The Ram Sethu Issue: Some Racist and Xenophobic Tamils Do Not Represent all of South India
Atlantean
CNN-IBN asks, in a highly irresponsible interview, " Is Ram Sethu an irrelevant issue down south?" Irresponsible for out of all people, they gave credence to the views of the so-called "Dravidian rationalists" who have such rational claims to Tamil heritage as an ancient continent called Kumari Kandam that was present in the Indian Ocean region and got submerged long time ago.
It is believed that the people in today's South India are the descendants of this ancient mythical continent. This belief is expressed by the same rationalists who claim Lord Ram is a myth and sought to know which engineering college he graduated from.
The Dravidian movement, purportedly based on rationality and opposed to superstition, relies on a mixture of linguistic fanaticism, myths like Kumari Kandam, racism and xenophobia of people with white skin (read "destructive Aryan North Indians") to perpetuate its purely political propaganda. It seeks to paint a supremacist picture of Tamil language, culture and history for its Tamil-nonTamil exclusivist agenda.
The theory on which their movement relies - broadly speaking, invading Aryans from North India imposing their destructive Gods over south Indian Dravidians - has been discredited long time ago by numerous scholars and is today considered pseudo-science.
The rallying points of this political propaganda - a deadly mixture of ethnicity, myths, prejudices against specific groups based on skin colour, origin, caste and language; racism and xenophobia, supremacism and exclusivism is strikingly similar to the rallying points of the Nazis in their destructive genocidal campaign against the Jews.
One can already see the results of this genocidal propaganda - many Tamil Brahmins have left Tamil Nadu and are living in other states and abroad.
Another reason why this interview was irresponsible was the fact that it tried to portray as if all of south India is a monolithic entity and that the Dravidian parties are the main articulators of the issues of south Indians.
The only thing that Tamil Nadu and the other south Indian states have in common is the common roots of their language - proto-Dravidian. Even food habits, though largely similar in nature, show wide variations.
There's a Tamil cuisine and there's a Telugu cuisine, a Kannada cuisine and a Malayali cuisine. Dressing styles are different. Festivals are different. Traditions are different. Societal structure is different.
The outlook of the people is also different. While Dravidian nationalists base their movements on hatred of other groups - attributing the presence of social evils to specific groups, caste or religious (washing their own hands off in the process) - the rest of the people in south India practice a healthy and open outlook towards life without practicing any sort of prejudice or hatred towards specific groups.
They go about solving problems instead of incessantly ranting about them or their supposed creators.
The people of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka do not share the racist, exclusivist, supremacist and xenophobic outlook that some people from Tamil Nadu feel proud about, especially those from the Dravidian rationalist camp. Most people in Tamil Nadu itself don't share this outlook and are quite friendly and hospitable towards others.
This camp is hardly rationalist. All you have to do is read the following claims about Kumari Kandam (from the Wikipedia article):
In modern Dravidian ethnic nationalist literature, Kumari Kandam or "Lemuria" was the "cradle of civilization", the origin of human languages in general and the Tamil language in particular. These ideas gained notability in Tamil academic literature over the first decades of the 20th century, and were popularized by the Tanittamil Iyakkam, notably by self-taught Dravidologist Devaneya Pavanar, who held that all languages on earth were merely corrupted Tamil dialects.
R. Mathivanan, then Chief Editor of the Tamil Etymological Dictionary Project of the Government of Tamilnadu, in 1991 claimed to have deciphered the Indus script as Tamil, following the methodology recommended by his teacher Devaneya Pavanar, presenting the following timeline (cited after Mahadevan 2002):
ca. 200,000 to 50,000 BC: evolution of "the Tamilian or Homo Dravida",
ca. 200,000 to 100,000 BC: beginnings of the Tamil language
50,000 BC: Kumari Kandam civilisation
20,000 BC: A lost Tamil culture of the Easter Island which had an advanced civilisation
16,000 BC: Lemuria submerged
6087 BC: Second Tamil Sangam established by a Pandya king
3031 BC: A Chera prince in his wanderings in the Solomon Island saw wild sugarcane and started cultivation in Tamilnadu.
1780 BC: The Third Tamil Sangam established by a Pandya king
7th century BC: Tolkappiyam (the earliest extant Tamil grammar)
Mathivanan uses "Aryan Invasion" rhetoric to account for the fall of this civilization:
"After imbibing the mania of the Aryan culture of destroying the enemy and their habitats, the Dravidians developed a new avenging and destructive war approach. This induced them to ruin the forts and cities of their own brethren out of enmity".
