Is Tamil Nadu Ruled by Actor or the Governor?

Let Sanatana Fall! Let Social Justice Triumph!

(Full Text of the Speech Delivered at the Anti-Sanatana Convention Organized by Makkal Kalai Ilakkiya Kazhagam - MKIK, Trichy)

— Advocate P.Sekar (Ooran / Tamilmani)

The Political Context: Is Tamil Nadu Ruled by Actor or the Governor?

It was 4:00 PM when I, along with fellow comrades from Vellore, braved the scorching, oppressive summer heat and reached Khadi Kraft near Trichy Junction to participate as a speaker in the Anti-Sanatana protest organized by the Makkal Kalai Ilakkiya Kazhagam (MKIK). Upon arrival, the reality of the situation became instantly clear: there were no flags, no banners, and no microphones. Only a handful of comrades stood there, surrounded by a massive contingent of police personnel and a long line of police vans. It was evident that permission for the protest had been denied.

When I immediately contacted the coordinators, I learned that the comrades had relocated near the Old Bus Stand to garland the statue of Thanthai Periyar and launch a defiant agitation, overriding the state ban. By the time I rushed to the spot, the police were already executing brutal force, intercepting the marching comrades and hauling them into police vans.

Simultaneously, a few reactionary lumpens from the Hindu Munnani stood right in front of the police, shouting provocations against our comrades. The visual of the state police standing as tight-lipped, passive spectators to right-wing aggression, while systematically crushing a democratic protest organized by a progressive cultural front like MKIK, laid bare a grim reality: this state machinery is desperately desperate to shield and protect Sanatana.

This entire episode has proved to the people of Tamil Nadu, for the very first time, that this is not a government run by cinematic actors; it is effectively a regime micro-managed by the Governor. What answers do the apologists of TVK (Tamizhaga Vettri Kazhagam) have now—those who lent tactical support to this regime under the pretext of preventing a Governor's rule?

Though blocked in the public square, the comrades undeterredly gathered inside a hall to share these volatile, radical ideas among themselves. Today, through social media, that discourse is rapidly reaching the masses. The following is the comprehensive compilation of the speech I delivered inside that hall:

Introduction

"Let Sanatana Fall! Let Social Justice Triumph!"

Greetings to everyone gathered here!

There was a time when I used to thunder from the platforms of the Makkal Kalai Ilakkiya Kazhagam across Tamil Nadu under the pen name Tamilmani, roaring against the ruling class. After a long hiatus, I find myself back on a revolutionary stage in this historic soil of Trichy—the very land where I cut my political teeth. I extend my deepest fraternal gratitude to Comrade Kovan, the State General Secretary of MKIK, and the members of the leadership committee for honoring me with this opportunity.

P.Sekar, Advocate

Comrades, the entire Indian subcontinent is locked in a fierce debate over 'Sanatana'. I must take this progressive platform to register my heartfelt appreciation for the Leader of the Opposition, Udhayanidhi Stalin. Despite losing power in the recently concluded elections, he did not display a shred of defeatism. Instead, on the very first day of the legislative assembly session, he stood tall and resolutely proclaimed, "We shall eradicate Sanatana!" By doing so, he has breathed fresh lease of life into the core Dravidian ideology of anti-Sanatana resistance.

What is Sanatana?

Now, comrades... everyone is talking about Sanatana. But what exactly is Sanatana?

The conservative pandits and apologists define it as: "That which has no beginning and no end; that which is birthless and deathless; that which is immutable, indestructible, and eternally constant." > One infinite, eternal, changeless existence is called Sanatana.

If you confront today's right-wing politicians and Sanatana mercenaries to pinpoint what this 'unchanging, immortal entity' actually means in reality, each cooks up a bizarre, self-serving definition to suit their opportunism.

If you ask Kushboo, she claims, “Wearing a bindi and putting flowers in your hair is Sanatana.” If you ask singer Anitha Kuppusamy, she claims, “Sprinkling water and drawing a kolam—specifically with rice flour—in front of the house is Sanatana.” At least these individuals stretch their imagination to utter some incoherent nonsense.

