Photo courtesy: Twitter handle @wbf_canada
 

‘Smash Brahmanical Patriarchy’ has created a lot of hurt among the ‘liberal’ brahmins while the hardcore are threatening Twitter to extract an apology. A privileged brahmin journalist wrote that it has become a norm to ‘blame’ brahmins who are a ‘minority’ community. She compared attacking Brahmanism to the Nazi treatment of Jews during Hitler’s regime. If I am not wrong, Hitler was never an idol for the Bahujan Samaj but I have heard stories of how Hitler has influenced India’s powerful brahmins who ‘hegemonised’ everything about India, right from its culture to politics. Apart from Nagpur, another Hindu Hriday Samrat in Mumbai was known for speaking violently against Muslims as well as South Indians, and he too was fond of Hitler. It is not for unknown reasons that after 2014, Hitler’s Mein Kampf became available everywhere.
 
I am not surprised by the Brahmanical backlash at the image of Twitter’s Founder Jack Dorsey holding the much talked about poster. They have thronged twitter claiming victimhood. Dorsey has come to India for the first time and has been welcomed with nothing but scorn on Twitter.
 
In the last one decade, we have seen that the powerful Savarna lobby which enjoys all the privileges of being a minority in the western world, actually hates to speak for the rights of minorities and marginalised in India. It is this group, which has been consistent in its approach to support the forces of rabid Hindutva in India. We all know how Twitter became a factory of Hindutva hatemongers, threatening and intimidating all those who disagreed. We know very well how everyone else who disagreed became anti-national and the level of debate in our media went to the gutters.
 
Smashing Brahmanical Patriarchy, White Supremacy, caste forces or racist forces amount to the same thing. It is important to know that when we speak of Brahmanical patriarchy, it should not just be about Brahmins but about the Varnashram Dharm which was founded by them. They are the torch bearers of this institution.  
 
A Thakur, a Bania, a Yadav or Kayastha, a Bhumihar or anyone else could be a person of Brahmanical patriarchy which carries hatred and contempt for women. What we termed Hinduism today was actually known as Brahman dharma or Varnashram dharma. When the hurt victims claim all the goodness of the set up that benefits them, they cannot turn their backs or deny the criticism of the same system.
 
Yesterday, there was a big story in The Hindu of how two lovers were killed. They were killed because the boy was a Dalit while the girl belonged to the Vanniyar community, an OBC. The Vanniyars have been at the forefront of demanding the scrapping of the SC/ST Act. Many of the OBC leaders in the past have demanded that because much of the violence unleashed on Dalits today are by OBCs and that is why Baba Saheb Ambedkar called them the gatekeepers of Brahmanism. All of this is Brahmanism. They abuse their powers given to them Brahmanism and take shelter in it. Baba Saheb Ambedkar gave us the path of Buddhist enlightenment which was essential for the annihilation of castes.
 
A friend wrote that why should the Dalit OBC’s break the caste structure. It is the Brahmins who created and hence they should annihilate the caste. He meant that annihilation of caste slogan was not meant for the Dalits and OBCs but for the Brahmins. The problem with such jumlebaazi is that they take us nowhere. They ask all of us to continue behaving in a casteist way and ultimately take escape in blaming the Brahmins all the time. Brahmins created our structures of justifications of caste and caste-based discrimination but those have been exposed by our forefathers like Baba Saheb, Jyoti Ba Phule, EVR Periyar and others.
 
The fact is that the caste system has given the Savarnas, particularly the Brahmins, absolute privilege without being accountable. Despite the facts that most of the Kings and emperors did not hail from the Brahmin community, yet it was they who enjoyed all the patronage of power. The Brahmin power in India actually came after independence as they occupied all the major centres of power right from politics to the judiciary, academia, media and even sports, apart from unchallenged supreme social status.
 
I agree with those who say brahmins are a minority. Yes, all the Savaranas are a minority but got disproportionate power. Find out the castes of the officers in the Prime Minister’s Office. Look at who are heading our academia, media and judiciary. Look out at our armed forces, our sports, our advertising world and the world of cinema in India. They all are a ‘den’ of Brahmanism and not merely brahmins. Caste system manifests in each of these institutions in different ways. All the powerful temples of India have one hundred per cent Brahmin and Savarna quota. All the gutters of India are left in the hands of ‘sanitation workers’ or Swachchkar samaj. There’s 100% quota for Dalits in the sanitation department.
 
With these privileges, I am sure, the annihilation of caste won’t be possible by those who are enjoying it. Baba Saheb knew it very well and that is why he gave a call to all those who believed that these power structures must go, to embrace Buddhism and work for Prabuddha Bharat. Yes, that Prabuddha Bharat call was not meant for the untouchables alone but for all Indians who wanted to make India stronger and a nation which can be proud of its cultural heritage.
 
We know that not everyone has heeded Baba Saheb’s call. The Bahujan communities have yet to respond because as long as they are part of this structures, the caste system will flourish and Brahmanical supremacy would continue. The caste-based killings will continue. It is not merely brahmins but the Thakurs, Bhumihars, Yadavas, Reddy’s, Thevars, Jats, Gujjars and others will kill innocent couples who are in love if it challenges their caste structure. The young couple marrying beyond their caste limits will continue to face it unless our families become enlightened or we leave them and create our own new world. The meaning of a Brahmanical system is those people who believe in supremacy and sanctity of caste and its hierarchies. Many of the enlightened intellectuals identified that their parents were Brahmins but smashed the patriarchy. We can’t ignore the great work of Rahul Sankrityayan as well as MN Roy in this regard, both born as brahmins yet exposed the Brahmanical systems.
 
