First, the BJP’s political Hinduism has failed to resonate with the TN Hindus, though I would not rush to dub this the cliched ‘secularism’. It has rejected both Periyar’s atheism as well as the Parivar’s Hindutva. The most pious State has no space for the most pious party. This State with its booming Hinduism should have been the ideal foil and easy picking for the BJP but that is not so. Today, while every region has some visible tint of saffron, there is not a hint of it in TN. In time one State after the other came under its flag. The party’s initial rise began with the temple run on a rath for Ram by L K Advani in the 1980s. Its conquest of North India was attained through the steady consolidation and mobilisation of the Hindus as a political votebank predominantly on the basis of issues that concern them as a whole community. The ongoing 48-day Athi Varadhar festival in Kanchi is seeing unprecedented crowds everyday and this is just only one proof of the holy pudding. Religion revolves round the clock and calendar in all piety and gaiety. But we know that is not the case as Hinduism fills every nook and cranny and runs in the veins of the majority of TN populace. Logically it should mean that Periyar’s atheism has found favour. I make this inference only from the atheists as for them atheism means anti-Hindu and not anti-religion as it should be.ĭMK, the political progeny of Periyar, stormed to power in 1967 and has till date remained in electoral reckoning as a primary party. By devotion and atheism, I speak in the context of Hinduism. This is also the State wherein the most virulent form of modern atheism took roots.
Tamilnadu, I can claim with absolute assurance, has always been the the most devout State in the country. The writer T.R.Jawahar is Group Editor of Chennai-based News Today, Maalai Sudar and Talk Media publications. Why TN is forbidden land! - 9: Hindutva hits a hurdle here.Why TN is forbidden land! - 8: Embracing the enemy.Why TN is forbidden land! - 7: ‘Hindi’tva Hegemony.Why TN is forbidden land! - 6: A Century in a capsule.Why TN is forbidden land! - 5: The lost past.Why TN is forbidden land! - 4 : History-cheaters!.Why TN is forbidden land! - 3: Tell-tale twists in the tongue tales.Why TN is forbidden land! - 2: A conflict of civilisations.Why TN is forbidden land! - 12: It’s lonely at the bottom.Why TN is forbidden land! - 11: Periyar, unplugged!.Why TN is forbidden land! - 10: Run on temples.CRUSADE AGAINST ‘CRUSADERS’ – VII Snakes In The Grassroots.