Why it’s not a surprise that ignorant people like Arunan see the ministers in Modi’s cabinet only by their caste!
The title would sound like a no-brainer to most modern Indians. However, every now and then a celebrity or a politician or someone in public life talks about this question and then it comes up before us.
If you have not heard of this person by the name Arunan Kathiresan, you haven’t missed anything in life. He’s one of those character’s who is in a profession which is most unsuited for him (politics) and even worse, a misfit in his own party (CPI-M). This gentleman who calls himself a Marxist is known for making casteist statements, making everyone wonder whether he belongs to the DK or the CPI(M). The recent statement he made on May 30th is that Modi’s cabinet has 9 brahmins and 12 upper castes.
(Source: https://twitter.com/Arunan22/status/1134328550079655936)
To serve the cause of nation-building, they have joined to work under the leadership of a someone from backward-caste (Modi) and were sworn-in by a Dalit President.
Arunan was not famous in his own party prior to the advent of the live debates are on TV. He has no record of having performed any notable work among the unions or in the party.
As the grandson of a life-long Marxist, the author wants to share some facts with Arunan.
When the CPI(M) was formed in 1964 and 32 leaders walked out from the Communist Party Congress, 20 of the 32 founding members were upper castes and a whopping 12 of them were brahmins. From the state of Tamil Nadu alone 3 of the 4 leaders were brahmins (75%). All 3 first-time chief ministers from CPI(M) were Brahmins – EMS, Jyoti Basu and Manik Sarkar. The previous and current General Secretaries of CPI(M) were both upper castes!
Should these CPI(M) leaders be viewed as brahmins or upper castes alone? Is that how they were known during their times? Persons like EMS Namboodiripad, P Ramamurthi, MR Venkatraman, Sankaraiah and AB Bardhan actually toiled all through their life for the betterment of the poorest of the poor and the downtrodden. They did not long to be on TV like Arunan but actually stayed far away from the media doing real change in the ground and helping create an alternative narrative to the Congress. No one can deny the role of the communists in India for the last seventy years in helping create an alternate narrative to the Congress.
But people like Arunan are ignorant. That is why it’s no surprise in that he sees the ministers in Modi’s cabinet only by their caste. Many of them have either dedicated their life to the cause they believe in (of development of their mother-land) or left lucrative private careers to serve the people.
To serve the cause of nation-building, they have joined to work under the leadership of a someone from backward-caste (Modi) and were sworn-in by a Dalit President.
This is exactly what worries people like Arunan – that Indians have started to look beyond their caste, and it puts people like him on the unemployed list.
The founding members of CPI(M) nor the members of Modi’s cabinet should be known by their castes but only by their work and the impact, it has on the lives of millions of Indians. Anyone else who sees them differently deserves to be called a “loosu” by the likes of Seeman!
Note:
1. The views expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of PGurus.
- Saving Inderdeep - July 13, 2021
- Why caste does not matter? - August 13, 2019
- Bifurcating a state– Andhra style!! - August 10, 2019
I would request everybody to follow the news on “Kevin’s murder” inter alia in https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/kerala/kevins-murder-case-verdict-postponed-to-august-22/article29090794.ece/amp/
to appreciate the fact that caste matters in India across all religious faiths.
A comment meant to be upfront about some mistakes, has been taken to be an affront and so has been taken down, just because it seems targeting the author himself. Is this fair on a broader scale where many— not the author alone— are benefited?
THAT comment, perhaps blocked by a pre-fed bot, would have looked like something that would be posted below, AFTER a time gap allowing for the editor’s attention…
Now the reframed comment, ?bot-blocked in its previous form:
The Author’s answer dated August 13, 2019 at 8:42 PM to a comment states, “… the jist of the article… ” This could lead one to wonder whether “jist” is used merely as an ‘auditory’ substitute for “just”, and not as a ‘dictionary’ substitute for “gist”.
Arunan Who? Why shoud I care what he says or thinks? Does this 2-bit non-entity, an insignificant relic deserve a write up in P-Gurus? You are unnecessarily elevating their stature. These morons belong in the red cess pool of communists why don’t you leave them there?
Tamilnadu going back to Stone Age as they elect Parliamentarians like looter Chidambarams, Thor Thirumavalavan, Vai Ko who are NOT working for united strong India but incite gullible masses in Tamilnadu.
Jyoti Basu and Manik Sarkar are both Upper castes but not brahmins. The author regrets the oversight – the correction does not change the jist of the article that persons should not be judged by their caste alone!
With this reply of yours, you are clearly showing that caste matters for you! Why else would you regret and correct?
It seems Aruban has succeeded in his endeavour of getting people to talk about caste yet again. The author is just propagating Arunan’s ideas.
Possibly, one or both are doing paid work for a third party. Maybe not.
One correction. Neither Jyoti Basu nor Manik Sarkar. was a Brahmin, but from the upper caste.
Your caste on earth is worst than monkeys because you have no right to talk about caste. Hindustan is one nation and will remain one United nation whether you like it or not. Hindustan was a vast continent and will become a vast continent in a few years after racial people are removed. You must understand how to live and to let other people live.
It is really shameful to note that many of the so called secularists are the ones who always talk about caste and brahmins like this idiot ARUNAN and many others like thirumavalavan who have no other subject to talk about other than caste.