The solution to these issues is not making everyone feel guilty. None can be harassed on the basis of their birth but it is a fact that in India, caste is based on birth and it gives you absolute privilege. We cannot decide our birth. We cannot choose our parents but we can decide on our present and future action. We can’t politely accept the dangers of hierarchical society as it is dangerous for all. It will destroy India. We need an enlightened India and it will not be possible without destroying birth-based hierarchies and privileges.
 
The problem is that the wider debate on these issues are polarised and every one only speaks in their ‘confined’ circles, thought bubbles or hubris. Youngsters are not groomed to accept diverse thoughts and hence any dissent of their popular belief is considered as sacrilege. No society can grow if they feel hurt on every small issue which challenges the popular notion. One thing which is clear is that we can’t stop the march of the communities who have been historically denied justice. Their assertion of their caste identities cannot be termed as ‘casteism’. The Dalit assertion today and brahmin supremacy are two different terms and cannot be equated. But beyond these things, there should be a realisation that everyone needs a space and each person should be provided justice. It will not be possible unless historical injustices are not acknowledged and diversity is not placed in our academia, media, judiciary and bureaucracy.
 
The caste system is the biggest crime imposed on people of India. We know as the world becomes too small and accessible to all, these things will also get exposed. Those who claim victimhood from the ‘colonial’ masters actually have the biggest consolidation of power and have victimised communities in much worse ways than their colonial masters. We must admit that caste discrimination and untouchability are crimes equivalent to racial discrimination. When the world can join hands and feel offended by anything that has racial connotations, then why do we in India, not feel offended by caste discrimination and violence? Why has India tolerated untouchability which is nothing but a hidden apartheid?
 
These issues are serious but will only find resolutions when the Savarnas in India genuinely feel that certain communities have been historically wronged and denied justice. It will pave the way for reconciliation and nation building but that has a lot to do with voluntarily resigning from privileges which give the community enormous social and political power. Will the Indian Parliament ever discuss this and apologise to its Dalit Adivasi communities for the historical wrong done to them? A reconciliation is only possible if the powerful and those who enjoyed fruits of the system offer their hand, admit their collusion and proceed to build a new future.
 
There is no winner here except humanity. But will the caste mind rise and condemn the system of their privilege?

 

VISHNU VISWANATH FOR THE CARAVAN

On 28 September, a five-judge bench of the Supreme Court lifted the ban on women’s entry into the Sabarimala temple situated on a hilltop in Kerala’s Pathanamthitta district. The temple, managed by the socio-religious trust Travancore Devaswom Board, is a shrine to Ayyappan, a deity regarded as a Naishtika Brahmachari—eternally celibate—in Hindu mythology. Around 1955, the TDB prohibited the entry of women in the age group of 10–50 years to “protect Ayyappan’s vow of celibacy.” After the judgment, thousands descended on the streets of Kerala proclaiming that the verdict was an attack on their faith regarding Ayyappan. On 17 October, the temple opened its gates for six days for its monthly puja. Women who attempted the pilgrimage to the shrine were hounded by mobs, which created a situation that threatened to escalate into riots. No woman was able to enter the temple.

In its judgment, the SC declared that prohibiting women’s entry was a form of untouchability. Appointing priests from non-Brahmin communities is also a disputed issue in Sabarimala. The verdict states, “A claim for the exclusion of women from religious worship, even if it be founded in religious text, is subordinate to the constitutional values of liberty, dignity and equality. Exclusionary practices are contrary to constitutional morality.” In the wake of the verdict, the Mala Araya, an Adivasi community listed as a Scheduled Tribe by the central government, is staking its claim to practise religious rituals at the temple. Mala Araya, from the word “Malai Arayan” which means “Monarch of the Hills,” is one of the largest tribal communities in areas of Kottayam, Idukki and Pattanamtitta districts of Kerala.

They claim that they practised religious duties in the temple until they were forced to stop after the Thazhamon Madom, a Brahmin family, took over the priestly responsibilities of the temple in 1902. Since then, the post of the “thantri,” or the head priest of the temple, has been passed on hereditarily within the Brahmin family. According to the Mala Araya, the subsequent Brahminisation of the temple—and its rituals and history—effectively ousted the Adivasi community from the temple.

Aikya Mala Araya Maha Sabha is a developmental organization working towards the welfare of the Mala Araya people in Kerala. In an interview with Aathira Konikkara, a reporting fellow at The Caravan, the founder and general secretary of AMAMS, PK Sajeev, discusses the Mala Araya’s beliefs about Ayyappan, the disputed belief regarding women entering the temple and the Brahminisation of rituals in the temple. “That is my biggest point of protest,” Sajeev said, referring to the Mala Arayas’ role in Sabarimala. “History is being deliberately neglected.”

First Published on https://caravanmagazine.in/

Aathira Konikkara: Which rituals and customs did the Mala Araya’s practise before the Thazhamon Madom took over?
PK Sajeev: Sree Ayyappan was born in this [Mala Araya] community to Kandan and Karuthamma, in a cave in Ponnambalamedu [a district in Kerala near the Sabarimala temple]. During this period of history, the Cholas had been on the offensive against Kerala for over 100 years. Kandan and Karuthamma had approached a priest known as Korman, praying for a solution to defeat the Cholas. It is said that they were told to fast for 41 days so that they would have a son who could defeat the Cholas. So the 41-day fast emerges from Sree Ayyappan’s birth. Sree Ayyappan, as the commander, mobilised the people against the Chola dynasty. He united all the people who were trained in martial arts and became a force of strength. That is how they faced the Cholas.

The Mala Arayas looked after the temple till the 1800s. The rituals came into being after Ayyappan attained samadhi. The ritual of the 41-day fast is what makes Sabarimala distinct from other temples.

