Chennai: On several occasions before 2016, Sebastian Simon, better known as Seeman, had praised social reformer Periyar for liberating the non-Brahmins from the clutches of the caste system. “If I am here on the stage to address you all, it is because of Periyar and his ideology,” the Naam Tamilar Katchi (NTK) leader, a Nadar by caste and Christian by faith, said at one of his party’s public meetings in March 2015.
Today, the film-director-turned politician faces over 50 cases for his provocative statements on Periyar. In his ploy to seemingly pit Tamil nationalism and pride against the broader Dravidian identity, Seeman has found support from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
So, what explains this U-turn? Tamil National Liberation Movement general secretary Thozhar Thiyagu remarked that the Dravidian identity itself is inclusive of the Tamil nationalism ideology, but now it is being pitted against the leaders of Dravidian parties based on the caste they were born into.
“There is a nuanced difference between the two ideologies. While Dravidian identity includes all of the South Indian languages—Malayalam, Telugu, Kannada which have roots in Tamil— leaders like Seeman pit Tamil against other language speaking people to just counter the Dravidian leader. This is because that is the only way he can counter the Dravidian ideology, since both the ideologies speak more or less the same including state autonomy, social justice and priority to Tamil,” he told ThePrint.
This article is NOT paywalled
But your support enables us to deliver impactful stories, credible interviews, insightful opinions and on-ground reportage.
During a party event in Cuddalore district, Seeman accused Periyar of encouraging incestuous relationships and made scathing remarks for his views on Tamil language, questioning the legitimacy of calling him a rationalist.
BJP leaders, including state president K. Annamalai, and even Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) ideologue G.S.Gurumurthy have come out in Seeman’s support.
On 9 January, Annamalai told the media that he would give the proof for Seeman’s remarks. Later in the day, at a rally in Trichy, the BJP state chief said that he would remove the statues of Periyar installed in front of temples. “The moment the BJP comes to power, all the statues of Periyar, who campaigned that there is no god, erected in front of the temples will be removed.”
Gurumurthy appreciated Seeman for his criticism against Periyar. “I don’t think myself and Seeman would unite in our political opinions. But, as far as his criticism against Periyar is concerned, I would appreciate Seeman for criticising Periyar,” he said at the Thuglak magazine’s 55th annual celebration in Chennai on 14 January.
BJP national secretary H. Raja told ThePrint that it was only his party that had been speaking against Periyar, but, for the first time, “we are hearing such voices from a non-BJP party”. “More such voices are needed in the state to dethrone DMK from power,” he added.
But, political analysts said that such remarks would distance Seeman further from the public, instead of getting him closer to them. These statements, according to Priyan Srinivasan, were an “attention-seeking tactic”, which would backfire in the electoral politics in the state, where Periyar’s ideas still hold sway.
“It’s been more than 50 years since Periyar died, but people still remember him for his social justice ideas. They would not encourage such provocative indecent criticisms… By criticising Periyar, he has also shut the door of alliance with almost all the parties except the BJP. However, the BJP would only look at a possible alliance with the AIADMK instead of joining hands with Seeman’s NTK,” Priyan said.
Nevertheless, Hindustan University’s political science assistant professor Sunil Kumar said that it was Seeman’s move to position himself as a prominent leader.
“The arrival of Vijay into politics has questioned the survival of opposition leaders like Seeman and Annamalai. While Annamalai makes dramatic protests by whipping himself, Seeman is making such provocative unsubstantial statements against a tall leader like Periyar. Through making such statements, Seeman is trying to position himself as a strong opposition to the DMK,” Sunil said. “However, with no big parties ready to join hands, he might rope in fringe caste-based political parties that are also against Periyar’s anti-caste views.”
Seeman’s NTK had secured 8.19 percent of votes in the 2024 general elections and, in the process, got recognition as the fourth recognised state party in Tamil Nadu after the ruling DMK, the opposition AIADMK, and Thol. Thirumavalavan’s Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK).
