Rajinikanth Entry: Will it stir the politics of Tamil Nadu?

"Everything has already been done by me. All you have to do is to shoot the arrow". With a calmly smile on his face, Rajinikanth quoted these lines from the Gita to the cheering crowds of fans and supporters on the much awaited last day of 2017. He then spoke of "correcting the System" and revealed his intent to launch a new party and contest in all the 234 seats in the next State Assembly election that is three years away. The Super Star then appealed to all his fans to always speak good and do good, as usual.

While this announcement cleared the 'suspense' over the Super Star's future plans, the bare minimal nature of it in it has made the political Pundits and the general public to run into wild speculations about it, reading all kinds of "messages". Some leaders of the Tamil Nadu BJP explicitly welcomed his entry, while the mainstream DMK and ADMK just had a causal, neutral response, on the lines of "Every Indian citizen has a right to start a new party, our organization is very strong and firm and feels noway perturbed by such a development".  The small time fringe outfits espousing chauvinism and regionalism have vehemently spoken against Rajini, predictably.

So, what is to be made out of this announcement and its probable real effect, in the future politics of Tamil Nadu?

Rajini promised to usher in "spiritual politics" (aanmeeka arasiyal) transcending the boundaries of caste and religion in his announcement. His life story of having risen up to the top of stardom from very poor and humble background, coupled with this spiritual aura strikes a genuine charisma cutting across sections of the society. His personal and professional integrity in the Tamil film Industry circles is well known. This has already created a robust image of a man who is incorruptible and is ever willing to put the welfare of the poor and common people above his self interest. The erstwhile Bengaluru  bus conductor image of Rajinikanth very much resembles the erstwhile Jamnagar Tea seller image of Narendra Modi. This is an advantage of that none of his probable political contenders can claim to have.

But for a one time aberration of overtly supporting DMK even in the aftermath of 1998 Coimbatore bomb blasts, Rajini has always stood on the side of supporting Indian nationalism. He has openly expressed his Hindu religious affinity by sporting Hindu religious symbols and advising his ardent fans to indulge in Dhyana and Bhakti practices. On this count, he is a refreshing contrast  to the comical hypocrisy of many Dravidian party politicians, some of them denouncing Hinduism outright while appeasing "minorities". Brahmin hatred is a pet theme of many Tamil politicians of all hues, even writers, artists and media personalities. This is thanks to the skewed racist discourse of the Dravidian movement. It goes to the credit of Rajinikanth that he has never indulged in such hate speech, though it would have won him some favors and accolades in the overall climate of the state. So, even though Rajini has not given any hints about his chosen political ideology, it is believed that it will certainly be a form of 'soft Hindutva', much closer to the BJP ideology than any other parties.

The remarkable identity mix of Rajinikanth, of being born in a Marathi family as Shivajirao Gaikwad, growing up in Karnataka and attaining stardom among Tamils - this in itself is a great tribute to National Integration and the idea of a United India. The 'problem' of Rajini being not native to Tamil Nadu is pepped up only by the fringe groups at present. It is never an issue for mainstream parties and people.

The caste politics of Tamil Nadu has always been an important factor in the electoral victories of both ADMK and DMK. But, it is more of a back stage drama and is never spoken openly in the political discourse of Tamil Nadu unlike the other South Indian states, where the "strength" of caste groups like Lingayats and Kapus is a subject that is openly discussed in TV shows. In Tamil Nadu politics, what comes to the foreground is the charisma of the strong leader, like Karunanidhi, MGR or Jayalalitha and the caste equation factors only in the ticket distribution, giving proportionate share to all the castes. It is to be noted that none of the above mentioned leaders were from dominant castes of Tamil Nadu. Given this history, if Rajini's charisma works the same magic, combined with the practical caste calculation born out of realpolitik, he has much brighter chance of capturing the imagination of Tamil Nadu voters. Because no other political leader, be it Stalin or OPS or EPS or anyone, has such a charisma like Rajini.

