What would have passed off as a non-event has become a talking point in Tamil Nadu politics because of the objection raised by Dharmapuri MP S. Senthilkumar, representing the ruling DMK. Mr. Senthilkumar, who was invited for the bhoomi pooja (ground-breaking ceremony) conducted before the launch of renovation work of a lake in his district, questioned officials of the Water Resources Department (WRD) for inviting only a Hindu priest for performing rituals. His war of words with the officials was recorded and the video tweeted by Mr. Senthilkumar himself. The MP was lauded by Dravidian ideologues, but he received brickbats from the BJP and its affiliated outfits, which saw it as an “anti-Hindu” act.
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Mr. Senthilkumar was right in questioning the presence of a Hindu priest at a state function. He was also right in making it clear that a Dravidian government cannot afford to have such rituals. However, he was wrong in asking an official why no Christian priest and Muslim clergy were invited, because government rules do not allow rituals of any religion at government functions. In 1968, during the DMK regime under C.N. Annadurai, Chief Secretary C.A. Ramakrishnan had issued an order directing department heads to remove portraits of gods of all religions from government offices in a phased manner. In 2010, a Bench of the Madras High Court had asked the State government to take all steps to ensure that no religious functions are conducted or religious structures built within the precincts of government offices as stipulated in a Government Order issued by the Personnel and Administrative Reforms Department on December 13, 1993, during the AIADMK regime. The State government, subsequently, issued an order directing officials to follow the 1993 order.
But in reality, neither Ramakrishnan’s order nor the High Court order has been followed. On the contrary, portraits of more deities adorn the walls of government offices, police stations, and buses operated by public transport corporations. Nearly all ground-breaking ceremonies for construction of new government buildings follow Hindu rituals. Even after the DMK came to power, some Ministers and the Chief Minister’s son, Udhayanidhi Stalin, a legislator, have participated in ceremonies conducted by Hindu priests at government functions.
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The rituals followed during Ayudha Pooja are an example of the violation of these orders. In the 1980s, transport corporations celebrated Ayudha Pooja as if it were a public festival. The best music troupes were invited to perform on the night of Ayudha Pooja and the depots of the transport corporations were opened to the public to enjoy the music. Even now, all transport corporation buses carry streaks of sandal paste and vermilion, and the pooja is performed by the crew members.
Ramakrishnan’s order also talks of removing portraits and statues of gods in government offices. In India, the problem is that many deities and temples were located in these places even before the government decided to construct a building or an office.
Mr. Senthilkumar wanted to be secular, but it is a tricky task for him and other politicians in the current political context where the DMK is taking pains to counter the BJP’s narrative that it is an “anti-Hindu” party. The truth is that the DMK is not a fully atheist party; a lot of senior leaders happily participate in such ceremonies. The AIADMK, when in power, had never missed these ceremonies. The orders and court directions therefore remain on paper.
A section of DMK leaders feel Mr. Senthilkumar could have politely asked officials to avoid such rituals in his constituency because what happens in other constituencies is not in his hands.
kolappan.b@thehindu.co.in