Dr. J Ravikumar Stephen G.

During my visit to Pakistan in 2003, I was astonished to encounter carts drawn by donkeys. However, upon delving into historical context, it becomes apparent that donkeys hold significance within Dravidian culture.

In ancient Tamil literature, references are made to businessmen employing caravans (சாத்து – Cāttu) of carts drawn by both donkeys and oxen. The Sangam Tamil literature, particularly the ‘Perumpāṇāṟṟuppaṭai’ (பெரும்பாணாற்றுப்படை), provides insight into the transportation methods of the time. It describes how black peppers were bundled to the size of jackfruits and transported on the backs of donkeys by international traders. The following is the reference:

“தடவுநிலைப் பலவின் முழுமுதற் கொண்ட

சிறுசுளைப் பெரும்பழம் கடுப்ப மிரியல்

புணர்ப்பொறை தாங்கிய வடுவாழ் நோன்புறத்து

அணர்ச் செவிக் கழுதைச் சாத்தொடு (caravan of donkeys) வழங்கும்

உல்குடைப் பெருவழிக் கவலை காக்கும்

வில்லுடை வைப்பின் வியன் காட்டி” (பாடல் 77)

Furthermore, mules (அத்திரி) were imported from Persia, Arabia, and Sindh, and were favored by the affluent for riding. They were exclusively utilized for personal transportation rather than the carriage of goods, earning them the moniker ‘Royal Vehicles’. An example can be found in an ‘Akanāṉūṟu’ (அகநானூறு) poem dating between the 1st century BC and the 2nd century AD, which depicts a Paravar (பரவர் – pearl fisher / merchant) journeying in a mule-drawn cart from the port of Koṟkai (Kapadapuram) to the City of Koṟkai. The lines read as follows:

கொடுநுகம் நுழைந்த கணைக்கால் அத்திரி (mule)

வடிமணி நெடுந்தேர் பூண” (பாடல் 350).

Poem number 343 suggests that donkeys were utilized for traveling in countries with rugged terrain. The lines are as follows:

நெடுஞ்செவிக் கழுதை குறுங்கால் ஏற்றைப்

புறம்நிறை பண்டத்து பொறை” (அகநானூறு- பா.343)

The 2000-year-old Sangam Tamil literature and Kharavela’s Hathigumpha inscription _(refer to the 2nd image)_ found in the Indian State of Odisha share an intriguing coincidence. When kings conquered new territories, a peculiar custom prevailed: they would demolish towns and till the land using donkeys. This practice was widespread across India. Poems 392 from the Sangam literature ‘Puṟanāṉūṟu’ (புறநானூறு) and 25 from ‘Patiṟṟuppattu’ (பதிற்றுப்பத்து) recount instances where Pandya king Muthu-kudumi Peuvazuthi, local chieftain Pokuttezini, and Cheran Selkezu Kuttuvan emerged victorious over their adversaries and employed donkeys to plow their conquered lands.

Development of Horse Drawn Chariots

In Western Eurasia, from as early as 3500 BC, goods were predominantly transported by heavy vehicles equipped with disc wheels, pulled by bovids. Throughout the third millennium BC, nomadic and semi-nomadic pastoralists of the Yamnaya Culture and subsequent Catacomb Culture utilized such four- and occasionally two-wheeled vehicles across the Eastern European Steppe. Around 2000 BC, a cluster of settlements, some heavily fortified, emerged within the Sintashta-Petrovka cultural complex between the Southern Trans-Urals and northern Kazakhstan. This period witnessed a diversification in transportation methods, marked by the introduction of light, two-wheeled carts with spoked wheels, drawn by domesticated horse teams. Initially documented in cemeteries at Sintashta moglia (or Sintashta SM), Krivoe Ozero, or Kamennyj Ambar-5 (KA-5) of the Sintashta-Petrovka cultural complex, these vehicles, initially designed for human transport rather than cargo, underwent significant transformations to evolve into horse-drawn chariots during Eastern Europe’s Middle Bronze Age (2500–1800 BC).

