Analysis | Sanatana Dharma and tale of two opposing anti-Sangh Parivar ideologies

The debate on Sanatana Dharma has unveiled two distinct ways of attacking the 'Sangh Parivar' in Kerala. For the CPM, Sanatana Dharma is suggestive of casteist oppression and, therefore, is unacceptable.

For the Congress, Sanatana Dharma is unblemished by what it terms religious distortions like the caste system and, therefore, is the repository of Hinduism's humanistic spirit.

These differing political arguments also revealed a dichotomy in the way both parties viewed Kerala's greatest social reformer, Sree Narayana Guru.

The CPM approach is articulated by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. "There is an organised attempt to establish Sree Narayana Guru as a proponent and practitioner of Sanatana Dharma," the Chief Minister said, clearly referring to the BJP, while inaugurating the 92nd Sivagiri Pilgrimage at Varkala on December 31.

"Guru was neither. Instead, Guru was a great soul who deconstructed the old laws for the creation of a new 'dharma' for the modern world," the Chief Minister said. For him, Sanatana Dharma meant nothing but the caste system and the untouchability and oppression it imposed.

The very next day, at the same venue, Opposition leader V D Satheesan expressed his dissent. "How can Sanatana Dharma ever be thought of as part of the 'varna' (caste) system? Sanatana Dharma is part of our country's great cultural heritage.

"It is our cultural legacy distilled from our great texts like ‘Vedas’ and ‘Upanishads’. It is the mark of our 'rishi' (saint) tradition. It is the means through which our 'rishis' reached the universal truth," Satheesan said.

For him, the caste system was a human perversion, not the fallout of Sanatana Dharma. "Across the world, the priestly and the ruling classes have conspired to misinterpret great ideas for self-preservation.

"The Chief Minister is now trying to establish that a great legacy like Sanatana Dharma is the monopoly of a certain group of people. It is not. We should realise that Sanatana Dharma is the tradition and legacy of all Indians. It is a dharma that exists beyond caste and religion," the Opposition leader said.

For him, the Guru is the product of Sanatana Dharma. By exhibiting the double manoeuvre of embracing Sanatana Dharma and walloping the caste system, Satheesan was not introducing a new combat stance.

He was only taking forward Rahul Gandhi's attempts to ideologically detach Hinduism from Hindutva. Rahul has unapologetically attempted to usurp the images of Hindu Gods for his party; recall the picture of Lord Shiva he proudly displayed during his first speech in Parliament as the Leader of Opposition in July 2024.

Satheesan's thinking, drawn from Rahul's 'Hinduism minus Hindutva' philosophy, is that outright rejection of the defining concepts of Hinduism, like Sanatana Dharma, could have the effect of alienating even neutral Hindus. "Are we trying to shepherd all Hindus to a particular camp," he said.

The CPM, on the other hand, has approached both Sanatana Dharma and the Guru from a purely Marxian perspective. For the party, Sanatana Dharma is merely a tool of class oppression and the Guru, the most shining example of a social revolutionary.

Nonetheless, Sree Narayana Guru's vision is so all-encompassing that parts of his teachings can be pulled out to vindicate both the CPM and the Congress.

Guru had said that he did not belong to any religion, a line of thought that invigorates the Left. But at the same time, he had said that religions can be used in an individual's quest for truth; the 'rishi' tradition that Satheesan had spoken about. Guru wanted untouchability rooted out, but he was also against conversion, proof that Guru believed that in their purest form, all religions are about love.

Now, the Sangh Parivar project to appropriate both Sanatana Dharma and Sree Narayana Guru has provoked two kinds of political responses. One wants to fully free the Guru from Sanatana Dharma.

And the other wants the shadow of Hindutva removed from the brilliant bond the Guru shares with Sanatana Dharma. It will be these two opposing 'anti-Sangh Parivar' philosophies that will vie for the Hindu hearts that have still not been persuaded by the Hindutva agenda of the Sangh Parivar.