As far as I have read, the numbers 18 [in reference to 18 steps leading to the temple’s sanctum sanctorum that is considered sacred] and 41 [in reference to the 41-day fast that has to be kept before the Sabarimala pilgrimage] do not hold any importance in Hindu mythology. The 18 steps are symbolic of 18 hills [that surround Sabarimala] in the Mala Arayas’ belief. One must visit Ayyappan only after saluting the 18 hills.

The customs of the Mala Araya community entered Sabarimala. Later, it was Brahminised. The 18 steps were later given other terminologies such as Sama, Dhana, Bheda or something along those lines. Neyyabhishekam [the offering of ghee to the deity, which is the first ritual that pilgrims perform upon reaching the temple] is not ancient. Before that, the Mala Arayas performed thenabhishekam after the 41-day fast—they collected honey and bathed the idol of Ayyappan with it. This was the most important ritual.

AK: When and how were the Mala Arayas ousted from Sabarimala?
PKS: This was around the 1800s. It had only been a short while since the king of Pandalam started ruling there. Kerala had laws such as head tax and breast tax. [Till the mid-nineteenth century, Kerala imposed taxes on all members of lower-caste communities to cover their head and on women from these communities to cover their breasts.] Abuses and atrocities were rampant. From what I hear, everyone was threatened and driven away from the hills. They had to flee their homes—our ancestors in Karimala had to go as far as Thodupuzha.
These were innocent people with no one to protect them. Today, we have a constitution to protect us. But back then, the powerful attacked the innocent.

AK: How did the Thazhamon Madom family take charge of the temple? After they took over, were there any changes in the temple and its customs?
PKS: The responsibility was entrusted to them by the kingdom of Travancore. Around 1942, when the kings visited the temple for puja, they brought their own thantris [the Thazhamon Madom family] for the purpose. The Padi Pooja [worship of the 18 steps] did not exist before. All the customs practised there today were introduced by them.

Ayyappan is Ayyan + Appan. Appan [father] is someone we respect. Ayyan was a name commonly used among people of ancient times. In our community, a majority of us had grandfathers named Ayyappan. But we don’t see anyone named Ayyappan Namboothiri. Even after earning an income from Sabarimala for centuries, why has nobody in that family been named after Ayyappan?

AK: What changed after the TDB was established in 1950?
PKS: Majority of temples in Kerala, which belonged to Parayars, Pulayars, Sambavars or Adivasis were Brahminised and adopted other customs—including temples managed by my own community such as the Karimala and Nilakal Mahadeva temple. These are now administered by the Devaswom board. The Valliyankavu Devi temple, which receives devotees in large numbers, is also now run by the Devaswom board.

AK: How did Makara Jyothi originate in the Mala Araya faith?
PKS: When Sree Ayyappan attained samadhi, his parents in Ponnambalamedu were inconsolable on receiving the news. Sree Ayyappan appeared before them and said that he would appear every year as jyothi [flickering light]. [The] ritual is performed to receive the jyothi [in the Ponnambalamedu district]. Earlier thellipadi [fire-inducing material] was used. But now, camphor is used instead.

The forest officials harassed the [Mala Arayas] living in the forests in various ways. They used to go back to practise the ritual even after that. But when threats and harassment increased, it became impossible. Aruvikkal Appooppan was a priest and an oracle in Karimala. He had to move to Kalaketty village due to the threats. He still walked all the way back to light the lamp and had to trek several hills to make it. Forest officials and people from the Devaswom board threatened him and drove him away.

AK: What is the existing archaeological evidence of the Mala Arayas’ life in Sabarimala?
PKS: The temples were built from ancient rocks, nearly 10,000 years ago. Intricate sculptures were carved on to the pillars of the temple. They were found in Karimala, Ponnambalamedu, Kothakuthithara, Nilakkal, Thalaparamala and so on. They are in ruins now. They were abandoned in forests—these were deliberately neglected as a part of the plan to introduce new customs and traditions. Today, you won’t see those kind of idols. Old idols were disposed and replaced with new ones which were projected as idols.

A civilisation and a culture was lost. That is my biggest point of protest—that history is being deliberately neglected.

AK: Are there members of the Mala Araya community still living in Sabarimala or the surrounding regions?
PKS: Yes. They live in four hills—Udumbaramala, Koparamala, Nilakkal and Karimala. They constructed new temples for worship because they cannot return to the places under the control of Devaswom board—they cannot be challenged.

AK: Have you considered resorting to legal remedies?
PKS: Yes, we are planning to move the Supreme Court. Many have asked me why this issue was not raised earlier. The British ruled India for 200 years—our predecessors could have asked for their rights 10 years later or even 100 years later. But they were unable to question it in the face of threats. [We] were evicted from Ponnambalamedu the way Red Indians were evicted from America. After the kingdom’s rule, it was the reign of forest officials in these regions.

The SC verdict was historic and instrumental in giving us an opportunity to speak up. It created a huge opportunity for us to reveal a historic truth. We want all the rights restored.

The ownership over the temple was with a member of our community. We want the right to perform the thenabhishekam, which was practised on the 1st of every month, as per the Malayalam calendar. We also want the right to practise the ritual of Makara Jyothi in Ponnambalamedu. We are not asking for anything new—these were experiences of our forefathers.

In a democratic country, those who are in power should restore the rights to those who lost them. The Mala Araya cannot be compared to other communities because traditions are to us what water is to fish, what air is to humans. Even when a tree grows up, it cannot stay on earth without its roots.

AK: Do you agree with the Supreme Court verdict on women’s entry into Sabarimala?
PKS: They can go if they are going out of faith. To tell you impartially about what I have seen in my community, women did not go to temples during the seven days of periods. I have never heard of any instance of young women from the Mala Araya community going to Sabarimala [while menstruating]. [But even] back then, after a delivery, women resumed their periods only after some [one or] two years. They could follow the 41-day continuous fast completely—one or two have gone in those situations.