Archaeological evidence of early chariots around the turn of the second millennium BC is found in three primary Old World regions: the ancient Near East including its Bactrian periphery, the Central Eurasian Steppe, and the Carpathian Basin. Through examination of archaeological, stratigraphic, and radiocarbon data concerning early chariots and the utilization of horses as traction animals, the Sintashta Culture emerges prominently in the Central Eurasian Steppe. This culture is particularly associated with the Kamennyj Ambar-5 kurgan cemetery, situated in Chelyabinsk Oblast, southern Russia.

Prior to the arrival of horse-riding aliens in India, donkeys held a distinct and esteemed position within Indian society. However, with the marginalization of local rulers by the invading Aryan forces, several significant shifts occurred:

1. After the establishment of Aryan kingdoms in India, Aryan rulers began to parade criminals in public to humiliate them by making them ride donkeys—animals that the Dravidians had once proudly regarded as cultural symbols. The criminals’ bodies would be painted with black and white spots and they were led in a procession. As a result, riding a donkey came to be viewed as uncivilized.
2. Initially revered as the vehicles of Indra and Agni in the Atharva Veda, donkeys later came to be associated with Jyeshta (Muthevi – மூதேவி).

Donkey Symbol of Dravidian Royalty

The association of donkeys and mules with royalty and kingship, initially observed in ‘Genesis’, is reiterated in subsequent passages such as the book of ‘Judges’. This symbolism is further underscored in later narratives, including ‘Samuel’, where we learn of David’s flight from Jerusalem following his son Absalom’s rebellion. In this account, Ziba provides two donkeys for the king’s household to ride upon.

In ‘Kings’ Chapter 10, we learn that in order to seek the wisdom of King Solomon, people presented offerings of silver, gold, garments, armor, spices, horses, and mules, according to a set rate year by year. Additionally, ‘Kings’ records that King Solomon possessed one thousand four hundred chariots and twelve thousand horsemen. Despite this, King Solomon chose to ride on a mule, following the example set by his father, King David, who also rode a6 mule. This deliberate choice symbolized Solomon’s lineage and continuity with David’s reign, as evidenced by David’s sons all riding on mules.

Just as in Tamil culture where owning donkeys was regarded as a symbol of prosperity, among the Israelites, the possession of horses and horse-drawn chariots was associated with their enemies.

From the narrative provided, it may be inferred that the Israelites (including the Jordanians and Arabs) belonged to the Dravidian ethnicity, while their adversaries were of the same race as Hitler.

During Jesus’ time, Israel was under Roman rule and governed by Herod the Great, who hailed from the Edomite lineage. Perceiving Jesus as a potential threat to his reign, Herod ordered the massacre of all male children under the age of two upon hearing of Jesus’ birth. To protect Jesus from this mass infanticide, his parents fled to Egypt.

All the invaders of Israel, beginning with the Assyrians and the Babylonians, followed by the Persians and the Macedonians (Greeks) under Alexander the Great, utilized horse-drawn chariots. The Romans similarly employed this mode of transportation.

Read: Debunking Myths: The Truth about Dravidian Identity and Aryan Invasion

Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem posed an open challenge to Caesar, who had proclaimed himself the Son of God. Jesus entered the walled city of Jerusalem accompanied by those considered outcasts, who were typically forbidden from entering the city limits.

Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem, *riding on a donkey, was not merely an impromptu decision, utilizing whatever animal was available. It was a carefully orchestrated plan with a distinct purpose. This act served as an overt challenge to the dominant invaders. The choice of a donkey or mule, traditionally associated with peaceful rule as the king’s mount, contrasted sharply with the horse, symbolizing warfare.

Riding on a donkey symbolizes royalty among the Dravidians, who espouse beliefs in the Citizenship of the World and equality from birth. This practice was observed by King David and continued by his son, King Solomon. Understanding this tradition sheds light on why Jesus also chose to ride on a donkey.

Hail to you on this blessed Palm Sunday,

Where jubilant Hosannas fill the air,

May joy and peace upon you stay,

As palms and praises everywhere declare.

Happy Palm Sunday to you, dear friend,

May blessings upon your path descend!

