Maratha brahmins (deshastha) developed military and political instict by initially serving for Nizam and Adil shah and later shivaji.

chitpavan/kokanastha brahmins(initially from narrow strip of konkan coast in west india) were largely small farmers and priests upto late 17th century. They tried their fortune in maratha administration and military during peshwa rule. Marathi brahmins rise in indian history is remarkable but calling them some elites would be taking it too far.

Were they self-reliable and frugal unlike other nobility – yes
Could they be trained to make a good soldier – yes

but, military/political acumen – No Sadly I would have to disagree here.

P.S.

This clip from a film gives a rather realistic portryal of common south indian brahmins (atleast konkanastha) in old times.

https://www.imdb.com/videoplayer/vi4160665625

And even more so if the ethnic group was originally from konkan and not upland deccan . The archaism maratha brahmin was largely applied to deshastas.

\we might see Brahmins as the ultimate form of traditional elite like the samurai or junkers.” This is in fact of some Brahmins who cling on to traditional occupation.\

Samurai or Junker is a combination of land owning classes plus strong military ethos. Many brahmins were poor in Tamilnadu , even though there were some landowning brahmins too- Military ethos of brahmins ? hahahhahhaha. Clinging to traditional occupations means nothing as that that is characterisric of pre-modern societies anywhere.

\West & south india are the hubs of anti-Brahmins\

Don’t know the extent of anti-brahminism in western India. In southern India , outside Tamilnadu it was just a scramble for modern jobs and occupations that caused caste friction . In Tamilnadu, it assumed a peculiar racist tone , notwithstanding the fact that racial division is bogus, The lecturer did not take a granular approach to anti-brahmin movements.

\why weren’t Tamil Brahmins as involved as Kashmiri Pandits in the Independence Movement?\

Don’t know how the lecturer got these idiotic impressions. The TN brahmins were heavily involved in the Independence movement , in Congress Party or ‘extremist ‘ elements or journalist or poets. Subramania Bharathi – possbly the greatest 20th century Tamil poet was an Iyer The Congress presidents of 1890,1920,1926 were Tamil brahmins – incidentally they were Iyengars to which yours truly belongs.

\“Brahmin double” – which disarms criticism from castes below by identifying with it. TamBrams have done that by identifying with classical Tamil\

Again misinformed. IN fact these two have co-existed i.e. brahmin dedication to Classical Tamil and anti-brahmin movement with racial overtones.

Not an enlightening or incisive marshaling of facts or analysis.

Marathas as a demonym for all Marathi speakers is a bit of an archaic usage but still works somewhat.

I suggest to open new Open Thread as soon as the previous get out from the Recent Posts list.

No idea – she was an important professor though.

Cambridge is probably one of the most significant hubs for South asian studies in the world. Oxford is more into Islamic studies and Orientalism.

Sorry / yes I forget