Then there are those who strategically 'rent' the late poet Kannadasan to defend Sanatana. What do they quote from him?

“A mother’s selfless love, feeding the hungry, forgiving the one who hates you, being calm like Shiva, smiling through adversity like Krishna, conquering desires like Buddha”—this, they claim, is Sanatana!

And the latest addition to this absurdity is our Tamizhisaika (Dr. Tamilisai Soundararajan). Recently, she smeared holy ash (vibhuthi) on Minister Vanniyarasu like a maternal figure and instantly spun a new narrative: “The motherly love behind smearing this holy ash is Sanatana!”

Comrades! If you take these comical definitions to a traditional, textually trained Shastric Acharya and ask if this is indeed Sanatana, he would spit on their faces in utter disgust!

Comrades, let me give you the rigorous, verifiable historical data regarding what this 'beginningless, endless, immutable, and eternal' Sanatana truly stands for. Note this down!

In the year 1898, the 'Central Hindu College' was founded in Kashi (Varanasi). When it was later upgraded into the 'Banaras Hindu University' (BHU) in 1916, a foundational textbook was officially prescribed. Do you know the name of that book?

"An Elementary Sanatana Dharma: Hindu Religion and Ethics".

This textbook, originally preserved in the University of California library, was digitized and archived by Microsoft in 2007. What does this authentic document explicitly state?

“Sanatana Dharma is that code of life given to humanity thousands of years ago, solely based on the Vedas and sacred texts.”

Historically, during that era, neither the nomenclature 'Hindu Religion' nor the geopolitical entity called 'India' existed. It was purely an 'Aryan Religion' anchored in an Aryan racial construct, and the land was called 'Aryavarta'! This is the unvarnished historical truth!

The Roots of Sanatana Sustained through Rituals

What constitutes the foundation of this Sanatana Dharma?

The four Vedas, categorized as Shrutis, form the absolute foundation.

The 18 Smritis—including Yajnavalkya, Parasara, Narada, and Manu—are the structural walls that prop up Sanatana. Among these, the wall called Manusmriti is exceptionally rigid and formidable. 

The 18 Puranas and the two Epics (Ramayana and Mahabharata) serve as the external buttresses securing these walls.

The legal codification of our daily existential duties is what comprises the Manusmriti Shastra! Whatever is decreed within the Manusmriti is what constitutes genuine Sanatana. Everything else uttered by modern apologists falls completely outside its purview.

Spanning 12 chapters and containing 2,685 verses composed somewhere between the 2nd century BCE and the 2nd century CE, this code continues to actively breathe inside our households today. Looking at this longevity, a chilling doubt crosses our minds: is Sanatana truly indestructible?

How does it manage to persist seamlessly in our contemporary lives? It survives precisely through the domestic rituals, superstitious customs, and practices of ceremonial pollution ( தீட்டு) injected into our families! From menstruation, weddings, baby showers, naming ceremonies, tonsuring, housewarming parties, to death, funerals, and annual death anniversaries (thithi)—we are blindly executing exactly what Manu decreed centuries ago!

Many of us have never read Manu. Yet, how do we practice it so flawlessly without reading it? Because it is systematically spoon-fed to us from childhood under the benign mask of "tradition and cultural habit"!

Why were these endless rituals engineered in the first place? It is a calculated system of economic exploitation devised by the Brahmin priesthood to secure their perennial revenue and professional monopoly!

Priesthood, comrades, is a highly lucrative corporate factory! It operates not on a 'work from home' model, but on a 'work from others' home' basis—accumulating massive wealth through the existential vulnerabilities of others. 

They weaponize fear: “If you skip this ritual, it will ruin your family; it will curse your lineage.” They manipulate you into taking high-interest debts just to perform elaborate funeral rites and annual obsequies.

The core life-force of Sanatana resides entirely within this industry of priesthood! When the forces of Sanatana are aggressively dismantling public sector enterprises to safeguard their hegemony, why shouldn't we systematically dismantle the priestly profession to eradicate Sanatana? The responsibility to sever these ritualistic Sanatana roots creeping inside our living rooms rests squarely on our own shoulders.

