Try GOLD - Free
The Outpost
Outlook
|December 11, 2025
There is a growing clash in Tamil Nadu between the Dravidian model of governance and the BJP's brand of development
IN September 2023, while speaking at a Sanatana Abolition Conference, Udhayanidhi Stalin stated that Sanatana Dharma is against social justice and equality and should be “eradicated”. His statement generated outrage far beyond Tamil Nadu. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders pounced on him. Several FIRs were registered against him. Yet, to see this as merely an irresponsible provocation or a political gaffe is to misunderstand Tamil Nadu—and the movement that governs it. Udhayanidhi’s words marked the return of a long-simmering, deeply-rooted ideological confrontation, one that predates the BJP by decades and even predates Independence: the clash between the Dravidian imagination of India and the Hindu nationalist, hom
This story is from the December 11, 2025 edition of Outlook.
Subscribe to Magzter GOLD to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 10,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
MORE STORIES FROM Outlook
Outlook
Bloodlines Against Soulness
The Transgender Persons Amendment Bill puts a question mark over the existence and identity of the queer community
6 mins
April 11, 2026
Outlook
Iron Iran
In the fourth week of the war on Iran, the issue has moved from regime change to the territorial integrity of the nation
5 mins
April 11, 2026
Outlook
Chennai Express
M.K. Stalin has succeeded in reframing the political contest in Tamil Nadu as one between Dravidianism and its ideological adversaries
8 mins
April 11, 2026
Outlook
The Discreet Charm of the Glitterati
As a thick mist envelops an abandoned ‘haveli’, a single lightman stands shining a light on an ethereal subject, who appears to be emerging from thin air.
4 mins
April 11, 2026
Outlook
Didi in Her Favourite Shoes
As the political spotlight shifts to Special Intensive Revision deletions, Mamata Banerjee gets a breather—instead of answering uncomfortable questions over her 15-year rule, she is getting to ask questions
8 mins
April 11, 2026
Outlook
The Right in the Left
For Pinarayi Vijayan, who has ruled Kerala's political stage for nearly three decades, politics appears, above all, to be about power: power within the party, and power for the party
8 mins
April 11, 2026
Outlook
"For USA, the Entire Globe is a Chessboard"
The coordinated attack on Iran by the US and Israeli military forces has major ramifications for the future shape of global politics.
6 mins
April 11, 2026
Outlook
Centralised Dravidian
Doubts about the AIADMK's future have grown stronger and talk of the end of the Dravidian binary has resurfaced. Will this election be another watershed like 1967?
5 mins
April 11, 2026
Outlook
Un-necessary War
Beyond Islam, there is the pride of an ancient Persian civilisation that infuses Iranian identity. Unfortunately, the Americans have arrogantly belittled the power of memories
5 mins
April 11, 2026
Outlook
Man of Many Words
Himanta Biswa Sarma was not placed on the throne of Assam's governance. He arrived there, navigating parties, positions and ideological contradictions, adjusting swiftly and deftly as the political ground shifted in the eastern state. What has remained constant is his instinct for power and his ability to stay a step ahead of the politics he helps ferment
10 mins
April 11, 2026
Listen
Translate
Change font size