South India, known for its distinct culture and high levels of education, is India's economic powerhouse. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu-nationalist BJP has struggled to make inroads there. DW's Shalu Yadav went to Chennai to feel the pulse.
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00:00 Dasamakhan, the beef hub of Chennai city in the southern state of Tamil Nadu.
00:10 Eating this could land me in jail in some parts of India, at least those that are led
00:14 by the ruling BJP party.
00:16 This is beef, cow's meat, an animal that is considered sacred by the majority community
00:21 of Hindus.
00:22 This is a huge issue within the BJP's Hindu majoritarian politics in North India.
00:27 But here in South, beef doesn't divide.
00:30 In fact, in places like this, it unites people.
00:34 Hindu, Muslim, everyone comes here to eat.
00:37 Nobody has any restrictions on eating this.
00:41 Manikandan is a Hindu and comes here regularly with his son to enjoy a beef snack.
00:49 He says politics cannot influence people's food choices in the South.
00:56 I won't vote for a party that tells me what not to eat.
00:59 Who are they to decide that?
01:03 In a state like Tamil Nadu, BJP does not have the political standing.
01:10 Their ideology can work in the North, but not in our state.
01:16 Tamil Nadu is known for its diversity and social equality.
01:20 It's a multi-layered society, much like the northern parts of India.
01:24 But differences between Hindus and Muslims are not politicised here.
01:28 And it's not just the religious harmony that they are protective about.
01:32 This here is Tamil, one of the oldest languages in the world.
01:36 It's central to the identity of people in Tamil Nadu and there's a sense of pride attached
01:41 to it.
01:42 But people here fear that if BJP gains hold on their state, it could impose Hindi language
01:47 on them.
01:48 And with it, the exclusionary idea of Hindu nationalism.
01:52 Chennai is also a great hub of talent, trade and tradition.
02:05 The stakes are high for Prime Minister Modi in Tamil Nadu.
02:09 After all, it sends the largest number of MPs from the South to the Indian Parliament.
02:15 To boo the voters here, he's focused on promises of economic development, in contrast to his
02:21 Hindu nationalist pitch in the North, where his speeches were replete with religious rhetoric.
02:26 So we don't, you know, divide people in the name of religion.
02:31 We don't divide people in the name of region.
02:33 We want to grow in Tamil Nadu.
02:35 We want to get more parliament members from Tamil Nadu.
02:40 And ultimately, we want to rule the state.
02:45 But the young voters here say that BJP is out of touch with the reality on the ground.
02:50 It would take a major ideological shift for the party to resonate with them.
02:56 I would humbly request the Prime Minister to act according to the constitution of India.
03:02 India was known for its secularism, for its unity and all of that, to give a better stage
03:06 or a higher platform for people of a certain community while bringing down or putting down
03:10 people of another community.
03:12 I think that's precisely why BJP hasn't achieved its goal of coming into Tamil Nadu or the
03:18 general south for that matter.
03:23 Deeply rooted in its culture and yet highly progressive, Tamil Nadu is a complex region
03:29 where religion doesn't mix as well with politics as it does in the North.
03:35 Will Modi magic work here this time or will it need divine intervention?
03:39 (chattering)