliate the Kshatriyas." [See "Caste and Class in India", Bombay, 1957, p.70.] Dr. D. D. Kosambi's interpretation is equally interesting: "The excessive and self contradictory annihilation (of Kshatriyas) is clearly psychological overcompensation for Brahmin helplessness in the face of Kshatriya dominance. Parsurama is promoted in the Bhrugu inflated Mahabharat to the status of a Vishnu incarnation. The tension between priest and chief is an undercurrent in Vedic literature thereafter, though both combined against the other two castes." [Dr.D.D. Kosambi in "An introduction to the Study of Indian History", (Bombay, 1956), p.113. [Nair:1959:11]
Domestic and sexual invasion in Kerala
The invasion of Brahmins, in Kerala, was domestic. Unlike the Christian proselytisation, the cultural conquest of the Brahmin was peculiarly intimate process in Kerala, Nair observes and avers that, "it was in fact such, wherever it took place in India." This was essential for the status-value without which success was impossible. Nambudiri Brahmins not only married Nayar women but also kept only Nayar servants at home and Nayar women in company of their women, in order to enforce social control over the leading Nayar communities. [Nair:1959:16]
Why Brahmins could not manage to keep dominance in current times, Nair says was due to, modern education, inability to hold enormous estates under feudal lords and biological degradation, which was because of:
"...The closed upper-class family system with its undue emphasis on primogeniture and contemptuous negligence of the sexual rights of female members by condemning them to life long maidenhood if the Nambudiri husbands were not forthcoming to marry them, accelerated their degeneration. ..." [Nair, p.18]
Nair agreeing with Lewis A.W., opines, that a healthy upper class biologically is one which allows its weaker members to fall into lower classes and which in each generation recruits the more successful members of the lower classes into its own ranks. He contrasts Kerala Brahmins with those in Tamilnad, who under the leadership of Ramanujacharya, accepted vertical mobility as an article of faith for purposes of sheer survival, which permitted it to survive economic changes and adapt itself, in some measure at least, to altered modes of earning livelihood, different at any rate form their traditional mode of life as the priesthood, but the Nambudiri did not and hence his days were numbered even during the first decade of the present century due to economic changes. [Nair, p.18]
Brahmin non-Brahmin relationship
Nair believes, Nayar community adapted Brahminical ideas through stages during several centuries, and still now the psychological resistance to Brahminical ideas and intrusion has not ended. Nambudiris could continue to impregnate Nayar women wantonly only for a few generations and only within a few Nayar Tharawads. Later diffusion during successive generations must have taken place through inter-marriage between families under Brahminical influence and those without it, gradually diluting Brahminical social tradition among Nayars and render it insignificant during the beginning of this century. The local spread of Hinduism was reinforced by institutions and Brahmanic ways of regional and all India Brahmanism at a later date. The social control of Brahmins through the spread of local Hinduism was similar in other parts of India especially South India. The Vellalas, the Reddis, the Naidus and several other communities posed similar problems like Nayars did to the Brahmin cultural conqueror. [Nair, p.26]
However, the Vellala or Reddi never allowed the Brahmin to enter into the family fold under the guise of a divinely inspired progenitor, so the Brahmin did not succeed in breaking up their social system. As family is the psychological agent of society and once it was kept outside the pale of Brahmin influence, the group did not succumb to Brahmanical social tradition. Neither the Vellalas nor the Reddis had thus passively adapted new cultural pattern which the Brahmins had attempted foisting on them. However, what they succeeded in averting within the family they could not avoid facing outside it. [Nair, p.27]
Why Hinduism could not spread among Adivasis
Nair believes Hinduism could not spread among the aborigines because their tribal organization was far too strong to accept such intrusions, and it is one of the reasons why a racial theory of Untouchability cannot be advanced. He mentions Ambedkar's theory that although the tribes have become castes, the tribal organization remains intact, divided into clans having some object animate or inanimate as a totem, with restriction of marriage within gotra. Ambedkar, in "The Untouchables", stresses the importance of an examination of the distribution of the totems among different castes and communities as a good test for determining race, as anthropometry has been. [Nair, p.28]
Why Shankara fought Buddhism