We as a community stay rooted in our beliefs. But as a part of democracy, we greatly depend on the constitution, the judiciary, the government and we are very much aware that such systems are what sustain the nation at all times. It is a change towards a mature society.
We perceive this as Sree Sabareesan, Ayyappan’s, own people. So if women of that age group go there, our faithful evaluation is that they are going there because they wish to see Ayyappan, because Ayyappan has invited them there. Not activists, those who go there out of devotion. Why will we stop those who go to see Swami, to see Ayyappan? Obstructing them is equal to obstructing Ayyappan.

AK: I had read another article where you stated that the Mala Araya don’t see a distinction between men and women …
PKS: No, we don’t see a distinction. The Neeli Mala hill is named after Neeli, a woman. In Ramayana, there is a portion known as Shabari Ashrama Pravesham. That hill is known in the name of Shabari [a woman]. Remember that Sree Ayyappan chose Sabarimala for his penance after praying to the ascetic, Shabari. Karimala was ruled by a woman from the community named Chakki—the region had several human settlements. So a woman from the community could become the ruler. Similarly, a woman who is an ascetic can also rise up. None of that is forbidden in terms of faith.

Courtesy: https://caravanmagazine.in/

BOOK EXCERPT

Courtesy: Scroll.in

As we witness yet another incident of violence in the name of stopping cow-slaughter by groups of vigilantes known as gau-rakshaks, we revisit BR Ambedkar’s 1948 work The Untouchables: Who Were They and Why They Became Untouchables?, which grapples with many of the issues that continue to plague India even today.

What is the cause of the nausea which the Hindus have against beef-eating? Were the Hindus always opposed to beef-eating? If not, why did they develop such a nausea against it? Were the Untouchables given to beef-eating from the very start? Why did they not give up beef-eating when it was abandoned by the Hindus? Were the Untouchables always Untouchables? If there was a time when the Untouchables were not Untouchables even though they ate beef why should beef-eating give rise to Untouchability at a later-stage? If the Hindus were eating beef, when did they give it up? If Untouchability is a reflex of the nausea of the Hindus against beef-eating, how long after the Hindus had given up beef-eating did Untouchability come into being?

Ambedkar's conclusions, based on an analysis of various religious texts, will seem more than deeply ironical to anyone who studies contemporary India, for the father of Indian Constitution argued that Brahmins who once had no compunctions against slaughter of animals, including cows, and were the greatest beef-eaters themselves, not only gave up beef-eating but also started worshipping the cow as a deliberate strategy.

The clue to the worship of the cow is to be found in the struggle between Buddhism and Brahmanism and the means adopted by Brahmanism to establish its supremacy over Buddhism.

Earlier in the book, Ambedkar introduces the concept of Broken Men, whom he describes as follows:

In a tribal war it often happened that a tribe instead of being completely annihilated was defeated and routed. In many cases a defeated tribe became broken into bits. As a consequence of this there always existed in Primitive times a floating population consisting of groups of Broken tribesmen roaming in all directions.

He also makes the assumption that

“Untouchables are Broken Men belonging to a tribe different from the tribe comprising the village community.”

Ambedkar’s third assumption is that

“Broken Men were the followers of Buddhism and did not care to return to Brahmanism when it became triumphant over Buddhism”. 

What follows are excerpts from Chapter 9 to 14:
The Broken Men hated the Brahmins because the Brahmins were the enemies of Buddhism and the Brahmins imposed untouchability upon the Broken Men because they would not leave Buddhism. On this reasoning it is possible to conclude that one of the roots of untouchability lies in the hatred and contempt which the Brahmins created against those who were Buddhist.

Can the hatred between Buddhism and Brahmanism be taken to be the sole cause why Broken Men became Untouchables? Obviously, it cannot be. The hatred and contempt preached by the Brahmins was directed against Buddhists in general and not against the Broken Men in particular. Since untouchability stuck to Broken Men only, it is obvious that there was some additional circumstance which has played its part in fastening untouchability upon the Broken Men. What that circumstance could have been? We must next direct our effort in the direction of ascertaining it.]

Beef-eating as the root of Untouchability
[…]The Census Returns [of 1910] show that the meat of the dead cow forms the chief item of food consumed by communities which are generally classified as untouchable communities. No Hindu community, however low, will touch cow’s flesh. On the other hand, there is no community which is really an Untouchable community which has not something to do with the dead cow. Some eat her flesh, some remove the skin, some manufacture articles out of her skin and bones.

From the survey of the Census Commissioner, it is well established that Untouchables eat beef. The question however is: Has beef-eating any relation to the origin of Untouchability? Or is it merely an incident in the economic life of the Untouchables?

Can we say that the Broken Men to be treated as Untouchables because they ate beef? There need be no hesitation in returning an affirmative answer to this question. No other answer is consistent with facts as we know them.
In the first place, we have the fact that the Untouchables or the main communities which compose them eat the dead cow and those who eat the dead cow are tainted with untouchability and no others. The co-relation between untouchability and the use of the dead cow is so great and so close that the thesis that it is the root of untouchability seems to be incontrovertible.

In the second place if there is anything that separates the Untouchables from the Hindus, it is beef-eating. Even a superficial view of the food taboos of the Hindus will show that there are two taboos regarding food which serve as dividing lines.

There is one taboo against meat-eating. It divides Hindus into vegetarians and flesh eaters. There is another taboo which is against beef eating. It divides Hindus into those who eat cow’s flesh and those who do not. From the point of view of untouchability the first dividing line is of no importance. But the second is. For it completely marks off the Touchables from the Untouchables.

