MGR and BJP’s Vetrivel Yatra | Will the lotus bloom in Tamil Nadu?

After switching to a soft-Dravidian line in Tamil Nadu, ahead of the 2021 assembly elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Tamil Nadu has raised eyebrows by using the images of former Chief Minister and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) founder MG Ramachandran for its ‘Vetrivel yatra’ from November 6. The yatra is planned to cover the six sacred abodes of ‘Lord Muruga’ in the state. According to mythology and ancient Tamil literature, ‘Vetrivel’ means the victorious and divine javelin by which Lord Muruga killed the demon Soorapadma.

Lord Muruga, worshipped by majority of people in Tamil Nadu, is one of the five gods along with Maayone, Vendhan, Varuna and Kotravai, mentioned in Sangam classical literature composed 2,000 years ago. Lord Muruga is considered a Tamil deity since the Sangam literature contains poems depicting him as a hero warrior who vanquished the enemies of Tamils. The ‘Vetrivel yatra’ is aimed at taking the BJP to the nook and corner of Tamil Nadu by appealing to Hindu sentiments by relating itself to a local god.

Even before the start, the yatra has kicked up a political storm with the opponents of the BJP alleging that it is similar to the rath yatra undertaken by BJP leader LK Advani. BJP’s opponents including Dalit leader Thol Thirumavalavan and Communist Party of India (Marxist) have said it would affect law and order, and urged the state government not to allow the yatra.

The video material released by BJP state leader L Murugan has sparked off another controversy since it uses the image of MGR with the BJP flag and its symbol lotus. The song accompanying the video says “Ponmana Semmalin Amsamaai naangal Modiyai kandomada” which means “We see MGR in the form of Prime Minister [Narendra] Modi”. The visuals for the lines show the image of MGR transforming into that of Modi.

AIADMK spokesperson and former minister Vaigaiselvan has opposed the use of MGR to popularise BJP’s flag and symbol in rural Tamil Nadu. However, BJP leaders say that they had used MGR’s image to convey the message that Modi is pro-poor and defender of the weaker sections of people. They also justify the move saying that MGR is not an atheist since he had visited the Kollur Mookambiga temple many times and gifted a golden sword.

Supporters of the Dravidian ideology accuse the BJP of trying to appropriate a Dravidian leader who had refused to call himself a ‘Hindu’ during the 1981 census when he was the Chief Minister. At that time, MGR was ridiculed for claiming that he belonged to ‘Dravidian religion’ and ‘Tirukkural’, written by Tamil savant Tiruvalluvar, is the sacred text of the religion.

They also point out that the only festival MGR celebrated at his home and party office was Pongal, considered as a secular festival by Dravidian leaders such as Periyar. Besides, the AIADMK founder had not extended greetings for any Hindu festival, including Deepavali, the Dravidian movement’s historians point out.

MGR had explained his visit to Mookambiga temple as a form of mother worship followed by Dravidians, and said ‘I see my mother in the deity”. While replying to a debate in the assembly on March 29, 1982, MGR flayed the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and said it should stop its shakas in Tamil Nadu. In that speech he also asserted that his government would not allow such outfits to divide people along religious lines.

CP(M) state secretary K Balakrishnan has alleged that the AIADMK leaders, despite being in power, have not stopped the BJP from appropriating MGR’s legacy and his mass base.

However, a majority of political observers feel that the BJP cannot eat into the AIADMK’S vote base as long as the party retains MGR’s magic symbol, the ‘Two Leaves’. Besides, just six years ago, in the 2014 Parliament election, former AIADMK chief J Jayalalithaa had faced the BJP with the slogan ‘Lady or Modi’, and her acerbic attacks on Modi and his Gujarat model of administration is still fresh in the minds of people.

The BJP has shifted its strategy and moved to soft-Dravidian line in Tamil Nadu after JP Nadda took over as party president. State BJP leaders who used to flay Periyar and his ideology have been sidelined and new entrant Kushboo, who openly claim that she continues to be a Periyarist, is being given importance in party events and protests. It is to be seen whether the party’s ‘Vetrivel yatra’ based on its new election strategy will be enough to beat the strong anti-BJP sentiments witnessed in the 2019 Parliament elections and gain a few assembly seats in Tamil Nadu.

N Ravikumar is a Chennai-based senior journalist. Views are personal.