Jayalalitha---The Caped Wonder-Woman

Of course India needs Nobel prizes. It is not just about prestige. It is the responsibility of all world civilizations to contribute to the greater good. A Nobel prize is not simply a prize, but a validation of unparalled intellectual brilliance.

It bothers me when the `lower` castes readily admit that they are not as good as brahmins in intellectual pursuits....therefore India should accomadate them by concentrating on the mundane. Are you readily admitting that as a `lower` caste you don`t have the intelligence for a Nobel Prize? You don`t have the intelligence to strive for greatness? As a muslim..and therefore non-Brahmin, I reject that hypothesis. After all Kalam is obviously a non-Brahmin.

I cannot believe that TN has 70% reservations. This is a vile indictment of politicization. Rather than bringing up the population to achieve its greatest possibilities, you Tamilians have voted in laws to bring down those who do achieve. No wonder that all the Tam-Brahms are fleeing to the US. Anti-Intellectual societies are doomed for failure, as they cut off their own heads.

Dear Vengat Bhai,

Excellent thoughts. Hari Bhai please try and see if you can see merit in his remarks. This calling each other catse names has been the bane of us Hindus.

During the time of Mandal commission I met a Rajput of a Royal family. As all of Upper Caste North India was excited and excercised about this he disarmed a complete group of excited upper caste youth (diarmed to mean from their feelings of anger and hatred). Jis din aap Jativaad Aur mein kehta hoon jativad or jati nahin us din yeh arakshan ka Masla nahin rahega.

The day u give up casteism and i repeat cateism and not caste this fight about reservations will go.

Dear Masanmuthu and Kaalchakra,

r u people mad. Most Northies if anything have an inferiority complex when it comes to Madrasis but true madrasis or should I say Chennaiese a.k.a as Tamils (e.g a cousin who used to think of all southies as Madrasis had a reddy friend in Engg college when he failed a subject he was shocked then told us he is not true madrasi but reddy {apparently he had never heard of Andhra/Telgu}).

A single fact illustrates this, that out of all Northies who go to Chennai only a fraction come back. (How do u identify a Punjabi in TN ``simple his cars side screens are up and he is sweating profusely`` {sidescreen is up so that he gives impression of having AC in car}). BTW this joke was formulated by a certain Mr Bedi who is a Sardar and a descendant of Shree Guru Nank Dev ji to boot.

Also Harimau and Masan stop this Brahmin non Brahmin nonsense. MasanBhai take it from me your progress is happening because of the Brahmanical culture of TamBram who unlike Northie Brahmans developed a culture of intellectual rigourousness. And HariBhai take it from me that despite heavy reservations etc. which seem unfair to you I think this reverse discrimination is necessary. A moot point is that whether you could have ever given the NB a fair deal left on you own. Now that these parties are moving away from Periyarism to a more rational approach even Doctor Artist Leader admitted that Brahmins do not supress SC`s it is OBC`s now, and Masan Bhai instead of now ranting about Brahmin this and Brahmin that how about developing a more tolerant attitude towards SC`s.

Of course we laugh at the geneflection u people do towards Poloticos esp of Film star variety but then since we lose on every other parameter you would be very cruel to deny us this small sense of victory.

Re: # 37
ref: harimau

Harimau remembers his 7th grade class where he sat next to a Harijan boy. Harimau doesn`t denigrate people, just their lack of ability and their demands that their stupidity should be made the standard against which people and socirty ought to be measured.


How do you know they lack ability??.. Check out the latest cutoff marks for admissions to TN professional courses.. You`d find less and less Brahmins garnering the seats in the Open Competition.. It is not the lack of ability, but the lack of opportunity that have hindered people for so long... It`s just a myth that some people are genetically inferior/superior..

Brahmins can do any job and do it well...
Not just Brahmins, anyone can do any job given the motivation and proper training..

Not a good sign for India. It is the same mentality that applauds the code coolie business as the savior of India`s financial condition.

No, It`s a great sign that people are beginning to realise the myths around superior/inferior castes..

