The forces at work in Tamil Nadu

Informing our readers about the forces at work in Tamil Nadu is one of the objectives of this column. The happenings there are widely covered by the Sri Lanka Tamil press and they reflect heavily on the thinking and actions of the Tamils in Sri Lanka.

What happened on May 2 in Chidambaram Nadaraja temple, the holiest of the Siva temples for the Saivites, may look innocuous and even ludicrous. But it had evoked an intense controversy in Tamil Nadu.

Saivites are those who worship Siva. Sri Lankan Hindus are Saivaites. Going on pilgrimage to Chidambaram is their greatest desire. Siva is symbolised in the dancing pose. It represents cosmic dance. After pooja, devotees are shown the ‘Secret of Chidambaram.’ It’s an opening in the wall through which you see space.

Poojas in that temple, which played a major role in the revival of Hinduism in Tamil Nadu in the sixth century and the disappearance of Buddhism and Jainism from there, is conducted by dikshitars, the hereditary priests, originally brought from Kasi (Benares). The poojas are conducted in Sanskrit.

In all Hindu temples in Tamil Nadu, pooja conducted in Sanskrit is followed by the singing of hymns in Tamil by odhuvars, professional non-Brahmin chanters of devotional hymns. In Chidambaram, it is not permitted. Reciting of Sanskrit slokas is only allowed.

Odhuvar Sivanadiyar Arumugasamy, an octogenarian Tamil scholar, tried to sing Tamil hymns inside the Chidambaram temple two years ago but was prevented from doing it. They took the matter to the Madras High Court as a fundamental rights case and the court directed the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowment Department to look into the matter. Subsequently, the secretary of that department issued an order on February 29 allowing Arumugasamy to sing before the sanctum sanctorum.

Armed with that order, Arumugasamy went to the temple on March 2 and started singing Tamil hymns. Dikshitars objected but Arumugasamy continued to sing. Then the dikshitars gathered together and over 30 of them stood between the singer and the Nadaraja vikram (statue).

Arumugasamy stopped singing and went away saying that he would return in the evening. He went back with his supporters but the police prevented them from entering the temple. In the clash that ensued, the police baton charged the devotees. The police arrested 32 of them and filed cases against them. They also filed cases against the dikshitars who got involved in the melee.

Tamil Nadu government has now intervened. In a statement, it said devotees were free to recite Tamil hymns.

‘’Whatever be the legal outcome of the cases registered in connection with the incident, dikshitars are requested not to prevent the devotees from reciting Tamil hymns. Those opposing it will be subjected to stringent legal action,’’ the statement said.

The battle of singing Tamil hymns has revived the controversy over conducting poojas in Hindu temples in Tamil instead of in Sanskrit. These should be viewed as part of the overall struggle non-Brahmins are waging against Brahmins. The struggle started in the early part of the last century and gathered momentum during the period of the ‘Dravida Munnetta Kazhalagam’ rule.

As I pointed out on February 2, the Karunanithi administration was taking action to promote Tamil nationalism. His declaration of Thai Pongal day as the beginning of the Tamil New Year; is part of the scheme to weaken the domination of the Brahmins in Tamil Nadu.

The relevance of these anti-Brahmin forces which are now at work from Tamil Nadu to Sri Lanka will become clear in the context of the pro and anti-LTTE campaigns now taking place there. Dr. Ramadass, an active supporter of the LTTE, told a meeting last week that the anti-LTTE campaign is led by the Brahmins. He added that the media, controlled by Brahmins, was in the forefront. He has launched a Tamil paper to counter it.

Subramaniya Swamy claimed credit on Saturday for the success of the anti-LTTE campaign in Tamil Nadu. He said that the LTTE is shifting its operations to Kerala because they had made it difficult for it to operate in Tamil Nadu. Subramaniya Swamy is a Brahmin chauvinist.

I also wish to highlight another undercurrent force that is raising its head in Tamil Nadu. The feeling that Tamils who number over 75 million and living in over 35 countries do not have a state of their own is surfacing. It is a feeling prevalent among many Tamils.

Now I quote a statement made by film actor and director Seeman at the opening of a new organisation called Dravida Iyakka Thamilar Peravai (Dravida Movement Tamil Federation) which aims to be an umbrella organisation of Tamil associations. Seeman said, “There are about 75 million Tamils living in many countries of the world. They have no state of their own. Eelam is the only possible Tamil state. Some people are trying to destroy it.