Political calculation behind Modi’s red carpet to adheenams from TN

Behind Prime Minister Narendra Modi rolling out a red carpet to heads of 19 Shaivite mutts from Tamil Nadu during the new Parliament building inauguration is not merely his love for Tamil language and traditions as claimed, but a larger political calculation by his party, BJP, which is still taking baby steps in making inroads into the state.

BJP believes that courting adheenams (monastery) will not just revive the Tamil Shaivite mutts which have lost their sheen in the past few decades but also help the party’s political cause in Tamil Nadu by reaching out to OBCs and other castes.

Though the monasteries don’t enjoy cult status among their followers like in Karnataka, the only Southern state where BJP’s brand of politics has worked so far, the saffron party believes the major outreach will bring people closer to the party.

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While most of the adheenams belong to upper caste Vellalars, their followers are from several communities, including those from OBCs, who also head four monasteries in the state, a senior BJP leader told DH, putting the massive outreach in perspective.

“Our primary aim is to engage the adheenams to restore the monasteries to their past glory. When the PM of a country respects mutt heads, their followers will increase which will in turn revive spirituality. We believe this will help us politically though the waiting period will be long,” the leader said.

The adheenams had always kept a distance from the BJP, primarily due to the Brahminical image it had acquired over the years, and almost all of them were considered close to one of the Dravidian parties – DMK or AIADMK – who have ruled the state alternatively since 1967. The mutts have also been challenging Brahmin’s hold over religious activities.

BJP made its first attempt to reach out to the adheenams in 2022 when its state chief K Annamalai participated in the pattina pravesam of the Dharumapuram Adheenam in Mayiladuthurai as a protest against the state government’s ban, which was revoked later, to the practice of carrying the mutt’s head on a palanquin as part of the annual festival.

Also, the mutts control a host of temples and run educational institutions, besides possessing huge land. For instance, the leader added, the Perur Mutt on the outskirts of Coimbatore enjoys a considerable following among people from several communities, and same goes for other mutts too.

The outreach is a continuous process after the Union Government invited some adheenams for the Kashi Tamil Sangamam festival, and on Sunday, they were part of the celebrations after the head of Madurai Aadheenam established 1,500 years ago by one of the celebrated poets of the Tamil Shaivite tradition Thirugnana Sambandhar handed over the sengol to Modi.

Another leader said a few adheenams were reluctant to participate in the Kashi Tamil Sangamam festival as they feared the BJP will use them for its politics. “But for the Parliament event, there was no resistance from the adheenams, which means they have begun to trust us. We will only increase our engagement with the adheenams from now on,” the leader added.

For the adheenams too, the friendship with BJP helps as the second leader pointed out that attacks against Madurai Adheenam, who is openly anti-DMK, from members of the ruling party stopped after he met Modi in New Delhi. “We need them for some reasons, and they need us for others,” he added.

Prof Ramu Manivannan, Visiting Professor, Josef Korbel School of International Studies University of Denver, US, told DH that it looks like the BJP really wants to apply the Karnataka model in Tamil Nadu by establishing connections with mutts that are primarily caste and social organisations.

“But the BJP has to realise that the social and democratic structure in Tamil Nadu is different from Karnataka. If the BJP goes overboard in its outreach of the mutts, that may even backfire because TN is the last frontier as the saffron party pushes its communal agenda. Placing the Sengol in Parliament is also a ploy as it doesn’t make sense to keep Sengol and impose Hindi as the national language,” Prof Manivannan added.

Adheenams in Tamil Nadu have a rich tradition and are involved in spiritual activities, including bringing out hymns in Tamil in praise of Lord Shiva.

While the Madurai Adheenam, the oldest, was revived by Thirugnana Sambandhar, one of the most prominent of 63 Nayanmars who are believed to have lived between sixth and 10th centuries BC, the Dharumapuram mutt, which was established by Guru Gnanasambandar in the 16th century.