Saint Jayalalithaa

Kanyakumari is a significant place for Hindus; it is the abode of Devi Kanyakumari; the famous Vivekananda Rock Memorial is also situated there. This place witnessed one of the worst communal riots, Mandaikadu Riots (between Christians and Hindus) during the early 1980s as Christians have been consistently trying to conquer this sacred Hindu town through non-stop conversions and use of muscle, money and political power. They want to change the name to “Kanni Mary” (Virgin Mary) District. This is the only place in Tamil Nadu with a solid “Hindu” vote-bank which even Dravidian leaders cannot afford to ignore.

Offending the Hindu majority in this particular place is a politically perilous affair, and if at all a political leader does it, it must be out of sheer arrogance and deliberate intent. AIADMK supremo Jayalalithaa, known for her arrogance, has done it.

Participating in Christmas Celebrations organized by Arumanai Block Christians Movement, Jayalalithaa has vowed to fulfill the community’s three major demands: “The AIADMK government will be formed with the Blessings of Jesus. My government will ensure assistance for Christians’ pilgrimage to Jerusalem like Muslims’ Haj pilgrimage. Christians can construct whatever they want to in their lands. Nobody has the authority to ban building of Churches in Patta lands. When we come back to power with the blessings of Jesus, we will remove the ban and allow Christians to construct Churches. Another demand of reservation benefits to Dalit Christians has also been placed before me. There is a commission for this. Once we form the government, we will take up the issue with the commission and get the required permission for extending the welfare measures enjoyed by the Hindu Scheduled Castes to Dalit Christians also.”

She also said, “I am not new to Christian principles, prayer, worship and functions. I have studied in Christian Institutions. I have great respect and reverence for the Christian Missionaries, who have done great services in the fields of Health and Education worldwide. I have read the Bible, both the Old and New Testaments. They are well entrenched in my heart. Following the teachings of Jesus, I will remove the darkness engulfing Tamil Nadu.”

Ever since she lost the 2004 Parliament elections, Jayalalithaa has been trying to woo the Christians; in the bargain she has disregarded political propriety and ethical and moral responsibility. Yielding to the Machiavellian agenda of the Church, she repealed the ‘Anti-Conversion Law’ enacted by her own government and abused all official machinery to subject the 2500 years old institution established by Adi Sankara to a massive assault.

No wonder she received the “Golden Star for Dignity and Honour” (Thanga Tharakai) Award from a Ukraine-based Christian organization, International Human Rights Defence Committee (IHRDC), controlled by America and funded by US Agency for International Development (USAID). The Indian Representative of IHRDC was Mallavarappu Prakash, Bishop of Vijayawada, who later became Chairman of Tamil Nadu Minorities Welfare Commission. Again in February 2005, Jayalalithaa was honoured by the “India International Society”, USA, with ‘Bharat Jyothi’ Award, after which evangelist K.A. Paul came to Tamil Nadu in a private jet to give thousands of crores of rupees for Tsunami relief.

Later while commenting on the Kandhamal riots, she termed the ‘retaliatory’ attacks on Christians as a “disgrace” to the nation, conveniently ignoring the cruel murder of Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati and his disciples by missionary-backed Maoists, and the issue of blasphemous literature and pamphlets denigrating Hindu Gods and Goddesses by his opponents.

Her party manifesto for 2006 Assembly Elections gave exclusive commitments for Christians such as reservation for Dalit Christians, subsidy for Jerusalem Pilgrimage, ‘All Souls Day’ to be made a holiday, hostels with all facilities at nominal charges in towns of minority religious significance, etc. But she gave no commitments regarding repeal of the DMK government’s ordinance on Tamil New Year or returning the Chidambaram Temple administration to the Dikshidars, or any issue of importance to Hindus.

Her speech in Kanyakumari emphasizes the fact that the above-said commitments will be reproduced in her party’s manifesto for the forthcoming 2011 Assembly Election too.

Santa Karuna

While Jayalalithaa preferred the southern end of Tamil Nadu, Chief Minister and DMK supremo Karunanidhi stayed put in the capital, the northern end of the state. Participating in a Christmas carnival organized by Christuva Nallenna Iyakkam (CNI) Karunanidhi said: “I have a longstanding association with Christian community. Ours is not only a political party but also a social organization. Many of our former leaders belonged to Christianity. You have placed three demands before me. I concur with the demand that Dalit Christians must get the same benefits awarded to Hindu Dalits. Nobody can deny the benefits to you. It is just and fair and I assure you that the DMK will strive for it. I will also fulfill the other two demands that Most Backward status for the converts from certain specific communities and Financial Grants for Tamil Medium Schools run by Christians. Some of you who spoke here said that I have full control of the center and that the central government is dancing to my tunes. I neither dance nor make others dance. But, right here I commit that I am always ready to dance according to your tunes. I give this assurance with an inventive feeling.”

In course of his speech, Congress MLA Peter Alphonse referred to two DMK ministers’ comments that the improvement in the field of education and social empowerment shown by Kanyakumari, Thirunelveli, Tuticorin and Trichy districts was because of the contribution of Christian Missionaries and that districts like Thiruvannamalai had not improved as Christian missionaries didn’t visit them. 

