Razing of Lenin's statue in Tripura - H.D. Raja's comments

As the dust settles down on H.D. Raja’s comments on Periyar statue, some sober thoughts on the twitter post and connected issue will be in order.

The comment was strictly in the context of the near eclipse of Marxism as a political force in India and razing of Lenin statue being symbolic of its demise. The comment can only be construed as the hope that in the near future a similar fate awaits the Dravidian parties in Tamil Nadu.

Now, the Periyar statue is not merely a statue. Beneath the statue, his principal enunciations are inscribed in bold letters:

 ‘There is no God, no God at all. He who believes in God is a fool. He who propagates God is a scoundrel’.

Now, Periyar is entitled to his views and propagate them. The statue with this denunciation of believers was put up, not in front of a Church or a Mosque, but  in keeping with the Dravidian cowardice, in  front of Kanchi Mutt. There was a great deal of heart burn, and a few murmurs. Then, it was installed in front of Ranganathar temple in Sri Rangam. There were loud protests and an attempt to defile the statue. But the statue remains there.

Installation of the statue in front of these two places was a deliberate, intentional provocation. According to the latest census, less than 3000 people declared themselves as Atheists in Tamil Nadu. A minuscule minority enjoys the liberty to trample the sentiments of millions of believers.

Compare what Raja said with what the stalwarts of the Dravidian movement have said. For example:

‘When will the day dawn

when with a cannon we will smash to smithereens

the Ranganathar of Sri Rangam
and Nataraja of Thillai (Chidambaram)’.

‘When you see a snake and a Brahmin, strike the Brahmin first’.

The first call to destruction of temples thousands of years old and pride of Tamil Nadu, was given by Bharathi Dasan and the second call for direct physical assault was given by Periyar himself. Timid, self-effacing by nature, Hindus swallowed the humiliation.

Then, they took out a procession beating Sri Ram with chappals with the blessings of Government headed by Karunanidhi. Karunanidhi in turn called Sri Ram a drunkard.

Compared to this sort of vile blasphemy, what Raja said is but a minor traffic offence.

Muscle power and capacity for violence alone determines the how the media reacts to any given incident. While selective blasphemy is rampant against Hindus, the media retires into reticence conveniently. Poor Raja, defenceless and sans support, media turning the heat on, had to retrieve his words and offer an apology.