It started with a photograph on X with a two-word caption. It has turned into a trend only possible in a country where caste is dynamite.
A user named Anuradha Tiwari, whose bio on X (formerly Twitter) says she is the CEO of a content company who divides her time between Delhi and Goa, on August 22 posted a picture of (presumably) herself showing off her biceps while holding a coconut with another hand.
It had the caption “Brahmin genes” followed by the emoji of a muscular arm.
The post blew up, with thousands of retweets, quotes, and mentions.
She doubled down in a post a day later, presumably after drawing some flak because it was soon obvious that her social media was mostly dedicated to ranting about reservation.
“As expected, a mere mention of word 'Brahmin' triggered many inferior beings. Tells a lot about who real casteists are. UCs get nothing from system - no Reservation, no freebies. We earn everything on our own and have every right to be proud of our lineage. So, deal with it,” she posted.
What followed was a flood of posts showcasing Brahmin pride – and prejudice – with each one trying to outdo the other in showcasing “Brahmin genes”.
The posts included a lot of bare male torsos with janeus (sacred thread worn by Brahmins) and one person boasting that as a Brahmin he only cooks goat meat. “I never even touch she-goat,” he declared.
There was some backlash as well. One user quote-posted one such well endowed male torso picture, asking if he had forgotten his bra.
Jawaharlal Nehru featured with the same #BrahminGenes, and there was also a video featuring a young woman lamenting what she called the decline in Brahmin boys’ looks. She bemoaned how Brahmin boys aren’t as handsome as they used to be, pointing out that the blame couldn’t lie with reservations.
All in all, just another trend in a country where the leader of Opposition, Rahul Gandhi, has doubled down on his party’s demand for a caste census to give “90 per cent of the people their right” and to protect the Constitution.
Yep. Caste is dynamite. Whether on social media, or in politics.
