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National  / Cover Stories Magazine | Jun 04, 2007
cover story
The Durbar Hall Pundits
Despite some inroads, the bureaucracy is still Brahmin-heavy
Also In This Story   
cover story: brahmins
After years in a limbo, the Brahmins have found a political voice. And every party is eager to hear it.
Saba Naqvi
cover story
Poverty knows no caste. Many Brahmins eke out a living cleaning toilets, pulling rickshaws.
Anuradha Raman
south indian brahmins
Brahmins here are too few, too middle class to be a political force
Sugata Srinivasaraju
Snapshot of a community: population per state - the rich, the poor and the educated...
In the IAS, Brahmins still rule. From the senior-most bureaucrat in the central government to the officials who advise the prime minister, bureaucrats from the community are continuing with a tradition many say they were born into. According to one, the dominance of Brahmins can be traced back to the British who recruited literate Indians in lower positions of administration. "As Brahmins were educated, they were quick to take the opportunity offered. Back then it was easy for them to compete in the ICS," he says.

A quick head-count reveals that right from the present cabinet secretary to other key positions like secretary, RAW, defence research and development, agriculture and cooperation, economic affairs, revenue and legal affairs, Brahmins hold key jobs. As many as 37 top officials in the list of secretaries and officers of equivalent rank in the present administrative set-up are Brahmins. Going by figures quoted by the Backward Classes Commission, Brahmins account for 37.17 per cent of the bureaucracy. Other forward castes too constitute a substantial chunk.

In the department of science and technology and other research wings funded by the government too, Brahmins are very visible in the upper echelons. Many believed that back in 1990 V.P. Singh opened the gates for OBCs to aspire for a slot in the most coveted jobs in the government. But according to serving bureaucrats, it will take another five years for those who got into the civil services through the reservation quota to become joint secretary-level officers.

But the winds of change are blowing. This year 144 candidates who cleared the civil services examinations are from other backward classes. Even the candidate who topped was an OBC. As a senior official remarked, perhaps 2010 may throw up an altogether different bureaucracy—one that is more inclusive and representative. Till then, it's Brahmins who will dominate.

Also In This Story   
cover story: brahmins
After years in a limbo, the Brahmins have found a political voice. And every party is eager to hear it.
Saba Naqvi
cover story
Poverty knows no caste. Many Brahmins eke out a living cleaning toilets, pulling rickshaws.
Anuradha Raman
south indian brahmins
Brahmins here are too few, too middle class to be a political force
Sugata Srinivasaraju
Snapshot of a community: population per state - the rich, the poor and the educated...
Filed In Topics: Bureaucracy, Brahmins, Anuradha Raman
More In: National, Cover Stories
 
Daily Mail
COLLAPSE COMMENTS :
HAVE YOUR SAY
May 29, 2007 12:00 AM
5
What have Brahmins ever contributed to India?

Only the running of the disgusting humiliating caste system.

Their literature is feeble and third-rate.

The Hindu temples and sculptures are great but done by Sudras and Dalits.

Everything that makes one proud of India is non-Brahmin.

Brahmins only boast about Hindu culture and mint money from temples built by Sudras and Dalits.

When Brahmins are gone, India will flourish.
Parbat Laldeng
Denver, United States
May 28, 2007 12:00 AM
4
I find all this feting of Brahmins insulting to everybody else and divisifying and ultimately counterproductive.
The discussion is meant to make Brahmins proud and dalits proud by association.. a whole new discussison. Shallow and sinister.
Married to a Brahmin has shown me clearly: They come in all shapes and sizes and shades.So do people from my family! So what?
They do seem to be naturally spiritual. So are people from my family. So what?
They seem to be fair minded. So are people from my family. So what?
They seem to be intellectually ahead. So are my family. So what?
In this suffering country of ours what is needed is vision, philanthrophy and open mindedness beyond that displayed by my Brahmin family who have had an advantage of great spiritual indoctrination over the centuries. What is required a greater feeling of love and brotherhood and my non Brahmin family scores in this.
The takeout: The stupid utterly insulting articles being written about a clever election stunt and the wretched spin being put on it needs correction.There is no class or caste who are the inheritors of this great country. We need people who feel the pain and then pitch in.
Damn this narrow talk of caste and class. I am indeed saddened.
Bindu Tandon
Mumbai, India
May 28, 2007 12:00 AM
3
Indian low-caste Hindus, nomads convert en masse By Krittivas Mukherjee
Sun May 27, 11:53 AM ET



MUMBAI (Reuters) - About 50,000 Indian low-caste Hindus and nomadic tribespeople converted to Buddhism before a vast crowd on Sunday in the hope of escaping the rigidity of the ancient Hindu caste system and finding a life of dignity.

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Monks in orange and saffron robes administered religious vows to the converts as about half a million spectators, mostly Buddhists, cheered the ceremony at a horseracing track in downtown Mumbai.

Some of the converts were low-caste Hindus once considered as "untouchables" by the higher castes, but most were members of India's numerous nomadic tribes.

Many of the tribespeople had their faces painted and ritually flagellated themselves before being asked by the monks to give up their practices and follow the non-violent path of Buddhism.

"Whatever may have been your religion until now, from today you will take refuge in the teachings of the Lord Buddha," one told them.

At a signal from the monk conducting the proceedings, the converts, some of them visibly emaciated or carrying babies in their arms, stood up, took off their shoes and with folded hands repeated Buddhist chants.

Hindu scriptures separate people into Brahmin priests, warriors, farmers, labourers, and those beyond definition -- called "Dalits".

These low-caste Hindus, making up about a sixth of India's 1.1 billion people, were once considered "untouchable", performing the most menial and degrading jobs.

CULTURAL CHANGE

While the Indian constitution forbids caste discrimination, and spectacular economic success and exposure to Western culture have remoulded many social paradigms, the caste system has persisted, above all in villages.

Dalits are still often beaten or killed if they use a well or worship at a temple reserved for upper castes.

"I'm here because people from our village have decided to become Buddhist," said Santosh Mane, a landless labourer from a village about two hours' drive from Mumbai.

For decades, conversion has been a sensitive issue in India. Right-wing Hindus have accused missionaries, especially Christian preachers, of converting poor Hindus with inducements such as free schooling and health care.

But Christians, who have long demanded greater rights for Dalits, say those who convert often want to escape the oppressive caste system.

Hindus account for 80 percent of India's population. Muslims account for 13 percent, Christians less than 3 percent and minorities such as Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains and Parsis the rest. The crooked Brahmins will now work overtime to find a way to keep them in the Hindu fold.

Brahmins are not intelligent in a good way, they are cunning in an evil way. That makes all the difference.

Raj
Chicago, United States
May 27, 2007 12:00 AM
2
Dear Outlook,

Thank you for the love you bestowed upon us. We love you as well.

Sincerely,
Brahmins

PS:- Don't worry, we'll switch off the lights and close the door gently on our way out.
Akshay
Hyderabad, India
May 26, 2007 12:00 AM
1
The brahmins at the helm of affairs were recruited more than three decades earlier; one can hardly contend that they should be downsized because of their birth. The Indian Audit & Accounts was jocularly referred to as the Indian Aiyangar & Aiyar Service those days. Its preesnt composition will show how things have dramatically changed favouring other communities. Even during British colonial rule, civil servants like LD Swamikannu Pillai, AN Sattanathan, PN Rajagopal etc from other communities made a mark. OBCs can gain without unjustifiably making brahmins to lose.
Soundararajan
S. Soundararajan
Portsmouth, United Kingdom
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