The Touchables whether they are vegetarians or flesh-eaters are united in their objection to eat cow’s flesh. As against them stand the Untouchables who eat cow’s flesh without compunction and as a matter of course and habit.
In this context it is not far-fetched to suggest that those who have a nausea against beef-eating should treat those who eat beef as Untouchables. There is really no necessity to enter upon any speculation as to whether beef-eating was or was not the principal reason for the rise of Untouchability.

This new theory receives support from the Hindu Shastras. The Veda Vyas Smriti contains the following verse which specifies the communities which are included in the category of Antyajas and the reasons why they were so included

“The Charmakars (Cobbler), the Bhatta (Soldier), the Bhilla, the Rajaka (washerman), the Puskara, the Nata (actor), the Vrata, the Meda, the Chandala, the Dasa, the Svapaka, and the Kolika – these are known as Antyajas as well as others who eat cow’s flesh.”

Generally speaking, the Smritikars never care to explain the why and the how of their dogmas. But this case is exception. For in this case, Veda Vyas does explain the cause of untouchability. The clause “as well as others who eat cow’s flesh” is very important. It shows that the Smritikars knew that the origin of untouchability is to be found in the eating of beef.

The dictum of Veda Vyas must close the argument. It comes, so to say, straight from the horse’s mouth and what is important is that it is also rational for it accords with facts as we know them.

The new approach in the search for the origin of Untouchability has brought to the surface two sources of the origin of Untouchability. One is the general atmosphere of scorn and contempt spread by the Brahmins against those who were Buddhists and the second is the habit of beef-eating kept on by the Broken Men.

As has been said the first circumstance could not be sufficient to account for stigma of Untouchability attaching itself to the Broken Men. For the scorn and contempt for Buddhists spread by the Brahmins was too general and affected all Buddhists and not merely the Broken Men.

The reason why Broken Men only became Untouchables was because in addition to being Buddhists they retained their habit of beef-eating which gave additional ground for offence to the Brahmins to carry their new-found love and reverence to the cow to its logical conclusion.

We may therefore conclude that the Broken Men were exposed to scorn and contempt on the ground that they were Buddhists, and the main cause of their Untouchability was beef-eating.
[…]

Did the Hindus never eat beef?
[…] The adjective Aghnya applied to the cow in the Rig Veda means a cow that was yielding milk and therefore not fit for being killed. That the cow is venerated in the Rig Veda is of course true. But this regard and venerations of the cow are only to be expected from an agricultural community like the Indo-Aryans. This application of the utility of the cow did not prevent the Aryan from killing the cow for purposes of food. Indeed the cow was killed because the cow was regarded as sacred. As observed by Mr Kane:

"It was not that the cow was not sacred in Vedic times, it was because of her sacredness that it is ordained in the Vajasaneyi Samhita that beef should be eaten."

That the Aryans of the Rig Veda did kill cows for purposes of food and ate beef is abundantly clear from the Rig Veda itself. In Rig Veda (X. 86.14) Indra says:

"They cook for one 15 plus twenty oxen". 

The Rig Veda (X.91.14) says that for Agni were sacrificed horses, bulls, oxen, barren cows and rams. From the Rig Veda (X.72.6) it appears that the cow was killed with a sword or axe.

[…] The correct view is that the testimony of the Satapatha Brahmana and the Apastamba Dharma Sutra in so far as it supports the view that Hindus were against cow-killing and beef-eating, are merely exhortations against the excesses of cow-killing and not prohibitions against cow-killing.

Indeed the exhortations prove that cow-killing and eating of beef had become a common practice. That notwithstanding these exhortations cow-killing and beef-eating continued. That most often they fell on deaf ears is proved by the conduct of Yajnavalkya, the great Rishi of the Aryans. … After listening to the exhortation this is what Yajnavalkya said :

"I, for one, eat it, provided that it is tender"

That the Hindus at one time did kill cows and did eat beef is proved abundantly by the description of the Yajnas given in the Buddhist Sutras which relate to periods much later than the Vedas and the Brahmanas.
The scale on which the slaughter of cows and animals took place was collosal. It is not possible to give a total of such slaughter on all accounts committed by the Brahmins in the name of religion…

Why did non-Brahmins give up beef-eating?
[…]
Examining the legislation of Asoka the question is: Did he prohibit the killing of the cow? On this issue there seem to be a difference of opinion… Asoka had no particular interest in the cow and owed no special duty to protect her against killing. Asoka was interested in the sanctity of all life human as well as animal. He felt his duty to prohibit the taking of life where taking of life was not necessary. That is why he prohibited slaughtering animal for sacrifice which he regarded as unnecessary and of animals which are not utilised nor eaten which again would be want on and unnecessary.

That he did not prohibit the slaughter of the cow in specie may well be taken as a fact which for having regard to the Buddhist attitude in the matter cannot be used against Asoka as a ground for casting blame.

Coming to Manu there is no doubt that he too did not prohibit the slaughter of the cow. On the other hand he made the eating of cow's flesh on certain occasions obligatory.This may be a novel theory but it is not an impossible theory. As the French author, Gabriel Tarde has explained that culture within a society spreads by imitation of the ways and manners of the superior classes by the inferior classes.

This imitation is so regular in its flow that its working is as mechanical as the working of a natural law. Gabriel Tarde speaks of the laws of imitation. One of these laws is that the lower classes always imitate the higher classes. This is a matter of such common knowledge that hardly any individual can be found to question its validity.

That the spread of the cow-worship among and cessation of beef-eating by the non-Brahmins has taken place by reason of the habit of the non-Brahmins to imitate the Brahmins who were undoubtedly their superiors is beyond dispute.Of course there was an extensive propaganda in favour of cow-worship by the Brahmins. The Gayatri Purana is a piece of this propaganda. But initially it is the result of the natural law of imitation. This, of course, raises another question:
Why did the Brahmins give up beef-eating?
Why did the Brahmins give up beef-eating?

