This is a big question that poses the community especially after the recent involvement of a premier Educational Institution run by a well known Brahmin family of Chennai has got into the mire of sexual harassment of students by its teacher.  The moment the news broke out the management made the biggest mistake by coming out with a statement “the institution is being targeted because it is a Brahmin institution”.

The management distancing itself by saying that “we are not aware of this” is understandable but saying that they are “singled out since they are Brahmins” appears at the best only an escape route or trying to hide their mistake by giving it a communal color or most probably to divert the attention of the media and the public from the main issue that is sexual harassment which is a serious offense.

It looks like they have succeeded in their motive because the social media in Tamil is now agog with videos that are neither nuanced nor decent but speak in the most vulgar language possible and the target is – yes it is the Brahmin community. More than finding fault with these videos the real person to be blamed for this onslaught is the management of the School concerned. Even if they had not played the victim card the social media would have bashed the Brahmin community but the management itself seeking communal shelter has fuelled the matter and it has now taken uncouth proportions.

Mr. Subramanian Swamy the jobless politician of BJP has appeared in the scenario without anybody’s invitation and has compounded the mess. By making an unwanted and uncalled-for statement that DMK goondas are attacking Brahmins therefore he would defend the School legally has fed the video makers with enough fodder and also vindicated the stand that “the school discriminates and insults students who are not Brahmins”. In matters as sensitive as sexual harassment which are very serious offenses especially when it involves minor girls, going to Court would only mean getting into a legal quagmire dragging for years which the management certainly would not prefer.

While the mainstream media makes subtle references social media unequivocally attacks Brahmins for their “superior attitude” and there is the big cry to “shut down the school which teaches Sanathan Dharma” which is against the Dravidian cult. Some videos question the right of the management to prevent students from bringing non vegetarian lunch and others shout how they can teach Hindi and Sanskrit? The funniest thing is what right do they have to question the management on these issues.

The management has not done anything clandestinely. When you get into the School (and there is a mad rush for this School among the elite and wealthy parents) you know what you are going to be taught – Sanskrit, Hindi, and holy Hindu relics. It is a fact the school does not hide its Hindu identity on the contrary it is proud of its Hindu identity and is bent upon passing it on to the students.

This is nothing new or unusual because in Christian Schools the prayers are from the Bible and most of us who studied in Christian missionary Schools have attended even Bible classes which are compulsory.  We have no business to complain because the parents are aware that what their wards will be taught in those schools. Why single out only this School in particular?

The matter became really big when DMK big wigs Kanimozhi and Dayanidhi Maran both MPs expressed deep “anguish and concern” over the way the “girls are subjected to sexual torture”  makes any thinking individual feel that there is something more to it than what the eyes see. Two more schools which have predominantly Hindu names also have come into the same kind of controversy but none from DMK “are concerned” about the plight of those students. Are they not students or does the DMK think that it is primary duty is to safe guard the interests of only one particular school. So the bottom line is the caste of the management which is been vociferously attacked.

In Tamil Nadu, the Brahmin community is always the victim even after five decades of Dravidian rule. Gone are the days when Brahmins dominated certain professions like law, journalism, medicine, and teaching to name a few. But now the Brahmin population has shrunk considerably almost on the brink of becoming extinct. There used to be a dominant Brahmin population living in specific areas of Chennai but now a few old couples are residing in these areas. There is no young Brahmin population in the age group of 25 and above because they have all migrated to foreign countries or other states primarily Bangalore which is an IT hub. The old people living here also are away for 6 months when they go to see their wards abroad.

So the DMK or other parties which care for “social justice” need not worry about “Brahmin supremacy” or feel “suffocated by Brahmin supremacy” because the community in another decade or so will cease to exist. So let them stop attacking Brahmins.