Ref masanamuthu #33

[Harimau is an old Brahmin who probably had very few contacts with ``other caste`` people in his time. That`s the reason for his degrading / denigrating ``others``.]

Harimau remembers his 7th grade class where he sat next to a Harijan boy. Harimau doesn`t denigrate people, just their lack of ability and their demands that their stupidity should be made the standard against which people and socirty ought to be measured.

[The last ``Chief of the Indian Army`` (or the one before) was a Tamil Brahmin.]

Brahmins can do any job and do it well. You just gave an example in the least brahminical profession in the world.

[I have close friends who are from all ``layers`` of the society. People of ``harimau`s`` ilk are dwindling.. And that`s a good sign.]

Not a good sign for India. It is the same mentality that applauds the code coolie business as the savior of India`s financial condition.

Ref vengatramanan aka chinnasatyanarayananarasimhulu aka Golti #31

[Why are you obsessed with the nobel prize. We dont need it. We need a society with people who can understand a Doctor`s advice or an advice of an agri expert. We need people who can think on their own. There are people worthy of praise. They are contributing in their small ways. I dont care if Maaran went to military. Have you seen any Brahmin on the road wanting to join the army as a soldier.]

So that is your mantra: flat-line EEG in life. Right?

Thinking on their own at the highest level leads to Nobel Prize.

It is obvious you don`t understand that.

And you have a college degree? You should have stuck to tending goats.


[Well I come from an agriculture and telugu speaking family.]

That information doesn`t surprise me. Only the brahmins -- who incidentally speak Tamil and not Marathi or Bengali at home -- are aliens in Tamil Nadu. People like you who speak Telugu are perfectly good Tamilians according to the current political thought.

Do tell me your sister is named Love Queen or Tamil Selvi. That would round out the picture completely!

All leaders are corrupt. What about Lallo et al? But whereas most leaders are corrupt and provide poor governance, Jayalalitha at least provides decent governance. As Masanmathu says, TN outperforms most states in HDI. It attracts foreign investment not just in software but also actual manufacturing etc. Jayalaltiha has created a favorable investment climate, though she shamelessly backed down against the unions even though they deserved what they were getting.

#33 by masanamuthu
Very true. I have some close Brahmin friends. We also have some great people from the Brahmin community contributing to the society(TVS,The Hindu).

Re: # 32

vengatramanan:

Harimau is an old Brahmin who probably had very few contacts with ``other caste`` people in his time. That`s the reason for his degrading / denigrating ``others``.

Now you should not fall into the same trap of degrading ``Brahmins``.
The last ``Chief of the Indian Army`` (or the one before) was a Tamil Brahmin..

I have close friends who are from all ``layers`` of the society. People of ``harimau`s`` ilk are dwindling.. And that`s a good sign..

Revathy:
Just to take one small point. Violence against the girl child, violence against women. It`s not enough to talk about development. Take the daily violence against women one sees on the streets. Take the killing of female babies, a very high proportion. All of you who have written in are men

I don`t know if you are talking about TN in particular or India in general. Yes, there is a lot of undesirable things like the culture of violence against women, killing of female babies etc.. I believe TN has a good male-female ratio though not like Kerala (don`t have the numbers) .. I think Jayalalitha has done much for increasing the confidence and assertiveness of women. Through women self-help groups / women police force / women commandos, Financial support for families with just girls .. If you want to know the views of Tamil/Indian women, you should publish your article on Sulekha. There are tonnes of women out there.. But I believe they are mostly into movies/boy-friend/.. and not some serious stuff.. :-))

There are no resevations in Business and Trade. Why dont the Brahmins compete with others in the market place. Dont start listing guys like TVS. We are talking about common people.

Ref #29 by harimau on

Why are you obsessed with the nobel prize. We dont need it. We need a society with people who can understand a Doctor`s advice or an advice of an agri expert. We need people who can think on their own. There are people worthy of praise. They are contributing in their small ways. I dont care if Maaran went to military. Have you seen any Brahmin on the road wanting to join the army as a soldier.

For your information I have not seen a single Brahmin farmer in my life. It would be a happy thing if he would be ready to flex his muscles.