As for the NTK’s future, its youth wing coordinator Idumbavanam Karthik told ThePrint that he and his colleagues are free to have their views against Periyar since they are not under the compulsion to support any political party or government.
“We never had an alliance with any political party, and we do not want to have an alliance with anybody. If people want to have an alliance, they can join the alliance under our leadership. We are strong enough to fight the DMK independently,” Karthik said.
Without naming Seeman and Annamalai, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) general secretary Durai Murugan asked the people to “ignore the ignorant”.
Similarly, All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami condemned Seeman for his statement against Periyar. “The matter has to be left to the scholars who have done research on the work of Periyar to decide the facts, and it is a complex issue for a person like me to understand,” he said on 10 November in Salem.
Also Read: DMK ally & TVK chief Velmurugan slams Stalin’s party for disrespecting him. ‘How long must I endure?’
Seeman & his politics
Known for fierce public speeches since his Kollywood days, Seeman is known for unabashedly espousing Tamil nationalism that has seen him coming out in support of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) chief Velupillai Prabhakaran.
To a query on the flip-flop over Periyar, NTK’s Idumbavanam Karthik explained that they have changed their perspective after reading more about Periyar. “Once we have been in support of Periyar. However, over the years, we are matured enough to take a stand and now we feel what Periyar did not for the Tamil society, but for the welfare of the rich telegu people,” he said.
Priyan said that it affects Seeman’s credibility since he is going against his own propaganda. “Today if they can go against Periyar, whom they once praised, tomorrow, they may also go against Prabhakaran. Because, just like Periyar, Prabhakaran is also a multidimensional leader. If they praise him for fighting for the Sri Lankan Tamils, tomorrow they can take a stand against Prabhakaran stating that he had also killed a few Tamils, which is also true,” the political commentator said.
Nevertheless, Nagaland University, Centre for South East Asian Studies, assistant professor G. Chandrasekaran remarked that Seeman makes such a statement to instigate the youth against the DMK.
“The only way he can gain the support of the youth is by speaking against the popular Dravidian narrative. But, he believes that speaking against Dravidianism would fetch him more support. However, the fact is that it would only strengthen the views of the BJP and people would only support the BJP. Tamil Nadu people can be divided on caste, but not based on religion and language,” Chandraekaran said.
Though Seeman has never left any stone unturned to go against the DMK’s Dravidian ideology, scholars argue that what Seeman claims is not a Tamil nationalism
Tamil National Liberation Movement general secretary Thozhar Thiyagu stated that NTK cadres have taken Tamil separatism ideology to counter the Dravidianism ideology.
“Tamil has been the root language for all the South Indian languages. Even geographically, Telegu- and Malayalam-speaking people have been living in South India before the states were demarcated language-wise. So, in the days before the demarcation, Dravidianism was centered around the Tamil language, identity and Tamil pride. Now, to counter the Dravidian leaders, Seeman is taking a diametrically opposite stand, which is not Tamil nationalism,” he asserted.
“Tamil nationalism and Dravidian ideology cannot go against each other. Even Periyar was having Tamil nationalism ideology. There might be small differences between the two, but can never go against each other. But, by claiming Tamil nationalism and criticising Periyar, it would only help RSS, which we are seeing in Tamil Nadu,” DMK campaign secretary Arulmozhi told ThePrint.
Seeman’s NTK is contesting in the Erode assembly by-election, which was necessitated after the death of local MLA and Congress senior leader E.V.K.S. Elangovan. While DMK is fielding V.C. Chandrakumar as its candidate, the AIADMK and the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) have decided to boycott the by-election.
Given such a scenario, Sunil said that it would be difficult for the NTK to secure a decent percentage of votes. “Despite no big competition between the parties, NTK would struggle to secure a larger percentage of votes as he had antagonised people based on their language. A large number of Telegu speaking backward and scheduled caste people are in Erode district, who may not support Seeman,” the political science teacher said.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
Also Read: Ambedkar as ideological mentor, his books as gifts. Why Dalit icon finds a major place in Vijay’s milieu
