Udhayanidhi Stalin, who serves as a Minister in the Tamil Nadu government led by his father and Chief Minister MK Stalin, has been booked by Delhi police for his controversial remark on ‘Santana Dharma’. The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) leader sparked a row on Saturday after he compared Sanatana Dharma with diseases like dengue and malaria and said it is against the idea of social justice and must be “eradicated”.
Delhi police has filed a complaint against Udhayanidhi under sections 120B,153A, 295, and 504 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and IT Act for the “provocative, inciting, and defamatory statement against Sanatan Dharm.”
The FIR was filed on the complaint of Supreme Court Advocate and Social Activist Vineet Jindal against the Tamil Nadu Sports Minister’s statement.
Row Over Udhayanidhi’s Remark
Udhayanidhi’s statement triggered a massive backlash on social media, with many questioning his knowledge of Sanatan Dharma and its deep-rooted connection with Tamil Nadu.
“In comparing Sanatana Dharma to a disease that must be eradicated, Udhayanidhi Stalin, son of CM MK Stalin, is denying Tamil history, culture, art, architecture, great gurus, ancient traditions, and connections to India as a whole. It is Tamil Nadu and India that he opposes,” posted Hindu scholar Dr David Frawley on X (Formally Twitter).
In comparing Sanatana Dharma to a disease that must be eradicated, Udhayanidhi Stalin, son of CM MK Stalin, is denying Tamil history, culture, art, architecture, great gurus, ancient traditions, and connections to India as a whole. It is Tamil Nadu and India that he opposes.— Dr David Frawley (@davidfrawleyved) September 3, 2023
Hindu Mahasabha President Swami Chakrapani also hit out at the Tamil Nadu minister and said the remark shows his ‘narrow-mindedness’.
“Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin’s son Udhayanidhi Stalin’s remark shows his narrow-mindedness and the unholy alliance of INDIA parties. The INDIA alliance is not fighting with PM Modi and the BJP, they are fighting with ‘Sanatan Dharma’,” Chakrapani said.
Slamming Udhayanidhi for his remark, author Anand Ranganathan said Sanatan Dharma is an ‘idea’ and “ideas can never be eradicated.”
“Sanatan dharma is a thought, an idea at once certain and questioning, imploring action and inertia, using science and spirituality, in life and beyond it. Sanatan Dharma is our greatest idea. And ideas can never be eradicated. Aurangzeb tried and failed. Who are you Udhaystalin?” he said in a post on X.
Sanatan dharma is a thought, an idea at once certain and questioning, imploring action and inertia, using science and spirituality, in life and beyond it. Sanatan Dharma is our greatest idea. And ideas can never be eradicated. Aurangzeb tried and failed. Who are you @Udhaystalin?— Anand Ranganathan (@ARanganathan72) September 3, 2023
Senior Journalist Rahul Shivshankar also took a dig at the DMK leader’s remark and underlined the principles of Sanatan Dharma.
“Sanatana Dharma gave shelter to all persecuted: to early Christians, to Jews known as Beni-Israel as also the Parsis. Alongside it Islam has prospered.
Vivekanada said (read below) it is the eternal truth, indivisible & universal. All will become followers, even its haters,” Shivshankar’s post on X read.
Sanatana Dharma gave shelter to all persecuted: to early Christians, to Jews known as Beni-Israel as also the Parsis. Alongside it Islam has prospered.Vivekanada said (read below) it is the eternal truth, indivisible & universal. All will become followers, even its haters. pic.twitter.com/gUOjOs750h
— Rahul Shivshankar (@RShivshankar) September 3, 2023
Udhayanidhi Stalin’s Remark
Udayanidhi Stalin said that Sanatana dharma is like mosquitoes, dengue and malaria, and “it has to be eradicated”. He was speaking at a Sanatanam (Sanatan Dharma) Abolition Conclave organised by the Tamil Nadu Progressive Writers Forum.
Udayanidhi in his speech said: “I thank the organisers for giving me the opportunity to speak at this conference to eradicate Sanatana Dharma. I congratulate the organisers for calling the conference as ‘eradication of Santana dharma’ instead of ‘opposing Sanatana Dharma’.
“There are certain things which we have to eradicate and we cannot merely oppose. Mosquitoes, dengue, corona and malaria are things which we cannot oppose, we have to eradicate them. Sanatanam is also like this. Eradication and not opposing Sanatanam has to be our first task,” he added.
The Sports Minister who is also the state secretary of DMK youth wing said that Sanatana Dharma was opposed to both equality and social justice. “What is the meaning of Sanatanam? Eternal or something that cannot be changed, something that cannot be questioned and that is the meaning of Sanatanam,” he added further.
The young leader, who is also a movie actor and producer, said that Sanatanam used to divide people by caste and segregate them. “However, our Kalaignar (Karunanidhi) brought every community into one village and gave it the name Samathuvapuram (equality village),” he said.