/*Well, do you think the really big zamindars worked on their fields either?*/

Well I come from an agriculture and telugu speaking family. Who do you think worked in my fields. My grandfather,grandmother,father and my mother with other telugu and tamil speaking people. My neighbouring lands are owned by Tamils. There you can see Telugu labours working. You are a guy who is far removed from the realities.

All castes in the rural tamilnadu have become interdependant. You know what. The traders for banana suckers are SCs.

You are an arm chair guy.

Ref masanamuthu # 20

[But she also gave the ``sankaracharya`` a good kick in the a** though.. ]

Everyone of her actions were roundly condemned by the Supreme Court, the most recent being the transfer of the case outside Tamil Nadu.

You should be alarmed at this woman`s vindictive and authoritarian actions instead of being joyous that a Hindu religious figure was arrested on trumped-up charges.

Would she arrest a maulvi, any maulvi, on the eve of Ramzan? Or a Christian minister on Christmas Eve? She doesn`t have the b@lls for that.

She chose the most docile community to pick on.

Ref vengatramanan #22

[Have you ever seen a Brahmin land lord who earned his money by working on the fields.]

Well, do you think the really big zamindars worked on their fields either? You know who these guys are? Descendants of Telugu-speaking warriors in the pay of the Maratha kingdom in Tanjore and the Naik kingdom in Madurai. They in fact even called themselves rajas though their official title was ``palayakkaran``. That would include Veerapandia Kattabomman. Do you think Kattabomman spent his time behind a plough?

Have you heard of a brahmin landlord killing his workers? How about the Thevars/Maravans/Mukkulatthor? Do you know how people tremble when the caste name Vandayar is mentioned in Tanjore district?

[People in TN have long forgotten the anti-brahmin thoughts. Now it has become a level playing field.]

69% official quotas for BC/MBC/OBC/SC/ST with a promise of quotas for Muslims, Christians, hermaphrodites, people with just one ball, those who were mutilated into hijr@s, etc., etc., etc. I suppose level playing ground is how Anbukkarasi Maran got into medical college.

How come the only two South Indians to win Nobel Prizes were brahmins? You think Miss Maran would win the Nobel Prize in Medicine some day? Unfortunately, unlike Doctor Artist Leader the Fund of Compassion`s honorary doctorate (awarded over the dead body of a protesting student), any amount of money is not going to net a Nobel award for Miss Maran.

[Dont be in the cloud nine. No longer this is true. Come down to TN and see how many BC/OBC/SC candidates are outscoring Brahmins.]

I AM sitting in Chennai so don`t give me any BS about how the BCs are outscoring anybody else.

[You pose yourself as a patriotic Indian. What is the percentage of Brahmin soldiers in our army.]

Is Dayanidhi Maran in the army? His very first job is: Minister for Information Technology and Communications! Not bad for someone with an MBC background as his grand-uncle Karunanidhi self-pityingly refers to himself.

[At the same time dont try to belittle others.]

You are the guys demanding special quotas for being damaged in the cranium so who is belittling whom?

[But we bold enough to admit and accept our short comings. Indians will progress and prosper due to this maturity.]

Yep, flat-line EEG is simply a medical condition and should not be held against an individual.

[Tamils never hated Brahmins or for that matter any individual. They resented a community`s domination. Thats the reason you find Brahmin leaders in TN.]

I suppose that is why Karunanidhi referred to ``invaders through the Khyber Pass`` during the last election. Do you think he was referring to Muslims? Hey, he was at the Iftar feast just a few days back, sipping soup and chowing down on whatever was offered. Making friends with ``invaders through the Khyber Pass``, eh?

Revathy,

This one was a nice article with a lot of fodder for gossip, etc.

Hope one of these days you could come up with an article on corruption in India per se (nothing new), especially on judicial corruption, which is relatively well hidden from the Indian media, and is much more significant than political corruption.

Ref reva315 #23

[Just to take one small point. Violence against the girl child, violence against women. It`s not enough to talk about development. Take the daily violence against women one sees on the streets. Take the killing of female babies, a very high proportion. All of you who have written in are men. Are there any women reading this? Please write in.]

