‘Let Sanatan Dharma fall, Dravidam win’: Udhayanidhi Stalin's remark faces BJP's scorn, Congress distances from DMK

livemint.com:

Sanatan Dharma landed him in hot waters with the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP)'s senior 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. This remark saw a Supreme Court lawyer on Sunday filed a complaint with Delhi Police against Udhayanidhi Stalin.

Senior BJP leader including Amit Malviya also criticqued Udhayanidhi Stalin, MK Stalin and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK). The term Sanatan Dharma has been Hindu leaders, politicians, and ‘nationalists’ to refer to Hinduism as a unified world religion. Sanatan Dharma has thus become a synonym for the “eternal" truth and teachings of Hinduism, according to Britannica.

Father of Indian Constitution BR Ambedkar had also opposed the Sanatan Dharma arguing that it adhered to the Bramhanic theology if Hinduism thereby creating a caste divide in society. Periyar was a staunch atheist who argued that a specific form of essential Hindusim is a unified field of false beliefs. 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 referred to Sanatan Dharma as 'Sanatanam' in his address in Tamil at a meet of Tamil Nadu Progressive Writers and Artists Association on Saturday.