Tamil Nadu
Madras HC Asks Udhayanidhi Stalin How Did He Conclude That Sanatana Dharma Promotes Caste System While Hearing Quo Warranto Writ Petition
The Madras HC was hearing a petition seeking a writ of quo warranto to be issued to Udhayanidhi Stalin
In a hearing regarding the petition seeking a writ of quo warranto to be issued to Udhayanidhi Stalin regarding his remarks comparing Sanatana Dharma to diseases like dengue and malaria and calling for its eradication, Justice Anita Sumanth of the Madras High Court sought to know the literature based on which Udhayanidhi understood Sanatana Dharma to be promoting the caste system.
According to a report by The Hindu, the judge asked, “Your understanding of Sanatana Dharma appears to be that it refers to Varnas or the inherent divisions on the basis of caste. What is the literature that was there? What is the research that was done to arrive at such an assumption?”
Answering the question, Senior Counsel P Wilson, said that Udhayanidhi had come to that understanding based on a number of texts and speeches by Dravidian ideologue EV Ramasamy and Dr BR Ambedkar.
Further, he stated that the work relied upon by the petitioner, T Manohar, i.e., the 1902 edition of "Sanatana Dharma - An Advanced Textbook of Hindu Religion and Ethics", published by the Board of Trustees of Central Hindu College in Benares, mentions that Sanatana Dharma is based on four Smritis, including the Manusmriti, which talks about the Varnas or caste system based on birth.
The judge then asked if Udhayanidhi had the benefit of the publication, before delivering the speech, to which Wilson answered in the affirmative, and stated that it is a 1902 publication, available in the public domain, stated the report.
When asked how could the Manusmriti be equated with Sanatana Dharma, Wilson said that the 1902 publication says so.
Continuing his arguments, he said that by relying on the above-mentioned publication, the petitioner had destroyed his case and it should be closed.
Further, he stated that Ambedkar had burnt the Manusmriti because it propagated the caste system and submitted a translation of the Manusmriti to the Court.
Earlier, Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HRCE) minister P Sekar Babu, in his counter-affidavit submitted to the Court, for a similar petition seeking a writ of quo warranto to be issued to him stated that the petitioners had filed the case because they were unhappy with him for recovering temple property and lands worth approximately Rs 160 crore from 'Hindutva persons.'
The three petitions, seeking a writ of quo warranto to be issued to Udhayanidhi Stalin, Sekar Babu and senior DMK MP A Raja, were filed by three officebearers of the Hindu Munnani, in their personal capacity.
The next hearing in the matter would be on Friday (10 November), when Senior Counsel R Viduthalai, would make his arguments on behalf of Raja.
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