In reply to Peter Alphonse, the Chief Minister lauded European missionary Robert Caldwell’s “service” to Tamil and Tamil Nadu and ridiculed Sri Ramana Maharishi: “Ramanar came to Thiruvannamalai; many soothsayers came to Thiruvannamalai” – a typical Dravidian style of belittling and insulting Hindus at minority religious functions. Karunanidhi promised to convert the Thirunelveli house where Caldwell stayed into a Memorial.

Karunanidhi’s show seems superior as leaders from almost all Christian denominations attended the event and various Bishops were seated on the dais. This not only shows his grip on the community and preparedness to pander to them, but the fact that Christians will be with the DMK as long as the Sonia Congress. No wonder Karunanidhi openly declares that he would readily dance to Christian tunes.

Christian-Dravidian Nexus

Robert Caldwell coined the word “Dravidian” with a single purpose of evangelisation. Nowhere in ancient Tamil literature does the word ‘Dravidian’ exist; there was a Christian agenda of dividing the native people behind Caldwell’s coining the term ‘Dravidian’. While the British Government used the Aryan-Dravidian theory to divide and rule the nation, the Church used it to destroy the culture in order to Christianise the nation. One cannot rule out the influence of the Church in the “Pure Tamil Movement”, based on which the DMK government changed the Tamil New Year and took it close to the Gregorian calendar.

For Dravidian racist leaders like E.V. Ramasamy, Annadurai and Karunanidhi, Robert Caldwell was (and is) a “God” on whose theories they called for a separate Tamil Nation. It is an open secret that the Church wants to establish a “Tamil Christian Nation” with Tamil Nadu and North and East Sri Lanka. EVR was a supporter of the British and never welcomed Indian independence. In fact he pleaded with the British to continue their regime in Tamil Nadu alone. So, the Dravidian-Christian nexus started with the advent of the “Self Respect Movement”, which developed into Dravida Kazhagam (DK) and split into DMK, AIADMK, MDMK and so on.

The Church is clever in the sense that it doesn’t stop with DMK and AIADMK, but spreads its influence to other Dravidian parties as well. MDMK (Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam) founder president Vaiko, an open votary of Tamil Eelam and supporter of LTTE, is a Christian and a natural choice for the Church to work with.  

PMK (Pattali Makkal Katchi) is another Dravidian party which maintains a cozy relationship with the Church. PMK President Dr. Ramadoss also does his business of politics based on “Tamil Cause” and is another open supporter of LTTE and votary of Tamil Eelam. He openly said America would have solved the Sri Lankan ethnic crisis long back had the Sri Lankan Tamils been Christians. His party is predominantly “Vanniyar” dominated; a community staunchly Vaishnavite; but Dr. Ramadoss has injected “secularism” in it in the name of Tamil and Tamil culture and the community now stands without Hindu identity. Next only to the Scheduled Castes, Vanniyars are being converted to Christianity in bulk; Dr. Ramadoss turns a blind eye towards it.

DMDK (Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam) president, actor Vijayakanth, is a dubious person. Despite flaunting his ‘Hindu’ identity, he never fails to appease the minorities at any given opportunity. On 3 December 2010, at a gala function, he was honoured with a “Doctorate” by Florida based “International Institute of Church Management”.

VCK (Viduthalai Chiruthaikal Katchi) president Thol Thirumavalavan, a self-styled Dalit leader, has a penchant for fighting for the cause of Christianity and Islam even at the cost of Dalit causes! He has a tacit understanding with the Church and openly encourages conversion. Being a vociferous supporter of LTTE, he is yet another peddler of “Tamil causes”. He openly talks of forming a separate “Tamil Nation” combining Tamil Nadu and Tamil Eelam (North and East of Lanka), which is a Christian agenda.  On Dec. 26, his party organized “Tamil Sovereignty Conference”, wherein he said, “A separate nation for Tamils is a must and it should comprise Tamil Nadu and Tamil Eelam. The LTTE might have lost the war, but it has not lost the capacity to battle. It is the duty of each and every Tamil to take up the cause of Tamil Eelam and spread the message in the international arena”.

All this proves the Church’s domination over politics in Tamil Nadu and its hold over Tamil politicians. Even if these Dravidian parties form alliances at the drop of a hat and are at each others’ throats, they perpetually remain close to the Church. So, whichever party is in power, the Church is able to have its say and continue with its agenda.

When Father Jagat Gasper Raj-Kanimozhi under the aegis of their NGO ‘Tamil Maiyam’ floated the “Chennai Sangamam” cultural extravaganza in 2007, Jaya TV went to town with investigative reports on the LTTE connections of Gasper Raj, and condemned the government’s association with the project. But in subsequent years, both Jayalalithaa and her TV channel kept a conspicuous silence during the Chennai Sangamam festival. Now in the aftermath of CBI raids in his office, due to his close acquaintance with Spectrum King A. Raja, Gasper openly says he would continue his “services” to Tamil and Tamil Nadu even if AIADMK forms the government.

(To be continued…)

The author is a senior journalist