Udhayanidhi Stalin, Sports Minister of the Government of Tamil Nadu and son of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin, has found himself in hot water after a remark on Sanatan Dharma landed him in hot water, with senior BJP 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.
According to the Isha Foundation, Sanatan Dharma is a “eternal” religion that will always be relevant and provides Hindus the opportunity to worship any god of their choice. According to ISKON, Sanatan Dharma is a set of religious responsibilities that all Hindus must do. It claims to be transcendental in nature and to transcend transient belief systems.
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, who is in charge of Sports and Youth Affairs, made the comments drawing harsh criticism from the Bharatiya Janata Party. The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam party defended its chairman, saying his opinion was “twisted”; numerous leaders of the INDIA or Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance, the Opposition group with whom the DMK is also affiliated, warned politicians should avoid making such comments.
In his talk to the Tamil Nadu Progressive Writers and Artists Association on Saturday, Udhayanidhi referred to Sanatan Dharma as ‘Sanatanam’.
“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 make a pledge to win in all 39 Parliamentary constituencies in Tamil Nadu and one in Puducherry (in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections).” Dravidam will triumph if Sanatan falls.” The minister stated that everything should be replaced and that nothing is permanent.
Meanwhile, as the controversy grew, DMK Joint Secretary and Spokesperson Saravanan Annadurai defended Udhayanidhi’s comments, saying, “Our leader Udhayanidhi’s statement has been twisted, taken out of context, and the biggest fake news peddler has put out a tweet that Udhayanidhi Stalin asked for genocide.” Is the Prime Minister calling for genocide when he says ‘Congress Mukt Bharat’? How can they claim that Udhayanidhi Stalin advocated genocide? That is false information, and it is hate speech. They must account to the law for spreading bogus news and inciting hatred. When we say we want to get rid of ‘Sanatana Dharma,’ we mean we want to get rid of the rigid caste system…”
Udayanidhi, on late Saturday night, posted on X clarifying that he had not called for “genocide”. “I never called for the genocide of people who are following Sanatan Dharma. Sanatan Dharma is a principle that divides people in the name of caste and religion. Uprooting Sanatan Dharma is upholding humanity and human equality…,” he wrote in a message on X.