That, folks, is the rationality that the Dravidian movement actually espouses. An advanced civilization at 20,000 BC, a claim which has no scientific basis whatseover. That sort of thing is usually called pseudo-science.
The entire so-called Dravidian rationalist self respect movement is based on this myth that there was a highly advanced Tamil civilization before humans in other parts of the world even began farming.
This is quite similar to the pseudo-scientific claims that the Ramayana occurred 1.7 million years ago, when human beings haven't yet begun to live in large cities like Ayodhya!
This mixture of myth, pseudoscience, linguistic fanaticism, supremacism and exclusivism under the garb of rationalism results in such rational, peaceful, highly cultured movements like that of the LTTE. There's a striking similarity with the Nazis who also claimed be to rational but went about killing people.
That is why this genocidal political campaign must be exposed for what it is. All right thinking persons should ask themselves why this movement - which claims to fight social evils and superstition on a rational basis - has not been able to root out the same over all these years of having its proponents in power.
Why do these social evils persist? Why is there a need - if this movement had indeed fought to root out caste discrimination- to increase reservations for OBCs, Muslims and Christians in Tamil Nadu taking it to a mind boggling 72%?











Naveen Roy
URL
September 18, 2007
07:51 AM
"genocidal propaganda" ?? What???
Sujai
URL
September 18, 2007
08:06 AM
"genocidal propaganda"? Hmmm?
Interesting!
Muthu
September 18, 2007
08:17 AM
[EDITED]
Sen
September 18, 2007
08:18 AM
* Some comments in the article are fine..But some are over dose like bringing LTTE into this picture.
Anupallavi
September 18, 2007
08:34 AM
Some pretty hard hitting there. One thing that I agree, whole heartedly, is the imbecile mentality that most things south is Madrasi. For many Indians, despite the global appeal of Bangalore and Hyderabad, there is not much to south sans Chennai. Look at the friggin stereotype in Bollywood movies.
Atlantean
URL
September 18, 2007
09:00 AM
Some dictionary help:
Genocide = the deliberate and systematic destruction of a racial, political, ethnic, religious or cultural group.
Dravidian nationalists, while claiming victimhood from these groups, seek the destruction of the same:
1. Brahmins.
2. India's white skinned people.
3. Jews, including Indian ones. Some of them even express antisemitic sentiments and link them with antiHindu sentiments.
Do read Dravidian nationalist literature like the Dalit Voice magazine for a taste of the desire for genocide of the above groups.
This magazine has repeatedly carried articles which praised Adolf Hitler and his methods, calling him a patriot and saying that his negative perception worldwide has been the result of a systematic campaign by Jews, Hindus and what not!
Aaman
URL
September 18, 2007
09:03 AM
Wow, do you have online links?
Chandra
September 18, 2007
09:06 AM
www.dalitvoice.org
Atlantean
URL
September 18, 2007
09:08 AM
Muthu,
My *ss doesnt have a door :)
Sen,
LTTE cannot be divorced from the picture for it was influenced by the "Self respect movement" launched by the Dravidian nationalists. The final goal of the Dravidian nationalist movement is to establish a separate Tamil country that constitutes Tamil Nadu and other south Indian states along with the northern and eastern parts of Sri Lanka, referred to as Greater Eelam. LTTE's campaign of terror is a part of this movement.
Anupallavi,
I agree. It is really sad that this stereotype exists. Doesnt help matters at all. All four southern states are quite different and all are NOT Madrasis.
Aaman
URL
September 18, 2007
09:08 AM
Incidentally, the political rhetoric is apparently good for business, given the scale of investments in Tamil Nadu, the latest is the Moser Baer Rs. 2000 cr (approx $500 million) plant in the state
Atlantean
URL
September 18, 2007
09:20 AM
See these:
1. Hitler not worst villain of 20th century as painted by zionists by IQBAL AHMED SHARIFF
2. The Brighter Side of Hitler by Iqbal Ahmed Shariff
An excerpt from one of those articles:
His autobiography is a wonderful piece of philosophical treatise. (1971, pp. 694, Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, USA).
REVOLUTIONARIES MUST READ IT
If Hitler had become a politician and leader, he would have been hailed as a philosopher and great writer in the cause of West.
Every revolutionary must read this book and learn useful lessons.
The enemies of Germany, particularly America and the Jews, have selectively altered some sentences and portions to make Hitler a monster and the most hated person. He is projected as anti-Jew and father of anti-Semitism. But there are no historical evidences to prove this charge.
