CHENNAI: Murasoli, the DMK’s mouthpiece, has slammed Tamil Nadu governor R N Ravi for his speech glorifying ‘sanatana dharma’ at an event to commemorate the 100th year of the devotional song ‘Harivarasanam’. The editorial that appeared in Murasoli on Monday wondered whether he was the governor or a protector of sanatana dharma.
Murasoli flayed the governor for insisting on the national education policy (NEP), which the paper called “a modern version of Manusmriti”; it also said NEET is a modern version of sanatana dharma. “They are against social justice. The governor is unaware what sanatana dharma is and he should enlighten himself about it from President Ram Nath Kovind, who was denied entry into the Jagannath temple,” the editorial said and emphasized that the governor should speak about rule of law and not rule of Manu.
The governor, while addressing a gathering at a programme organised by Sabarimala Ayyappa Seva Samajam, said, “Sanatana dharma built this Bharat. It was created during vedic times. This enlightened land, this Bharath was not created by some kings. This was created by our rishis and sustained by those who followed this sanatana dharma.”
The governor said often people tended to believe that unity in diversity was a constitutional construct. “It is not. The Constitution does not carry the soul of India. The Constitution is for the governance of India. Bharat was born thousands and thousands of years before the Constitution of India was written,” the governor said.
“Our mission is ‘oray bharatham’. There are forces, which are trying to destabilise and there are forces trying to create internal disturbances. They put on multiple faces and challenge us, within the country and outside the country. We have to be aware of it. Today, failure and defeat are not an option to us. We have to be victorious, and we have to win, and we will win,” he said during the Saturday programme.
“His spirituality is his right. None can interfere in it,” said the Murasoli editorial. “But his speech shows he was trying to portray himself as a protector of sanatana dharma. This overtly shows that he was under the grip of sanatana forces,” the editorial added.
It recalled Dr B R Ambedkar’s take on sanatana dharma that it preaches that god is everywhere, but it treats fellow human beings worse than animals. “Women are the worst affected due to sanatana dharma. If one can read Manusmriti, it will be understood,” said the editorial and dared the followers of sanatana dharma to read it out before the women in their family?”
