India is a secular country. The Preamble of the Indian Constitution reiterated this. The basic structure doctrine also upheld the same. The idea of secularism in India is that the country doesn’t recognise any religion as the state religion. This idea was reinforced by the Madras High Court in one of its latest judgements.
Facts
The election campaigns are in full swing in Tamil Nadu. The BJP and AIADMK as part of its campaign had launched a yatra ‘vetrivel yatra’ celebrating the worship of the deity Lord Muruga. Lord Muruga is a commonly worshipped by the backward communities in Tamil Nadu. The petition was filed to recognise Lord Muruga as the Tamil deity. This is in the backdrop of the AIADMK recognising ‘Thaipusam’ a festival linked to the worship of Lord Muruga as a holiday on the request of the state BJP leaders.
Arguments
The petitioner, Thirumurugan based his petition on a statement made by the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edapaddi Palaniswami. The statement reportedly contained the idea that in Tamil literature Lord Muruga identifies himself as the only Tamil God.
Madras High Court’s Decision
The Court held that “The petitioner may have a justifiable reason to treat Lord Muruga as the Lord of the Tamil Language. It is for him to do so. However, as a state such a request is not feasible for consideration,” and furthered it by stating that, “would cause damage to the very fibre of the federal and secular nature of this great Nation”.
The Court recognised the prominence given to Hindu Gods in Tamil literature, however, singling out Lord Muruga alone would be considered wrong. The Division-bench judge comprising of Justices MM Sundresh and S Ananthi noted that
“seeking to declare one God as the sole representative of the Tamil language would mean that other literary writings in praise of Gods other than Lord Muruga cannot be recognised.”
In addition to this, the Court quoted that,
“The Tamil Language has been enriched by the contribution of various literary personalities. Language has been developed by the praise of God. Hinduism has got its Gods.”
Commenting on the statement made by the Chief Minister, the Court clarified that the statement was in regard to the declaration of Thaipusam as a public holiday. The Court dismissed the writ petition.
Thirumurugan v State of Tamil Nadu and Ors (W.P(MD) No.1835 of 2021)
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