Look at the film Shyam Singha Roy. When a Brahmin priest rabidly defends the oppressive Devadasi system, the protagonist violently hurls him into the ceremonial fire, roaring: “You burn widowed women alive in the name of Sati; now go ahead and burn to death in this very fire!” Similarly, the Brahmin priests who orchestrate casteist cleansing rituals in the name of housewarmings (Grahapravesam) and temple consecrations (Kumbhabhishekam) must not only be prosecuted under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act but must be physically driven away from these venues before they initiate the ritual.

Let us call a spade a spade: a housewarming ritual is fundamentally an act of untouchability! The rationale behind it is that during construction, 'Chandala' laborers—meaning the Parayar and other Dalit working-class communities—would have touched the structure, thereby polluting it. To 'cleanse' this supposed pollution, cow urine (gomiyam) is sprayed. Even in the late 1940s, certain reactionary films featured dining and feast scenes where characters openly spewed Sanatana arrogance, directly insulting and demeaning the Parayar community. Today's priestly 'purification' rituals are nothing but a sophisticated continuation of that identical casteist malice!

To boycott this, we do not require decrees from Delhi or the patronage of ruling politicians. We must consciously abandon these regressive domestic rituals. We must transition toward priest-free, rationalist 'Self-Respect' (Suya Mariyadhai) alternative formats. 

Preparing the masses for this cultural shift is the immediate duty of progressive organizations.

The Untouchability Jungles of 'Oor' and 'Cheri'

The ultimate, most vicious manifestation of Sanatana is caste-based pollution. This involves the policing of varna-mixing (varna sankara), the enforcement of hereditary occupations, restrictions on food, clothing, and mobility, and the geographical segregation of spaces into the dominant village (Oor) and the marginalized Dalit ghetto (Cheri). Sanatana thrives inside these deep-seated jungles of territorial untouchability. We can weaken this monster only by razed-down the traditional 'Oor-Cheri' spatial dichotomy and replacing it with universal, integrated public housing complexes.

Look closely at our history. Under the socialist economic model, the establishment of public sector giants like BHEL during the eras of Nehru and Indira Gandhi gave birth to integrated 'Township' colonies. Similarly, the creation of the Tamil Nadu Housing Board (TNHB) quarters during Kalaignar Karunanidhi's regime, the development of urban integrated neighborhoods like Anna Nagar, KK Nagar, and Thillai Nagar, and the subsequent rural network of Periyar Ninaivu Samathuvapurams (Periyar Memorial Equality Villages) were exceptional structural body-blows to the heart of spatial untouchability.

These state-funded spaces forced human beings belonging to vastly diverse caste groups to live as next-door neighbors. Consequently, the historical caste animosities bred in segregated villages were effectively neutralized, paving the way for class solidarity, trade union camaraderie, and genuine human brotherhood to flourish.

However, the neoliberal economic policies and aggressive privatization unleashed after the 1990s systematically crippled our public sector units. The Union regimes calculatedly liquidated these egalitarian 'Township' spaces. Following Kalaignar's era, subsequent state administrations progressively sidelined and neglected both the Housing Board initiatives and the Samathuvapurams.

Let me sound a note of warning: the working-class struggle to defend public sector enterprises is structurally inseparable from the battle to protect integrated public housing—which is, in essence, the struggle to annihilate Sanatana! 

The state must aggressively expand public housing networks, upgrade their infrastructure, and make them highly attractive for mass migration.

Concurrently, as a strategic counter-measure against spatial segregation, the government must systematically taper off state funding and infrastructural concessions to traditional caste-stratified 'Oor-Cheri' habitations. 

This will economically incentivize and compel people to migrate toward modern, egalitarian, integrated townships.

The 'No-Caste' Classification

Finally, we must break the ideological leg of Sanatana. I utilize this platform to propose a concrete, radical alternative model to achieve this.

