Mamallapuram: Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK) president Vijay, while participating in the Christmas celebrations organised by his party Monday, said that celebrating all festivals together was the tradition “of our land”.
“Faith in God” has become one of his party’s principles, because faith sows the seeds of unity, he said.
The Christmas celebrations fit into a broader pattern of Christian outreach the party has been steadily building since its launch. While TVK officially positions itself as caste- and
religion-neutral, its leadership has made efforts to engage with Christian institutions and leaders, particularly at key religious occasions. Party general secretary N. Anand’s meetings with bishops, inclusive Christmas events involving representatives of all faiths, and Vijay’s own presence at church functions signal an attempt to reassure the community that TVK sees religious harmony as central to its politics, not merely symbolic.
These gestures have gained attention because they come alongside repeated assertions that secularism and faith in God can coexist as principles, an argument Vijay has increasingly advocated in public speeches.
Vijay narrated the parable of Joseph, who was cast into an empty well by his brothers, yet
overcame all obstacles to become the nation’s ruler. In addition to saving the nation, he also saved his brothers who had betrayed him. The audience applauded as Vijay said, “I don’t have to tell whose story this is, you know what the story conveys.”
Vijay’s personal identity has added an additional layer of meaning to this outreach. Known
officially as Joseph Vijay, he has publicly embraced this name in times of political and
ideological scrutiny when his minority identity was highlighted by critics.
By invoking biblical narratives—the story of Joseph—without explicitly naming himself, Vijay has subtly combined personal experience, faith, and political messaging. This selective yet unapologetic acknowledgment of his Christian identity, combined with his stated admiration for Ambedkar and Periyar and his emphasis on inclusive Tamil traditions, has helped contextualise his Christmas message as more than a festive address.
On the other hand, Vijay assured people that TVK would protect religious harmony because the party believed in secularism.
“Love and compassion are the foundation of everything. A mother’s heart possesses the unwavering strength of both. Our Tamil Nadu has a motherly heart. For a mother, all children are equal, aren’t they? That is why our Tamil Nadu is a place where all festivals like Pongal, Diwali, Eid, and Christmas are celebrated together. Even though our lifestyles and ways of worship may differ, we are all brothers and sisters,” he said at the event Monday.
On 18 December, the TVK, led by actor-politician Vijay, staged a massive public meeting in Erode. This was Vijay’s first large-scale outdoor public engagement since the stampede that resulted in 41 deaths during his rally in Karur in September.
Referring to Vijay’s speech at a public meeting in Erode, where he described his party
as a “pure force” and the DMK as an “evil force”, AIADMK leader K.P. Munusamy asserted
that Vijay cannot refer to himself a pure force until his party was elected by the people of Tamil Nadu. After the Erode public meeting, an ‘inclusive’ Christmas festival was held by TVK in which the key representatives from all religions participated.
When asked at a press meet about K. P. Munusamy’s attack on Vijay, Nirmal Kumar, a former joint secretary of the AIADMK who joined the TVK on 31 January said, “It is amusing that AIADMK members are responding to our leader’s statements against the DMK. Most AIADMK members do not speak about the DMK ministers in their respective areas, such as Gandhi, Durai Murugan, or Sekar Babu, or about their corruption.
“When Jayalalithaa Amma was alive, they opposed the DMK, but now they have abandoned that stance, and that is why the people have lost faith in them. When our leader speaks about the DMK, I don’t understand why AIADMK people are defending them.”
On alliances, Nirmal Kumar emphasised that only individuals who shared the same beliefs and supported Vijay’s candidacy for chief minister could form an alliance with TVK.
About TVK’s stance on the removal of Gandhi’s name from MNREGA, he said TVK strongly condemned it and that the scheme should be improved rather than renamed.
On reservations for Dalit Christians, he said the party’s position would be detailed in its election manifesto. So far the party has not said categorically where it stands on the issue beyond its general emphasis on social justice and equality.
In Tamil Nadu, a section of Christian Dalit advocacy groups are demanding that the state government provide Dalit Christians an internal reservation of 4.6 percent in the current Backward Class (BC) quota to alleviate Dalit Christians’ marginalisation rather than a proposal for a new, independent quota outside of the state reservation system.
Even if they were from SC backgrounds before conversion, Dalit Christians are currently ineligible for Scheduled Caste benefits under the existing framework. For this reason, a specific 4.6 percent requirement within the BC quota is being suggested.
(Edited by Viny Mishra)
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