What made the Brahmins become vegetarians?
[…]
[T]here was a time when the Brahmins were the greatest beef-eaters… In a period overridden by ritualism there was hardly a day on which there was no cow sacrifice to which the Brahmin was not invited by some non-Brahmin. For the Brahmin every day was a beef-steak day. The Brahmins were therefore the greatest beef-eaters. The Yajna of the Brahmins was nothing but the killing of innocent animals carried on in the name of religion with pomp and ceremony with an attempt to enshroud it in mystery with a view to conceal their appetite for beef. Some idea of this mystery pomp and ceremony can be had from the directions contained in the Atreya Brahamana touching the killing of animals in a Yajna…
[F]or generations the Brahmins had been eating beef. Why did they give up beef-eating? Why did they, as an extreme step, give up meat eating altogether and become vegetarians? It is two revolutions rolled into one.
As has been shown it has not been done as a result of the preachings of Manu, their Divine Law-maker. The revolution has taken place in spite of Manu and contrary to his directions. What made the Brahmins take this step? Was philosophy responsible for it? Or was it dictated by strategy?…

To my mind, it was strategy which made the Brahmins give up beef-eating and start worshipping the cow. The clue to the worship of the cow is to be found in the struggle between Buddhism and Brahmanism and the means adopted by Brahmanism to establish its supremacy over Buddhism.

The strife between Buddhism and Brahmanism is a crucial fact in Indian history. Without the realisation of this fact, it is impossible to explain some of the features of Hinduism. Unfortunately students of Indian history have entirely missed the importance of this strife. They knew there was Brahmanism. But they seem to be entirely unaware of the struggle for supremacy in which these creeds were engaged and that their struggle, which extended for 400 years has left some indelible marks on religion, society and politics of India.

This is not the place for describing the full story of the struggle. All one can do is to mention a few salient points. Buddhism was at one time the religion of the majority of the people of India. It continued to be the religion of the masses for hundreds of years. It attacked Brahmanism on all sides as no religion had done before.

Brahmanism was on the wane and if not on the wane, it was certainly on the defensive. As a result of the spread of Buddhism, the Brahmins had lost all power and prestige at the Royal Court and among the people.

They were smarting under the defeat they had suffered at the hands of Buddhism and were making all possible efforts to regain their power and prestige. Buddhism had made so deep an impression on the minds of the masses and had taken such a hold of them that it was absolutely impossible for the Brahmins to fight the Buddhists except by accepting their ways and means and practising the Buddhist creed in its extreme form.

After the death of Buddha his followers started setting up the images of the Buddha and building stupas. The Brahmins followed it. They, in their turn, built temples and installed in them images of Shiva, Vishnu and Ram and Krishna etc – all with the object of drawing away the crowd that was attracted by the image worship of Buddha.

That is how temples and images which had no place in Brahmanism came into Hinduism.

The Buddhists rejected the Brahmanic religion which consisted of Yajna and animal sacrifice, particularly of the cow. The objection to the sacrifice of the cow had taken a strong hold of the minds of the masses especially as they were an agricultural population and the cow was a very useful animal.

The Brahmins in all probability had come to be hated as the killer of cows in the same way as the guest had come to be hated as Gognha, the killer of the cow by the householder, because whenever he came a cow had to be killed in his honour. That being the case, the Brahmins could do nothing to improve their position against the Buddhists except by giving up the Yajna as a form of worship and the sacrifice of the cow.

That the object of the Brahmins in giving up beef-eating was to snatch away from the Buddhist Bhikshus the supremacy they had acquired is evidenced by the adoption of vegetarianism by Brahmins.

Why did the Brahmins become vegetarian? The answer is that without becoming vegetarian the Brahmins could not have recovered the ground they had lost to their rival namely Buddhism.

In this connection it must be remembered that there was one aspect in which Brahmanism suffered in public esteem as compared to Buddhism. That was the practice of animal sacrifice which was the essence of Brahmanism and to which Buddhism was deadly opposed.

That in an agricultural population there should be respect for Buddhism and revulsion against Brahmanism which involved slaughter of animals including cows and bullocks is only natural. What could the Brahmins do to recover the lost ground? To go one better than the Buddhist Bhikshus not only to give up meat-eating but to become vegetarians – which they did. That this was the object of the Brahmins in becoming vegetarians can be proved in various ways.

If the Brahmins had acted from conviction that animal sacrifice was bad, all that was necessary for them to do was to give up killing animals for sacrifice. It was unnecessary for them to be vegetarians. That they did go in for vegetarianism makes it obvious that their motive was far-reaching.

Secondly, it was unnecessary for them to become vegetarians. For the Buddhist Bhikshus were not vegetarians. This statement might surprise many people owing to the popular belief that the connection between Ahimsa and Buddhism was immediate and essential. It is generally believed that the Buddhist Bhikshus eschewed animal food. This is an error.

The fact is that the Buddhist Bhikshus were permitted to eat three kinds of flesh that were deemed pure. Later on they were extended to five classes. Yuan Chwang, the Chinese traveller was aware of this and spoke of the pure kinds of flesh as San-Ching…

As the Buddhist Bhikshus did eat meat the Brahmins had no reason to give it up. Why then did the Brahmins give up meat-eating and become vegetarians? It was because they did not want to put themselves merely on the same footing in the eyes of the public as the Buddhist Bhikshus.

The giving up of the Yajna system and abandonment of the sacrifice of the cow could have had only a limited effect. At the most it would have put the Brahmins on the same footing as the Buddhists. The same would have been the case if they had followed the rules observed by the Buddhist Bhikshus in the matter of meat-eating. It could not have given the Brahmins the means of achieving supremacy over the Buddhists which was their ambition.

