Most people love to stereotype, right? Brahmins are bad, their ancestors harassed the entire society, is, for instance, the usual rant! The extreme corollary of such axioms is that the Adivasi's whose honour is celebrated on August 9, and who have their own unique 'culture', but no 'religion', and hence are supposedly free from any Brahmin influence, are the best.
They are, moreover, the most ill-treated, exploited for generations, and so on. What we seem to be missing in/about such generalisations is that they are partially true, and partially downright false, and, at times, are even made-up.
Indigenous tribes, for example, have been exploited world wide since the era of the colonisers, and they sure deserve the societal help. The Rousseau-esque romanticism has undoubtedly dinned in to the societal genes the concept of the 'noble savage', though, of course, wrongly, and without even grasping, forget actually reading, Rousseau's texts/concepts! Oh, yes, as for the Indian tradition, in the Vyas Mahabharata, the Eklavya story is vastly different, while the original Valmiki Ramayana does not have the Shabri myth.
The "WhatsApp-y" knowledge, actually half-baked misinformation, and most often, brutal propaganda, is the real culprit. Such stupidities make 'forward-ers' forget facts! Now the Adiwasi "pada's", in India, for instance, too, are not immune from the LPG phenomenon, the media onslaught and its side effects, what with the internet access penetrating the remotest areas.
Hence the Adivasi's, the ' indigenous' Indians are no longer the romanticised "ghotul" dwellers! Look at our Rashtrapati-ji! Unfortunately, come August 9, and there are political opportunists poisoning the societal space through sheer nonsense such as the Dravidian race was defeated by the marauding Aryans, actually meaning Brahmins, who must now be thrown out of India. And such ideologues fulminate against Fascism, Nazism; Hitler and Mussolini being their pet peeves!
Actually, Brahmins have been out of power, had hardly any political clout for generations, at least in Maharashtra. Yet, even today, they lead the "conscientising" efforts in/for the society. Then why such conscious targeting which is at its peak in the South and the North, and is surely spreading its tentacles in Maharashtra?!? Remember, a small time leader had threatened to burn off all the Brahmins in three minutes!?! Political leaders, shifting their stances in ways that would shame salamanders, back such ridiculous nonsense for temporary political gains n mileage, conveniently forgetting the harm to the societal arena.
August 9, a holy day for the whole of India, cannot get reduced to an indirect "Chale Jao, Quit India, Brahmins" behind the garb/veil of the World Indigenous Peoples/Tribes Day, known as the Adivasi Day hereabouts. Well, that is because such targetting is the worst stereotyping that would shame Gestapos, too!
Pratima@Involved in such false narratives are sheer misleading lies. Here is an example. True, Khadi was a major tenet of the Indian freedom struggle. But Gandhiji surely never insisted on a 'khadi rakhee', right, as asserted on many 'forwards' shared on WhatsApp groups?!?
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