“I think that all who wear poonool should be considered as god.”
These are not the words of a conservative Brahmin promoting his casteist beliefs on social media. These were in fact the words of a politician - an MP no less - from Kerala, who was speaking at a meeting in the state capital.
Suresh Gopi, a popular actor and a BJP Rajya Sabha legislator, was addressing the annual meet of the Yogakshema Sabha, an association of Brahmins, in Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday. Suresh said that he wanted to be ‘reborn as a Brahmin’ and later become the tantri (head priest of temples in Kerala) of Sabarimala’s Sree Ayyappa temple.
The actor-MP’s words have been highly criticised, with many calling out the irony of his pronouncement in the land of Ayyankali - a Dalit social reformer who rose up against Brahminism in Kerala.
“I believe in rebirth. In my next birth, I want to belong to the community who wear poonool (sacred thread of Brahmins) and want to be the tantri of Sabarimala. I want to be the head priest or at least the lower priest, so that I can touch the god and give god a bath,” Suresh Gopi said in his speech.
At a time when the debate on not allowing Dalits to get involved in temple poojas is raging, Suresh’s declaration is seen as either completely blind to the social reality of his country, or deliberately casteist.
“I think that all who wear poonool should be considered as god,” the actor turned MP further said.
That is ironic, considering it is in diametrically opposed to his famous dialogue in the movie Paithrukam, where he says, “I am not a Brahmin, I am a human being. I have torn off my poonool. I have cut off that superstitious black thread much before.”
This isn’t the first time this has happened. There have been instances earlier where he has shown that there is no correlation between his real-life ideologies and his on-screen ones.
The politician is now facing wide criticism for his latest remarks. Under the hashtag #AdimaGopi (slave Gopi) which has been used earlier to criticise him, a number of tweets have been coming up against him after his latest speech.
“What do you call a douchebag who lives in the land of Ayyankali & Narayana Guru and yet dreams about wearing "thread"? #AdimaGopi of course”
What do you call a douchebag who lives in the land of Ayyankali & Narayana Guru and yet dreams about wearing "thread"? #AdimaGopi of course https://t.co/G3cCLPrWiz
— The Last Caveman (@CarDroidusMax) September 23, 2017
“A man is great by deeds, not by birth. Somebody tell this to #SureshGopi. Otherwise, he may be a baby with #Upanayana on his rebirth itself.”
A man is great by deeds, not by birth. Somebody tell this to #SureshGopi. Otherwise, he may be a baby with #Upanayana on his rebirth itself pic.twitter.com/Bll1Y8b0G8
— Jahangeer Razaq (@MachoMaestro) September 24, 2017
“2 minutes of silence for those who blamed LDF & UDF or letting BJP take Suresh Gopi. He rightfully belongs in the Cow dung camp #AdimaGopi”
2 minutes of silence for those who blamed LDF & UDF for letting BJP take Suresh Gopi.
— Heisenberg (@redandbluemagic) September 23, 2017
He rightfully belongs in the Cow dung camp#AdimaGopi
“If suresh gopi wants to be reborn as a Brahmin then I want to be reborn as EMS to rip his Konakam apart #AdimaGopi”
If suresh gopi wants to reborn as a Brahmin then I want to reborn as EMS to rip his Konakam apart #AdimaGopi
— alavalathishaji (@e_salam) September 23, 2017
“Through caste hierarchy, the lower caste people have been controlled by alleging impurity. They say that a Brahmin is a person who knows Brahma, and through karma anyone can become a Brahmin. But that is just a drama of being secular. No lower caste man has ever identified as a Brahmin with his Karma. Instead, we have heard the stories of Sambuka and Ekalavya who tried to become Brahmin or kshatriya. Recently, many spiritual programs were held to bring back the caste hierarchy and place Brahmins in the top of the society. Suresh Gopi, who went to such a function, had the complex of a shudra,” writer and Critic KP Jayakumar wrote on Facebook, coming down heavily on the MP.