Stalin stirs the Pongal pot: Is the festival Tamil, Dravidian or national?

Key Highlights

• Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin has officially stirred the pot, declaring Pongal a "Dravidian festival" of social justice, equality, and distinct cultural identity. It is a masterstroke of branding, but it raises an embarrassing question for the "rational" kitchen: Is the milk boiling over, or is it just the rhetoric?advertisementTHE 'DRAVIDIAN' TAG: LABEL OR LIBEL?First, let’s address the nomenclature.
• Is it a Dravidian festival or a Tamil festival?
• For decades, the Dravidian movement has been a master of "cultural eminent domain." By slapping a "Dravidian" sticker on an over 2,000-year-old harvest tradition, the DMK isn't just celebrating a crop; they are planting a flag.
• Why say it now?
• Because 2026 is the year of the ultimate harvest: the Assembly elections.