We must consolidate individuals who opt for inter-caste marriages and citizens who voluntarily renounce their caste identities into a legally recognized, distinct institutional category called the "No Caste Category" (சாதியற்றோர் தனிப் பட்டியல்). Telangana has already pioneered a template for this, where roughly 3.4% of the population has officially registered under a 'No-Caste' classification.

Citizens opting into this 'No-Caste' registry must be granted a dedicated, exclusive quota within education and public employment! While we must fiercely implement caste-based proportional reservation to match current population metrics, we must simultaneously institute this 'No-Caste' separate list and distinct allotment to incentivize the systemic dissolution of caste. To lay the empirical groundwork for this, the Government of Tamil Nadu must immediately execute a comprehensive state-wide Caste Census.

Comrades! Boycotting priests in our domestic lives, obliterating the 'Oor-Cheri' residential apartheid, and enforcing a 'No-Caste' statutory category are monumental, grueling challenges. 

But if we look at this as a long-term war to eradicate Sanatana, we must commence our march this very day, from this historic soil of Trichy! Let us forge these demands into our central ideological slogans and make them echo loud enough to pierce the ears of the Ministry of Social Welfare!

We can achieve this, comrades! Yes, we can! Just like the ancient anti-Vedic Siddhars, Mahatma Jyotirao Phule, Vallalar, Babasaheb Ambedkar, Thanthai Periyar, and Muthamizharignar Kalaignar—we possess the ideological lineage to chop down the roots of Sanatana. The weapons currently available in our hands might look like small, modest knives; let us wield them regardless! As we sharpen them on the anvil of field struggles, they will transform into mighty battle-axes. When that day arrives, the total uprooting of Sanatana—along with its deeply entrenched soil—is historically inevitable!

Let me conclude with one final observation. Atrocities like the horrific caste-poisoning witnessed in Vengaivayal can be structurally prevented only through the aggressive expansion of integrated public housing.

Furthermore, the masses must completely marginalize and cast away the caste-mobilizing political outfits that mushroomed post the 1990s. It is only when the working class rallies behind Marxist-Leninist revolutionary organizations that endogamy (சாதிய அகமண முறை) will crumble, paving the way for smooth, mass inter-community marriages (புறமண முறை).

Only when the masses mobilize under a revolutionary banner will Tamil Nadu cease to produce battlegrounds of caste fanaticism like Naikkankottai—the toxic laboratory that consumed the lives of Ilavarasan and Divya. Instead, this soil will transform into a network of egalitarian communes, reminiscent of the glorious class uprisings led by Comrades Appu and Balan!

The annihilation of caste envisioned by Babasaheb Ambedkar can be actualized only by politically fortifying the Naxalbari politics of this country! With this firm conviction, I take your leave.

Long live the anti-Sanatana struggle! Let the spirit of Naxalbari reverberate across the nation!

Thank you. Vanakkam!

Click here to listen to the full speech:

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1Cipxng5sL/

P. Sekar

Advocate

From Clans to Caste Abolition: How to Sever the Sanatana Roots of Caste and Untouchability?

1. Global History and the Indian Deviation (The Historical Paradox)

Across the world, human society underwent a natural evolutionary trajectory before transforming into modern civilizations. Humans, wandering as hunter-gatherers in forests, initially organized themselves into 'clans' based on blood relations. With the introduction of agriculture and pastoralism, several clans integrated to form larger 'tribes'.

As trade, urbanization, and agriculture flourished, these rigid tribal boundaries of blood relations dissolved. People united on the basis of shared language and geography, evolving into a unified collective—a civil society or a nation. 

In short, the identity of tribal clans faded, giving birth to the universal identity of a 'citizen'.

However, in India, despite the existence of similar tribal republics during the Indus Valley civilization and early historical periods, this natural course of social evolution was halted upon the infiltration of the Aryan Varnasrama framework. Instead of merging into a broader collective nationhood, these tribes shrank inward, fossilizing into 'castes'.

