திண்ணை

T. Brihadish

Actually I was at a loss understanding the motive behind Mani Manik writing this letter. It was really a blot from the blue. Suddenly a letter totally denigrating the role of a particular community in history appears in a reputed journal like thinnai. Of course, equating Nadars with Pallars and Parayars itself is not derogatory because Pallar and Paraiyars might also have had a glorious past. But it is very clear from the tone of Manik’s letter that his motive is to target a particular community – ie Nadars.

Is it a slanging match? Sorry that the target of Mani Manik’s ire – Mr. Nellai Nedumaran and A. Ganesan – did not indulge in any slanging match. They put forth their views. It will be too naive to belittle the views expressed by people involved in historical research.

It seems that the author Mani Manik has become uncomfortable and restless due to the sort of allergy towards the Nadar community. It is not my aim to act as an advocate for the Nadar’s cause. But I think, as a regular reader of thinnai it is my august duty to point out that Mani Manik’s letter published last week is bereft of any logic or reasoning.

Such silly letters remind me of the tendency of LKG students to stun great academicians and scholars by putting illogical questions in a perverted manner. Or can such acts be termed as a device to attract other’s attention by indulging in gimmicks? Two decades back, in European countries there was a tendency among adolescent girls to strip off their dresses and run nudely in the arena when some tournament is being conducted. Mani Manik’s “scholarly” letter seems to be such a device.

brihadish@rediffmail.com