They wanted to oust the Buddhists from the place of honour and respect which they had acquired in the minds of the masses by their opposition to the killing of the cow for sacrificial purposes. To achieve their purpose the Brahmins had to adopt the usual tactics of a reckless adventurer. It is to beat extremism with extremism. It is the strategy which all rightists use to overcome the leftists. The only way to beat the Buddhists was to go a step further and be vegetarians.
There is another reason which can be relied upon to support the thesis that the Brahmins started cow-worship, gave up beef-eating and became vegetarians in order to vanquish Buddhism. It is the date when cow-killing became a mortal sin. It is well-known that cow-killing was not made an offence by Asoka. Many people expect him to have come forward to prohibit the killing of the cow. Prof Vincent Smith regards it as surprising. But there is nothing surprising in it.
Buddhism was against animal sacrifice in general. It had no particular affection for the cow. Asoka had therefore no particular reason to make a law to save the cow. What is more astonishing is the fact that cow-killing was made a Mahapataka, a mortal sin or a capital offence by the Gupta Kings who were champions of Hinduism which recognised and sanctioned the killing of the cow for sacrificial purposes…

The question is why should a Hindu king have come forward to make a law against cow-killing, that is to say, against the Laws of Manu? The answer is that the Brahmins had to suspend or abrogate a requirement of their Vedic religion in order to overcome the supremacy of the Buddhist Bhikshus.

If the analysis is correct then it is obvious that the worship of the cow is the result of the struggle between Buddhism and Brahminism. It was a means adopted by the Brahmins to regain their lost position.

Why should beef-eating make broken men Untouchables?
THE stoppage of beef-eating by the Brahmins and the non-Brahmins and the continued use thereof by the Broken Men had produced a situation which was different from the old. This difference lay in the face that while in the old situation everybody ate beef, in the new -situation one section did not and another did.

The difference was a glaring difference. Everybody could see it. It divided society as nothing else did before. All the same, this difference need not have given rise to such extreme division of society as is marked by Untouchability. It could have remained a social difference. There are many cases where different sections of the community differ in their foods. What one likes the other dislikes and yet this difference does not create a bar between the two.
There must therefore be some special reason why in India the difference between the Settled Community and the Broken Men in the matter of beef eating created a bar between the two.

What can that be? The answer is that if beef-eating had remained a secular affair – a mere matter of individual taste – such a bar between those who ate beef and those who did not would not have arisen.

Unfortunately beef-eating, instead of being treated as a purely secular matter, was made a matter of religion. This happened because the Brahmins made the cow a sacred animal. This made beef-eating a sacrilege. The Broken Men being guilty of sacrilege necessarily became beyond the pale of society.

The answer may not be quite clear to those who have no idea of the scope and function of religion in the life of the society. They may ask: Why should religion make such a difference? It will be clear if the following points regarding the scope and function of religion are borne in mind.

To begin with the definition of religion. There is one universal feature which characterises all religions. This feature lies in religion being a unified system of beliefs and practices which (1) relate to sacred things and (2) which unite into one single community all those who adhere to them.

To put it slightly differently, there are two elements in every religion. One is that religion is inseparable from sacred things. The other is that religion is a collective thing inseparable from society.

The first element in religion presupposes a classification of all things, real and ideal, which are the subject-matter of man's thought, into two distinct classes which are generally designated by two distinct terms the sacred and the profane, popularly spoken of as secular.

This defines the scope of religion. For understanding the function of religion the following points regarding things sacred should be noted:
The first thing to note is that things sacred are not merely higher than or superior in dignity and status to those that are profane. They are just different. The sacred and the profane do not belong to the same class. There is a complete dichotomy between the two. As Prof Durkhiem observes:

“The traditional opposition of good and bad is nothing beside this; for the good and the bad are only two opposed species of the same class, namely, morals, just as sickness and health are two different aspects of the same order of facts, life, while the sacred and the profane have always and everywhere been conceived by the human mind as two distinct classes, as two worlds between which there is nothing in common.”

The curious may want to know what has led men to see in this world this dichotomy between the sacred and the profane. We must however refuse to enter into this discussion as it is unnecessary for the immediate purpose we have in mind.

Confining ourselves to the issue the next thing to note is that the circle of sacred objects is not fixed. Its extent varies infinitely from religion to religion. Gods and spirits are not the only sacred things. A rock, a tree, an animal, a spring, a pebble, a piece of wood, a house, in a word anything can be sacred. Things sacred are always associated with interdictions otherwise called taboos. To quote Prof Durkhiem again:

“Sacred things are those which the interdictions protect and isolate; profane things, those to which these interdictions are applied and which must remain at a distance from the first.”

Religious interdicts take multiple forms. Most important of these is the interdiction on contact. The interdiction on contact rests upon the principle that the profane should never touch the sacred.
Contact may be established in a variety of ways other than touch.

A look is a means of contact. That is why the sight of sacred things is forbidden to the profane in certain cases. For instance, women are not allowed to see certain things which are regarded as sacred.
The word (i.e., the breath which forms part of man and which spreads outside him) is another means of contact. That is why the profane is forbidden to address the sacred things or to utter them. For instance, the Veda must be uttered only by the Brahmin and not by the Shudra.

An exceptionally intimate contact is the one resulting from the absorption of food. Hence comes the interdiction against eating the sacred animals or vegetables.

The interdictions relating to the sacred are not open to discussion. They are beyond discussion and must be accepted without question. The sacred is "untouchable" in the sense that it is beyond the pale of debate. All that one can do is to respect and obey.

