First Sengol and now Nataraja: Will PM Modi's Tamil bet pay off?

A 27-foot tall and 18-tonne Nataraja statue made of ashtadhatu is going to preside over Bharat Mandapam, which is hosting the G20 Summit in New Delhi this weekend. The towering statue is the world's biggest asthadhatu (eight-metal) statue.

From the Sengol at the new Parliament building to the Nataraja statue at Bharat Mandapam, from Kashi Tamil Sangamam to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s quoting Thirukkural at the United Nations – the emphasis on Tamil culture and the Chola period is also obvious.

And also obvious is why the BJP government is emphasising Tamil culture. But the biggest question is whether this is going to pay off come next year's general election.

The Cholas, one of the greatest dynasties of South India, are finally getting a share of national memory, and the BJP, in turn, wants a place in the heart of Tamil people and their votes.

The BJP has never tasted great electoral success in Tamil Nadu. It is desperate for seats in the southern state in the 2024 general election as it has expanded and saturated its electoral coverage in most other parts of the country.

The number of Lok Sabha seats the BJP bags from Tamil Nadu could be crucial for the party that has now been in power at the centre for two consecutive terms. Therefore, trying to highlight the cultural connection matters.

NATARAJA, SENGOL, TAMIL SANGAMAM

“This statue of Nataraja, an important symbol of cosmic energy, creativity, and power, is going to be an attraction at the #G20 summit,” the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA), an autonomous body under the Ministry of Culture posted on X (formerly Twitter). The culture ministry is behind the Nataraja project at Bharat Mandalam.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed the installation of the Nataraja statue by tweeting in Tamil. “The colossal statue of Nataraja installed in Bharat Mandapam brings to mind the elements of our rich culture and history. As the world gathers for the G20 Summit, it will be a testament to India's age-old artistry and traditions,” he posted on X.

Shiva as Nataraja dancing the Tandava is a recurring theme in Chola period bronzes.

The Chola dynasty, which originated in the rich Cauvery River valley (now Tamil Nadu), ruled peninsular India for 1,500 years. During the peak of power, the Chola kingdom extended to Sri Lanka, the Maldives, Malaysia, Indonesia and parts of Thailand.

The Sengol in the new Parliament building also has a Chola connection.

The Sengol that was presented to Independent India's first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, signified the transfer of power to Indians in 1947.

The sengol used to denote the transfer of power among the Chera, Chola, Pandiyar and Pallava dynasties that ruled Tamil Nadu.

The historic Sengol given to Nehru was mislabeled ‘Golden walking stick gifted to Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru’ and lay forgotten at the Allahabad Museum. It was brought back to public memory and installed in the new Parliament building on the day it was inaugurated.

The sengol and vote link was made very clear by BJP leader and Union home minister Amit Shah in June.

Wielding a silver sengol during a rally in Vellore, Amit Shah urged the people of Tamil Nadu to send 25 MPs of the NDA to Parliament. “Narendra Modi installed the Sengol, which is a symbol of the Chola empire. As a mark of gratitude, the people of Tamil Nadu should elect 25 NDA MPs,” he said.

PM Modi himself also used the Tamil classical text Thirukkural and the well-known proverb ‘Yaadum oorey, yaavarum kelir’ (meaning “all places are ours, all humans are our kin”) during his United Nations General Assembly address in 2019.

Even this year at his 'Pariksha Pe Charcha' event, PM Modi reminded children that Tamil was the oldest language in the entire world, while urging them to learn languages.

Last year, youth delegations from Tamil Nadu were sent to Varanasi, PM Modi's Lok Sabha constituency, for the Kashi Tamil Sangamam.

To draw a direct civilisational connection between Kashi and Tamil Nadu, PM Modi said the Kashi-Tamil confluence was as holy as the Ganga-Yamuna sangam.

But that the Kashi-Yamil Sangamam had a political subtext wasn’t lost on political experts.

“Whatever the intention and justification, the idea that it is politically motivated cannot be denied,” said Chennai-based political commentator N Sathiya Moorthy. He pointed out that the participants were from the BJP and parties from Tamil Nadu had been excluded from the event.

HINDU SENTIMENTS IN PERIYAR’S TAMIL NADU

Tamil Nadu is the home to classical Sangam literature and centuries-old iconic temples. But its politics underwent a massive change after Periyar’s anti-Brahmin and anti-Hindi movement.

Periyar’s movement not only loosened the hold of Brahmins on power in Tamil Nadu, but it also heralded the era of Dravidian atheism. The voters turned their backs on Hindi and Hindu.

The two big Tamil Nadu parties -- the DMK and the AIADMK -- are rooted in Periyar's politics.

That DMK leaders believe the decades-old sentiments still have a sway on Tamil people can be gauged from Tamil Nadu minister Udhayanidhi Stalin’s remarks that “Sanatana Dharma should be eradicated like malaria and dengue”. His remarks were backed with even more caustic comments by DMK leader A Raja, who likened Sanatana Dharma to HIV and leprosy.

But this is exactly where the BJP sees an opportunity to score big.

The BJP’s use of cultural and religious motifs like the Sengol and Nataraja statue is a reminder to the Tamil people of their glorious past. It’s an attempt by the party to reconnect people of Tamil Nadu to the state's pre-Periyar period.

Leading the BJP’s charge is its gutsy state president and former IPS officer K Annamalai.

Annamalai took a swipe at the DMK and suggested that Udhayanidhi should continue speaking in the same tone in the coming days and the opposition INDIA bloc would lose 20 per cent of its votes.

He has been vocal on Hindutva issues, including the recent Chidambaram temple row.

He accused the Tamil Nadu government of trying to destroy religious practices followed in the 1000-year-old Sri Natarajar Temple in Chidambaram town.

Hindus form 87.6 per cent of Tamil Nadu's population, according to the 2011 Census.

But the big question, will this help the BJP gain a foothold in the southern state dominated by Dravidian politics?

The BJP’s poll performance in Tamil Nadu hasn’t been worth any mention. Whatever it managed in terms of seats, it did so piggybacking the AIADMK.

Recently, Annamalai exuded confidence that the BJP would go on to win 25 of the 39 Lok Sabha seats in the 2024 election.

With lackluster performances earlier in Tamil Nadu, the BJP can only gain. What remains to be seen is if it is able to connect with Tamils, with the sengol and Nataraja, and translate those emotions into votes.