It is well known that Rajini has been hinting his political ambition on and off screen right since the start of 1990s, with sudden hypes and scenes of euphoria about his "entry" and the subsequent drubbing off and frustration of the hype being a "false alarm". Though there is a well established network of fan clubs ("Rasikar mandram") in every Taluk of the state with a decent membership of local youth, turning this into a political party work force remains a very big challenge. We already have many examples of failure in this context, like the Telugu actor Chiranjeevi. Rajini and his new party have to put a lot of hard work on this count.

Overall, Rajini's announcement has already stirred the political debate in Tamil Nadu. Lets hope it will bring positive development to the state.

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Kannada translation of this article was published in Vikrama Kannada weekly, 21 Jan 2018. 

Kannada version here:

Save Vivekananda House, Chennai from DMK Govt. hostile takeover

Those famililar with the city of Chennai will know that Vivekananadar Illam (or V.House, in short) on the banks of Marina beach is one of the not-to-miss landmarks of the city.

It was in this heritage building (called Castle Kernan at that time and later Ice House) that Swami Vivekananda stayed during his historic visit to Chennai in Feb, 1897, after his victorious tours of the US and Europe. Swamiji delivered some of his finest and most inspiring speeches from this very building.

As a tribute to this great son of India, govt. leased this building in Feb 1997 (centenary of Swamiji's Chennai visit) to Ramakrishna Math, upon Math's request. RK Math put a beautiful permanant exhibition about Hindu culture and Swami Vivekananda's life, at the cost of one crore. Most visitors to the beach also come to V.House, enjoy and learn from the exhibition and also pay their respects to Swamiji's life-size statue installed there.

The lease was to expire in the next 2 yrs, The Math was planning to extend it for another 30 years. But now the DMK govt. has issued a sudden *3-day* notice to the Math to vacate the builiding immediately by Apr-24! The govt officials have also started pressurizing the Math.

Reason? Govt. wants to set up a "classical Tamil center" at this place, which govt. claims will promote academic study and research of classical Tamil works. The govt. has hinted it may even demolish the century-old building for this purpose.

Well, nobody would oppose such a center. But why is the govt *so* bent upon this particular heritage building for this purpose, that has Swamiji's footprints? The govt. can always set up a new building in any place in Chennai for this purpose !

It is very clear that the anti-Hindu DMK govt. wants to erase the famed memory of Swami Vivekananda from the Chennai's landscape. But by cunningly using the name of "Tamil", DMK thinks it can silence any opponents of such a move. But its not working, as many opposition parties, including ADMK and Sarathkumar's party have condemned the govt's move.

Please add your voice also to the campaign to save Vivekananda House in its current form. Sign the online petition -
http://www.petitiononline.com/vi220408/petition.html

Related news :
http://www.newindpress.com/NewsItems.asp?ID=IE920080421151428&Page=9&Title=Chennai&Topic=0
http://thatstamil.oneindia.in/news/2008/04/22/tn-govt-asks-rk-mutt-to-vacate-vivekanandar-illam.html (Tamil)
http://thatstamil.oneindia.in/news/2008/04/23/tn-leaders-raise-voice-for-vivekanandar-illam.html (Tamil)

Arrogance, Thy name is Karunanidhi!

It is not new for the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister to hate-speak and hurt religious Hindus. But his speech at the recent DMK convention in Erode is a new chapter in his continuing saga of hatred against the Hindu religion.

“We will explore alternative channels, preventing damages to the Ramar's Bridge” - this assurance by the Central government to the Supreme Court has chafed him greatly. He is more interested in getting the Ramar Bridge demolished than completing the Sethusamudram project. That’s what makes him angry at the very hint of exploring alternative channels. But, is there any use by this anger?