The primary catalyst for this historical mutation, as highlighted by Dr. B.R. Ambedkar and Marxist scholars, is the iron wall of Endogamy (marrying strictly within one’s own group). Globally, inter-tribal marriages (Exogamy) were the key drivers that dissolved tribal boundaries and merged communities. However, to prevent Varna mixing, Manusmriti institutionalized endogamy as a rigid, inviolable law. Consequently, tribal clans were blocked from mingling, becoming permanently ossified into fragmented caste pieces.

2. The Production of 'Sankara Jatas' (Mixed Castes) and the Genesis of Untouchability

How did occupation become fixed by birth in India? How did untouchability emerge? The answer lies in the theoretical conspiracy of Sanatana Manusmriti regarding 'Sankara Jatas' (Mixed Castes).

The Varnasrama system did not stop at merely creating the four primary Varnas. It classified the offspring born out of marriages that violated the Varna order as 'Sankara Jatas'.

• Anuloma: Children born to a higher-Varna man and a lower-Varna woman.

• Pratiloma: Children born to a lower-Varna man and a higher-Varna woman (which Manusmriti condemned as the gravest sin).

Through generations of subsequent permutations and inter-mixing among these original mixed lineages, thousands of distinct, segregated castes—including Paraiyar, Navithar, Aasari, and Chakkiliyar—were produced across India.

To each of these newly manufactured caste segments, the Sanatana feudal structure forcefully allocated specific, unalterable occupations determined strictly by birth. Activities like weaving, leather-tanning, and scavenging were transformed into hereditary birthrights. This division completely denied class mobility; humans were permanently shackled to their prescribed labor, and some among them were turned into hereditary wage slaves.

According to Manusmriti, the descendants of these 'Sankara Jatas', born in violation of Varna codes, were deemed unfit to reside within the mainstream village limits. This gave rise to the spatial and geographical violence in Indian villages—the physical segregation of 'the main village' (Oor) and 'the ghetto' (Cheri). 

They were forced to live in marginalized, isolated outskirts.

Among those banished outside the village, those born out of the forbidden Pratiloma order—specifically the Chandala (Paraiyar) lineages born to a lower-Varna man and a Brahmin woman—were branded as 'Untouchables'. Cruel mandates dictated that even their shadows or the air passing over them must not taint the upper Varnas. This marks the historical genesis of 'Untouchability'—the ultimate curse of Indian society.

This is precisely why the Marxist historian D.D. Kosambi accurately observed: "Caste is the integration of various tribes into a class society, or rather, it is a state of stagnation where tribes could not mature into a class society but were absorbed as castes within the Sanatana feudal framework."

3. Breaking the Spatial Segregation: How Modern Cities Flattened the 'Oor' and 'Cheri'

As long as the physical structure of 'Oor - Cheri' persists in India, caste and untouchability will continue to survive in one form or another. In a rural feudal setup, a person’s residential location instantly betrays their caste identity. To shatter this discriminatory geography, India’s modern public sector and the Dravidian policy framework introduced a monumental spatial solution.

When Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) were established across India, the residential 'Townships' built alongside them rattled the physical walls of caste for the first time. In these spaces, managers, workers, and individuals from vastly diverse caste backgrounds lived side by side based entirely on their official institutional ranks, leaving no room for traditional caste hierarchies.

In Tamil Nadu, this social engineering was propelled to the next level by Muthamizh Arignar Kalaignar Karunanidhi. The planned modern urban layouts he envisioned—such as K.K. Nagar, Thillai Nagar, and Anna Nagar—along with the public housing developments of the Tamil Nadu Housing Board (TNHB), created completely caste-neutral living spaces.

Above all, the 'Periyar Memorial Samathuvapurams' (Equality Villages) initiated by Kalaignar stand out as historic revolutionary bastions, constructed via state authority to dismantle the oppressive geography of caste. By offering identical houses, shared public pathways, and a common water overhead tank, the Dravidian model brought diverse communities together to live as neighbors. Such systemic arrangements will put a definitive end to horrific discriminatory atrocities like Vengavayal.

