‘Vinash Kale Viprit Buddhi’ — this is how a senior RSS functionary and a member of Sangh’s central committee reacted with a grin when he was asked about Udhayanidhi Stalin’s comment on Sanatan Dharma. The RSS leader further said such actions by some “political elements” keep Narendra Modi ahead of the Opposition. “Besides Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s work, these elements will ensure a thumping victory in 2024 for him,” said the RSS functionary.
DMK minister Udhayanidhi Stalin’s statement seems to have larger political ramifications, specially in the run-up to the 2024 elections. While ‘Sanatan’ is seen identical to casteism in Tamil Nadu and Dravidian politics for that matter, in Hinduism, it is a way of life for the rest of the country. For politics, ‘Sanatan’ is Hindu religion, and Udhayanidhi’s comment is a reflection of their “appeasement”.
Hours after his comment, the top BJP leadership including Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh and JP Nadda called him out sating it was an “attack on Hindu religion”. Shah called it an “insult to the Hindu religion for the sake of vote bank politics”, while defence minister Rajnath Singh said “DMK has attacked Sanatan Dharma and Congress is quiet about it…The INDIA alliance should apologise otherwise the nation won’t forgive…”
Massive Campaign Point
Meanwhile, the RSS got the politics right and remained calm, allowing the BJP to milk the “unnuanced politics” by the DMK scion. For them, this remark is going to be a massive campaign point for the BJP that would help the party consolidate majority Hindu votes across central and northern India.
“The I.N.D.I.A. constituents served it on a silver platter to Narendra Modi,” said another senior functionary. In fact, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat has been addressing programmes and speaking against the caste system for long. The organisation, despite having its internal equation with the upper caste, including Brahmins, publicly said “casteism” in Hindu religion was a “malpractice and caused conversions”. Bhagwat in internal meetings also mentioned that there are several teachings in Manusmriti, which have now become irrelevant and infructuous.
“We do not worry about who say what for our Sanatan, as its meaning is eternal. It has been mentioned in Bhagavad Gita. It is not about Varna or caste but about knowledge of soul and rebirth. The eternal cannot be eradicated,” said the RSS functionary.
Protecting Turf While Putting Allies at Risk
In Tamil Nadu, Brahminical dominance has been an overpowering and overwhelming factor across its social and socio-economic lives of people. A non-Brahmin individual, including a tribal or an OBC, always decries the idea of Sanatan Hindu religion as the Tamil Nadu Brahminical society treat them as almost non-Hindu. A cab driver, a grocer, a gig worker, a teacher, a lawyer, a journalist, a doctor — anyone who is not part of the Brahmin caste talks about it in the state.
Post his statement, Udhayanidhi may be hailed as a hero by this group for denouncing the caste system, but this is definitely a blowback for the I.N.D.I.A coalition of Opposition parties, of which, his DMK is an important constituent with a significant numbers of seats.
The party and its allies including VCK (Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi) have a history of launching targeted attacks at the Hindu scriptures, which include the burning of the copies of Manusmriti in a town of Tamil Nadu last year.
The voteshare of Dalit, tribal and OBCs will surely rise in Tamil Nadu in favour of DMK, say the TN-based psephologists, but the Opposition parties will have to bear the brunt.
This is probably the most prominent reason that the DMK minister drew criticism from his own allies including the Congress, which publicly expressed its disagreement with his comment. AICC general secretary KC Venugopal said, “Our stand is very clear Sarva Dharma Sama Bhava. Every political parties have their ideology. We respect everyone’s views.”
West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s reaction showed her seriousness about making the coalition a success, and reflected her political prudence in protecting her own turf. “I will not use the word ‘condemn’, but I will request everyone to respect all religions, as we are a part of a secular alliance,” Banerjee said when asked for her reaction on Udhayanidhi’s comments. The remark drew sharp reaction from other allies which include Shiv Sena in Maharashtra.
However, DMK chief MK Stalin and senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi refrained from commenting on the incident.