The women are busy working as code coolies or answering telephones at call centers.

Masanamuthus and their buddies should write in but they are too busy figuring out how much their fraudulent degrees are worth in the marriage market.

Jayalalitha has been a good CM as far as large businesses are concerned and she has brought several positive business proposals to completion. Indeed, so has her arch rival Karunanidhi during his rule. The sad thing is that there is a streak of puritanism in the state that is supported by every political party, indeed, a case of unity of politicians in this near Talibanesque approach to ``morals.`` While Jayalalitha and Karunanidhi have not themselves encouraged this, their silence while minor parties participate in thuggish attacks on silly actresses like Kushbu and Suhasini Maniratnam for stating personal opinions claiming that they have ``disgraced Tamil womanhood`` and judges issue Non Bailable Warrants against actresses for some silly remark on network television, the state seems to be regressing into moral fundamentalism. It would help the Tamil Taliban to remember that when the Taliban were routed, the people of Afghanistan cut out their eyes and stuffed their mouths with currency, leaving their bodies rotting in the streets. Tamils may not be brutal people in the Afghan mould but it is a question of how extreme this could get before the population of the state reacts in a metaphorically similar manner to get rid of the thuggish moral policemen there.

Whether Jayalalitha manages to win next year`s election or not, the positive thing is that Tamilnadu`s economy is doing well and that, most probably, is not going to change no matter who wins the next time round. That said, her career does have a long way to go even if she loses the next election in Tamilnadu`s all or nothing tradition of electing and throwing parties out. She is still young compared to her biggest rivals and politically savvy enough to manage to work her way back even if she is handed a second defeat like she was some years ago after her first controversial term in power.

I also personally believe that the word Patriotism has caused enough problems in this world.

Re: # 19

As I said earlier, it would have been useful (but impractical) to have a corruption index for politicians and chief ministers. I am sure MGR took money too. And many of us even know where it is parked.

Thats the past. Like the DMK`s Maran. Let party affiliations, like the caste factor, not cloud the corruption issue at hand - which is the most pressing.

Corruption is the only issue that brings all parties to even ground. But having said that, it is the opinion of many in and out of government that the present government is at least 10 times more corrupt than a DMK government. Corruption overwhelms all other considerations.

It would be wonderful if the Brahmin community wholeheartedly accepted the slings and arrows and saw it as a necessary swing of history. It would be wonderful if the takeover of state administration meant that people who had nothing, now received everything. But that has not happened.
Just to take one small point. Violence against the girl child, violence against women. It`s not enough to talk about development. Take the daily violence against women one sees on the streets. Take the killing of female babies, a very high proportion. All of you who have written in are men. Are there any women reading this? Please write in.
Revathy Gopal

#21 by harimau on November 13, 2005 8:12pm PT

Hi

You seem to be one of those Brahmins affected by the Dravidian movement. No doubt it caused havoc to your community. But Brahmins were never ready to accept or bring parity in the community. Have you ever seen a Brahmin land lord who earned his money by working on the fields. People in TN have long forgotten the anti-brahmin thoughts. Now it has become a level playing field.
/**Nope, just like the slackers in the rest of India, all these people want brain-death to be recognized as the sole qualification for education/employment etc. **/

Dont be in the cloud nine. No longer this is true. Come down to TN and see how many BC/OBC/SC candidates are outscoring Brahmins. You pose yourself as a patriotic Indian. What is the percentage of Brahmin soldiers in our army.

I dont mean to say that you guys have no patriotism. At the same time dont try to belittle others. India as a whole has lots of problems. But we bold enough to admit and accept our short comings. Indians will progress and prosper due to this maturity.

Tamils never hated Brahmins or for that matter any individual. They resented a community`s domination. Thats the reason you find Brahmin leaders in TN.

Ref masanamuthu #15

[The backward caste movement has kicked the brahmins out and monopolised the power, but now the most backward castes and dalits are asserting their power and want their legitimate share.. ]

Nope, just like the slackers in the rest of India, all these people want brain-death to be recognized as the sole qualification for education/employment etc.

