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Seven reasons why “Tamils are not Hindus” is trending on Twitter

AsiaSeven reasons why "Tamils are not Hindus" is trending on Twitter
Why is
Seven reasons why "Tamils are not Hindus" is trending on Twitter
Rita F. Mukand
By Rita F. Mukand

It was strange to see “Tamils are not Hindus” trending wildly on Twitter on the day of Dussehra and here is the reason why.

Apparently, it all started when the Hindu right-wingers tried to appropriate Raja Raja Chola as a Tamil King by calling him a Hindu.  Raw emotions arose due to many new walls built between the North and South reacting also to the Hindi imposition as the national language.

The politics on the top has been dicey, playing with communal and caste emotions, and triggering this reaction from the Tamilian Hindus leading them to create a heavy Twitter trend “Tamils are not Hindus.”

Firstly, Tamilians are dead against the caste system and say that Hinduism means accepting Sanskrit, Brahmanism, Varna system, high caste, low caste, manusmirti law, Vedas, untouchability, subjugation, superiority one over the other, and a host of other things which they completely reject.

Secondly, historically, they see no ties archaeological with the North Indian Aryans and declare their sites such as “Attirampakkam”, “Adichanallur”, and “Kodumanal” are Vaigai and Thamirabarani civilizations.  These do not show any sign of Arya- Hindu rituals nor Hindus/Hindians connections.  They bitterly blame the British who registered Tamils, Vaishnavites, and Shaivites as “Hindus” and washed away their distinct identities.

Thirdly, they believe Tamil Nadu is the land of the great Ravanan, unlike North Indian Hindus who look upon Ravan as a demon.  They call Ravanan the most disciplined hero ever seen in puranaas and the great King Ravanasurar outstood all of them richly celebrated by the Tamilians.

Fourthly, they believe they are culturally and historically different.  The South Indian Tamil language has completely different roots, and the past glory of their archaeological site differs from the Aryans.  They call it the “Keezhadi” civilization which was 10,000 plus years of a beta analytic third century BCE and does not show any traces of Arya- Hindu rituals nor Hindus/Hindians connections.

Fifthly, they call themselves Saivaites and Vaishnavites and not Hindus.

Vaishnavism and Shaivism are two types of religious sects that prevail in India.   Vaishnavism believes in the supremacy of Lord Vishnu over all the other gods. On the other hand, Shaivism believes in the supreme power of Lord Shiva. This is one of the main differences between the two religious sects.

Vaishnavism was jointly founded by many great religious leaders, but the credit goes to Ramanujacharya who lived in the southern part of India. He is said to have lived in the 12th century AD.

Shaivism was built on the philosophy of Advaita founded by Adi Sankara in the 8th century AD.  Shaivism believed in the one-ness of living beings and it believed in the fact that the oneness was brought about by the innate power of the supreme soul called the Brahma.

Sixthly, their mythology traditions differ from North Indian Hindus.  As per Tamil mythology, the Kali deity is a meat-eating, cigar-smoking, and alcohol-drinking goddess which is rejected by the North Indian right-wingers.

Seventhly, Periyar played a huge role in creating Tamil society.  He brought awareness about women’s basic rights. He criticized child marriage and the devadasi system. Periyar fought for the rights of women. Periyar raised his voice for the enslaved women. He also supported women’s right to education and their social status. As a part of the self-respect movement, Periyar emphasized equal rights of women on property.

He brought in rationalism and had a powerful impact on Tamil society. People began thinking logically and destroyed the superstitious beliefs in their surroundings. Many social activists began to stand for the people of the depressed classes. Non-brahmins were allowed to enter the temple. The appointment of non-brahmins as priests in temples became a historic milestone. The concept of “the air we breathe is common for all of us, the land we walk is also common for all of us, the same kind of blood circulates through all the humans, all are equal” developed.

He developed rationalism as his strategy to attract the minds of the people. For example, people usually worship by pouring water and milk over the statues of gods and it is one of their oldest rituals.

Periyar said that “instead of praying by pouring milk and water on the statues, one can contribute to the society by giving that milk to the poor which will help them to overcome their starvation and sate their appetite”. Rationalism is actually not against gods or against worshipping gods but to destruct the superstitious beliefs that were being done in those days in the name of god. It also deals with thinking with endless wisdom to contribute to the welfare of society.  Periyar was heavily opposed by the public, especially the Hindus for his changes.

He brought in a self-respect movement one of the most important campaigns in Periyar’s life. This movement was launched by Ramanathan in the year 1921.  Later, he requested Periyar to lead this campaign. The main propaganda of this movement is to create a casteless society, develop rationalism, deplore superstitions and create equality and unity among the people.

This movement also declared the empowerment of women as its primary aim. This movement had a huge impact on Tamil society. Due to the self-respect movement, the number of inter-caste marriages increased in Tamil society. This movement not only had a powerful change in the minds of the Tamils but also played a vital role in educating people in India and other parts of the globe about rationalism. In previous days, the people of lower castes were persuaded to bow in front of people of upper castes. The self-respect movement changed this whole system. This movement aimed to treat all kinds of people in this world with true respect.

Tamilians say, “This is Tamilnadu – the land of the Tamils! This is the land of the mighty Ravanan! Keep your Ram Puraana out of our land! Ram is not accepted here! This is Ravanan land! So, Get out Sanghis!”

Of course, the right-wing is reacting to “Tamils are not Hindus” and calling them separatists in Tamil Nadu with tukde gangs working under different cloaks. They even started blaming the “conversion missionaries” and “Jihadis” for trying to separate Hindus from top and bottom feeling it is a dangerous move to separate Hindus.  But did not the right-wing wake up to the fact that their own separatist politics in India is now alienating them from everyone else?

Now India is so divided by politics that North and South, Aryan, and Dravidian have become more demarcated and fragile.  While the politicians should have focused on unifying India, they were focused on attacking the minorities, and even in the hashtags, Christians and Muslims are being blamed for the hashtag when they incidentally have nothing to do with it.  The Hindu right-wingers still did not get it that the Saivaites and Vaishnavites Tamilians are reacting to their dominating rule and are now distancing themselves from them. They are now priding themselves to be a highly civilized culture that outweighs the “Aryans”.  Who called for these divisions? Let the ruling party introspect their politics.

Here are some of the people saying “Tamils are not Hindus” Take a look:

 

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