The BJP and its earlier avatar, the Jan Sangh, have been repeatedly stymied from registering a significant presence in Tamil Nadu. Its Hindutva politics and espousal sit ill with the Dravidian ideals, enunciated by Periyar and other ideologues, across the state. The late Meghnad Desai, the Indian-origin Labour Party member of the House of Lords in the UK, long ago said gloomily that long before Jammu and Kashmir seceded from India, Tamil Nadu had already. Therefore, the mention of the BJP is a red rag for Dravidian parties, who camouflage their hatred for the BJP with rants against Hindi imposition and Sanatana Dharma as a perpetuation of Brahminical hegemony. In other words, Hinduism is distinct from Dravidian culture. Such a hiatus is conspicuous by its absence in other parts of the nation despite Hinduism being non-monolithic. Hindi and Sanathan are projected cleverly by the Dravidian parties as the overweening facets of Brahminism.

In fact, the Indian National Congress (INC) attempted to make Hindi compulsory in Tamil Nadu (then Madras Presidency/State) multiple times, primarily in 1937–1940 and 1965, leading to significant anti-Hindi protests. These moves were seen by locals as a threat to Tamil identity and cultural autonomy, triggering intense political resistance. Through 1937-40, the first Congress government in the Madras Presidency, led by C. Rajagopalachari (Rajaji), introduced mandatory Hindi........

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