Why Annamalai’s Periyar tribute is a calculated pivot to enter Dravidian politics

From opposition to veneration

Annamalai wrote: “Today marks the birth anniversary of Periyar, who played a pivotal role in social reform movements and left an indelible impact on the social and political history of Tamil Nadu. In remembrance and reverence of Periyar, who dedicated the greater part of his life to combating the inequalities and superstitions prevalent in society.”

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He posted a similar greeting in 2020, shortly after joining the BJP. “Thanthai Periyar fought for social justice and for the downtrodden. Can’t say it better than this,” the post read.

Annamalai, a former IPS officer, joined the BJP in 2020, became the party’s Tamil Nadu president in 2021, and built his political visibility by attacking the DMK and AIADMK while walking a careful line on Periyar. He repeatedly asserted that Tamil Nadu needed Periyar “for a certain period” for social equality, but needed Subramania Bharati throughout for nationalism. He said he would not disparage Periyar as a person yet disagreed with many of his views, especially atheist slogans.

Did Annamalai take a U-turn?

He pledged that if the BJP comes to power, it will move Periyar statues from temple premises such as Srirangam to public spaces and replace them with figures like Azhwars, Nayanmars or Muthuramalinga Thevar so that the sentiments of believers are not hurt.

In a February 2026 town hall, he put it this way: “I don’t want to demean Periyar. Periyar is a great personality…I accept Periyar minus this, this, this. Tamil Nadu needed Periyar for a point of time in our history. Bharatiyar is needed all through our history for a spirit of nationalism. Of course, I disagree with a lot of Periyar’s thoughts and views.”

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A compilation video circulating among his supporters shows him taking a similar line across 2020, 2022, 2023 and 2026: Periyar fought social inequalities; the disagreement is with specific slogans and temple placements, not the man or the social-justice record.

Annamalai’s supporters argue the current tribute is a consistent stance, not a U-turn.

EVR also called Tamils barbaric: Gurumurthy’s dig

Annamalai resigned from the BJP in June 2026 after differences over strategy, the AIADMK alliance and the three-language issue, and launched the We The Leaders movement. He has said he wants “common man politics” rather than cult or dynastic politics and intends to contest future Tamil Nadu elections independently.

Taking a dig at Annamalai’s latest post on Periyar, RSS supporter S Gurumurthy said the former BJP leader might also add a few attributes of the social reformer to his list of praises, including calling Tamil a “barbaric” language, Tamils a “barbaric people”, the Thirukkural “human stool on a golden plate,” and Silappathikaram a “prostitute’s tale”, along with other statements on communists, the Congress and Muslims.

“EVR also said Tamil is Barbaric language. Tamil’s are barbaric people. Silappathikaram is prostitute. Thirukkural is human stool kept in golden plate. Tamil poets are lazy fools. Communists survive by licking the boots of others. Congress should he destroyed. Muslims are human waste… All these also constitute his inclusive social justice (sic),” Gurumurthy posted on X.

‘A complete write-off’

Tech entrepreneur Vijay Thirumalai called the current version of Annamalai a degradation from what he had seen two to three years back when he spoke to the leader in a closed-door meeting in Bengaluru. Thirumalai said the Annamalai he saw at that time was a “refreshing change”, “super articulate” and a leader who had the “right vision” and his “heart in the right place”.

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Calling Annamalai a complete write-off, he said the former IPS officer has zero niche in Tamil Nadu where voter sentiments are divided between the two Dravidian parties and the C Joseph Vijay-led TVK.

What about rituals, anti-Periyar statements? Ask critics

Critics also recirculated a December 2024 video of Annamalai performing ‘sattai adi’ (self-flagellation) outside his Coimbatore house in protest against the Anna University sexual assault case. Critics say the act, a religious ritual for Lord Murugan is in direct contrast to the ideology of Periyar, a rationalist, and his campaign against religious superstition and blind rituals.

In January 2025, NTK leader Seeman attacked Periyar over alleged remarks on incest and criticism of Tamil, leading to the filing of multiple cases against him. Annamalai publicly offered to supply the book evidence of the claims made by Seeman, while adding that such material should not be discussed in public because it would disgust people. Later he suggested Seeman had gone “a bit too much.” Some now argue the current tribute is a shift from that earlier welcome of a below-the-belt attack.

Why Annamalai needs Periyar

Political observer Dhayalan Shanmugam told The Federal that Annamalai is entering Dravidian politics. The assessment, as circulated, is that he is moving from a Hindutva OBC group into a Dravidian OBC group. He said that although Periyar himself has little direct electoral weight, “without accepting Periyar’s social-justice policy, Annamalai cannot do politics in Tamil Nadu.”

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The tribute to Periyar is also being read as a preparation to lead the social struggles of the OBCs and to occupy space that the TVK and Dravidian parties already have sway over.

Amid the speculations and criticisms, Annamalai’s camp maintains that the line on Periyar has not changed: respect the social-reform record, reject the atheist slogans and temple placements.