The myth
Some modern shUdra-s, ironically from rich backgrounds, claim to have been oppressed by brAhmaNa-s who denied them “education” because they were shUdra-s.
Orthodoxy nurtured Shudra literature and spirituality
For example, the shrIvaiShNava cult was practically founded by the shUdra sage https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nammalvar , whose 1k+ verses form the anubhava and tattva rich core of “drAviDa veda”, which every SV are bound to study with traditional commentaries and interpret the sanskrit veda-s in concordance to it. To their credit shrIvaiShNava brAhmaNa-s have done an unparalleled job of preserving and propagating the drAviDa veda WITH due credits. My own humble contribution is here, where I will eventually add one of the translations to sanskrit by a maNDyam iyengAr from last century.
Every shrIvaiShNava temple houses his statue, and the shaThAri placed on the heads of every devotee there represents him (who is identified, like his jAti, with the foot of the God nArAyaNa).
That brings to mind another tamiL shUdra shrIvaiShNava, kamba, the author of the much adored tamiL rAmAyaNa. Even today, in the southern wing of shrIrangam, the brAhmaNa archaka-s proudly declare “this is the place where kamba’s rAmAyaNa was inagurated”. And they keep saying “evil brAhman denied us education”!
Theoretical implausibility
This is ridiculous. 3% brAhmins (in southern states) managed to deny education to 90% shUdra-s (who were locally influential in statecraft and economy to the extant of being rulers). Why? Are they such waste-bodies that they couldn’t educate themselves, or have their own teachers or whatever? To top it off, they - supposedly out of their 1k year stupidity -patronized and cared for these very brAhmaNa-s. All this theoretical implausibility is apart from the historically well-attested facts, of course.
Records
Literary references, and ephigraphia provide early records of cultured shUdra-s in harmony with the rest of society.
- Colonial records from Bengal, UP and Panjab show plenty of shUdra-s learning sanskrit.
Excerpts from Dharampal’s The Beautiful Tree: Indigenous Indian Education in the Eighteenth Century (1983, arch) -
- Statistics of Indigenous schools in Madras Presidency collected in 1822 and submitted in 1825 show that, out of the 142,369 Hindu 111,890 Hindu boys belonged to non-Brahmin castes, denoting their dominance in the indigenous vernacular education.
- Statistics of Bombay Presidency show that the Brahmin boys studied under non-Brahmin teachers, and non-Brahmin teachers & students outnumbered Brahmins.
- A brahmin teacher used to teach 1 Brahmin, 6 Sonar, 1 Shimli, 10 Bandari, 4 Sali, 3 Mali, 6 Khatri, and 1 Panchal boy in a shed belonging to a Teli before 1820 in the indigenous school of village Pent in Ouchitgarh Taluka.
- In Bihar : “The parents of good caste do not hesitate to send their children to schools conducted by teachers of inferior castes and even of a different religion”. In Tirhut, one Brahmin teacher taught largest chunk of 72 students was from Sunri caste ( which were considered untouchable/backward class by Brits)
- In Bengal, Indigenous Schools in Bengal Presidency by Adam’s Report shows: The schools have a mixed population of students of every caste. Artisanal castes outnumbered Brahmins and Kayasthas too.
Fake victimhood narrative
From what I can gather, traditionally landholding, rich shUdra-s with every opportunity to advance themselves educationally or otherwise, now cynically adopt some bizarre victimhood narrative as OBC-s, while making brAhmaNa-s the scapegoats and in fact oppressing “dalits” in order to perpetuate their socio-economic status from British times. It’s very cynical, and apparent, especially in TN.