Re: # 18

After 70+years of constant anti-Brahmin propaganda, one of the tep Dravidian parties has to settle on a Brahmin woman from Karnataka as its leader.


Well.. that`s true, But she also gave the ``sankaracharya`` a good kick in the a** though..
:-))

Ref parthaab #17

[Dr.JJ takes nothing less than 20% as commision on any investment in her state.]

She still doesn`t figure in Asia`s Richest Persons List. That honor goes to (a drum roll please) Murasoli (Drumbeat) Maran and his family. Considering that he and his uncle Doctor Artist Leader the Fund of Compassion arrived in Madras with hardly a nickel to their names, it is a remarkable achievement.

Since Maran died after an eight-month long coma, his children are trying to figure out where (and in whose names) Maran parked his properties and cash. So it is entirely possible that Maran`s family no longer figures in the Asia`s Richest Persons List.

Ref kaalchakra #16

[masanamuthu is right on. There is a general assumption, evidenced in various snide remarks, that `Tamils are fools who worship actors/actoresses and build temples for them.`]

Yes, Tamils are truly intelligent folks.

After 70+years of constant anti-Brahmin propaganda, one of the tep Dravidian parties has to settle on a Brahmin woman from Karnataka as its leader.

After 70+ years of ``Tamil in danger`` (shades of ``Islam in danger``) they had to elect the Malayalee MGR as their Chief Minister.

When MGR died, the choice was between his wife Janaki (b@stard daughter of a brahmin man) and his paramour Jayalalitha. Of course the masanamuthus settled for 100% Brahmin blood!

And of course these people built a temple to the Muslim actress Khushbhoo and were handing out kumkum as prasad.

Re: # 15

That table is an eye opener to me.

TN is number 1 there, probably not because, but inspite of Dr. JJ.
It also proves how BAD relatively the other states must be!
If you thnk that labour problems riven Kerala, where any self respecting Indian industrialist would not touch with a pole, is at No.3, one suspects the credentials of the study.

One factor that boosted the ratings could be the recent investments in the Auto sector, etc., which were due to efforts of some (opposition) central ministers.

Dr.JJ takes nothing less than 20% as commision on any investment in her state. Whether the investment is 100 or 10000 crores! Her ministers are given fixed targets too. I dont think that is a healthy sign of `encouraging` investments! Or a lesson for the younger generation on how a future PM should be?

#16

I dont think any one generalises that Tamils are fools, etc. Tamils are well mannered - well mannered enough to accomodate the corruption scandals that makes JJ tick, and her misuse of the police and power etc.

Having said that, that is not to say that the Tamilian fringe which `worships` JJ, are the most most shining examples of Tamilians either. Such a fringe does exist. This is just to recognise that it does, and is encouraged by JJ.

I am not holding fort for the opposition. They must be the most impotent of parties that they could not beat her and her money power inspite of all of them joining hands at election. Nor can they pin her on a single major scandal, inspite of it being in public domain. If at all they do, it is on comparatively minor dealings of JJ, and she does get away using her intelligence and now, power and money.

In summary, I do feel that Tamilians do need a better deal. They would get one if they stopped being `well mannered`, booted the present set of self centered politicians, and got the politicians they deserve.
I would nt be surprised if TN shines on the international stage if that does happen. The stick being that if it does nt, the standards of politics in TN are likely to go down even further - to the level of National politics.

masanamuthu is right on. There is a general assumption, evidenced in various snide remarks, that `Tamils are fools who worship actors/actoresses and build temples for them.` One suspects this easy belief may be similar to the foolishness of those who believe that Hindus actually worship stones and cows.

Fact of the matter is that most Tamilians one meets, be they brahmins or nonbrahmins, would in matters of intelligence put most other Indians to shame. They also take their politics quite passionately and, on average, their civic duties seriously.

That`s not a bad thing at all. And if Jayalalitha has been able to tap into that passion, that`s the brightest feather in her cap.

IMO, Jayalalitha is a politician who should be evaluated by the same standards that are applied to other politicians. But to link her rise to some `dravid thing` is untenable and unnecessary.

Re: # 12

Maybe vengat referred to this..



