Udhayanidhi called to abolish Sanatana Dharma. BJP said genocide. Here’s what Ambedkar actually wrote in 1936 — and why the receipts disagree.
Abolish Sanatana Dharma: Genocide or Ambedkar’s Legacy?
The call to abolish Sanatana Dharma went viral again on May 12, 2026. Not at a rally. Not at a conference. On the floor of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly.
Udhayanidhi Stalin — now Leader of Opposition after DMK’s 2026 election defeat — repeated his position clearly: “Sanathanam, which separated people, should be eradicated.” Same words he used in 2023. Same clarity. Zero regret.
X exploded. BJP called it genocide. Headlines screamed anti-Hindu. ⚖️
But here’s the thing: this argument isn’t new. And the receipts go back 90 years — to a man named Dr. B.R. Ambedkar.
What BJP Says When You Call to Abolish Sanatana Dharma
Let’s hear the opponent’s case first — and hear it at its best.
BJP’s K. Annamalai called Udhayanidhi’s statement a call for “genocide of 80% of the population.” His argument: Sanatana Dharma is not just a caste system. It’s an eternal order, a philosophy, a way of life. For hundreds of millions of Hindus, it is their faith. So when someone says abolish Sanatana Dharma, they are targeting the identity of 80 crore people.
Even the Madras High Court, in 2023, noted: “No individual has the right to promote divisive ideas or the abolition of any ideology.”
That’s the strongest version of the case. Now let’s see where it falls apart.
What Udhayanidhi Actually Said — Before the Outrage Machine Rewrote It
In the Tamil Nadu Assembly on May 12, 2026, Udhayanidhi said: “Sanathanam, which separated people, should be eradicated.” Wionews
That’s the complete quote. Not “kill the followers.” Not “destroy all Hindus.” The ideology that separates people should be eradicated.
He clarified this on record — in court — with these exact words: “I never called for the genocide of people who are following Sanatana Dharma. Sanatana Dharma is a principle that divides people in the name of caste and religion. Uprooting Sanatana Dharma is upholding humanity and human equality.”
He also told the Madras High Court that his message was that of Dr. Ambedkar. That’s not a PR line. That’s an intellectual lineage.
Why the Genocide Claim Doesn’t Hold
Because genocide means the killing of people. The call to abolish Sanatana Dharma targets an ideology.
People demand abolishing casteism, patriarchy, and colonialism every single day. Nobody calls that genocide of upper-caste men, all men, or British people. The same logic applies here. However, when the target is Sanatana Dharma, suddenly the rules change.
Also — Udhayanidhi was specific about what he meant. Ideological critique and a call for violence are not the same thing. That’s the basic distinction BJP refuses to make, because making it kills the argument.
Ambedkar Said “Abolish Sanatana Dharma” First — In 1936
This is where the receipts get real. 📚
Babasaheb Dr. B.R. Ambedkar wrote Annihilation of Caste in 1936. A Hindu reform group had invited him to speak. But when they read his draft, they called the content “unbearable.” They cancelled the conference. Ambedkar self-published 1,500 copies at his own expense and sent them out anyway.
His central argument: “It is not possible to break caste without annihilating the religious notions on which it is built.” (BAWS, Vol. 1)
He said the sense of religious sanctity behind caste and Varna must be destroyed. You cannot end caste by just asking people to be nicer. You have to destroy the scriptural authority that justifies it.
That is the call to abolish Sanatana Dharma as a caste-enforcement ideology. Ambedkar made it 90 years ago.
And nine years before that — on December 25, 1927, at Mahad — Ambedkar burned the Manusmriti. The text that prescribed which caste groups could study, hold wealth, or eat food. He didn’t ask for a debate. He burned it.
Was that genocide? Or was that a man saying: this ideology has no right to sanction my people’s oppression?
Ambedkarite voices still get shadowbanned, silenced, and buried online today — just like mainstream media refused to carry Dalit arguments in 1927. Building your own platform is the 2026 version of Babasaheb’s press. (That’s exactly what AEP trains Ambedkarites for.)
Periyar Did This His Entire Life — And Tamil Nadu Knew It
Udhayanidhi Stalin comes from Tamil Nadu. Tamil Nadu has a 100-year tradition of opposing Brahmanical caste hierarchy enforced in the name of religion.
E.V. Ramasamy Periyar built the Self Respect Movement specifically to dismantle that hierarchy. He called it out by name. He said it loudly. The Dravidian movement built an entire political culture on this exact argument.
So when BJP expresses shock at Udhayanidhi’s call to abolish Sanatana Dharma on the Assembly floor, they’re expressing shock at a century of Tamil anti-caste politics. That’s not shock. That’s a performance.
What Sanatana Dharma Actually Defends — The Part Nobody Wants to Talk About
Here’s the section that always gets skipped in the outrage cycle.
Sanatana Dharma in its traditional Brahmanical form upholds Chaturvarna — the four-tier caste order. The Manusmriti, which legitimizes this order, prescribes different rules for different caste groups. Shudras are denied education, wealth accumulation, and certain occupations. Those outside the four-tier system entirely — the so-called untouchables — don’t even get a tier.
This is not a fringe reading. It is in the primary texts. Ambedkar on Sanatana Dharma spent an entire book — and a lifetime — documenting this in detail.