At the centre, the Congress is vote fearing, and so the nagging "repeal of support" has become worthless. That’s why the Centre so explicitly declared its reverence for Rama in the Supreme Court and also asked for three months of time to explore an alternate way. In the said function the Chief minister declared "they are gaming with us hoping that the people would accept these foolish, dumb, and idiotic religious sentiments by dragging Rama's name....to defeat the presently-affecting-us, darkening in future conspiracy I place before you this resolution” speaking thus, conveyed in the resolution "the central government fearing the communal groups.... must not yield to the attempts to stop Sethusamudram project".

What use such a call has? Haven’t the Congress and the central government already started resorting to the “foolish, dumb and idiotic religious sentiments”? Even the Central law minister has remarked, “Rama is a part and parcel of Indian culture. It is not the matter to be disputed. Existence of Rama cannot be doubted. As Himalaya is Himalaya, Ganges is Ganges, Rama is Rama! No need to prove this.”

The central government filed an affidavit “Ramayana is sacred; the government fully respects all religions, and, in this case, the Hindu religion”.

Therefore, the “conspiracy” that the CM warns about has got sanctioned by the central government. The Central government has come forward to “darken the future”. Despite these, why the CM has to support this central government? Why the DMK ministers still hold posts in the government that darkens the future? How can the DMK rule in Tamil Nadu with the support of Congress that ally with the “conspirators”? Is it not betraying ‘Periyar’?

Isn’t it absolutely necessary for the DMK to quit the central government, withdraw support to it, and even reject the support availed from the Congress in Tamil Nadu, to defeat this conspiracy? Why is the CM not determined to do this? What else can be the reason for this, other than the power-hunger?

By not opposing the central government, which voluntarily got eligible to be added in his list of people he described as "frauds, cunning jackals" - is he a supporter of frauds? Is he the patron of cunning jackals? The CM, who never hesitates for a moment to sacrifice Periyar’s ideology for the sake of power for himself and his family members, displays his courage with just rants. “Bravery only in words” indeed! The lust for power held by him and his family members blocks him to anger at the central government. Poor man, whom can he direct his anger at? There they are, the Hindu beliefs, always.

In his outrage, the CM has spewed venom using the Tamil singular phrases indicative of disrespect, “Who is this Raman? In which engineering college did he study to become an Engineer? When did he build that bridge? Is there any evidence?” Hatred filled, he has, in reality, blabbered, thinking that he is talking smart.
Common sense will infer that “Rama built the bridge” does not mean that Rama actually put stones one over the other and built it with his own hands. When we say, “An emperor built a temple” or “created sculptures”, does that mean he actually chiseled the stones with his hands? All it means is that on his command, or at his desire, craftsmen completed those works. But, those works are not known by the names of the sculptors involved, but are renowned only by the names of the kings.

Same applies to Rama’s Bridge. The CM only knows insulting Ramayana, but he never misses to make mistakes while quoting from the epic (I had pointed these on several earlier occasions too). It was the king of the oceans, Samudra Raja, who guided Rama in making the bridge. It is he who also suggested the name of the expert Nala. “Nala is the expert son of divine craftsman Vishwakarma; bestowed with divine powers and knowledge of the profession from his father; He came forward and requested Sugriva, ‘O great among Vanaras, let the materials be collected for the construction of the bridge’.

Vanaras spread out to collect the materials requested by Nala. (“Vanaras” do not mean what the English word “monkey” means; they are not monkeys. As per Valmiki Ramayana, they are great warriors; learned men; built palaces and lived in the city). “With the help of Vanaras, boulders are made, trees were uprooted and brought. Trees, boulders and other such material were all brought to the seashore. To keep the boulders upright during the construction of the bridge, strong ropes were used. As per Nala’s command, Vanaras worked swiftly, pushing the boulders into the ocean and placing the wood over them. The constructed bridge resembled that of the galaxy of stars on the celestial sky. From the sky the bridge looked like the parting that splits a lady’s longhair into two parts, on which the Vanaras and others climbed and crossed the ocean”.

These are the details found in Valmiki Ramayana. Wishing to make a smart talk, the blabbering chief minister, could at least have asked a little more sensible question, “In which Engineering college did Nala study?” If thus asked, our answer would be “Nala learnt it from his father and he was renowned as an expert in his field”.