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Dr. J Ravikumar Stephen G., is the Founder, Dravidianism Revival Centre, Peace Coalition of the People of South Asia, and Sages of the New Covenant. He is also the Presiding Bishop of General Convention of the Episcopal Churches in Southern and South Eastern Asia.  The Dravidianism Revival Centre is located in Badlapur, Greater Thane Maharashtra, India. Emal: Peace.Evangelist@gmail.com

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Nazir Shakir Brahui

Every region, country and nation in the world has its own historical, regional, cultural, religious and political affiliation. Knowledge of the names of region, countries or nations is of great scientific and linguistic status. Just as Punjab is called the land of five rivers, so is Iran known as the land of Aryans. The name of Sindh has been misunderstood by Sindhi scholars as Sanskrit .However, Sanskrit the scientific form of the Udhechiya variant in 400 BC. While the word Sindh existed in the form of “Kinttu” thousands of year before the Aryans. The K became S and T changed into D sound and took the form of the word Sindh.

But the earliest history of this region (Pakistan) was founded by the people of Mihrgarh and Mohen-jo-Daro – 9000 and 4000 thousand years ago respectively. The founders of these civilizations were the Proto-Dravidians and the Brahui Language and nation are the only Proto-Dravidian people in the present geographical boundaries of Pakistan. Therefore, the originators of these civilizations can be none another than the Brahuis. G.R. Hunter makes it clear that the people of these civilizations were the ancestors of the present Brahuis. The world’s linguists, archaeologists, historians and anthropologists agree that the first language of this region was and is Brahui. In these experts G.R. Hunter, Peru Marigi, MaCAlpin, Rasheed Akhtar Nadvi, Kamil-u-l Qadri, M.S. Andronov. Gankovisky and others. If the language of the Brahui people is so ancient, then surely its speakers or their own national name “Brahui “will also be ancient. Many assumptions have been made about the Brahui word, name, meaning and bases, not-historical, logical and non-linguistic. Gul Khan Naseer has termed the Brahui word as 1530 AD. And the modified form of the word BURZKOHEE. Someone has called the Brahui words a variant of the name Ibrahim. So someone has called Varaha the bases of the Brahui word. Dr. Abdul Rahman Brahui has invented a Persian story and called the basis of Brahui word a modified form of Ee +Bro words. Joseph Elfenbein called the Sraiki word ‘Brohi” the basis of the Brahui word. These are all political assumptions about the Brahui word. So that by reducing the historical orthodoxy of Brahui, they can be proved to be Baloch. So that the similarities in the basis of Brahui and Baloch names can be the same, only in Balochistan, Baloch politics can flourish. Although the Baloch came to the present geographical boundaries of Balochistan after 1200 AD, the Brahuis are the original habitants of this land and their historical antiquity is 6000 thousand years old.

But unlike all these scribes, the Brahui word is a Proto-Dravidian word. Because in the Dravidian languages VaRa-Vata is called the North.Ko, the mountains called and E (i), the relative adjective indicates relative in relation. vaRa-vaTa Bra+ko+I word together became  Brahui word. Russia is famous Dravologist M.S. Andronov writes that, “So that the whole word should be analyzed as Brahui, bra-ui vaTa-kui. Its original meaning having been “a northern hillman”  or  northern mountaineers, or ” people of the northern hills” ,” people of northern mountains” .This word is four thousand years old and Proto-Dravidian origin. When the Aryans invaded India and Sindh in 1500 BC. The Proto- vaRakois (ancestors of the Brahui nation) were settled in the northern mountains of Sindh. According to Arial Stein “these peoples escaped being Aryanized. Dr. Ernest Trumpp has described the Brahui as people living in the northern mountains. Because they started living in the north of Sindh .Ernest Trumpp writes “referring to the geographical position of the Brahuis .Another remarkable example is the language of the Brahui in the north of Sindh and on the east of Balochistan, on the north-west of British India”.