The aim of Brahmins under Shankara, was to regain their hegemony, and the relentless and unceasing efforts of the Brahmins to put down Buddhism were solely calculated to regain their lost monopoly as religious oligarchy. Until the rise and spread of Buddhism, Brahmins faced no competition in their religious business. There was no powerful religio-social movement in Indian history before the advent of Mahabira and Gautama. Brahmins were smarting about their defeat among the masses because of Buddhism. The revival of Brahmanism under the spiritual leadership of Shankara was thus an effort for survival of Brahmins, and was entirely dependent on the defeat of Buddhism and Jainism in the religious field. [Nair, p.34]
However, the revival of Brahmanism in India after the advent of Shankara was complete during the subsequent centuries. There are sufficient historical evidences to show that the Brahmins used coercion throughout against the Buddhists and the Jains and that they have used every means at their disposal to spread their influence throughout India. The Advaita philosophy of Shankara was unsuitable for the crowd and being still beyond the comprehension of ordinary Hindus, how did it serve as the instrument for the revival of popular Hinduism? Shankara was tolerant towards them, propagated through songs, fought with Mimansakas and broke down barriers between Buddhist deities and Brahmanism, making it indistinguishable from secular Buddhism. As Pannikar has pointed out, Buddhist temples like famous Jagannatha temple of Puri became Hindu temple, and with the laity accepting Hinduism, i.e. supremacy of Brahmins, recruitment to Buddhist Sangha became more and more difficult. ["Survey of Indian History", p.102, Nair, p. 231]
The revival of a personal religion in the form of Advaita philosophy was necessary to change the outlook of the masses who were attracted towards more secular religions such as Buddhism. [Nair, p.35] Brahmins evolved a complicated mythology for the common people to follow, they adopted many Buddhist and pagan festivals and details into their mythology, in order to neutralize all resistance from the Dravidians. Shiva, a Dravidian deity was cleverly incorporated into the Brahmanical pantheon, and Muruga was adopted as Subramanya, and many Dravidian religious rites and festivals were incorporated in Brahmanism, and complex theologies, rituals and ceremonials consciously evolved to make their polytheism as comprehensive as possible. [Nair, p.36]
Religion of Brahmins was different from that of masses
Nair observes that, even though the Brahmins created the institutional religion for the masses they had not given up their personal religion, for example the Manthras were not taught to the common people, not even to those members of tribes or groups who accepted their supremacy. The ceremonials and rituals were kept as their exclusive privilege, which was disgusting to non-Brahmins. [Nair, p.38]
Buddhist teachings had a powerful reaction against the corrupt practices of the Brahmins and led to the decline in their power and social control. Hence the Brahmin revolted and successfully overthrew Buddhism, and Brahmanism under such circumstances was bound to improve on the previous system and prepare itself for all the unpleasant eventualities of the future. There are two phases in the post-Shankara development of Brahmanism, viz, (a) the development of the highest form of personal religion and philosophy and (b) the development of institutional aspect of Hinduism in an unprecedented fashion. Nair observes:
"...Let us, however, recall that both these developments were the outcome of the effective assimilation of Buddhistic ideas and practices so that the approval of the masses was easily obtained for the new form of religion, viz., popular Hinduism. On the personal plane the conceptual content of God not known or recognized by Buddhist was reemphasized and reinstated in Hindu thought in all its undying glory. This satisfied a great spiritual need of those times. ..." [Nair, p.38]
As Creedy had observed, from the social psychologic standpoint, there can be no doubt that the term "God" functions as one of our most powerful trigger phrases producing a feeling of reverence and profound submission, and conception of salvation and of another world is a powerful aid to feelings in resisting the crafts and assaults of the crowd. "The purpose of the poetic or metaphysical structure of religious doctrine is to falsify our wills to resist the temptation of the crowd." [Creedy, "Human Nature, writ large", Nair, p.38]
Techniques of Brahmanic controls
Nair finds it fascinating to study the strategic methods employed by the Brahmins to impose their social control over the Tamilians and rendering socially integrated communities such as the Vellalas amenable to the passive acceptance of Brahmanical Hinduism. These techniques had ultimately led all Indian Hinduism to coalesce with regional and peninsular Hinduism while local Hinduism continued to flourish as a wheel within a wheel activating the entire mechanism of the social control of the Brahmins. [Nair, p.41]
It is the need of the day that the well to do, the educated, the elite among the Bahujans must try and understand the mechanisms, techniques and the means by which they have been pushed into the darkness of slavery and have been retained there for centuries. The group of people which understands its history, and can revive its identity, can fight for its existence, that group only can sustain the onslaught over its existence and remain viable.
