Bharathy Singaravel
On Saturday, November 2, the Tamil Nadu BJP posted a couplet by the legendary Tamil poet, Thiruvalluvar. The chosen verse was taken from the Kadavul Vazhthu (In Praise of the Creator) chapter of Valluvar’s Tirukkural—the famed compilation of 1330 kurrals (as the couplets are known). Gopalkrishna Gandhi in his 2015 translations of the text “The Tirukkural – A New English Version” interprets the verse: “Your learning’s idle, incomplete. If you haven’t placed it at the source’s feet”. The TN BJP’s Twitter handle along with quoting the original Tamil text added that the “education of those who profess atheism and spurn the faithful is pointless”. Further, it claimed that the Dravida Kazhagam (DK), the DMK and the CPI (M) were the sort of forces that Valluvar had warned against. Lastly, attached to the tweet was a picture of Valluvar dressed in saffron robes, holy ash smeared on his forehead and wearing rudraksha beads.
This is not the first time the BJP has attempted to appropriate Tamil culture. Perhaps because of the thorough routing the party faced in Tamil Nadu during the General Elections and the unpopularity of the Prime Minister, evidenced in the black-flag protests and #GoBackModi that erupts during his visits to the state, the BJP appears to be making attempts to change their regional approach. Modi met the Chinese President Xi Jingping in Mamallapuram clad in a white veshti and shirt. He quoted the Tirukkurral in Thailand. These overtures do not seem to be making much of an impression on the people.
Unsurprisingly, the tweet set off a storm of backlash. #BJPInsultsThiruvalluvar was used over 10,000 times. Thiruvalluvar has conventionally been depicted in an ascetic white robe and with no religious markings on his body. The celebrated poet who probably lived and wrote sometime between 2 BCE and 5 CE has long been a towering icon of Tamil culture. In the 1970s, Valluvar Kottam commemorating the poet was commissioned by then Chief Minister and DMK Leader, M. Karunanidhi. Under the DMK’s auspices, the 133ft tall Thiruvalluvar Statue at Kanyakumari was finally unveiled in 2000.
Thiruvalluvar’s couplets continue to be memorised in Tamil Nadu schools. They cover a wide range of topics from the divine to love to advise for rulers. In Tamil culture, he is hardly viewed as a religious figure.
Speaking to the Indian Cultural Forum, political analyst and writer Arunan Kathiresa called the BJP’s representation “ideological fraud”. “Firstly, it needs to be noted that in Thiruvalluvar’s time, Hinduism, as we know it today, did not even exist. Jainism, Buddhism and Vedic doctrines existed” he said. “The Tirukkurral was a direct opposition to Vedic doctrine. It opposes the varna system. Those in the BJP who are quoting portions to suit their representation, need to read the text and understand its essence properly.” He added, “the BJP is trying to co-opt Thiruvalluvar. They are trying to forcibly convert him to their religion. They have no great leaders of their own, so they co-opt Sardar Patel, a Congress leader. They have no great literary figures or thinkers of their own, so they try to co-opt Thiruvalluvar. We must speak out against this betrayal of rationality and historical evidence.”
(Bharathy Singaravel is a member of the Editorial Collective of the Indian Writers Forum and a writer.)