The Transformative Impacts of Spatial Integration:

• Living in close proximity prompted people to interact naturally across caste lines.

• In times of crisis, a sense of working-class solidarity emerged, bypassing caste prejudices to offer mutual aid.

• It paved the way for mutual understanding, enabling neighbors to participate in each other’s life events, joys, and sorrows.

• This physical proximity laid the foundation for cross-caste friendships, natural self-choice marriages among the younger generation, and the collective celebration of common festivals and cultural events.

The Disaster of the New Economic Policy:

However, the onset of the 'New Economic Policy' and aggressive privatization in the 1990s crippled public sector institutions, subsequently dismantling these progressive industrial townships. 

Following Kalaignar's era, progressive housing projects like the Housing Board developments (TNHB) and Samathuvapurams were not pursued with the same revolutionary vigor by successive administrations, leading to their stagnation. 

Therefore, we must persistently enforce state-led interventions to bring about these spatial and residential transformations. 

Modern, integrated public housing complexes must be developed and equipped with top-tier infrastructure. We must create material conditions that incentivize people confined within oppressive rural setups to abandon those Sanatana habitats and migrate toward these modern, egalitarian housing complexes.

Only when the physical layout of 'Oor and Cheri' is rendered obsolete and deserted will the material roots of caste and untouchability be physically uprooted and demolished!

4. The Two-Pronged Strategy for Caste Abolition: A Theoretical Proposal

While restructuring living spaces is crucial, permanently breaking the ideological and economic pillars of caste necessitates a Comprehensive Caste Census that captures all nuanced demographic realities. Based on such data, we propose this two-pronged strategy as a long-term focal point for public discourse:

Proposal 1: Proportional Caste-Based Reservation

The absolute remedy to the resentment, jealousy, and vitriol directed by various communities against each other—under the pretext of unfair opportunity distribution—is Proportional Representation based on population.

According to a meticulous caste census, reservation quotas should be allocated strictly in proportion to population strength for all categories, including the Open Category (OC), Backward Classes (BC), Scheduled Castes (SC), and Scheduled Tribes (ST). By partitioning 100% of seats and opportunities strictly according to demographic proportions, no community can usurp the share of another, eliminating inter-caste animosity. Since competition will be confined within each respective category's pool, quota-based friction will vanish completely. Furthermore, if allied castes wish to integrate into a single collective pool, they can do so; otherwise, they can claim their shares as distinct, individual groups.

Proposal 2: A 'No Caste' Category

A distinct "No Caste Category" must be instituted, comprising children of inter-caste marriages and individuals who voluntarily renounce their caste identity, along with a dedicated quota for them.

• Direct Incentive for Caste Abolition: When a concrete material reality is established—where renouncing caste guarantees children a secure, dedicated quota in public education and employment under the 'No Caste' pool—the middle class will actively discard their caste identities to safeguard their children’s economic future. Caste will gradually lose its social utility, shrink, and wither away.

Solution to Administrative Challenges

To prevent dominant groups from deceptively claiming 'No Caste' status to usurp benefits meant for those striving to eradicate caste, robust socio-legal safeguards must be mandated. 

The comprehensive strategy we articulate today offers an enduring solution. On one hand, it pacifies immediate social frictions through fair, proportional distribution; on the other, it drives a monumental exercise in Social Engineering by incentivizing individuals via integrated housing and a 'No Caste' registry to evolve into modern, casteless citizens.

This is the ultimate intersection where the caste abolition vision of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar and the social justice dreams of Thanthai Periyar converge!

Regimes may rise and fall, but this long-term theoretical discourse on the annihilation of caste must endure!

P.Sekar

Advocate

Understanding Sanatana: Part-3. From Past to Present

Code of Conduct and Hinduism

For many of the world’s primary religions, a specific single holy book serves as the foundation to prescribe the way of life—that is, the duties—for the individuals who follow it. For instance, the Holy Bible guides Christianity, and the Holy Quran guides Islam.

