‘Let Sanatan Dharma fall, Dravidam win’: Udhayanidhi Stalin's remark faces BJP's scorn, Congress distances from DMK

Udhayanidhi Stalin, Sports Minister of the Government of Tamil Nadu and son of the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu MK Stalin has found himself in deep trouble after a remark on Sanatan Dharma landed him in hot waters with the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP)'s senior leaders launching sharp retorts at Udhayanidhi and his father MK Stalin.

Udhyanidhi was quoted saying,"Sanatan Dharma is like malaria and dengue and so it must be eradicated and not opposed" by news agency ANI.

This remark saw a Supreme Court lawyer on Sunday file a complaint with Delhi Police against Udhayanidhi Stalin. Senior BJP leader including Amit Malviya also criticqued Udhayanidhi Stalin, MK Stalin and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK).

What is Sanatan Dharma?

The term Sanatan Dharma has been Hindu leaders, politicians, and ‘nationalists’ to refer to Hinduism as a unified world religion. Sanatan Dharma has thus become a synonym for the “eternal” truth and teachings of Hinduism, according to Britannica. 

Father of Indian Constitution BR Ambedkar had also opposed the Sanatan Dharma arguing that it adhered to the Bramhanic theology if Hinduism thereby creating a caste divide in society. 

Periyar was a staunch atheist who argued that a specific form of essential Hindusim is a unified field of false beliefs.

What did Udhayanidhi Stalin say about Sanata Dharma?

Udhayanidhi Stalin at a writers' conference in Chennai said Sanatan Dharma cannot be simply opposed but must be eradicated. The Tamil Nadu minister argued that the idea is inherently regressive, dividing people on the basis of caste and gender, and is fundamentally opposed to equality and social justice.

Udhayanidhi Stalin said, “I congratulate the organizers for calling the conference as “eradication of Santana dharma' instead of 'opposing Sanatan Dharma'.

Udhayanidhi referred to Sanatan Dharma as 'Sanatanam' in his address in Tamil at a meet of Tamil Nadu Progressive Writers and Artists Association on Saturday.

"What is Sanatanam? The very name is only from Sanskrit. Sanatan is against equality and social justice and nothing else." "What is the meaning of Sanatan? It is eternal, that is, it cannot be changed; no one could pose any question and that is the meaning." Sanatan divided people on the basis of caste, he alleged.

"Let us take a vow to win in all the 39 Parliamentary constituencies in Tamil Nadu and the one segment in Puducherry (in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls). Let Sanatan fall, Dravidam win." The minister said everything should be changed and nothing is perpetual. 

The Communist movement and DMK were founded to question everything.

BJP leaders retaliate, Congress distances from DMK

The reactions from BJP began with Amit malviya who took to social media platform ‘X’ (formerly Twitter) and said, “Rahul Gandhi speaks of 'mohabbat ki dukaan' but Congress ally DMK's scion talks about eradicating Sanatana Dharma. Congress's silence is support for this genocidal call. INDIA Alliance, true to its name, if given an opportunity, will annihilate the millennia-old civilisation that is Bharat”.

K Annamalai, the state president of the BJP, accused Udhayanidhi Stalin and Chief Minister MK Stalin, of echoing the ideas of Christian missionaries.

"The only resolve that the Gopalapuram Family has is to accumulate wealth beyond the State GDP. Thiru Udhayanidhi Stalin, you, your father, or his or your idealogue have a bought-out idea from Christian missionaries and the idea of those missionaries was to cultivate dimwits like you to parrot their malicious ideology," Annamalai wrote on X.

“Tamil Nadu is a land of spiritualism. The best you can do is to hold a Mic in an event like this & rant out your frustration!” he added.

Congress leader Nana Patole has distanced the party from Udhayanidhi Stalin's remarks. Mr Patole said that the Congress party respects all religions and does not want to make any comments that could hurt anyone's sentiments.

"Congress' stand is clear, we do not want to comment on any religion or to hurt anyone's sentiments," he said as quoted by news agency ANI.

Udhayanidhi cites Periyar, Ambedkar in defense

Responding to Malviya's tweet, Udhayanidhi Stalin wrote, “I never called for the genocide of people who are following Sanatans Dharma. Sanatana Dharma is a principle that divides people in the name of caste and religion. Uprooting Sanatana Dharma is upholding humanity and human equality. I stand firmly by every word I have spoken. I spoke on behalf of the oppressed and marginalized, who suffer due to the Sanatana Dharma.”

"I am ready to present the extensive writings of Periyar and Ambedkar, who conducted in-depth research on Sanatana Dharma and its negative impact on society in any forum. Let me reiterate the crucial aspect of my speech: I believe, like the spread of diseases like COVID-19, Dengue, and Malaria by mosquitoes, that Sanatana Dharma is responsible for many social evils.

"I am prepared to confront any challenges that come my way, whether in a court of law or the people's court. Stop spreading fake news." Udhayanidhi Stalin wrote on X.

After sparking a row over his Sanatana Dharma remarks, Udhayanidhi Stalin accused BJP of ‘twisting’ his statement and spreading fake news.

Udhayanidhi later in the day reiterated his claim of ‘abolishing’ Sanatan Dharma and said that he will keep demanding this.

“I am saying again that I only criticised Sanatana Dharma and that Sanatana Dharma should be abolished. I will say this continuously. Few are being childish saying I invited for genocide while others are saying that Dravidam should be abolished. Does that mean DMKians should be killed? When PM Modi says 'Congress Mukth Bharat', does that mean Congressmen should be killed?” Udhayanishi said.

Dealing a severe blow to Sanatan Dharma, late Chief Minister and DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi established equality neighbourhoods (Samathuvapuram) and settled people belonging to all communities in a single place. "Our Kalaignar (Karunanidhi) brought a law enabling people belonging to all castes to become archakas (temple priests), our Chief Minister (Stalin) has appointed people who have completed archaka training as priests in temples; this is the Dravidian model." Udhayanidhi had said at the event.