Why Pawan Kalyan may be the perfect conduit for RSS to gain Andhra foothold

Amid the nationwide furore generated by the Tirupati laddu controversy, Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan announced on October 3 that he was an unapologetic Sanatani Hindu.

For all those who keenly watched and listened to the Jana Sena party chief’s fiery speeches exactly six years ago, in the month of October, the statement sounded somewhat amusing. Because, Pawan then used to be a champion of secularism, the Maoists’ cause, the people affected by Special Economic Zones (SEZs), and the downtrodden.

Maoist champion in 2018

Addressing a Jana Sena Kavatu (parade) in East Godavari district in October 2018, Pawan had said he had advised Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Gandhinagar that a violent suppression of Naxalites would only beget more violence.

“Do you need Karl Marx and Mao [Zedong] to tell you that there is poverty around you? Along the entire stretch of coastal Andhra, if you touch an Adivasi or a farmer, you will hear the tragic tales of displacement by the Polavaram Project and SEZs,” Pawan had said amid claps and whistles from the audience.

Also read: Why Pawan Kalyan may gain the most from Tirupati laddu row

Trumping BJP at its game

But a lot of water has flown down the Godavari since then. After concluding his 11-day penance for the alleged adulteration of the ghee used to make the Tirupati laddu prasadam, the action-hero-turned-politician unveiled his new avatar as a “Sanatani Hindu” while releasing a document called Varahi Declaration, an action plan for the Jana Sena, at a public meeting in Tirupati.

No political party in India — not even the BJP, the champion of Hindutva — has ever released such a religious action plan devoid of any socioeconomic content. The action plan aims to achieve four goals: 1. A national law to defend Sanatana Dharma against “pseudo-secularists”, 2. the creation of Sanatana Dharma Parirakshana Mandalis at the national and state levels to oversee the temple administration, 3. allocation of annual budgets to support these boards for their effective functioning, and 4. introduction of Sanatana Dharma certification to ensure the purity and authenticity of materials used in temples.

Right-wing conduit?

Those who have watched Pawan closely ever since he entered politics in 2008 believe that he has become a right-wing conduit for introducing Sanatana ideology among the youth. Even Yogi Adityanath, the saffron-clad Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, has not been able to visualize such a radically religious agenda.

But then, this is not the first time Pawan has attempted to release this Varahi Declaration. He tried to do it in 2021 — when he, along with the BJP, undertook a yatra to the Ramatheertham Temple in Vizianagaram protesting against the beheading of a Ram statue — but failed.

The year before that too, Pawan had tried to whip up those sentiments when miscreants had burnt the chariot of Antarvedi at the Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy temple. But both times, the incidents failed to kindle any uproar outside the borders of Andhra Pradesh.

Just the right context

However, this time, the nationwide resentment over the Tirupati laddu adulteration has provided the right context for Pawan to release his Sanatana Declaration.

There are two reasons behind this. One, the Tirupati laddu controversy looks state-sponsored, as the “information” of adulteration was made public by none other than Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, forcing the entire state machinery and party network to swing into action. Two, the global popularity of Lord Venkateswara and the laddu prasadam has taken the issue beyond the borders of Andhra.

These have, therefore, presented the former movie star with a pan-India audience to release the declaration as a cinematic climax of the 11-day penance. Pawan even spoke in four languages — Telugu, Tamil, English, and Hindi — to suit the occasion. Apparently, the script was provided by a popular movie director.

Also read: You can’t wipe out Sanatana; you’ll be wiped out if you try: Pawan’s dig at Udhayanidhi

Will star power work?

But is Pawan really serious about Sanatana Dharma? Would he force Andhra politics to take a dramatic right-turn?

A professor whom Pawan used to contact in his previous avatar as a champion of social justice believes the former actor might be working at the behest of others who have misread the 2024 electoral outcome that has catapulted the NDA — of which Pawan is a part — to power.

“But would Andhra Pradesh become Uttar Pradesh so easily? We have to wait and watch,” he said, stating that since he is a movie star, his message might easily spread among the public.

An “anachronism”?

Katti Padmarao, senior fellow at ICSSR, New Delhi, says Pawan is an “anachronism” in Andhra politics. According to him, Pawan is miserably ill-informed about what Sanatana Dharma is.

“If Pawan calls himself a believer of Sanatana Dharma, he has to answer many questions about his own position in the caste hierarchy, as well as the discrimination and the punishments it prescribes based on caste, religion, gender, etc,” pointed out Padmarao, a philosopher and author of more than 100 books on social justice.

Caste barrier for the Sanatani

“If you strictly go by Sanatana Dharma, as a Shudra Kapu, you [Pawan] are not even eligible to become a politician or ruler. It is the job of the Kshatriyas. What is your view on child marriage and polygamy endorsed by Sanatana Dharma?” Padmarao argued.

“Pawan should not forget that he has taken oath as an MLA in the name of the Constitution of India, which rejects all discrimination referred to in Sanatana Dharma or Manu Smriti, making equality as its foundation,” he concluded.

Padmarao wondered how Pawan, who hails from a state where people always remained religious but never succumbed to bigotry, had become a Sanatani. “He looks keener on widening his voter base and wants to move away from those who stand for equality and non-discriminatory values embedded in the Constitution of India,” he said.

Also read: Pawan Kalyan: TN land of saints; my father visited ashrams in state in 80s & 90s

Sangh Parivar’s perfect vehicle

V Anjireddy of the Guntur-based Acharya Nagarjuna University believes that the Sangh Parivar has, for the first time, found the perfect vehicle in the popular movie star to act as a Sanatana propagandist from outside its stables, and it is bound to have some impact on the masses.

“Though the RSS has produced many important personalities, they have not proven to be mass leaders. Their message has never reached the common man. Now, the Sangh Parivar found a perfect vehicle in Pawan Kalyan, whose silver-screen appeal is widespread among the youth and masses. He will definitely help sow the seeds of saffron politics in the state,” said Anjireddy, who teaches political science.

Mutually beneficial relationship

A section of people believes that Pawan might have willingly surrendered to Sanatana politics to overcome the limitations suffered by the Jana Sena because of its “Kapu caste stigma”. The BJP has not been able to produce any mass leader in Andhra Pradesh. Given the regional parities’ caste loyalties, it is unlikely to happen in the future as well. So, the saffron party might be thinking of operating through Pawan Kalyan, who is desperate to broaden the party base beyond the Kapu caste.

Karli Srinivasulu, a retired professor of Political Science from Osmania University, Hyderabad, says Pawan might be hoping to gain wider acceptance among the public through Sanatana politics foreseeing a leadership vacuum in the state in the near future.

“The inevitable leadership change in the TDP and the further weakening of YS Jagan Mohan Reddy’s leadership of the YSRCP due to court cases old and new may create a sort of vacuum in the state. That could be the lure for Pawan to embrace the Sanatana ideology,” Srinivasulu explained.