Udhayanidhi Stalin, his statement on Sanatan Dharma and 3 steps to tackle it: Annamalai, following the money trail and painstaking groundwork

The recent hate speech by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Stalin’s son and minister as well as anointed heir to the throne, Udhayanidhi Stalin against Hindus has produced a variety of interesting responses from Hindus – both inside and outside the right wing or BJP ecosystem.

Before we get to that, let us understand a few things clearly. Because it puts things in perspective and helps us in responding.

1. This is nothing new. Anti-Hindu statements are as hold as the hills when it comes to DMK and its affiliate parties.
2. Open admiration for and worship of Islam & Christianity is also nothing new. Whether this is due to electoral, financial or other considerations you can guess yourself. 
3. One hint – they rarely express admiration for Buddhism, an indigenous faith, that has none of the “defects” they claim are part of Hinduism. Ambedkar, first among those genuinely trying to uplift the downtrodden, embraced it for that reason. Is it because it is not proselytising and doesn’t have billions of dollars to back it up? Is it because its followers don’t believe in violence as a remedy No 1?
4. In other words, their rationalism has been a farce for a long, long time. Lack of faith in Hindu gods is just one among a long list of things they don’t believe in – integrity, decency, respect for others, obedience to law and civilised conduct. Ask the late Jayalalitha. 
5. It is exactly because their rationalism is a farce, it has been a grand failure. Remember, they had nearly six decades of continuous rule – almost twice as long as Marxists had in Bengal. Yet today TN is far more religious than it has ever been! There are holy ashes on the foreheads of lots and lots of people and temples are still well patronised. The challenge from evangelist dollars is altogether a different topic and I am ignoring it for this purpose.
6. As if that’s not enough, within DMK itself, today you see ministers sporting Kumkum or Ashes on foreheads, something for which they were expelled not too long ago! Is this newfound tolerance or practical realisation that their Hindu hate stock in trade has ceased to be a vote puller, I leave it to you to guess.
7. Yet another factor is that there are other ‘competitors’ that have picked up the same anti-Brahmin/Hindu theme and DMK cannot be seen as abandoning it. They are far more abusive and even violent. It is to the credit of ADMK that they have not fallen in this trap.
8. I think this anti-Brahmin/Hindu hate is being worked up mainly to cover up the fact that the entire “movement” has degenerated into a business venture that empowers and enriches one family.  
9. Remember, Sri Lankan issue, which was milked for years by the first family has now been demonetised. No more farcical “fast unto death” from 9am to 12noon when the biriyani is ready to be served. What is left? Go back to anti-Hindu hate. 

Let us now turn to the issue of handling this latest challenge.

I am amused to see Twitteratti and others trying to “educate” the DMK on Sanatana Dharma or point out the fact that Tamil Nadu has been Hindu for aeons. They know this. It is a waste of time.

It is also pointless to get into wordplay with them about Sanatana, Hinduism, Hindutva and so on. They are far better in that game and will beat you in straight sets. After all, to quote a Subramanya Bharati phrase, they are nothing but “warriors of the tongue”. The “genocide” charge, while perfectly valid, was washed off in no time by their ecosystem, by making silly comparisons to “Congress mukt”. This is exactly how they operate.

It is also pointless to mount lawsuits, even if our woke lordships will simply not smile at the threat of violence or genocide on Hindus as Justice Thomas did. It will not be settled in our lifetimes anyway. Unless you change your name to Ranaa Ayuub.

Asking for an apology is also pointless, especially after the entire ecosystem has backed him up. It will help them to move on. To another set of hate speech and abuse.

Then what can be done? Simply ignore? Rollover and play dead? 

NO!

My suggestion is simple – let people like Annamalai handle it. Any number of North Indians of any caste, let alone upper caste, wading into it will only play into their hands. His response so far has been brilliant and focused.

Secondly, go after the money trail. 

After all, as I pointed out, not just “rationalism” but the entire “self-respect” movement that Periyar spawned, is reduced to a sick joke and farce. Just look at the abject sycophancy, falling at feet and the North Korean variety of praise that is a daily staple at DMK. The fancy titles they award themselves and the crass worship of one family will repulse and disgust anyone who even has 0.001% self-respect inside him.

It is now plain and simple a business venture. And business runs on money. Even a child on the streets of Chennai knows this family has money beyond the dreams of anyone. Even minor cadet branches of the family live in palatial bungalows with mysterious sources of wealth.

Modi Sarkar I am sure has enough intelligence to go after the money trail and make sure the people of Tamil Nadu see the evidence and the fact that they have been fooled all these years. It is much easier in the post-9/11 world to get intelligence on overseas deposits and investments. BEPS norms make it easier.

I am not talking of dramatic arrests and NATO (no action talk only). I am talking of painstaking evidence gathering, effective prosecution and going after benamis that will shake the foundation. 

You may very well see Udhayanidhi sporting ash on his forehead if this is done the right way.

Thirdly, do the political work on the ground, quietly and effectively. Again, I would say just leave it to Annamalai and focus on cloning more Annamalai’s. Take the message directly to the people. They are ripe for genuine alternatives.

Can BJP convince TN voters that egalitarianism, rationalism, linguistic chauvinism, and anti-Hindu hate are just facades to cover up unbridled corruption and dynastic entitlement? Can it convince TN voters that a bunch of super-rich dynasts that never had to work for their princely life talking about “privileges by birth” is the biggest farce and reduces the entire argument to a joke?

It is interesting to notice one thing – AIADMK has not openly challenged the remark. But it is not to say they agree – they know there is other ways to take this on. Instead, they are going after “corruption” and “misrule”. 

The empire that seems to be in top form and power, is rotting from within. This is usually the case. BJP and every nationalist Indian or Tamilian just need to understand this and work towards the goal. All else is just noise.