Tamil Nadu: For God’s sake!

Dravidian leaders have abandoned their rationalist approach

by Kavitha Muralidharan

(October 18, Chennai, Sri Lanka Guardian) In Tamil Nadu, if there is one thing that evoked a greater debate in recent weeks than the Commonwealth Games, it was Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi’s visit to Thanjavur on September 25 to attend the millennium celebrations of the Brihadeeshwara temple constructed by Raja Raja Chola. People were curious to know whether the chief minister would enter the temple through the main entrance in the east that is believed to have spelt doom for the rulers who have passed through it. People say Indira Gandhi and M.G. Ramachandran, suffered tragic blows of fate after they visited the temple on the 1,000th anniversary of Raja Raja’s coronation. While the former Prime Minister was assassinated a few months later, the former chief minister suffered a stroke and did not recover.

Karunanidhi, though an atheist and a rationalist, entered the temple through another door, just as he had done during his previous visit in 1997 after a fire in the temple had killed 45 people. “It is a rationalist’s belief,” mocked BJP leader L. Ganesan, who used the ‘jinxed’ main entrance.

Astrologers say the temple was not built as per aagama vidhi prescribed in the vedas. It is also believed that the temple stands on an accursed battlefield where thousands died. Apparently, Raja Raja Chola died four years after the temple was constructed.

Karunanidhi’s sidetracking of the main entrance reflects the erosion of rationalism—the foundation on which Tamil Nadu’s Dravidian movement was built—in the Dravidian parties. “The degeneration of the Dravidian movement, especially in terms of its rationalist ideology, started with C.N. Annadurai, the founder of the DMK,” said Devibharathi, a Tamil writer. “When Periyar, the father of the movement, categorically said there was no God and anybody who worshipped God was barbaric, Annadurai diluted it by saying ‘Our clan is one. Our God is one’. M.G. Ramachandran’s open devotion to Mookambika temple was just a small step.”

Karunanidhi, who once scolded a colleague for sporting kumkum at a public meeting, is today known to have his share of ‘irrational’ practices. The yellow shawl, which has become an intrinsic part of his identity, is worn because the colour yellow is supposed to bring him good luck.

Members of the Karunanidhi family are regular visitors at temples across the state. His party, the DMK, takes care not to hold meetings during inauspicious times such as raahu kaalam and yama kandam. In fact, the new Assembly complex was inaugurated in March this year, even before the construction was completed, apparently because Karunanidhi’s astrologers had warned him that delay would harm him. “He might even lose power,” one astrologer had said.

DMK leaders justify the shift away from rationalism. “Well, if you call this a compromise, Annadurai first made it. As for the others, we realised that by taking a hardline atheist stand, we would be alienating more people from our movement. That was not our idea,” said a DMK leader, who did not want to be named.

While the DMK is not willing to give up its pretence of rationalism, AIADMK chief J. Jayalalithaa openly defies what Periyar stood for, despite claiming to be his follower. Known for her temple-hopping, Jayalalithaa once rather proudly announced her Brahmin identity in the Assembly. Ironically, the Dravidian movement, which later branched out into the DMK and the AIADMK, was essentially a non-Brahmin movement.

Jayalalithaa is said to have conducted a yagna in a temple near Kumbakonam to conquer her enemies. On her 60th birthday, she visited a temple in Thirukadaiyur and exchanged garlands with her confidante Sasikala. In fact, sources say, during elections the AIADMK picks candidates on the basis of their horoscopes. “Amma collects horoscopes from each applicant and gives them to a team of astrologers to analyse their chances of victory. Astrological guidance is among other factors that decides an applicant’s candidacy,” said a senior leader of the party.

Karunanidhi’s sons Union Minister M.K. Alagiri and Deputy Chief Minister M.K. Stalin are temple-hoppers. In fact, Alagiri kicked off his election campaign after offering a puja in a temple. When Sathya Sai Baba visited Karunanidhi’s residence years ago, several members of the family sought his blessings.

“It is sad that the Dravidian movement has come to this. Karunanidhi was once a fiery rationalist but what we see now is not just his fall but the fall of the Dravidian movement,” says J. Prakash, an activist. “Only another Periyar can set this right.”