However, when it comes to Hinduism, is there any such single text? The answer is no. A colossal array of texts, including the four Vedas, 18 primary Dharma Shastras (Smritis), 18 Puranas, two Epics (the Ramayana and the Mahabharata), and the Bhagavad Gita as a supplementary text, is cited as the background of Hinduism.

Manusmriti: The Law of the Hindus

It is practically impossible for an ordinary Hindu to read this vast multitude of texts and practice the daily life duties prescribed within them (where Dharma translates directly to duty). Therefore, out of the 18 Dharma Shastras written based on the Vedas to address religious duties and philosophies, one stands out: the 'Manu Dharma Shastra' (Manusmriti). It is no exaggeration to say that this text systematically structures the Varnasrama social order and defines the laws and justice governing Hindu life.

In the context of Tamil Nadu, Sanatana proponents later conveniently appropriated and added the Saivite and Vaishnavite texts that emerged during the Bhakti literature era into this list.

Nevertheless, to uncover the true roots of Sanatana, our analysis here will be strictly confined to the Manu Dharma Shastra.

Historical Critiques and Resistance Through Art

The critique of Manusmriti is nothing new to us. Long before this, countless social justice crusaders like Mahatma Jotirao Phule, Babasaheb Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, and Thanthai Periyar rigorously analyzed and dismantled Manusmriti, contextualizing it with the ground realities of their times. The reason behind their intense ideological battle was the systemic inequality, discrimination, and untouchability institutionalized within society through this very text.

While the writings of these thinkers formed one front, various art forms have also posed severe challenges to this framework:

• Literature: Novels like Mulk Raj Anand’s 'Untouchable'.

• Theatre: Stage plays like K.A. Gunasekaran’s 'Bali Aadugal' (The Sacrificial Goats).

• Cinema: Countless films ranging from Kalaignar Karunanidhi's screenplay in 'Parasakthi' to the recent Telugu film 'Shyam Singha Roy' have deeply critiqued and exposed the rituals and oppressive structures of Sanatana.

The Persistence of Sanatana in the Age of Artificial Intelligence

Today, we live in an era defined by the technological revolution of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Yet, even now, no significant transformation has occurred in the practical realities of Sanatana. Particularly after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power, vigorous efforts are being made to revive, practice, and safeguard the Sanatana Dharma advocated by Manusmriti in various forms—even resurrecting long-forgotten rituals and religious identities within political and cultural spaces.

Furthermore, in many countries where Indian diaspora communities reside, debates and legal complaints regarding caste discrimination have begun to surface. Caste and untouchability are being exported and globalized.

In such a contemporary landscape, I believe it is absolutely essential for the current generation to understand Sanatana in depth.

When reading Manusmriti, it does not feel like an ancient, obsolete book; rather, it explains the underlying reasons behind many practices we still witness in our daily lives today. It projects the contemporary Indian social structure right before our eyes. 

Shouldn't we understand how a law written nearly 2000 years ago still exists as an integral part of our reality and continues to occupy our collective psyche?

The Structure of Manusmriti

Although the Manu Dharma Shastra was originally written in Sanskrit, it has been translated into English and Tamil by various scholars. The Dravidar Kazhagam consistently publishes the Tamil translation rendered by Komandur Ramanujacharya, which was originally released in 1919. Apart from this, Triloka Sitaram's Tamil translation (published by Alaigal Veliyeetagam) and several English translations are widely available.

The Manu Dharma Shastra comprises a total of 12 Chapters and 2685 Shlokas. Its structural breakdown is as follows:

Chapter - Title / Subject Matter- Number of Shlokas

1. Cosmology (Padaipiyal): Origin of the universe, creation of life …119

2. Education and Duties: Regulations for teachers and students …249

3. Domestic Life (Illaraviyal): Marriage, household responsibilities, hospitality …286

4. Economics and Personal Conduct: Rules specific to Brahmins and general conducts …260

5. Food, Purity, and Women: Cleanliness, dietary laws (permissible and forbidden food), pollution, rituals of purification, duties of women …169

