After making a public call for “eradicating Sanatana Dharma” in the political sphere, Dravidianists in the DMK government have now asked college students to speak on opposing Hindu Dharma. The principal of a government college in Thiruvarur, Tamil Nadu, sent a circular directing students to share their thoughts on “Opposing Sanatana” in a speech competition organized to commemorate the birth anniversary of the late DMK founder and CM CN Annadurai. It is said that he sent the circular after being asked to do so by the MLA of Thiruvarur constituency.
A circular dated September 12, sent by the ThiruViKa Government Arts and Science College in Thiruvarur, has gone viral on social media. The circular, signed by the Principal, asks the students to “share their profound thoughts on opposing Sanatana on the occasion of Anna’s birthday celebrations at Kalaignar Kottam on September 15”. A letter dated September 10 was also shared by many on social media, which reveals that the above-mentioned circular was sent after Thiruvarur MLA Poondi K Kalaivanan wrote it to the college Principal.
The MLA’s letter says, “We address our country as India ThaaiThiruNaadu(motherland). But women were devalued by Sanatanawadis, who infiltrated our country. The female gender attained greatness only after Dravidam flourished. For example, voting rights, the right to wear blouses, property rights, and education rights were granted.
“Today, at a time when Sanatanawadis are trying to enforce KulaKalvi through the New Education Policy, the young leader of our Dravida movement has vowed to uproot Sanatana and remove it from this earth. So, I invite female students to share their profound thoughts on opposing Sanatana on Anna’s birthday, which falls on September 15 at Kalaignar Kottam.”
Both the letter and circular went viral on social media and attracted widespread criticism that DMK was pushing its anti-Hindu in even government institutions run on public money. Following this, some damage control measures appear to have been taken as Tamil news portals reported that the circular sent by the college Principal was withdrawn today.
However, if one takes a closer look, the second circular sent by the Principal, which the media reported as withdrawal, actually says, “Students are asked to share their thoughts on the topic of their own volition and not based on the Principal’s circular”. It is to be noted that the second circular mentioned the topic as “Sanatana” instead of “Opposing Sanatana,” as mentioned in the first circular.
இதை பார்த்தால் வாபஸ் போல் தெரியவில்லை. பேச்சு போட்டியே நடக்காமல் நிறுத்துவது தான் வாபஸ். மக்கள் இந்த நாடகத்திற்கு ஏமாறமாட்டார்கள் pic.twitter.com/XY30qVwI8b
— Dolphin Sritharan (@DolphinSrithar) September 13, 2023
Reacting to this skulduggery on X(formerly Twitter), Dolphin Sritharan, Vice President of TN BJP, said, “This doesn’t look like a withdrawal. A withdrawal is when the speech competition itself is stopped. The public won’t be cheated by this drama”.
Since Udayanidhi Stalin, the unofficial CM of the state, openly called for “Eradicating Sanatana Dharma” in a Dravidianist event, the anti-Hindu vitriol has only increased. Taking a cue from the first family, with even the CM defending his son’s speech, the lower rung of the party has also started spewing more hatred on Hindus. Despite even their I.N.D.I.A allies trying to distance themselves from Udayanidhi’s comment, the likes of Thiruvarur MLA seem to have taken his speech as a dog whistle and answered it.
It should be noted that even though the topic for the speech competition was ‘Opposing Sanatana‘, it essentially means ‘Eradicating Sanatana’. The Dravidar Kazhagam event in which Udayanidhi participated was named ‘Opposing Sanatana’. Udayanidhi, while speaking there, said, “This event shouldn’t have been named ‘Oppose Sanatana Conference’. Santana is something that should be eradicated, like the deadly diseases, Dengue, Malaria, and Covid-19. So this event should have been named ‘Eradicate Sanatana Conference’.
However, he piped it down, saying he only ‘opposed Sanatana’ after his speech went viral and was noticed across the country. Therefore, both the MLA and the principal must have meant ‘Eradicating Sanatana’ when they asked students to speak on ‘Opposing Sanatana’