A rather delicious letter to the editor:
Parvez Khan, Bahnhofvorplatz-2a, 50667-Koln, Germany: I read Nitish Bharradwaj's hate-filled Letter in the truth-telling Dalit Voice (July 16, 2007, p 14). I have just finished its translation into German and I intend to send it to all the German newspapers in Germany and Switzerland in the print and email format both. The purpose is to show it to the rest of the world that the Hindus are all zionists, fascists and evil and there is no equality between different races in "Fascist India" and "Pappadum India". India is becoming a Hindu terrorist state and it has been carrying out an ethnic genocide of the Dalits since many thousands years. It has also carried out the genocide of Muslims, Sikhs, Christians and Budhists with impunity. I intend to send your "Gandhi nonsense" which appeared in the DV to all prominent newspapers in Switzerland and Germany, where I live. Switzerland is a trilingual country and along with German, they also speak French and Italian. I will also translate it into French and Italian and would send it to their respective media in Switzerland also. I am determined to expose the "Fascist Hindus" all over the world. We have already given a tarnished image to M.K. Gandhi, who, among the Africans, is now called, Ku Klux Gandhi and also "Fascist Gandhi" in Germany. We have also copied the article from DV regarding "Gandhi prostitutes" in Holland and we sent it to nearly every Dutch newspaper and freelance journalist in Holland. We are also spreading the propaganda that the Hindus drink cow's urine, which is called, "Gandhi cola".
smallsquirrel
September 18, 2007
09:55 AM
atlantean... so what we're saying here is that mine is a marriage made in Dravidian Nationalist hell? (south indian brahmin marries jew and produces a hinjew?) I guess I won't get a pass for having a degree in dravidian languages, eh?
what a mess.
Chandra
September 18, 2007
11:10 AM
SS
Aren't u married to a Kannadiga Brahmin? Atlantean refers to the Dravidan movement (Tamil Nadu)....
rgds
smallsquirrel
September 18, 2007
11:14 AM
yes, I am, and yes, I know... but wouldn't they not like him too?
soman
September 18, 2007
11:28 AM
Ram sethu is truly irrelevant to south india
in south people wont worship ram they worship Muruga. even murugan has mythological stories like lord ram, IN TAMILNADU NO ONE CAN TOUCH MURUGAN. no body can question his exsistence
Aaman
URL
September 18, 2007
11:38 AM
Please go ahead and prove it then, but not in this article space as that would be somewhat irrelevant.
Atlantean
URL
September 18, 2007
12:15 PM
Smallsquirrel,
Hinjew... LOL!
As I said in the article, most people in south India dont heed the call for a separate Dravidian nation and so, the Dravidian nationalist movement doesnt have much support outside Tamil Nadu. Even in Tamil Nadu, there are many who dont support it.
Hinjews are welcome. They will be safe :)
Soman,
You say Ram is really irrelevant in South India as south Indians worship Murugan instead of Ram. This is exactly what I wanted to point out in my article. It is not south Indians but TAMILS who worship Murugan. Being from Andhra Pradesh, I can state that atleast in Andhra Pradesh, Murugan is a nonentity
South India, Madrasi and Tamil Nadu are not synonymous terms. Journalists and "intellectuals" sitting in Delhi often fail to make this distinction. That there is a Aryan-Dravidian cultural distinction itself is a myth. There's a Punjabi, Gujarati and Bengali culture, there's a Telugu culture and Tamil culture. Punjabi, Gujarati and Bengali culture are vastly different. So are Tamil and Telugu culture. Cultural differences in India are based on ethnicity, not skin colour. Unfortunately, that is what the Dravidian nationalists and the Delhi school want us to believe.
The confusion of the terms South Indian, Tamilian, Dravidian and Madrasi is similar to the use of "men of South Asian origin" as a blanket term (esp. in the British media) for people coming from India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. It does not convey the vast cultural differences between people from these countries.
It is really sad and unfortunate that an artifical racial distinction that was conceived and propagated by British academics to justify colonial rule still persists in Indian academia and consciousness even after 60 years of independance.
Ruvy in Jerusalem
September 18, 2007
12:19 PM
Hmmm...
I went to the Dalit site - there is more to the world than I realized...
Aaman
URL
September 18, 2007
01:21 PM
Ruvy, that is thankfully a miniscule minority and will likely remain so
bummer
URL
September 18, 2007
06:18 PM
Your article is very harsh and racist
Man Singh
September 18, 2007
07:50 PM
The contents of dalit.org are being published and propagated in Abu Dhabi and malaysia by some muslim organisations with the name `O Hindus awake' as a tool to convert them to Islam.
I have seen a booklet in Malaysia with a fake writer claiming to be a Research Scholar in some non existent University in B still using name Dr Chaturvedi(though he says still a student of Ph D).