6. Asceticism (Sanyasam): Renunciation and hermits …97

7.Statecraft and King’s Duties: Governance, administration, warfare …226

8. Law and Civil/Criminal Judiciary: Civil and criminal laws, disputes, crimes, and punishments …420

9. Domestic Laws for Men and Women: Marriage, procreation, inheritance, partition of property, offenses, and punishments …336

10. Caste System (Jathigal): Origin, status, occupations of mixed castes …131

11. Penance and Expiation (Prayachitham): Rituals, sacrifices, sins, errors, and atonement …266

12. Karma and Retribution (Vinaippayan): Consequences of good and evil deeds, transmigration …126

What does each shlokam in Manusmriti actually proclaim? Are the rules stated within them scientifically sound or unscientific? 

Are they universally applicable to all Hindus, or are they deeply biased and discriminatory? 

Drawing from my understanding, I intend to analyze and explain them with simple logic in the upcoming segments of this series.

Chapter - I : Cosmology (Padaipiyal)

(We shall meet in the next part of this series with detailed explanations of the Shlokas...)

P.Sekar

Advocate

(Ooran)

Understanding Sanatana: Part-2, Changing Ethics vs. Unchanging Sanatana Dharma

The current political landscape in Tamil Nadu is quite extraordinary. On one hand, voices calling for the "Abolition of Sanatana" are loud, while on the other, defensive voices are equally intense. In this context, a crucial question arises: “Is it necessary to talk about Sanatana now? Should we criticize it in writing?”

Sanatana is not just an ancient religious scripture; it is a social order that has historically influenced—and continues to influence—varna-caste structures, living spaces, professions, education, and even the judicial system. Therefore, understanding it is essential.

Political Shifts and the Anti-Sanatana Front

The support extended by the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) to the new political front led by Vijay has sparked intense debate. Thol. Thirumavalavan, who once criticized Vijay’s political entry, is now discussing power-sharing. This has created confusion within the anti-Sanatana camp. It raises a pertinent question: Is anti-Sanatana politics a mere electoral tool or a principled touchstone?

Aram (Ethics) and Dharma: The Fundamental Difference

Before diving into the debate, we must understand the vast difference between the words 'Aram' and 'Dharma'. 'Aram' is a Tamil traditional term, while 'Dharma' is rooted in Sanskrit tradition.

1. Aram (Ethics):

   Aram emphasizes the internal and external integrity of an individual. As Thirukkural (Kural 34) states, "Being spotless in mind is Aram." Aram is adaptive to time and context. If a previously followed practice is found to be wrong, discarding it and paving a new righteous path is Aram. it prioritizes human progress and allows for change.

2. Dharma (Sanatana Dharma):

   However, the 'Dharma' proposed by Sanatana is immutable. It mandates that one must strictly follow the rules laid down by Manusmriti according to their birth, Varna, and caste. Even if a lifestyle dictated by this Dharma is proven wrong or harmful by others, there is no way to change it. This is why Sanatana calls itself 'Eternal' (indestructible). It is institutionalized and protected through religion.

Thiruvalluvar’s Guidance vs. Shastra’s Restriction

Valluvar warns that a life of Aram brings prosperity, while abandoning it leads to ruin (Kural 32). The ultimate fruit of Aram is happiness (Kural 39).

But Sanatana says, "Do what the Shastra prescribes; avoid what it forbids without questioning." How can we accept Sanatana as right without analyzing whether an action causes harm to others? Aram tells us to live without harming others and to change if harm occurs. Sanatana Dharma, however, insists on following its rules even if they cause harm to others.

Why Should We Analyze Manusmriti?

The core of this debate is the conflict between human equality and a social structure based on birth. To understand this conflict, it is vital to directly read and analyze Manusmriti, the primary document of the Sanatana social order.

In this series, we will explore:

• Every Shloka and its direct meaning.

• Its social impact and historical context.

• Its contradictions from the perspective of modern human rights and equality.

Let us discuss openly: What is humane? What is against equality? All seekers of social justice are welcome to this debate.

To be continued…

P.Sekar
Advocate