Let that be aside. The CM, who asks, “in which Engineering college did Rama study to build the bridge?” would ask similar questions about some other identical beliefs?

“They say that the legendary lady Kannagi plucked out one of her breast and threw it to burn the city of Madurai. Will the CM ask, “In which college did she study that technique? Was it biology or a bomb making art?” We won’t question it, because we accept that Kannagi showed the power of chastity.

The CM wrote commentary for the ancient Tamil grammar treatise Tholkappiyam. Will he ask, “In which college did Tholkappiyar study grammar? Who taught grammar to the one considered as the very originator of Tamil grammar?”. We won’t question it, because we understand that there lived great sages in ancient times, endowed with wisdom and expertise that might not be comprehensible to our limited knowledge.

“It is said that Thiruvalluvar authored the Thirukkural. Where did he learn the methods of composing poetry? Where did he learn Tamil? Where did he learn the philosophical querying known as philosophy?” will the CM ask such questions? We won’t question, because we know that Thiruvalluvar is a divine blessed saint.

Ok. Leave these aside. Has the CM questioning the existence of Rama, ever made even a minor comment about the beliefs of other religions, even by a slip of tongue?

Has the CM spoken anything about the much revered hair of Prophet Mohammed that is claimed to be present in the Hazratbal Mosque of Kashmir? Will he ask, “How do you know it is the hair of Mohammed? What is the evidence?” We won’t question it, because we have learnt to respect the beliefs of other religions; and we believe that speaking insolently about sages revered by people of other religions is a crass and mean act.

“It is said that Jesus Christ died at the cross and then came alive. In which laboratory did he learn that art? Or the one who brought him alive, through which scientific research did he learn this medical procedure? Is there evidence?” Will the CM ask these questions? We won’t question this, because we know it is barbaric to abuse the messiahs and beliefs of other religions.

Why to go this extent? "The ochre Buddha wore was yellow in color, that is why I always wear this yellow shawl" is one of the reasons the CM gave for his yellow effectualness. “What is the evidence to prove that Buddha’s garments were yellow? Were did he dye his garment?” will the CM ask these questions? We wont ask these questions, because we feel that it is utter stupidity to make such dim-witted comments about Avatars, the human manifestations of the Divine.

The big evidence that the CM shows is the Nehru’s remark that Ramayana is a myth. Any opinions by atheists, Nehru included, on Ramayana or Hindu beliefs do not qualify to become pronounced judgments on the subject.

It appears that the CM considers Nehru’s words as sacred lore, err.. pardon.., ‘Periyar’ lore - what does he have to say about another opinion of Nehru? When Nehru rubbished DMK as “nonsense” in one word, why did the DMK cadre conduct a big struggle? When Nehru himself has pronounced the judgment, where is the case for appeal? Shouldn’t they just accept themselves as “nonsense”?

The CM talks erratically about the beliefs of Hindu religion only. Because his decisive opinion is that Hindus are all gullible idiots. If not so, will he dare to tirade so abusively about the Purushottama worshipped by crores of people?

Money induced pride, power induced madness, political-fame induced arrogance - when all these come together in a person, his mouth will speak like this. This speaker of Rama’s engineering qualification, on what qualifications, hold the office of the Chief Minister? By the votes of the people; the very same three fourths who worship Rama as the Divine manifestation.

“I don’t want these votes, I don’t want at all the votes of the fools who think Rama is Divine!”, Will the CM declare? Does it matter? We shall declare it. It will be an utterly shameful act if Hindus who worship Rama and other Divinities vote for him and the party that he associates with.

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This is the editorial by Sri. Cho Ramaswamy in the Tamil Weekly Tughlak, 20-Sep-2007
(Reproduced at
http://aanipidunganum.blogspot.com/2007/09/saturday.html)

Translated by
Bliss (bliss192@gmail.com) &
Jataayu (http://jataayu.blogspot.com)
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