In India’s popular socio-political discourse, Brahmins are often portrayed as the principal upholders of caste and endogamy. But data and disturbing events on the ground tell a different story – one that few are willing to confront. Recent studies and caste killings reveal that the torch of caste pride, once carried by Brahmins, now burns fiercely among dominant OBCs and MBCs.
A 2017 study conducted by researchers from the Indian Statistical Institute found that Brahmins had the highest rate of inter-caste marriages among all caste groups at 6.3%, compared to 4.8% among OBCs and 4.7% among Dalits. Even more striking is the fact that over 60% of these inter-caste marriages were arranged by families, not romantic outliers. This punctures the stereotype of Brahmins as die-hard casteists, at least when it comes to marriage.
The myth that caste rigidity flows top-down must now be questioned.
The Real ‘Honour’ Violence Is Happening Lower Down
Take the brutal case of Kavin Selva Ganesh, a 27-year-old Dalit techie in Tamil Nadu, who was hacked to death in broad daylight for being in love with a caste-Hindu woman. The main accused? Her brother-son of two serving Sub-Inspectors in the Tamil Nadu Police. Both SIs are also named in the FIR. This is no one-off. The infamous 2016 murder of Sankar, another Dalit youth, by a dominant Thevar family also for falling in love remains etched in Tamil Nadu’s memory.
The perpetrators of such “honour” crimes are often from OBC and MBC communities’ castes that dominate local politics, police stations, and panchayats. Their caste pride isn’t in scriptures it’s in muscle, machetes, and marriage control.
The Hypocrisy Of The Anti-Brahmin Narrative
Why is it that every caste atrocity is somehow pinned on “Brahminism,” while actual violence on the ground is perpetrated by castes that swear by Periyarism and Dravidian ideology? Why is there no media outrage when inter-caste love is punished with murder not by Brahmin priests, but by backward class police officers?
Even Subramania Bharati, the great Tamil poet, called this out a century ago – “Jaathigal illayadi paapa…” (There are no castes, my child.)
Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, in his most scathing critique, warned,
“Caste is not just a division of labour – it is a division of labourers… graded inequality.”
And Gandhi, who tried to preserve Varnashrama, eventually admitted, “The caste system is a curse upon the nation.”
But today, caste has left the Vedas and entered voter rolls and matrimonial alliances. Brahmins, increasingly urban and disengaged from rural caste dynamics, are scapegoated while real caste atrocities flourish in regions where OBCs dominate.
Time For An Honest Conversation
If annihilation of caste is the goal, we must stop treating Brahmins as convenient punching bags. Real caste justice will come only when we address where caste violence truly festers today within the rigid family structures of dominant caste groups who preach equality but practise medieval control over marriage and women’s agency.
If Brahmins, as data suggests, are becoming more accepting of inter-caste alliances, perhaps it’s time others do the same.
Ending casteism isn’t about attacking Brahmins. It’s about eradicating casteist pride, wherever it lives even if it’s next door, not in a priest’s quarters.
Shailendar Karthikeyan is the Editor of Nyayavimarsha.
Subscribe to our channels on Telegram, WhatsApp, and Instagram and get the best stories of the day delivered to you personally.
