On May 10, Delhi University was forced to cancel an event to mark Parshuram Jayanti announced by a new organisation called Brahmins of Delhi University. Titled “Brahmins and the Tapestry of Hindu Civilisation: Weaving Bhartiya Heritage and Calling Astikas to Fulfill rsi rna”, it was to have been held at the Conference Centre of the North Campus, along with a campus-wide Shobha Yatra the same day.

The programme was scrapped after protests by some leftist and Dalit student organisations. But that day, a large procession was organised on the campus hailing Parashuram, the Brahmin warrior. The walls of the campus were covered with posters to mark his birth anniversary.

Over the last few years, there has been a significant increase in the display of Brahmin superiority. Parashuram Jayanti events have started taking place across India, especially in the North. Enthusiastic demonstrations of Brahmin identity are becoming commonplace. Stickers bearing the word “Brahmins” have started appearing on vehicles.

A phenomenon that has been playing out on the streets has now entered India’s campuses. It is not that this idea of Brahmin superiority has grown in the last decade. But the fact that is being expressed brazenly is definitely new – and it is linked to the rise of Hindutva politics.

Many people argue that if Dalit identity can be expressed and is seen as legitimate, what is wrong with the expression of Brahmin identity? After all, both are caste identities. If a caste group can talk about itself, then why not others?

We have to consider the values carried by each identity, We also have to........

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