“Somethings need to be eliminated and can’t be only opposed. This includes Mosquitos, Dengue, Malaria and Corona. They can’t be only opposed. They must be eliminated. Sanatana also falls in the same category”. These hateful remarks against Sanatana Dharma were made by Udhayanidhi Stalin, a Tamil Nadu Minister who is also the son of DMK Chief MK Stalin. He made these comments while attending a writers’ conference at Chennai on Saturday. Not just these comments but the theme of the conference was equally hateful as it was titled as “Sanatana Abolish Conference”.
In a country where around 80 per cent people identify as Sanatani or Hindu, these remarks by Stalin have since caused a furore. Many leading intellectuals have expressed their criticism against his hate speech for targeting the Hindu community. Despite many people objecting to this hatred demonstrated by a sitting minister against a particular religion, Stalin has not shown even any distant sign of remorse. In fact, when threatened with legal action by some, he even dared them to act and once again iterated that he stands with his remarks.
Rising Hindumisia is a trend these days with many political leaders in the past sharing a meme targeting Hindu symbol Swastika on social media. But what makes Stalin junior’s remarks more dangerous is the history of violence against Brahmins in Tamil Nadu provoked by the anti-Hindu propaganda of Dravidian politics.
Tamil Nadu has a long past of Dravidian politicians fomenting hatred against Sanatana Dharma and its symbols. It goes back to EVR Periyar, a social activist and politician who founded Dravidar Kazhagam, a reformatory social movement to remove ills of caste system. Although the task that he set out on may sound like a positive one, it actually became a pretext to target entire Hinduism as a religion over time in the name of removing inequality from Hindu society. This is because instead of undertaking any ground level initiative to uplift the lower castes, the Dravidian cause moved ahead with the targeting of Hindu symbols instead.
At the peak of his activism, Periyar advocated the burning of Vedas and destruction of the idols of the Hindu deities. Periyar’s views were radical and had serious repercussions for the safety and survival of the Hindus during his time. Many scholars have documented how Brahmins became a scapegoat of his Dravidian politics as many of them lost their lives, livelihood and the right to live with basic human dignity. Many business establishments belonging to the upper castes were set on fire, closed down and even the lives of their owners were targeted by Periyar supporters.
The biggest motivation for the hatred shown towards Brahmins by Periyar supporters were his own writings. He often invoked the treatment meted out to Jews by Nazi Germany and praised Hitler for his political successes while using the Holocaust of Jews to warn Brahmins of a similar fate. Even today his supporters use the term “Parpanan Pigs”, a term that addresses the Brahmins as Pigs. Unlike how the Marxist historians portray him as today, Periyar was not against Brahmanism but against Brahmins themselves. He had categorically stated that Brahminism is derived from Brahmins and hence it is Brahmins who must be exterminated first.
Such was the power in his command that many followers of his did actually that. Anti-Brahmin hatred has manifested itself in many acts of violence against them in the southern parts of India. Even today the janeu or the sacred thread of Brahmins are cut by Periyar followers or ceremonies are organised where pigs are made to wear janeu to insult all the Hindus. Old-timers even recall how villages after villages were deserted by Brahmins in the Cauvery belt due to the everyday persecution by the Dravidian ideologists.
Periyar’s hateful ideals are being taken forward by leaders of the DMK party. Udhayanidhi Stalin is not alone in spreading hatred against Hindus by calling for extermination of Sanatana. Once M Karunanidhi, DMK leader and grandfather of Stalin junior, had raised a similar controversy by saying that the term Hindu meant someone who is a thief. He had also made uncharitable remarks on Lord Rama that how can he construct a bridge to Lanka when he was not an engineer?
The anti-Hindu tirade of DMK leaders has often led to instances of violence against Hindus in the state. Ironically, in a state which is home to 87 percent Hindu population, DMK has been able to rule consistently for long durations due to its populist schemes. Some even say that the people of Tamil Nadu have bartered their fate with corrupt, populist and dynastic politicians for free pressure cookers and free kitchen gas. The political power that DMK has amassed through populist schemes has enabled it to unleash institutional as well as societal apartheid against Brahmins. Their rule has even wreaked havoc for the temple economy of the state leaving the poor Brahmins as an impoverished lot.
The Dravidian movement may have weakened with a greater awareness among the Hindus of the civilisation threat that they are facing globally. But today it is getting support from the crutches of Christian evangelists, Islamic extremists as well as the Leftist cabal. The rise of the BJP may have increased the sense of unity and purpose among these various anti-Hindu forces. But the DMK cadre is still able to carry on its violent acts with more confidence knowing fully well that their attacks will be kept hidden by the media which is busy projecting Hindus as agents of majoritarian violence these days. In fact, how many of us even noticed when DMK leaders demolished 100-year old temples in Tamil Nadu in January this year?
The truth is that the seeds of Hindu hatred sown by Periyar have come to fruition. The same Periyar that had sided with communal forces of the Muslim League has left enough ideological ammunition for leaders like Stalin junior to benefit from. His speech will not go in vain because his own party is ruling the state. Sooner or later it will once again manifest into more violence against Hindus which will be backed by the state.
From Periyar to Stalin, the cycle has continued. The onus on breaking this lies on the legal machinery, but it is high-time that people of Tamil Nadu also introspect and lodge their protest. As of the civil society, a curious silence has enveloped the Left-‘liberal’ cabal on Stalin’s remarks. Their silence is a loud sign of their complicity.
The author is a PhD from the Department of International Relations, South Asian University. She writes on India’s foreign policy. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18’s views.