Lastly the interdictions relating to the sacred are binding on all. They are not maxims. They are injunctions. They are obligatory but not in the ordinary sense of the word. They partake of the nature of a categorical imperative. Their breach is more than a crime. It is a sacrilege.

The above summary should be enough for an understanding of the scope and function of religion. It is unnecessary to enlarge upon the subject further.

The analysis of the working of the laws of the sacred which is the core of religion should enable any one to see that my answer to the question why beef-eating should make the Broken Men untouchables is the correct one. All that is necessary to reach the answer I have proposed is to read the analysis of the working of the laws of the sacred with the cow as the sacred object.

It will be found that Untouchability is the result of the breach of the interdiction against the eating of the sacred animal, namely, the cow.

As has been said, the Brahmins made the cow a sacred animal. They did not stop to make a difference between a living cow and a dead cow. The cow was sacred, living or dead. Beef-eating was not merely a crime. If it was only a crime it would have involved nothing more than punishment. Beef-eating was made a sacrilege. Anyone who treated the cow as profane was guilty of sin and unfit for association. The Broken Men who continued to eat beef became guilty of sacrilege.

Once the cow became sacred and the Broken Men continued to eat beef, there was no other fate left for the Broken Men except to be treated unfit for association, i.e., as Untouchables.

Obvious objections
Before closing the subject it may be desirable to dispose of possible objections to the thesis. Two such objections to the thesis appear obvious.

One is what evidence is there that the Broken Men did eat the flesh of the dead cow. The second is why did they not give up beef-eating when the Brahmins and the non-Brahmins abandoned it.

These questions have an important bearing upon the theory of the origin of untouchability advanced in this book and must therefore be dealt with.

The first question is relevant as well as crucial. If the Broken Men were eating beef from the very beginning, then obviously the theory cannot stand. For, if they were eating beef from the very beginning and nonetheless were not treated as Untouchables, to say that the Broken Men became Untouchables because of beef-eating would be illogical if not senseless.

The second question is relevant, if not crucial. If the Brahmins gave up beef-eating and the non-Brahmins imitated them why did the Broken Men not do the same? If the law made the killing of the cow a capital sin because the cow became a sacred animal to the Brahmins and non-Brahmins, why were the Broken Men not stopped from eating beef? If they had been stopped from eating beef there would have been no Untouchability.

The answer to the first question is that even during the period when beef-eating was common to both, the Settled Tribesmen and the Broken Men, a system had grown up whereby the Settled Community ate fresh beef, while the Broken Men ate the flesh of the dead cow. We have no positive evidence to show that members of the Settled Community never ate the flesh of the dead cow. But we have negative evidence which shows that the dead cow had become an exclusive possession and perquisite of the Broken Men.

The evidence consists of facts which relate to the Mahars of the Maharashtra to whom reference has already been made. As has already been pointed out, the Mahars of the Maharashtra claim the right to take the dead animal. This right they claim against every Hindu in the village. This means that no Hindu can eat the flesh of his own animal when it dies. He has to surrender it to the Mahar. This is merely another way of stating that when eating beef was a common practice the Mahars ate dead beef and the Hindus ate fresh beef.

The only questions that arise are: Whether what is true of the present is true of the ancient past? Can this fact which is true of the Maharashtra be taken as typical of the arrangement between the Settled Tribes and the Broken Men throughout India?

In this connection reference may be made to the tradition current among the Mahars according to which they claim that they were given 52 rights against the Hindu villagers by the Muslim King of Bedar. Assuming that they were given by the King of Bedar, the King obviously did not create them for the first time. They must have been in existence from the ancient past. What the King did was merely to confirm them. This means that the practice of the Broken Men eating dead meat and the Settled Tribes eating fresh meat must have grown in the ancient past.

That such an arrangement should grow up is certainly most natural. The Settled Community was a wealthy community with agriculture and cattle as means of livelihood. The Broken Men were a community of paupers with no means of livelihood and entirely dependent upon the Settled Community. The principal item of food for both was beef. It was possible for the Settled Community to kill an animal for food because it was possessed of cattle. The Broken Men could not for they had none.

Would it be unnatural in these circumstances for the Settled Community to have agreed to give to the Broken Men its dead animals as part of their wages of watch and ward? Surely not. It can therefore be taken for granted that in the ancient past when both the Settled Community and Broken Men did eat beef the former ate fresh beef and the latter of the dead cow and that this system represented a universal state of affairs throughout India and was not confined to the Maharashtra alone.

This disposes of the first objection. To turn to the second objection. The law made by the Gupta Emperors was intended to prevent those who killed cows. It did not apply to the Broken Men. For they did not kill the cow. They only ate the dead cow. Their conduct did not contravene the law against cow-killing. The practice of eating the flesh of the dead cow therefore was allowed to continue.

Nor did their conduct contravene the doctrine of Ahimsa assuming that it has anything to do with the abandonment of beef-eating by the Brahmins and the non-Brahmins. Killing the cow was Himsa. But eating the dead cow was not. The Broken Men had therefore no cause for feeling qualms of conscience in continuing to eat the dead cow. Neither the law nor the doctrine of Himsa could interdict what they were doing, for what they were doing was neither contrary to law nor to the doctrine.

As to why they did not imitate the Brahmins and the non-Brahmins the answer is two fold. In the first place, imitation was too costly. They could not afford it. The flesh of the dead cow was their principal sustenance. Without it they would starve.

In the second place, carrying the dead cow had become an obligation though originally it was a privilege. As they could not escape carrying the dead cow they did not mind using the flesh as food in the manner in which they were doing previously.

Excerpted from Chapters 9 to 14 (Part IV and V) of B.R. Ambedkar’s 1948 work The Untouchables: Who Were They and Why They Became Untouchables? as reprinted in Volume 7 of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Writings and Speeches.

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