The people of the Brahui nation never call themselves Brohi but Brahuis. Non-Brahuis call the Brahuis, Brohi. Just as the Baloch call themselves Baloch while the non-Baloch call them Barroch, Balush, Baloos and Belus. Brohi is the Arabic form of the word of Brahui. The Arabs could not pronounce the Brahui word. Many writers in Balochistan want to make the word Brahui politically contradictory by putting aside the historically journey of Brahui from vaRakoi and making non-historical, non-linguistic assumptions. So that Brahui and Baloch can be declared a nation based on non-historical facts. Baloch politicians and writers, by declaring the history and meaning of the Brahui word to be Iranian or Balochi, consider the Brahui Language to be the only language of the Baloch nation and deny the separate national identity of the Brahuis. Therefore, the Brahuis started the struggle by establishing written and political movements to prove themselves as a separate nation and ancient people from the Baloch.

Earlier, father of Brahui Nation Noor Muhammad Parwana launched a national movement ‘All Pakistan Brahui Association’ in 1952. But being poor, he failed in practical politics. He then called for arming his Brahui nation in the political, educational and literary fields through journalism. Referring to journalism, he wrote in his newspaper that Brahui is a nation separate from the Baloch. Father of Brahui nation said as a clear example that the Brahui nation has its own history, culture, language and land. Calling the Brahuis Balochs is a political game. He developed his weekly newspaper “eilum” means brother, to develop and promote the Brahui language. Brahui instilled in the youth a spirit of reading, writing and nationalism. He developed a script for his newspaper which is still used in Brahui books, magazine and newspapers.  Which was huge success .Among the Brahui today who are Brahui nationalist poets, writers, historians, they are his creators.

In 1972, during the rule of Balochistan, the Brahui youth started a movement from the platform of Brahui Students Federation (BSF) to teach Brahui as their mother tongue in Balochistan. His constitution explicitly states that ‘The three languages of the Baloch nation are Brahui, Balochi, Siraiki. We have begun to prioritize growth and development, which has put us at risk’. This means that the 1972 s B.S.F, Brahui language was considered the language of the Baloch nation. And that was the purpose of the Baloch.  This movement was not a national but a linguistic movement. Due to this movement, Governor Ghous Bux Bizinjo and Chief Minister Sardar Attaullah Mengal were forced to declare Urdu as the official language of Balochistan. Due to the tireless efforts of father of Brahui nation, in 1988, second time B.S.F. was founded. He was accompanied by Dr. Ali Ahmad Shad (Leader BSF), the famous Brahui nationalist poet Johar Brahui, Prof: Sosan Brahui, Shaheed Jan Muhammad Bismil Brahui. Shaheed Hassan Zabaad Brahui and others. BSF carried out political, educational, literary and social revolution within the Brahui nation in Sindh and Balochistan. This upset the Baloch who were doing Baloch politics in the name of Brahui. That is why today the Baloch are calling the Brahuis, who are doing politics from the Baloch platform, the number two Baloch. When some Balochs expressed their hatred towards the Brahui people, Sardar Attaullah Mengal clearly warned the Balochs, the Balochs would become a joke. So now the Baloch, the Brahuis are building their history, culture and politics on conservative and historical grounds.

In Balochistan, it is a far cry to do politics with the name of Brahui, but even talking the name of Brahui is forbidden there .The Brahuis consider it a good idea to write the name of their tribe along with their names. Yes, in Sindh, some social organizations or politicizing Brahui instead of Brahui. These include Brahui National Movement, Sindh Brohi Alliance and others. The remaining Brahui students in Sindh and Balochistan are Brahui Students welfare Association, All Pakistan Brahui Welfare Association, Brahui National Council, Brahui Students Council organizations, which are working politically, educationally literary. Prof: Afzal Gul Brahui is engaged in important political, historical, educational and political training to Brahui young nationalist on social media. The monthly Mihr Noshke magazine is also playing its role in including political, literary, research and educational interest in the Brahui youth.

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Nazir Shakir Brahui, based in Taluka Garhi Yasin, District Shikarpur, Sindh, is a researcher in Sindhi and Brahui languages. His area of interest is Linguistics, Anthropology, History, Archaeology, and Lexicography. He is Member of ‘Brahui Language in Pakistan: International School of Dravidian Linguistics’. Author of five books and several articles, and has also founded Brahui Research Institute.  For further information, he can be approached at email brahui5000@gmail.com, nshakir@brahui.org and visit www.brahui.org

[The author has expressed his personal views, which do not reflect the editorial policy of Sindh Courier]

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