‘Dravida’ has no racial connotation: historian

‘Term comes to the fore whenever there is a perception that Tamil is in peril

J B Prashanth More

Dravida, as a political term, has been a constant factor in the public discourse in Tamil Nadu, even though its critics have become more vocal of late. About a month ago, actor Kamal Haasan told a Tamil television channel that no party could engage in politics in the State without embracing the Dravidian ideology.

In an interview with The Hindu , J.B. Prashanth More, a Paris-based historian and the author of a recent book on the Justice Party, said that the term, Dravida, had undergone a transformation over the years. When the Justice Party was launched in 1916, the term was used to mean only Tamil-speaking non-Brahmins in the then Madras Presidency. “But, now, it is deployed to signify a sort of defiance and counter ‘external influence’, say that of the Bharatiya Janata Party,” Mr. More said, adding that whenever there is a perception that Tamil identity and culture are in peril, the relevance of the term comes to the fore.

Tracing the roots

On the genesis of the term, Mr. More said that its roots can be traced to Sanskrit and it has been used in Bhagavatha Purana — regarded as the most important work in Hindu sacred literature. Relying on his research, the historian contended that the term was never used in ancient literature of Tamil, other south Indian languages or Sanskrit to denote race or language.

“In my analysis, it refers to the southern region and this encompasses Brahmins and non-Brahmins,” he said, pointing out that

Naalayira Divya Prabhandam , a collection of 4,000 Tamil hymns belonging to 7th Century – 11th Century CE, is called “Dravida Vedam”.

According to him, the term was not used till the 18th Century CE to distinguish non-Brahmins from Brahmins, and started acquiring a different meaning in the 19th Century. “Leaders of the Justice Party such as Pitti Theagaraya Chetty and T.M. Nair — both non-Tamils — had found it most comfortable to carry on with their politics in Tamil-speaking areas of the Madras Presidency,” he claimed. The leaders had used the Aryan-Dravidian theory against the domination by Tamil Brahmins in politics and administration. While they had identified the Brahmins as those coming from outside, “which is not true,” they had integrated themselves within Tamil society as Dravidians, the historian added.

The anti-Hindi agitation in 1938 provided an opportunity to E.V. Ramasamy to revive the theory and club the Tamil Brahmins with north Indians and Aryans. This marked the beginning of the present understanding of the term. He does not foresee any change in the way the word is being used in the political discourse of the State and says parties want this to continue so that they can use it to remain in power.