While DMK distances itself from endorsing any religious activities, the DMK-led government holding the religious conference has sparked discussions.
Published Aug 27, 2024 | 12:00 PM ⚊ Updated Aug 27, 2024 | 4:34 PM
An image from the he International Muthamizh Murugan Conference. (Supplied)
The ‘Dravidian model’ in Tamil Nadu seemed to take a break when the DMK government hosted a religious event last week. Call it irony or political compulsions, a party whose leaders have been criticised for abusing ‘Sanathana dharma’ and being atheists, hosted a religious conference through a government department.
The Tamil Nadu government’s Department of Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) organised the International Muthamizh Murugan Conference on 24 and 25 August at the temple town Palani in the Dindigul district. The event brought together the devotees of Lord Muruga from around the world.
For years now BJP in Tamil Nadu has been pushing for temples to be freed from the control of HR&CE department. It is by far the most impactful poll plank for the BJP in the Dravidian state. DMK leaders going after Sanathana Dharma has only compounded the campaign’s impact on voters in favour of BJP. As if to take corrective measures in the run up to 2026 Assembly elections in Tamil Nadu, the DMK government is highlighting the religious activities undertaken by the HR&CE department.
Inaugurating the conference, Chief Minister MK Stalin explained the activities of the endowment department and detailed its statistics.
The chief minister said that people have their religions and beliefs and that the Dravidian model government will not stand in their way.
Even though the event was organised smoothly, the DMK government organising a religious event was viewed with suspicion by a section of people.
BJP leader and former Telangana Governor Dr Tamilisai Soundrarajan said that even after speaking against Sanathana Dharma, the DMK organising the event was just politics.
“Even after speaking against Sanathana Dharma in Tamil Nadu, the DMK organising the Muthamizh Murugan Conference shows that politics cannot be done without speaking about spirituality. DMK will do anything for votes. This conference is also a strategy,” she said.
She claimed the fact that the Tamil Nadu government was holding a spiritual conference shows that it is on the side of spirituality.
Soundararajan also questioned whether the chief minister would inaugurate a religious event for minorities in the state.
“Similarly, if a minority conference is held somewhere, will the chief minister not inaugurate it? He will ask Udayanidhi (Stalin) and inaugurate it anyway,” she said.
Meanwhile, the DMK ally CPI(M)’s state president K Balakrishnan said in a social media post that a secular government should stay away from religious events.
“The principle of secularism is that the government should stay away from religion. It should not be the government’s job to propagate or follow any religion. Religious harmony and unity of people should be maintained,” he said.
“It is good that the Hindu Religious Charitable Department is initiating efforts to prevent the looting of temple properties and breaking the caste hierarchy in temples. However, the government to avoid conducting religious-based festivals on its behalf,” he said.
After the DMK came to power in Tamil Nadu in 2021, it proposed and is working under what is known as the Dravidian model of governance.
The government implemented Periyar’s vision that people from all castes, including women, should be appointed as priests, was implemented by the Hindu religious charity department.
Apart from this, Youth Welfare Minister Udayanidhi Stalin’s speech on “abolishing Sanathana Dharma” had caused controversy throughout the country.
Similarly, workshops were held to explain Dravidian Movement policy to DMK youth across Tamil Nadu.
Speaking at a public meeting in the Nilgiris in September last year, DMK MP A Raja praised Udhayanidhi’s speech which compared Sanathana Dharma to diseases such as Dengue and Malaria.
“I was happy when Udayanidhi Stalin took charge as the Youth wing secretary and minister and compared Sanathanam to Dengue and Malaria. Sanathanam is similar to the HIV that causes the deadly disease AIDS. This should be eradicated to root out discrimination,” he said.
On another occasion, speaking at an event in October last year, Chief Minister MK Stalin said, “My wife Durga Stalin is visiting all the temples in Tamil Nadu. I do not want to stop it. There is no need to stop it. We are the enemy of Aryan domination and not of spirituality”.
In such an environment, hosting the International Muthamizh Murugan Conference has become a topic of discussion with the apparent u-turn of the DMK from completely avoiding religions to endorsing a religious event.
Speaking about this, political commentator Ravindran Duraisamy said, “BJP got more than 10 percent of votes in the recently held parliamentary elections. With the rise of the DMK, Chief Minister MK Stalin has also taken Jayalalithaa’s position. The primary reason behind this conference is the impact of the BJP gaining votes and the growing importance of (BJP state chief) Annamalai.”
He said the DMK had planned the event in March itself, the event was taken up in earnest after the results of the parliamentary elections were announced in June.
“DMK has realised that the BJP is growing in Hindu consciousness. Now it is politics that travels according to people’s sentiments”, he said.
It seems as though the DMK has taken heed to Annamalai’s word that the DMK government should not just take the revenue of the endowments department but should also fulfil the wishes of the devotees.
(Edited by Muhammed Fazil)
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