The difference between ETHNIC and CASTE - the Malaysian Indian ignorance

The other day, I was in the hospital for checkup and an Indian aunty started conversation with me. As the conversation was going on, she asked me, “Nee enna aalu paapa?” (What caste are you child?) I understood her gouging and replied, “Manusha aalu.” (human being)

I’d even forgive the aunty but not this fellow who is my Facebook friend. He asked me which caste is superior, Telugu or Malayalam. I was left head desking.

Even till today, there are Malaysian Indians who don’t know the difference between caste and ethnic that exists in Malaysian Indians. These people assume that all Malaysian Indians are Tamil and that Telugu and Malayalam are castes. But everyone knows that Punjabi is an ethnic. Just like Punjabi is an ethnic, Telugu and Malayalam are ethnic groups that originate from Andhra and Kerala respectively. Dr Mahathir’s dad is a Malayali from Malabar, Kerala - Mohammad Iskandar Kutty.

Tamils speak Tamil, Telugus speak Telugu and Malayalis speak Malayalam. If a Malaysian Indian doesn’t know how to speak Tamil, it could mean he/she not being Tamil in the first place, not ashamed to be Indian or Tamil. At KK, we give English translation to romanized Tamil sentences acknowledging this fact.

Caste is something that divides all the Indian ethnic groups further. Tamils have Chettiar, Goundar, Thevar, etc. Telugu has Naidu, Reddy, Rao, etc. Malayalis have Nair, Menon, Pillai, etc. Since Tamils are the majority here, there are caste associations. For the ethnic groups besides Tamil, they have their own associations.

Since Tamils are the majority here, the dominance of Tamil nationalism is growing. This is good but mocking those Malaysian Indians who are unable to speak Tamil is not something that will make Tamil grow. Also, it is expected that all Malaysian Indians, regardless of their ethnicity to speak or learn Tamil but Tamils won’t learn Telugu or Malayalam, unlike India Indians - actors Siddharth, Vikram, Kamal, Rajini, Rana Daggubati, Dulquer Salman etc are able to speak Tamil and other Indian languages. I’ve always envied them.

But, these divisions are pointless because the govt screws as a whole community = Indians. At the same time, we need to understand the diversity the word Indian accounts for. And, we should, by all means, renounce the caste system. We badly need unity.

Today is International Mother Tongue Day. Language is a hallmark of civilization. Language, ethnic and other divisions should only serve as diversity and knowledge, not superiority, inferiority and disunity. I hope I clarified the difference between caste and ethnic.

Kelada, maanida piraviyil mealor, keelor illai. (Listen, in humans there is neither superiority nor inferiority) --> Spelling mistakes in the meme