Because of this, criticizing Sanatana Dharma as a caste-enforcing ideology is not an attack on all Hindus. Dalits, OBCs, and Adivasis — who form the majority of India’s Hindu population — are the ones who suffered under the hierarchy it sanctioned. They are also Hindus. And they have every right to reject the ideology that placed them at the bottom by birth.
Why This Myth Keeps Coming Back
Because it works electorally.
Attach “genocide” to any criticism of caste-enforcing ideology, and the critic becomes the villain instantly. You don’t have to answer the actual question — the millions of Dalits denied education, water, temples, dignity — because the debate has already shifted to who is anti-Hindu.
Also: if you convince every Hindu that attacking Sanatana Dharma means attacking them personally, you erase the line between Hindu people and Hindu caste hierarchy. That erasure is very useful when you need votes.
However, note this: DMK lost the 2026 Tamil Nadu elections. Udhayanidhi is repeating this call as Leader of Opposition, with nothing electoral to gain from it. That’s not politics. That’s conviction.
The Takeaway
The call to abolish Sanatana Dharma as a caste-enforcement ideology is not new. Ambedkar made it in 1936. Periyar made it his entire life. The Dravidian movement built a state’s politics on it.
When someone says “eradicate the ideology that separates people by birth” — that is not anti-Hindu. That is pro-human. And it has been Ambedkarite politics since before Udhayanidhi was born. ✊
The receipts are in BAWS, Vol. 1. Free to read. Nobody needs to take anyone’s word for it.
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What’s your take? Drop a comment below and share this article with someone who still believes the myth.
Sources:
- WION — Udhayanidhi Stalin reiterates ‘Sanatana Dharma should be eradicated’ remark in Tamil Nadu Assembly, May 12, 2026
- The Week — Sanatana Dharma should be abolished: Udhayanidhi Stalin’s comments trigger debates, May 12, 2026
- The News Minute — My message is that of Dr. Ambedkar: Udhayanidhi tells Madras HC on Sanatana row, October 2023
- India.com — Sanatana Dharma row: Udhayanidhi brings back anti-Sanatan viewpoint in Tamil Nadu Assembly, May 2026
- NewsClick — Udhayanidhi’s ‘Eradicate Sanatan Dharma’ Call is What Periyar, Ambedkar Sought
- BAWS Online — Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar: Writings and Speeches, Vol. 1 — Annihilation of Caste
⚠️ One correction to flag in the article:
The FIR quashed by Madurai Bench in January 2026 was against BJP’s Amit Malviya (for distorting Udhayanidhi’s comments) — not against Udhayanidhi himself. The article currently says “a related FIR was quashed.”
FAQ Section:
Frequently Asked Questions
Did Udhayanidhi Stalin call for killing people who follow Sanatana Dharma? No. He called for eradicating the ideology of Sanatana Dharma as a caste-dividing system. He clarified on court record: “I never called for the genocide of people who are following Sanatana Dharma. Uprooting Sanatana Dharma is upholding humanity and human equality.”
What did Ambedkar say about Sanatana Dharma and caste? In Annihilation of Caste (1936), Ambedkar stated that it is not possible to break caste without destroying the religious notions on which it is built (BAWS, Vol. 1). He also burned the Manusmriti at Mahad in December 1927 as a direct rejection of its caste-enforcing authority.
Is criticizing Sanatana Dharma the same as attacking all Hindus? No. Dalits, OBCs, and Adivasis — who form the numerical majority of India’s Hindu population — suffered under the caste hierarchy that Sanatana Dharma’s Brahmanical interpretation sanctioned. Criticizing that ideology is not the same as attacking Hindu people.
What happened to the legal cases after Udhayanidhi’s 2023 comments? A related FIR was quashed by the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court in January 2026.
Did Periyar also oppose Sanatana Dharma? Yes. E.V. Ramasamy Periyar spent his life opposing the Brahmanical caste hierarchy enforced in the name of religion. The entire Dravidian movement — of which DMK is a direct heir — built its politics on this position for over 100 years.
External Links:
- BAWS Vol. 1 — Annihilation of Caste: https://baws.in/books/baws/EN/Volume_01/
- The News Minute — Udhayanidhi’s Madras HC statement: https://www.thenewsminute.com/politics/my-message-is-that-of-dr-ambedkar-udhayanidhi-tells-madras-hc-on-sanatana-row
⚠️ UNVERIFIED CLAIMS LOG
- FIR quashing — needs precise framing. The FIR quashed by the Madurai Bench in January 2026 (per India.com) was the FIR against BJP leader Amit Malviya for allegedly distorting Udhayanidhi’s 2023 remarks — NOT a FIR against Udhayanidhi himself. The article currently says “a related FIR was quashed.” Verify whether FIRs registered directly against Udhayanidhi are still pending before publishing. Recommend clarifying this line or removing it.
- “DMK lost the 2026 Tamil Nadu elections to TVK/Vijay” — confirmed by multiple search results (Organiser, India.com references to “voters unseating DMK” and Joseph Vijay as current CM). Treat as confirmed but cross-check final vote margin data if needed for a separate article.
- Exact BAWS page number for the “It is not possible to break caste without annihilating the religious notions on which it is built” quote — volume confirmed as BAWS Vol. 1. Page number not verified in this session. Recommend checking baws.in before publishing.