In Abu Dhabi it gives a fake adress of Al Ain city and a misprinted telephone number.
I am giving here 15 points to prove that Modern Hinduism is of South Indian orgin and Aryan invasion is a mere ploy to divide n rule and to `demonise Brahmins' of India who always motivated Indians to oppose foreign invaders on intellectual platform.
1.Hindus Devas Ram Krishna Vinsnu are black in color curly hair like typical south India.
2. All Devis look like typical South Indian women.
3.Vedas describe Indian rivers, Indian flaura and fauna not of any foreign country
4. Conch shell(Shanks) used in Hindu worship is found in south India and not in North.
5. Sandal used in worship found in South India and not in North.
6. Roli (Kumkum) produced in South India and not in North.
6. Supari, etc all south Indian and not North.
8. Rice (South India) used in prayers not wheat produced in south.
9. Coconut produced in South India and not in North.
10. Sanskrit has alphabet of 53 letter similar in all Indian languages including Tamil while European languages have only 24-26
11. English have only 400 words common with Sanskrit, Tamil have more then 4000.
12. `Arya' in Sanskrit means a noble person who does his/her duty professionally and smartly irrespective of cast creed color or way of worship and never a race?
13. All rivers described in Vedas are Indian rivers. If they were foreinegers they might have described foreign rivers as Muslim invaders always described `zam xam ka Paani'
14. All Mountains described in vedic Literature are Indian. If they were foreigners they might have described foreign mountains.
15. All atronomical descriptions match with star positions on India
16. All trees, plants medicines etc described are of Indian origin
Still do you believe the lie of Aryans invasion on India?
AnArch
September 19, 2007
01:06 AM
Lord Rama won't be pleased by this:TN bus torched in Bangalore, 2 killed
Amrita
URL
September 19, 2007
02:11 AM
Man Singh - All Devis look like typical South Indian women.
LOL!!! Good to know. Say them I said hi when next you meet them.
Atlantean - re: dalit voice...you live and learn every day, huh? Particularly funny was the About Us section.
kela
September 19, 2007
03:01 AM
Kumari Kandam is a Myth but flying monkeys building bridges not ? nice
I have been to dalitvoice.org, a very good website with very nice interpretations,instead of attacking them can you prove whatever they say is wrong ?
kela
September 19, 2007
04:51 AM
Notice how SS always stresses on the fact the married a BRAHMIN,like their shit smells different.What a bigot
kela
September 19, 2007
04:51 AM
she*
kela
September 19, 2007
04:55 AM
Atlantean - dalits are not the first admirers of Hitler.Your icon and ultra -right wing hindutvaist BAL Thackeray is an ardent fan too
smallsquirrel
September 19, 2007
05:04 AM
oh for god sakes kela.... give it a fucking rest. that was brought up for a reason, and you know i do not give 2 shits about caste....
but go ahead... prove I am a bigot....
kela
September 19, 2007
05:07 AM
ok if you insist :)
Anony-fucking-mouse
URL
September 19, 2007
05:17 AM
Hehe...so what have you all to say about http://www.hinduunity.com/
Samiyar
URL
September 19, 2007
12:11 PM
The people who workship Lord Shiva not commotting any violence activities.
The people who workship Lord Muruga not committing any violence activities.
The people who workship Ammans not commiting any violence activities.
Then why the Ram Sevaks? Particularly promoted by Useless VHP and BJP fools?
Atlantean
URL
September 19, 2007
05:04 PM
Amrita,
Yeah! DV even claims that it was the first newspaper in the world to have broken the "news" that the 9/11 attacks were planned and executed by Jews! You get to know a lot of things from DV :)
balaji.s
September 20, 2007
07:36 AM
Atlantean & all,
Read the old Valmiki's Ramayana in sanskrit, all you blessed people will stop your mouths. It will depict Rama in full glory "eating horse meat and drinking alcohol". It was Valmiki who gave us Ramayan and those who have not read the Valmiki's original script should not speak about him and the aryan culture.
Sirius
September 20, 2007
10:32 AM
Nice paper tigers around here! Hooah!
tamilguy
October 3, 2007
01:01 AM
north indians are very racist too. in fact, the RSS mouthpiece, Organiser, used to make fun of dark south indians. in fact, many north indians think they are superior to south indians because they are lighter-skinned and are closer to europeans. it takes two to tango, you know.
srikanth
November 28, 2007
06:55 PM
I am a telugu and I am proud to be a dravidian.
we stand firmly behind our tamilians brothers in opposing the northern folks language imposition.
avestan(persian) is 90% sanskrit
old latin/greek share thousands of root words with sanskrit.
dravidian languages did not originate from sanskrit.
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