By amplifying Periyar, Udhayanidhi endears himself to DMK base

Chennai, Sep 10 (IANS) Tamil Nadu minister for sports and youth affairs Udhayanidhi Stalin opened a Pandora's box when he stated that ‘Sanatana Dharma’ has to be eradicated just like mosquitoes, dengue, malaria and corona.

He was speaking at a programme organised by the Tamil Nadu Progressive Writers Association.

The BJP was quick to respond to the statement and the national IT head of the saffron party Amit Malaviya on a microblogging social media platform stated that the Tamil Nadu minister Udhayanidhi Stalin, who is the son of Chief Minister, M.K. Stalin, was calling for a genocide of the 80% Hindu community in the country.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah in a public meeting echoed the same sentiments and asked whether the statement of the minister was in connivance with the opposition INDIA front and whether the INDIA front meeting at Mumbai had decided on such a statement.

Dravidian ideologue EV Ramaswamy Periyar or Thanthai Periyar had during a public speech in 1973 ( The year he died) called for the total genocide of the Brahmin community.  The statement of Udhyanidhi is being compared to that advocated by Periyar as the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) has still its ideological roots in Dravida Kazhagam (DK), the outfit floated by EV Ramasamy, the founder of the Dravida movement.

However Udhayanidhi's statement in the run up to the 2024 Lok Sabha elections is considered a calculated move with full expectations of what is in store at the national level.

Political analyst R. Raghuram Krishnan told IANS that “The move of Udhayanidhi Stalin and thereby the DMK is clear. The party and Udhayanidhi knows it clearly that they will draw flak across the country but they are assured of their solid vote bank in their home state. the base will remain intact and this is a calculated risk which the DMK has taken to consolidate the anti- BJP forces in the state and to win all the 39 seats in the state.”

He said that the DMK with this single statement has endeared itself to a huge number of Dravidian ideological supporters, thereby undermining the possibility of an AIADMK comeback in the state.

The Congress, which is a partner of the DMK in the INDIA alliance, will suffer the most due to this statement as it has a pan India presence and cannot defend the statement. However the Congress downplayed the statement.

This move of Udhayanidhi Stalin was not accidental but a calculated and shrewd political move with a little risk. The risk is that the BJP could capitalize on it among the upper caste Hindus across the country but the DMK will benefit in Tamil Nadu by bringing up the ideals of Periyar once again in the state.

The DMK is planning to consolidate its position in Tamil Nadu with this one statement. Another senior leader and MP,  A. Raja has added to the statement by saying that Sanatana Dharma could be equated with HIV and that it was that contagious. He has also called for an open debate with the proponents of Sanatana Dharama anywhere in the country.

Chief Minister M.K. Stalin who is the father of Udhayanidhi Stalin also extended support to his son and said that the BJP was unnecessarily trying to divert the issue and that Udhayanidhi had clearly stated what he meant by eradication of Sanatana Dharma.

With the heavyweights of the DMK coming out against Sanatana Dharma, the party knows that this would make the other Dravidian party, AIADMK weak as Tamil Nadu has always had a support base for the Dravidian cause which used to attack Sanatana Dharma and Brahmin ideals.

Retired professor of political science Sounderarajan Arumukham told IANS that “Tamil Nadu is Dravidian land and Udhayanidhi Stalin is a proud representative of the ideals of Dravidianism propagated by ‘Thanthai’ Periyar. He has just echoed what Periyar and other leaders of the Dravidian movement had clearly stated earlier and with this one statement Udhayanidhi Stalin has endeared himself to millions of people who espouse the cause of Dravidianism which the BJP and the Sangh Parivar forces cannot understand.”