01. The frills that get deleted in translation

02. The real basis of racism

03. Atrophy of personality

04. Do higher castes have quality?

The frills that get deleted in translation

During the colonial days, at least a minor section of people had been living in feudal language nations, and seeing for themselves the fact that there is something dangerously different in these social systems. Now, the information that gets passed through is a much filtered one. All information for which some standard English words can be found will pass through. However, when English words are used, a lot of frills attachments get removed.

For instance, see this word Gauravam in Malayalam. It is translated as Serious. However, the meaning in English has lost a tremendous amount of frill feelings, emotions and power in the first word. The first word actually can have a very dangerous level of brutality in it. How can one explain it in English? Well, that is the tragedy of current-day English nations. They live in a very secluded world, from where the picture of the outside world comes in the form of rosy English words. It is a very dangerous misunderstanding.

To explain the word Gauravam, I need to say that if one says that a police officer is a person with Gauravam, it does not mean that he is a serious man as understood in English. It means that he is a very tough guy, with a stony demeanour, and may even have a very beastly side to him. A person who could be quite unreasonable in his words, gestures and actions. One may get a thundering slap from him quite easily.

Oscar Wilde used the word Artist. However, when a Malayalam film personality says ‘I am an artist’, the mental picture of the artist that arises is not what Oscar Wilde would have envisaged in his mind. The different persons in the mental images would differ as Red would differ from Blue.

{I deliberately did not use the words Black and White, for it can easily be identified with racial feelings. Actually it is a terrible thing that I can’t use standard English words without the American social problems being imputed. Once in a book I had used the word gay to define a personage’s individuality. The criticism was that this word should not be used. For, the Americans have given mileage to a different meaning and such a word should not be connected to this personage. When I call my cat Pussy, the slang meaning come to haunt it. Nowadays ‘Americans’ does not mean English-speakers, but rank outsiders who are there to spoil English systems and language. Oh, what have they done to a fine English nation, which was created by native-English speakers?]

Now coming back to the Wikipedia Ezhava Talk Page. I had the experience of being hammered by the pro-Ezhavas. I did not write much eulogising things about the Thiyyas also. So there were complaints on this regard also. Now, in desperation I simply wrote that it is not wise to write self-eulogising things in an international encyclopaedia. I admitted that people do get disturbed if any information that is correct, but not liked gets written. I simply mentioned the issue of the Nairs.

Well, that set me on another attack. There were many. I cannot divulge the contents here. For, it may really provoke a caste war out here in Kerala.

The real basis of racism

One can understand the terrible pain that had been caused by a mere mention that the Nairs have a slight link to another group of ‘Indians’. Well, the spite has been seen and felt. Now, this same theme can be extended to that of racism in English nations. ‘Indians’ cannot bear to be identified with other ‘Indians’. Such is the repulsion they feel for other ‘Indians’. If this be the case, cannot a bit of repulsion by the native-English folks also be condoned?

I say this specifically for there have been many cases of many native-English citizens spending time in jail for using so-called racist words to ‘Indians’ and others. Well, what English nations have to bear in mind is that there is some level of mutual repulsion among the various Asian, African, and South American as well as certain European persons. It is felt by they themselves. If this be a reality, it is not a crime if a native-English man also feels the same. What they say among themselves cannot be understood by English speakers. Yet, what English speakers mention is clearly comprehensible by others. That is also a tragedy.

It is like my Pen name VED from VICTORIA INSTITUTIONS being barred by Facebook and also by Google. Google recently allowed it. The issue was with the word INSTITUTIONS. It has a commercial connotation, it seems. Yet, if one man may give his user name as Shoba Jaulikkada, no one would object. Yet, the word Jaulikkada means ‘textile shop’. In effect it means, Shobha Textile Shop.

Now in current day English nations, all verbal racial misdemeanours are perfectly punishable only if they are in English. Otherwise, there is no problem. For example, when the profanity addressed to me came up on Wikipedia pages, there was no talk about barring those users. Yet, when I wrote very decent ideas, I have to apologise. And that too, to Indian administrators. The problem is that I have enough and more experience with ‘Indian’ administrators in the various government offices of India. I would not like to stand in any position of obeisance to them, if I can help it.

Atrophy of personality

Now going back to the caste issue, the fact is that human quality is based on the communication level that is perched on him. I have seen persons of Brahmin antiquity simply rotting away in personality as they become drenched in the lower indicant word codes.

At the same time, I have seen lower caste persons looking like demigods in terms of physical ennoblement when born and bred in superior indicant word ambience. When Ezhavas children get born and brought up in English nations, they do not have any of the negative facial demeanours that would have afflicted them had they been brought up in ‘India’. Here again, it needs mention that it is not always the higher castes that bring in the negative demeanours on lower caste persons. Many times, it is the creepiness of their own family elders as they use encasing lower indicant words as powerful codes of affection, that does the negative work.

So, the point here is that concept of caste as such has no formidable base other than that it can act along with the powerful indicant word codes to elevate or belittle a person. For example, in a perfectly English social ambience, the issue of Caste will stand erased. However, there is no such social arena in India. Moreover, Indian English is feudal English. Not pristine English.

Do higher castes have quality?

When speaking of this aspect, there is need to mention about higher castes and quality. There is generally a feeling that higher castes are the repositories of quality. Well, they are not exactly the repositories of quality. What they possess is the ability to stand on the heights of the indicant word codes. However, they do not lend quality to a person placed below them.

The below placed person is belittled and snubbed. The amount of such negative snubbing depends on where the other person is placed and whether he himself has anyone to keep below. Having some other persons below him can allow him to assert his own leadership over them, and claim their ennoblement on him.

Here the funny part is that the more one belittles another and the belittled man accepts it, the more he is loved by the belittled person. At the same time, this belittling is interspersed with a very diabolic kind of affection, that is limiting. In this respect, as I have already mentioned, feudal language codes are totally different from English. Be rude, mean and impolite, and you reap ‘respect’ from those thus belittled. Be ‘respectful’ to them, and they treat you with scorn.

So, it follows that the feeling of racism is connected to the planar nature of English. For, in English, if you are impolite, rude and snubbing to the lower man, it is not appreciated. It is accepted as a negative behaviour, unlike in feudal languages.

When one mentions an aristocratic family of ‘India’, it basically means that they are the people who makes a lot of other ‘Indians’ rubbish. There is no comparison with an English aristocracy.

Well, these are codes about which English nations currently have no information about.

I hope I have touched the Indian Caste Issues from a very neutral stand. However, I am sure no one mentioned would be happy. For, I did not claim that each one of them are similar to the Spartans, that they are the epitome of elegance, they are the best in the world, that they are all geniuses, and much more. Here I would be quite happy to quote the words of Al Baruni:

QUOTE: “We can only say, stupidity is an illness for which there is no cure. They (the peoples of south-Asia) believe that there is no country as great as theirs, no nation like theirs, no kings like theirs, no religion like theirs, no science like theirs. They are arrogant, foolish and vain, self-conceited, and indifferent. They are by nature miserly in sharing their knowledge, and they take the greatest of efforts to hide it from men of another caste among their own people, and also, of course, from foreigners. According to their firm belief, there is no other country on earth but theirs, no other race of man but theirs, and no human being besides them have any knowledge or science and such other things. Their conceit is such that, if you inform them of any science or scholar in Khurasan and Persia, they will define you as an idiot and a liar. If they travel and mix with other people in other nations, they would change their mind fast. ....” Al-Biruni (Circa: 4 September 973 – 9 December 1048) END OF QUOTE