Composite ranks for economic freedom of states 2005
State
2005 Rank
2004 Rank
2005 Index
2004 Index

Tamil Nadu
1
5
0.515
0.371

Gujarat
2
1
0.450
0.404

Kerala
3
3
0.447
0.374

Andhra Pradesh
4
2
0.381
0.377

Madhya Pradesh
5
9
0.374
0.332

Haryana
6
8
0.366
0.348

Jharkhand
7
16
0.354
0.294

Uttar Pradesh
8
13
0.347
0.303

Karnataka
9
12
0.337
0.309

Maharashtra
10
6
0.335
0.365


State 2005 Rank 2004 Rank 2005 Index 2004 Index
West Bengal 11 14 0.335 0.299
Rajasthan 12 7 0.335 0.348
Himachal Pradesh 13 15 0.317 0.296
Jammu & Kashmir 14 10 0.311 0.328
Orissa 15 11 0.295 0.316
Punjab 16 17 0.290 0.292
Chhattisgarh 17 4 0.266 0.373
Bihar 18 19 0.240 0.265
Uttaranchal 19 18 0.224 0.276
Assam 20 20 0.218 0.222

But in all such instances, when additional variables are suggested, we find that objective


And still I don`t know why you think Jaya is suppressing dissent. Opposition parties` public meetings/rallies/protests are allowed. The reason why you don`t see much on national papers is because, the opposition party is in the ruling coalition in the centre and all of them are making money.. :-))

Revathy:

It is a general assumption (North Indian??) that Tamils are fools who worship actors/actoresses and build temples for them, and you are no exception to that.. Of course, politicians are not what we want them to be. They make for good entertainment.. But they are pretty focussed on development and as long as it serves the purpose (even though just to a lesser extent), what`s the big deal.. People keep changing governments if it doesn`t work and it`s a good sign.

The backward caste movement has kicked the brahmins out and monopolised the power, but now the most backward castes and dalits are asserting their power and want their legitimate share..

Re: # 13

If you think JJ will make a good PM, you have not genuinely understand the levels of corruption we are talking about here - inspite of the already corrupt central government. She could sell the country for a commission - and no, I am not joking.

As for the Sankara, it has always been ammas stance that in power, she uses the police force with full effect - but for genuine purposes - using them for trumped up charges only with the opposition. This use of the police gives it some sort of moral power when it is misused.

This `iron lady` statecraft also keeps people under ` check` - something akin to what happens in police states like Saudi Arabia. Thats the thin dividing line from a total dictatorship.

Revathy:

If Jaylalitha should be compared to anyone, it is Indira Gandhi; except that she is smarter than Indira and has brought more benefits to Tamil Nadu than Indira did to India.

Jaylalitha is everything that you say that she is. To her sins, you could have also added how he sidelined Janaki Devi and assumed the role of MGR`s ``real`` wife. I have no doubt that Shankracharya has been framed, he may be no seer but he is unlikely to be a murderer either. I say so because of the length to which she went to deny him bail despite courts not agreeing with her.

Despite all her shortcomings, I would prefer her to most other Indian politicians, most of whom are corrupt but not as smart as she is. She has delivered economic and social progress, although TN seems to continue to make progress regardless of who is in charge. I was most impressed with the way she took on the civil servants who throuout India think of themselves as sarkar-mai-baap instead of being the servants of their paymasters, the general public.

I would prefer to see her at the hem of affairs in India in preference to any of the other regional satraps, such as Laloo, Mulayam and Mayawati.

#11

``Tamilnadu ranks no:1 in India in terms of economic freedom. ``

What s your source for that? Can one have a corruption index for corruption among Chief Ministers?

The most amazing thing about Tamilnadu is that it continues to progress (economy,education) inspite of Jayalalitha and Karunanidhi .Tamilnadu ranks no:1 in India in terms of economic freedom. Awareness among the public is quite high and they have got their priorities right .

Re: # 5

One cannot nail whats wrong, can you?

