Street Fighters For Dharma: How Hindu Munnani Shaped Tamil Nadu’s Hindutva Politics

The past few weeks in Tamil Nadu’s Tiruparankundram — home to one of Lord Muruga’s six sacred abodes — have witnessed significant unrest.

It all started in late December 2024, when a Muslim man from Rajapalayam, accompanied by his family, was stopped by the police from taking a goat and a couple of roosters up the hill to the Sikandar dargah for a ritual sacrifice. Some local Muslims had rallied in their support at the time.

A couple of weeks later, in January of this year, a large group of Muslim protestors clashed with the police, as the latter insisted that only prayers would be allowed at the dargah.

All of this left Hindus, who believe not a drop of blood should be spilt on the hill that belongs to Lord Muruga, feeling concerned about the lack of respect for their faith.

Neither the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), which conducted a grand Murugan conference in Palani last year, nor the opposition All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) stood by them.

Worse, there were reports of AIADMK ally Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) being behind the protests.

A counter was necessary to drive home the point that the hill belonged to Hindus and that any efforts to belittle its sanctity or rename it as ‘Sikandar Malai’ from the present ‘Skanda Malai’ were not going to be accepted.

But who would lead this effort? Hindus are a divided lot, and a substantial section of them adhere to the Dravidian ideology — under which even eating beef is not an issue.

Enter Hindu Munnani (Hindu Front) — an organisation formed in 1980 by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) as a street-level fighting force for Hindus in Tamil Nadu.

While the Munnani’s protest at Tiruparankundram and their call for a large gathering on 4 February drew widespread attention because of the Muruga temple’s religious significance, the history and impact of the Hindu Munnani remain largely unknown outside the state.

Sangh’s Response to Dravidian Dominance

The 1960s and 70s were the heydays of Dravidianism in Tamil Nadu. With their ideology in power, the cadres were emboldened. Mocking Hinduism and making hateful comments on gods and goddesses were par for the course.

Programmes where such utterances were typically made, mostly organised by the Dravidar Kazhagam (DK) and the DMK, received the support of radical Islamists and evangelical forces.

Deciding that the best way to respond was to unite as a group, the RSS formed the Hindu Munnani under the charismatic leadership of Rama Gopalan, a senior pracharak.

Gopalan spearheaded the movement to counter Dravidian rhetoric and educate Hindus about the importance of standing united.

What Sets the Hindu Munnani Apart

Munnani is unique in its openness to people from diverse political backgrounds.

Unlike political parties with strict membership systems, the Hindu Munnani welcomes anyone interested in the Hindu cause.

“You don’t need to be from the RSS or the BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party). We even have supporters from the AIADMK, Congress, and DMK. However, those holding posts in our organisation cannot hold posts in political parties,” S P Asokan, a former office-bearer in Kanniyakumari, explains.

Inclusivity aligns with the Munnani’s broader goal of uniting Hindus across political and caste lines to create a cohesive socio-political force.

In Kanniyakumari district, for instance, the first-generation leaders of the Munnani were often the older Congress leaders — mostly freedom fighters who had grown frustrated with the lack of action from the government and the silence of the political parties in the face of aggression displayed by anti-Hindu proselytising forces. 

A particularly notable figure was Thanulinga Nadar, who famously told then chief minister M G Ramachandran, "If your government does not know how to protect Hindus, just move aside. We Hindus know how to protect ourselves."

Ramachandran was taken aback, but understood the gravity of the situation in Kanniyakumari.

Nadar later served as the president of Hindu Munnani.

Before BJP, There Was Hindu Munnani

“Growing up in the 80s, we did not know about the BJP, but we knew about the Hindu Munnani," shared a political commentator from a village in the Kongu region shared. "The first time I and a few other Dalits entered our local Mariamman temple was because of them. They had organised a pooja and asked me to bring people from my community. That day, it rained, and we felt blessed. I know of similar stories from other villages. Their activism always emphasised Hindu unity.”

Omkar Balaji, the son of Arjun Sampath, a former leader of the Munnani who later formed his own party, the Indu Makkal Katchi (IMK), said, “This is because Hindu Munnani is the pioneer. Leaders like Rama Gopalan, Thanulinga Nadar, and my father took up the Hindu cause when there was no one to speak up for it.”

The Munnani’s grassroots approach endeared it to the masses. Its leaders went door to door on bicycles, bullock carts, and buses to promote Hindu unity. They brought in a local flavour to Hindutva that Tamils could relate to easily.

Giving an example, Balaji said, “Slogans like ‘Vetri Vel Veera Vel’, which the BJP used during its Vel Yatra in 2021, are battle cries of ancient Tamil rulers." Even some of today’s well-known BJP leaders, such as Pon Radhakrishnan and S G Suryah, have been associated with Hindu Munnani.

The Vinayaka Chaturthi celebrations in Tamil Nadu, marked grandly to this day in the state, originate in the Munnani’s efforts. Rama Gopalan had introduced these celebrations, inspired by Bal Gangadhar Tilak's use of Ganesh Chaturthi for mass mobilisation.

The ‘Hindu Vote Bank’

One notable strategy pursued by the Munnani was the ‘Hindu Vote Bank.’

Hindus were encouraged to vote for Hindu candidates regardless of party affiliation in elections against non-Hindu opponents. And if two Hindu candidates were up against each other, the one more committed to Hindu causes would be preferred.

This strategy gained traction, with even DMK candidates seeking the support of the Hindu Munnani.

At the peak of this strategy, Hindu Munnani fielded independent candidates in legislative assembly and municipal elections using mostly the lion as their symbol. (The BJP was a non-entity in Tamil Nadu at this time.)

One such candidate was V Balachandran, who won the 1984 assembly election from Padmanabhapuram. He was projected as the ‘first true Hindu MLA.’

Munnani-BJP Relations

With the BJP’s growing presence in Tamil Nadu, the Hindu Munnani no longer contests elections.

Its supporters work for the BJP during elections and then return to their own activities, which include raising awareness about, and taking on the state government over, issues affecting Hindus.

"Our prime focus these days is on two things — working to get temples out of government control and combating religious conversions," Asokan says. "We also reach out to Scheduled Caste Hindus, who are the most vulnerable to proselytisation, and educate them about how their benefits, like reservation, are being unfairly used by Scheduled Caste converts to Christianity."

Speaking Up for Hindus Comes at a Cost

The Hindu Munnani’s assertive approach was disliked by its political opponents. Its leaders and activists, thus, became the prime target of radical Islamists.

In 1983, S A Basha (a terrorist who played a key role in the 1998 Coimbatore serial blasts) intercepted the car in which Suryah’s grandfather, Tirukovilur Sundaram, was travelling along with a few other BJP leaders and brutally attacked Sundaram.

The next year, Basha attempted to assassinate Rama Gopalan at the Madurai railway station. Gopalan survived the attack, but not without a cost — a metal plate had to be inserted to replace a portion of his skull.

Five years later, when a fatwa was issued against RSS leaders, Sampath was made a target.

Even today, Munnani leaders are the first to be attacked. For example, two years ago, when the central government banned the Popular Front of India, its cadre threw petrol bombs at the homes of Munnani leaders across the state.

Despite these risks, Hindu Munnani workers remain undeterred. “It is the love for dharma and the country that keeps us going. We believe that god is our guard,” says Asokan.

Also Read:

Rama Gopalan: A Fearless Soldier Of The Hindu Cause

His Life As His Message: Remembering Thanulinga Nadar