Chennai: The Dravidian Movement may be rooted in atheism and rationalism. However, the life of Saint Ramanuja, a leading light of Vaishnavism born over a thousand years ago, continues to be celebrated by the ruling DMK in Tamil Nadu, synonymous with the Dravidian Movement.
On Tuesday, Chief Minister M K Stalin released a book on the Vaishnavite saint, as documented by his late father M Karunanidhi, an avowed atheist during his lifetime. Although the DMK continues to hold its position of being opposed to Brahmin dominance, it sees the philosopher saint Ramanuja as a social reformer as he had led embraced the people from the oppressed sections. “Let this be a guide to improve humanity through religious values, to protect unity and to remove inequalities,” Stalin said while releasing the book which was published by the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department.
During his last years, Karunanidhi had penned the script for a television serial on Saint Ramanuja, which was telecast by the Kalaignar TV, owned by his close family members. So popular was the serial among the believers that the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) had requested Karunanidhi to allow its telecast in Telegu and offered to fund it as well.
In those days at a public meeting, Karunanidhi had hailed the saint saying “Ramanujar is a subject close to the heart of the Dravidian movement.” He had noted that when freedom fighter Va Ramasamy Iyengar made a film on Ramanuja, he roped in Bharthidasan, the poet laureate of the Dravidian Movement, to pen the lyrics.
Karunanidhi had defended writing the script for the teleserial saying the Dravidian Movement accepted the ideas of the Vaishnavite philosopher-saint because he transcended religion and caste, and wanted all communities to be treated equally.