I agree the opposition does have a huge stake in the media, but there is nothing Jayalalitha can do about it, unless it is utterly illegal and facing the wrath of the courts. And I am definitely sure that she has already tried brow beating them behind the scenes, or even tried to buy them off.

It is gossip that she has earned 1000 s of crores. It has offered 500 crores to entice on of the opposition parties to switch sides.

I asked about the lack of dissent because - why does nt the opposition bring out the massive corrupt practices out into public forums? They should know, having their `own` officers in the state. My reasoning is : It is too afraid to do so - look at what happens to people who question this government. They can potentially face a lot of harrassment. Incometax, courts, etc and even acid - though that is unlikely to happen again, given the media got its act together and publicised it the last time. And the opposition itself has its old skeletons. That is why it is ineffective - another reason for the lack of real dissent.

Re: # 8

Revathy, The very fact that you have thought it necessary to write an article like this exposes the fear or demonisation of Jayalalitha. She has gained notoriety of frightening proportions because she has made the state a `democratic` monarchy, and made Tamil Nadu politics stink of corruption, and in general I feel, has dragged TN politics down with her. An unfortunate thing to happen in a state with otherwise well mannered people, unlike in Bihar, for eg. She openly asks for huge sums as commissions and spends them buying real estate and even public property so brazenly in public knowledge.

The other reason is of course her use of the police and intelligence machinery in the state to brutally oppress anyone who dares to question her - even if they were in her own party.

Its a good piece to read and contains a lot of truth. For entirely different reasons though, it would nt get printed in any leading national newspaper, and thats for sure!

Delighted that Dr. JJ has attracted so much intelligent comment!
Mr. Masanamuthu, profuse apologies if you were offended by my remarks. You were spot on.. I am, by definition a TamBrahm woman who lives outside Tamil Nadu, but have spent my college years there and have visited for long periods of time to be able to observe what life is like there.
The thing is I have a horror of being labelled Brahmin or even Tamil, and I find it hard to comprehend how one`s entire being, identity can be bound by the parameters of caste. So by making a statement like that about Dravidian men, I guess I was carried away, and again, I apologise.
If the Sankaracharya was in any way guilty of conspiracy leading to murder, I hope he will be put away for a long time. Religion entering politics will be the death-knell of whatever advances this country has made. And power and money can be abused by anyone even a so-called `seer`. In another forum, I had made the point that calling someone a seer just because he headed a religious institution does not automatically mean he is a holy man.
Holiness is not conferred by some lazy journalist sitting at a desk or by right-wing parties from the Centre.
The anti-Brahmin movement begun in the thirties was in response to terrible doings by people who appropriated the power of learning and thereby excluded millions from any rights to education and employment. But any movement becomes corrupted over time. In Tamil Nadu, as in other states where politics is caste-based, there is no third voice. Everyone needs to be represented. More anon.

Delighted that Dr. JJ has attracted so much intelligent comment!
Mr. Masanamuthu, profuse apologies if you were offended by my remarks. You were spot on.. I am, by definition a TamBrahm woman who lives outside Tamil Nadu, but have spent my college years there and have visited for long periods of time to be able to observe what life is like there.
The thing is I have a horror of being labelled Brahmin or even Tamil, and I find it hard to comprehend how one`s entire being, identity can be bound by the parameters of caste. So by making a statement like that about Dravidian men, I guess I was carried away, and again, I apologise.
If the Sankaracharya was in any way guilty of conspiracy leading to murder, I hope he will be put away for a long time. Religion entering politics will be the death-knell of whatever advances this country has made. And power and money can be abused by anyone even a so-called `seer`. In another forum, I had made the point that calling someone a seer just because he headed a religious institution does not automatically mean he is a holy man.
Holiness is not conferred by some lazy journalist sitting at a desk or by right-wing parties from the Centre.
The anti-Brahmin movement begun in the thirties was in response to terrible doings by people who appropriated the power of learning and thereby excluded millions from any rights to education and employment. But any movement becomes corrupted over time. In Tamil Nadu, as in other states where politics is caste-based, there is no third voice. Everyone needs to be represented. More anon.

