For those who don’t know who Kancha Illaiah is , here is a brief introduction. He is the shrillest, most rabid, most vociferous most-influential, internationally-acknowledged anti-Brahmin Dalit activist, leader, and Ambedkar-ideologue and academician in the country. His well known books are: “God As Political Philosopher – Buddha’s Challenge to Brahminism”, “Buffalo Nationalism –A Critique”, and “Spiritual Fascism and the Shudras –Vision For a New Path”.
Kancha Illaiah has now penned the vitriolic article below in THE WIRE denigrating the legacy of the 11th Century Sri Vaishnavite preceptor, Sri Ramanujacharya, while describing the Statue of Equality erected as memorial to the Acharya recently in Hyderabad, as a travesty of Egalitarianism. He also goes on to berate as rabid casteists all those who in the state of Telengana worked and contributed towards the consecration of the Statue — notably the popular Sri Vaishnavite Acharya, Sri Chinna Jeeyar Swamiji and the Chief Minister of Telengana State, K. Chandrasekhara Rao. Illaiah brands them as closet RSS agents and supporters.
https://m.thewire.in/article/caste/statue-politics-and-the-myth-of-ramanujas-equality/amp
THE WIRE 21 Feb 2022
Let’s leave the politics of Telengana aside . I have no wish to deal in politics. What I am however concerned with is what Kancha Illaiah writes about Sri Ramanujacharya.
In the above article Kancha Illaiah makes out a case that Sri Ramanujacharya’s Vaishnavism had no impact or role at all in the history of Tamil Nadu as a catalyst of social reformation for the betterment of downtrodden Dalit castes. On the contrary, Kancha Illaiah asserts, Sri Ramanujacharya never rejected the ancient and hated Varnaashrama system of social segregation in India and only repackaged it as dubious reform movement. In that respect, Kancha Illaiah holds Ayyankali (1863-1941), Narayana Guru (1856-1928) and Ramaswami Naicker (1879-1973), latter-day social-reformers in the Dravidian regions as greater than Sri Ramanujacharya.
I am quoting what Kancha Illaiah writes:
“Though Ramanuja established his sect of Vaishnavism with the idea of human equality about 1000 years ago, the impact of this drive for equality ought to have been visible in present day Tamil Nadu and Kerala – the region he taught his philosophy and lived his long life. ….. For about 900 years after his death, by the time Periyar, Ramasamy Naikar, Sri Ayyankali and Srinarayana Guru started their struggles for equality in the same region, the Tamil and Kerala Dalits and Shudras experienced little socio-spiritual equality. If anything, their condition was worse than any other part of the country.”
Now, as a Sri Vaishnava myself, born and steeped in the tenets taught by my preceptor, Sri Ramanujacharya, I do not need to learn any new-fangled lessons in Tamil History from Kancha Illiah and hence I will not go into needlessly refuting his distorted reading of historiography.
I only wish however to express here my amazement and astonishment over how far apart the great Dalit leader, Kancha Illiah’s own assessment of Sri Ramanujacharya’s place in Tamil History happens to be from that of his Dravidianist counterparts and comrades-in-arms in Tamil Nadu who also claim to be equal champions of Dalit-empowerment!
I am utterly amazed that Kancha Illiah in his article completely forgot to make a mention of what the great patriarch of Tamil Dravidian-Dalit movement Tiru. M. Karunanidhi thought of Sri Ramanujacharya! He ought to have done a bit of homework in recent Tamil history lessons and Illiah would certainly not have missed reading this piece that was published in THE HINDU April 2, 2016.
Back then Mr. Karunanidhi had just penned the script for a television series on the life of Ramanujacharya and in an interview to The Hindu , he said “the saint was a revolutionary who took religion to the masses”. Mr Karunanidhi further had said that propagating this idea was the greatest of Ramanuja’s social reforms.
Kancha Illaiah also completely forgot what Karunanidhi’s son, Mr. M..Stalin , the present Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, thinks of Sri Ramanujacharya and his place in the history of Tamil Nadu as a social reformer. Again, very poor homework! … All that Kancha Illaiah needed to have done was to Google search the thread “M.K. Stalin and Sri Ramanujacharya” and he would have come across this URL instantly:
New Indian Express 6 Feb 2022
“Paying glowing tributes to 11th-century Vaishnavite saint Sri Ramanujacharya who promoted the idea of equality in all aspects of living, Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu MK Stalin described the unveiling of 216-foot Statue of Equality in Telangana to commemorate the saint as the need of the hour.
“I wish that Ramanuja’s voice of Equality spreads across the country elegantly and emphatically”, the CM of Tamil Nadu said in his letter to Sri Tridandi Chinna Jeeyar Swami. The Swami had personally invited Stalin for the function for the consecration of the statue.”
So, what does all this mean to me, an Unknown Sri Vaishnava?
It seems to me that Kancha Illaiah is completely out-of-synch with his other champion fellow-Dalitist ideologues at least in so far as their respective assessment of Sri Vaishnavism is concerned. That is a matter of gratification for ordinary Sri Vaishnavas like me since it tells me that within the ranks of anti-Brahmin ideologues there are deep divisions and serious fault-lines lurking ….
If there had been no confusion amongst themselves, why would they speak in altogether different and discordant voices?
Sudarshan Madabushi
I’m not periyarist or atheist. But existence of untouchability and oppression in early modern era is undeniable. Shudras are still facing baseless restrictions. For example; “shudras aren’t allowed for reciting vishnu sahasranama”. Some Sri Vaishnavites have justified this. Especially Vadakalai Sri Vaishnavites. I think that’s why I haven’t seen any traditional vaishnava vidvan from non-brahmin caste. Now Sri Vaishnavism is just a cult of brahmins.
I’m not criticising Sri Vaishnava Tradition. I’m just explaining reality of current Sri Vaishnavism.
Agreed …. Within the SV community , much self-introspection and self-correction is the need of the hour . Both our leaders and the laity have to be honest with themselves . Change is difficult but also imperative .
Thanks for replying 🙏. I personally like Sri Vaishnavism. But these problems of current Sri Vaishnavism, making me hesitated to follow this tradition.
Sir, I can understand your feelings. But I myself try to follow what Gandhiji once said in a general sense : “Be the change you wish to see in the world”. 🙏