“Mosquitoes, dengue, flu, malaria, corona — we should not oppose these things. They’ve to be eradicated completely. The same is the case with Santana (Hinduism). Our first work should be to abolish/eradicate Sanatana instead of opposing it.” These, let us recall, were parts of Udhayanidhi Stalin’s speech at the “Eradicate Sanatan Conference” on September 2 at Kamarajar Arangam, Teynampet in Chennai. Did Stalin make a costly strategic blunder in going too far? Let us consider the fallout in order to answer this question.
First of all, we must remember that anti-Hinduism, masked as anti-Brahminism, has been the staple diet and ideological basis of Dravidian party politics. As I showed in an earlier column, their founding father, “Periyar” E.V. Ramaswamy Naicker, was infamous for his hate speech, calling not only for the genocide of Brahmins but for destroying the Indian republic. “To destroy caste discrimination, burn the pictures of Nehru and Gandhi and also the Constitution of India. If all these methods fail to give us results, then we should start beating and killing the Brahmins; we should start burning their houses,” (quoted by Sami Chidambaranar in his biography of Periyar titled Tamizhar Thalaivar). These and other remarks were quoted by the current Solicitor General of India, Tushar Mehta, in his plea before Justice KM Joseph.
By targeting Sanatana Dharma itself, Stalin may have overstepped his mark or mandate. The Tamil people are among the most pious in the land. They have the largest number of great temples in the land, frequently visited daily by hundreds of thousands. When the Ram Janmabhoomi movement was in full swing, with no resolution in sight, an ordinary Tamil Rambhakt said to me, “They have gone against Lord Rama. They will never succeed. The temple to Lord Rama will be rebuilt.” That gentleman is now no more. But his dream is close to turning into reality. Stalin too will discover at the hustings how costly his Hindumisia will prove to be.
But the fallout will actually go far deeper. The rising Hindutva-based opposition party in the state, but ruling party at the Centre, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), will never allow a single Indian voter to forget his remarks. The party which came to power on the plank of anti-Brahminism may well bite the dust when it dares to call for the eradication of Hinduism. In other words, the mask is off. For Hindus to continue to vote for the DMK will be tantamount to a death wish, something Tamil Nadu’s rising star, K Annamalai, will not let them forget.
Stalin also caused great embarrassment to other parties in the I.N.D.I.A alliance, especially the Congress, the original, so-called Hindu party. They will go to the polls in key states such as Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh next year, where even the barest whiff of DMK’s anti-Hindu rhetoric is sure to torpedo their chances. Not to mention DMK’s uneasy allies such as the Uddhav Shiv Sena, who were known not only for their pro-Hindutva stance but their anti-South Indian rhetoric when they started out.
Other regional parties which cannot win without a sizeable chunk of the Hindu votes will also disassociate themselves from Stalin’s comments. But no amount of damage control, in today’s age of social media, will whitewash or cover up Stalin’s anti-Hindu stain. Even organisations abroad have started circulating his speech to prove the existence of Hinduphobia and Hindumisia within Hindu-majority India.
The polarisation between the Hindutva and anti-Hindutva forces is now complete, nudging uncertain Hindus to cast their ballot in favour of the BJP. The party can always take recourse to the “Hinduism is in danger” strategy to draw these voters into their fold. Worse for Stalin, most non-Hindus would also not take kindly to his hate speech, even if they did not like the majoritarianism of the BJP. Thus, Stalin’s frontal attack on Hinduism has served the BJP’s interests to a far greater extent than he could possibly have imagined. For the small price of Tamil Nadu, where their Lok Sabha prospects weren’t all that bright in the first place, the BJP can consolidate Hindu votes in the Hindi heartland, thanks to Stalin’s attack on Sanatana Dharma.
Stalin has also helped to expose the I.N.D.I.A “divide and rule” playbook. Play the anti-Hindu card via one of its smaller members, casteism through another, regionalism through a third, and so on. But will this pay off? On the contrary, voters may prefer the stable and strong government of Narendra Modi’s BJP and NDA. A third continuous term at the Centre would be unprecedented since Jawaharlal Nehru. Home Minister Amit Shah has already fired the first salvo at Stalin and the DMK at an election rally in Rajasthan. Many other ruling party ministers and spokespersons have commenced their targeted attacks too.
Stalin may be in legal trouble too. If Rahul Gandhi could be suspended for defaming a class of Indians called “Modis,” doesn’t Stalin attract legal action for his remarks? “Mosquitoes, dengue, flu, malaria, corona – we should not oppose these things. They’ve to be eradicated completely. The same is the case with Santanam”—does this not constitute hate speech and attract action under Sections 153A and B, 295A, 298 and 505 of the Indian Penal Code? I believe some advocates and legal groups have already started proceeding in this direction.
Finally, what Stalin may not have considered or calculated—Hindus in India have long been accustomed to pocketing insults, especially in Tamil Nadu. But can he be so sure that they will continue being docile and defenceless? No. Instead, now is the time when the reaction will be so sharp and swift that it will strike at the very roots of Dravidianism—the North-South divide, the Aryan invasion theory, anti-Brahminism, caste hatred, Hindi and Sanskrit bashing, Periyar, Caldwell and colonial missionaries—in other words, the entire structure, foundation, pillars, and scaffolding may come tumbling down. And not just for ideological or religious reasons but because of its own inner corruption and bankruptcy.
The writer is an author, columnist, and professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18’s views.
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