Religion of Udhayanidhi Sanatan: Udhayanidhi on Saturday took on the same path as the stalwarts of his party and made remarks against Sanatan Dharma comparing it with diseases like malaria dengue and Corona which should not be opposed but eradicated carrying the anti-hindu political agenda of DMK forward.
He is the son of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin. Udhayanidhi had proclaimed in the past that he is a proud Christian and in the recent times has stated that he is an atheist.
Coming from a party that was established in the first place to oppose cast and religion in the 20th century by EV Ramaswamy Periyar.
Periyar was the founder of Self-Respect movement of 1925 which later combined with the Justice Party 1938. This new organisation was named Dravidar Kazhagam in 1944 and was anti-brahmin anti-Aryan as well as anti-Congress.
After independence Periyar refuse to contest elections and his close aid CN Annadurai split from him in 1949 and formed DMK
DMK contested elections on the platform of social democracy and Tamil cultural identity. M Karunanidhi took over the party after Annadurai’s death in 1969. Karunanidhi was greatly inspired from Periyar’s works and speeches.
As historian Ramachandra Guha writes in his book “Freedom from God”, Periyar in a speech in 1927 criticized Sanatan Dharma saying that no other religion spends as much as we do. Within a short time of them coming, Christians have rallied over people, given them education and have made themselves are masters.
But our religion, said to be made by gods and millions and millions of years old says that majority of the people should not read its scriptures and if one violates them, there are punishment such as cutting of the tongue. In another work, Periyar writes that in order to achieve equality and socialism, Hinduism needs to be destroyed at first.
He also wrote critical accounts of epics like Ramayan. One of the famous quotes of Periyar reads that, ‘there is no god, he who created god is a fool, he who propagates it is a scoundrel and he who worships him is a Barbarian Karunanidhi was highly influenced by such works of Periyar and was a proclaimed atheist.
He criticized Brahmins and religion frequently through plays and films.
Udhayanidhi on Saturday took on the same path as the stalwarts of his party and made remarks against Sanatan Dharma comparing it with diseases like malaria dengue and Corona which should not be opposed but eradicated carrying the anti-hindu political agenda of DMK forward.
The Self-Respect Movement, which EV Ramaswamy ‘Periyar’ started, is where the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), Tamil Nadu’s ruling party, got its start.
As a rationalist movement fighting social ills, the early 20th-century movement promoted opposition to caste and religion. These principles have shaped state politics over the years, having an impact on both the DMK and the AIADMK, two political parties that grew out of the movement.
The Self-Respect Movement was started in 1925 by Periyar, who had a strong anti-caste and anti-religious stance. He supported significant caste and gender-related social reforms, opposed Hindi’s dominance, and emphasised the unique cultural identity of the Tamil country.
In his book "Makers of Modern India," historian Ramachandra Guha claimed that Brahmins were the ones who "took early advantage of British rule, learning English in order to serve the new rulers as teachers, lawyers, doctors, clerks, and civil servants" in regions like Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra.
They had historically enjoyed a high social rank in society and were also well represented in the newly formed Congress party.
The motivation behind Jyotirao Phule and B R Ambedkar's campaign was the dan"er of Brahmin hegemony in all sectors of life. Their counterpart in southern India was a similarly outstanding thinker and organiser by the name of E V Ramaswami, Guha said.
According to Dr. Manoharan, Periyar stated in his party publication Kudiarasu on June 7, 1931, “If the non-Brahmins and the untouchable castes, the poor and the working classes, desired equality and socialism, they needed to destroy Hinduism first.”
Atheist M. Karunanidhi was the minister. He further questioned Brahmins and religion through plays and films that were well-liked and talked to audiences in their own languages. He was also a poet and screenwriter.
