Regression Analysis: Why Tamil Nadu Is Suddenly Discussing 'Satan' And What This Film Director-Turned-Politician Has To Do With It

There's been a lot of uproar in Tamil Nadu due to a statement by Seeman, where he claimed that 'Christians and Muslims have turned into children of Satan'.

He made this comment on 2 August, 2023.

Since then, this statement has sparked intense discussions in Tamil media, including both mainstream and social media platforms like YouTube interviews.

While Seeman has been made to give explanations after explanations, many eminent Tamil politicians and opinion makers cutting across party lines have been quick to condemn him.

It's intriguing that no one in the supposedly rational land of Tamil Nadu bothered to explore the history and usage of the character of Satan.

Satan is a minor character and not a personification of evil in the Hebrew Bible (erroneously called 'Old Testament' in a manner of Christian superiority). It was during the period of Persian exile that certain fringe Jewish communities adopted the idea of an anti-divine entity, symbolizing all things unfavourable. This concept was influenced by the Zoroastrian religion's Ahriman.

The notion of Satan was employed to label any community rejecting conversion to Christianity as an ally or descendant of Satan.

Dehumanizing and demonizing those who are different from one's own cultural or religious identity is a global phenomenon. Typically, prolonged interactions dismantle these initial biases, leading to a balanced understanding where each group acknowledges the shared humanity.

However, in Christianity, this dehumanization and demonization took on a theological dimension.

Among the synoptic Gospel writers, St. John is perceived as more inclined towards Anti-Semitism. He attributes to Jesus the statement that Jews have the devil as their father.

Reformist Rabi Joshua Trachtenberg (1904–1959) who studied the theo-demonizing aspect of anti-Semitism in his The Devil and the Jews: the Medieval Conception of the Jew and Its Relation to Modern Anti-Semitism ' (1943) points out:

Back to present-day Tamil Nadu. One should note what exactly Seeman said.

Without caricatures and distortions, what he said was that while one considers Christians and Muslims (in Tamil Nadu) as children of God by default, in reality they (behave as if they) are children of Satan.

So they are axiomatically in the fold of Satan.

In that context, here is an excerpt from a missionary book on Hinduism titled Conquest of India by the Church, written in 1845 and printed and published in Boston:

Recently, Thol. Thirumavalavan, Member of Parliament from Chidambaram, even endorsed the bizarre theory of Teyvanayakam that Nataraja was actually 'Jesus victorious over death'.

Teyvanayakam enjoys respect across Christian denominations in Tamil Nadu. His is not a fringe viewpoint; rather, it's a perspective that holds significant political influence.

With regard to his comments, it's astonishing that no one in politics or media has protested the introduction of a medieval narrative into contemporary discussions.

The absence of anyone highlighting this in the ongoing media coverage and political conversations is undoubtedly a victory for the Christian and Islamic forces in Tamil Nadu. It represents a regressive leap into a time when those labeled as Satanic were vulnerable to the whims of religious extremists.