Difference between Local and Regional Brahmanism
Locally only one caste of one individual language was to be subdued but in regional sphere multiple castes and multiple languages had to be tackled. Brahmins had to face the opposition and resistance. Salient features of their techniques of enslaving are summarized by Mr. Nair as follows:
1. Admission of kings to the Varna system
2. Extension of the Varna system
3. Extension of Sanskritic deities
4. Creation and development of ceremonial
5. The rise of plebeian mystagogues in support of Brahmanical social traditions
6. Sanskritisation of names of places
7. Social self of Brahmin

Admission of kings to Varna System
Prof. P. T. Srinivas Iyengar, "one of the rare examples of a Brahmin with the highest intellectual honesty", mentions that after the arrival of Brahmins to south India on invitation from local rulers to perform yagas, they could not be successful in establishing chaturvarna unlike they could in north India because their religious oligarchy could not mix well with the social democracy of locals. [Nair, p.44] Dr. S. S. Bharati mentions that Tholkappiyam oldest grammar of Tamil, has not a single reference to practice of any yagams by any non- Brahmin Tamils. [Nair, p.45] Brahmins admitted locals, whom they needed to fight against Buddhists, usually to Ksatriyahood but some times they were compelled to admit them as low grade Brahmins also. Nair says:
"Generally speaking, the technique of the Brahmins have been to admit the ruling chiefs to kshatriyahood but there are instances to show that under compulsion of circumstances, mainly to bring about vertical mobility in order to strengthen the ranks of their dwindling numbers, they have admitted certain ruling princes belonging to socially integrated communities to the "Bharadwaja gotra" and considered them as "inferior Brahmins. Dr. Srinivas, for instance, speaks of the Lingayat Rajahs of Coorg who have been in former days "responsible for the Sanskritisation of the customs, manners and rites of Coorgs". This must have been due to the fact that these Rajahs were raised to the status of the Brahmins and were fired by the zeal for the spread of ritualistic Brahmanism. Let us remember that the Lingayats of Mysore even today consider themselves to be Brahmins and retain their socially integrated modes of life with considerable exclusiveness of spirit which is at once the strength and weakness of the Hindu society of Mysore today. [Nair, p.45]
Extension of Varna system
It is well known that social rank of a person depends on his caste. But ancient Tamils before coming of Brahmins were free of all caste prejudices, as mentioned by A. L. Basham. Nair feels betrayal of the masses by the Brahmins began with the extension of the caste system to the multitudes of people who had never known anything like it. Ancient Tamilnad knew only classes and not castes:
"... The entire population lived in five natural division of the country, viz, (1) Kurinji or Hills and hill tracts, (2) Mullai, Forest glades and pastoral lands, (3) Marutham. Valleys and fields of arable lands, (4) Palai, Steppes or Stretches of deserts, (5) Neithal, Maritime tracts or coast lands on the sea board. The inhabitants of these lands were divided into seven classes as the caste system was unknown to them. [Nair, p.47]
How did the Brahmins succeed in converting a class based society into a caste based one? Maxweber explained, it was due to material wealth acquired because of skills of yadnyas they rose in status and the life style preferred property and gainful pursuits. [Nair, p.47] The process was explained by Dr. Ambedkar as early as 1916, that Brahmins as a class enclosed themselves as an endogamous group meaning they stopped entering into matrimony with others. Thus "some closed the door; Others found it closed against them." [W&S, vol.1, p.18]
How Vellalas were subdued
There were Brahmins doing priestly jobs (Andanars) and others doing secular jobs (Parpars). As the status of both had to be elevated in caste hierarchy, caste system based on birth was clamped by them on the masses. They had no problem of accepting Arivars as secular Brahmins but the Vellalas resisted strongly. As Nair mentions, they were traditionally land owners, farmers and chieftains. They were the cultivated inhabitants of 'Marutham' and had a distinct social tradition of their own. They were prominent in Chera, Chola and Pandya kingdoms and had still then retained their powers and prestige till the time of Brahmanical agression. Nair observes:
"...In the Vellala therefore the Brahmin found the same obstacle as the Nayar of Kerala. Ingenuity demanded that the strength of this class had to be weakened through hypergamous unions just as the Nayar community was initially weakened by the Nambudiri's Connubium with the Nayar maiden. To what extent the Vellalas like the Nayars of Kerala intermarried with the Brahmins is a subject on which we have not much historical data. All the same the possibility cannot be ruled out that there might have been in the early days of Brahmin infiltration numerous intermarriages between the two communities as a result of which this socially integrated community gradually took to Brahmanical ways of living and customs. [Nair, p.48]
Careful selection of people to be elevated
They were very careful in not extending the acceptance to all. They were very choosy, as Nair says:
"Another interesting poser now is that if the Vellalas were then so powerful and that their position was so widely recognised over all the three important Tamil Kingdoms of Chera, Chola and Pandya why is it that the Brahmins did not confer on them Kshatriyahood especially as many ruling chiefs at that epoch may have been Vellalas themselves? The fact is that the Brahmins did not confer on the Vellal khatrihood.
 

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