Shakaracharya is a pontiff of one of the hindu monastries..but he has miniscule following, perhaps only among a specific caste in tamilnadu. hindus at large are blissfully unaware of his existance.

that jaya is corrupt is no big deal..every local politician has ammased large amounts of wealth..(except narendra modi). most local politicians essentially operate as mafia dons..you make deals with them and the police are their enforcers.

Re: # 4

I`m not an advocate for Jayalalitha. just took offence to the `generalizations` attributed to Tamils/Dravidians..

Either way, it needs a forum like this, outside of Tamil Nadus borders for a `democratic` debate like this to happen. Look at the fate of opposition leaders in the state. Not to mention the pathetic state of dissent within the state. Can you imagine allegations like these - though in common public knowledge in any leading Indian newspaper?

The internet has its advantages in being able to talk without fear.

I think you have a wrong notion too. The main opposition parties are not repressed in TN and it never was.. Jaya jailed Vaiko, Karunanidhi on some flimsy charges and that`s about it.. The number one satellite network in TN is owned by the opposition DMK, and a lot of local newspapers/press are against the govt. too.. And they carry all kinds of charges against Jaya/ADMK.

You are not seeing allegations in national newspapers because there was no major scandal in this regime.. It is not because scandals are not happening. but I believe Jaya`s become smarter like karunanidhi.. :-))

There is a lot of dissent in the state.. I think you are talking about the Sankaracharya arrest, in that case the opposition DMK is with the govt.. and that`s the reason for lack of dissent.

Re: # 3

Would nt you agree that Jayalalitha is more corrupt than MGR or any of her predecessors?

Or are you just resigned to the fact that politicians, wily or villainous, are corrupt to the hilt, with a bottomless appetite?

Either way, it needs a forum like this, outside of Tamil Nadus borders for a `democratic` debate like this to happen. Look at the fate of opposition leaders in the state. Not to mention the pathetic state of dissent within the state. Can you imagine allegations like these - though in common public knowledge in any leading Indian newspaper?

The internet has its advantages in being able to talk without fear.

Revathy:

...In Tamil Nadu, poverty, illiteracy and a passion for cinematic heroes and heroines gave Jayalalitha and others of her breed, potent leverage to catapult her to power...


I think you`re most probably a Tamil Brahmin brought up outside TN, with a skewed understanding of TN and Dravidian politics.. First of all, You should check your facts before writing an artice.. Tamilnadu tops or in one of the top 4 states in many Human Development Indicators like literacy/Health/Fertility rates/ FDI etc.. So it does not matter if we really elect cinematic heroes or have a great passion for cinema heroines.. As long as it works I like many others don`t see a problem with it. Afterall in a democracy anyone can become a ruler.. Why not cine-heroes??. It was the much ridiculed actor MGR, who revolutionised/popularised the ``mid-day meals`` scheme (providing free food to the government school kids, because he himself knew how hard it is for a kid to attend a school with an hungry stomach) that the ``Supreme court`` recently mandated every state to follow. And MGR introduced this when there was a huge budget deficit (20-25 years ago). You can all see the effects of that scheme, poor parents sent their kids to school thinking they`d atleast get one good meal. Those kids would have otherwise been out of school.. .

...In the State Assembly when she speaks, Dravidian men who might normally spit on a woman or give her the backs of their hands, listen in complete, respectful silence. ...

FYI, this is ridiculous and offensive. You have to state the facts where you have seen dravidian men in the assembly spitting on a woman.

I believe you are angry with Jayalalitha, because she made this Sankaracharya dude look like a fool. As far as the general Tamilian is concerned, It is a usual murder case and accounted for some entertainment.. I am fine if you want to your anger at jayalalitha. But I don`t know why it requires a barrage of innuendos against Tamils/Dravidians

Re: # 1

Interesting but true article.
Jayalalitha is the Paki equivalent of Benazir, in the corruption scenario. Only more corrupt that her, some would say. She already has bought real estate in Europe and America. In that sense Bhuttos disciple?

cool profile. should have given more info on how she actually rose to such heights as it would make for an interesting read (unlike the rise of generals in pakistan who wake up one morning and take over the country). Sankaracharya. who`s he?