Chennai: Seeking to blunt the constant attempt by BJP and right wing outfits to portray the DMK as “anti-Hindu”, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Saturday said his government will “never come in the way” of individuals practicing their religious beliefs, while asserting that “every faith” was being treated in a fair manner.
Inaugurating the World Muthamizh Murugan Conference, a first of its kind by the ‘rationalist’ DMK government, in Palani via video conferencing, Stalin listed the “achievements” of the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR & CE) department ever since he assumed office as in May 2021 like retrieving over 6,000 acres of encroached temple land.
Stalin also underlined that Tamil must be prioritised in temple rituals, including chanting of mantras, asserted that the sanctum sanctorum in temples should be a place of equality. He was referring to the DMK government’s initiative to appoint non-Brahmin priests in temples.
The conference to sing peans of Lord Murugan, known as the Tamil god who is believed to have had six abodes across Tamil Nadu, is a calculated political move by the DMK dispensation, which had to fight the “anti-Hindu” tag in the run-up to the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Speeches by DMK MP A Raja that were deemed as “anti-Hindu” and Udhayanidhi Stalin calling for “annihilation of Sanatana Dharma” put the DMK on the defensive mode, often landing in the line of fire of the BJP.
The two-day event, which is being attended by hundreds of scholars and believers from across the globe, suits DMK’s linguistic politics as well since Lord Murugan is worshipped in the state as the God of Tamils. It also comes four years after the BJP failed in its attempts to take advantage of a row over disparaging remarks by a YouTube channel on Lord Murugan.
“People believe in different faiths. The Dravidian Model government led by me had never stood in the way of people practising their beliefs. Moreover, we are working for the benefit of every faith…We are not organising this conference out of the blue,” Stalin said, listing the steps and initiatives taken to improve infrastructure in Lord Murugan temples in Tamil Nadu.
Stalin said, in the last three years, the HR&CE department has successfully conducted consecration ceremony of 1,355 temples and other religious events in 8,436 temples at a cost of Rs 3,776 crores. The government has also mapped 1.59 lakh acres of land owned by temples using latest technologies to ensure that they are not encroached upon.
“Dravidian Model is based on the concept of everything for all. We are focussing on the development of all sectors, districts, and social indicators,” he said, and recalled that it was the Justice Party, a precursor to the DMK, under the then Chief Minister Panagal Raja passed the Hindu Religious Endowment Protection Act in 1929.
“The Act was brought to ensure that temples, which are cultural symbols, are protected and function properly. It was this law that laid the foundation for the functioning of temples that are orderly and special today,” Stalin added.
As many as 44,121 temples in Tamil Nadu come under HR&CE department which manages and controls them.