State News And Discussion - 3

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[url="http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics/nation/Karunanidhi-lavishing-funds-on-temple-renovation-in-TN/articleshow/6520298.cms"]Karunanidhi lavishing funds on temple renovation in TN[/url]

CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu’s Dravidian movement, built on the foundations of atheism and rationalism, is beginning to shake at its roots with founding member and chief minister Muthuvel Karunanidhi lavishing funds on temple renovation in a way not seen in at least a century.



The movement — reformist for the untouchables and ruinous for the Brahmins — has come a full circle from the days of breaking idols of Hindu deities, especially the ubiquitous Ganapathy, to spending hundreds of crores renovating temples and encouraging its members to participate in them.



Karunanidhi, 87, is the last of the atheist politicians left of the Dravidian crop who have ruled the state for 33 out of the last 43 years. His predecessors, friend-turned-rival late M G Ramachandran, and J Jayalalithaa, discarded the ‘rationalist’ plank decades ago.



This Friday will mark the Kumbhabhishekam, or the consecration of the centuries-old Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Temple in Sholinghur, about 100 km north-west of Chennai. Mr Karunanidhi has deputed colleagues to supervise the work.



“Till date, we have spent [color="#FF0000"]420 crore on temple renovation[/color] and this is a clear evidence to show the amount of interest that Kalaignar has shown in promoting temples in the state,” says K R Periakaruppan, minister for Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments.



Spending on temple renovation, praying or even cozying up to religious leaders is hardly surprising for anyone in a country where prime ministers and presidents often disturb the silent prayers of the common man with their presence in prominent temples. But when Mr Karunanidhi, a selfproclaimed atheist who has been living next door to a Krishna temple for decades, attends to temple renovation, it is an irony.



This change of heart can be attributed to several things: A strategy to get votes as people throng temples and religious gurus to seek solace in a fast-paced material life. Or, a genuine desire on the part of someone in the evening of his life and worried about his legacy to connect with God.



“Spending money on temple renovation would not help the DMK government fetch any votes,” says Cho Ramaswamy, political commentator and editor of the Tamil magazine, Thuglaq.



Part of the change can be attributed to the state’s political landscape, which has transformed beyond recognition. The Congress is no longer the dominant party,[color="#FF0000"] many of the Dravidian movement’s cherished goals, such as higher reservation for backward castes, have been met, and the beneficiaries have not only become prosperous, but have also started courting God and religion in a big way.[/color]



Also, to be fair, the Dravidian movement never tried to project itself as a comprehensive atheist party. While the anti-Brahmin rhetoric was strong, it took care to ensure that it did not hurt the religious beliefs and traditions of many of the state’s people, including their myriad gods and goddesses. So, while Karunanidhi would take time out and attack the Ramayana, he never spoke ill of Murugan, who was recognised and promoted as a ‘Tamil God’ .



Since Karunanidhi’s Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam returned to power in May 2006, it has spent around 420 crore on temple renovations. This is a near three-fold jump over 147 crore spent in the five-year rule of rival All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, or AIADMK, led by believer J Jayalalithaa. There are 38,481 temples, mutts and trusts under state control. Karunanidhi, Jayalalithaa and Ramachandran have their roots in the Dravidian Movement.



Seeds of Dravidian Movement sown in 1925



THE seeds of the movement were sown in 1925 when E V Ramasamy Naicker, known as Periyar or the elder, walked out of the Indian National Congress convention after the then Brahmin-dominated party refused to consider a resolution seeking proportional representation. Periyar’s reasons for seeking change were strong. In 1914, of the 650 graduates in the then Madras Province, 452 were from the Brahmin community. Of the 15 elected for the All India Congress Committee, 14 were Brahmins.



Periyar led the Self-Respect and the Anti-Hindi movements at the aristocrats-led Justice Party formed to further the non-Brahmin interests in the now four southern states.