DMK's Lifelong Opposition Against Ram Janmabhoomi: A History of Anti-Ram Sentiments
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Tamil Nadu is the only state in India, where Bhagwan Ram is depicted in altogether different manner and in contrast to the popular image all over the world.
On August 1, 1956, E V Ramasamy had planned to burn pictures of Bhagwan Ram. For him, Ramayana was a war between Aryans and Dravids. While Periyar was arrested on the day, his followers went ahead with the plan on Marina Beach.
E V Ramasamy's followers even organised Ravan Leela in 1974. This was a year after Periyar’s death.It was organised as per the written wish of E V Ramasamy. This was obviously in response to Ram Leela.
Over the years, Periyar spread numerous canards about the Ramayana. All his lies were directed towards slandering the Maryada Purshottam. His lies ranged from accusing Shri Rama of being casteist to claiming that he killed and mutilated women. According to him, the Ramayana and Mahabharata were written by ‘cunning Aryans’ to erase the ‘Dravidian identity’.
Major political parties and other organizations draw intellectual inspiration from E V Ramasamy's ideas. They continue to use Dravid theory for their political gains. For example, Ramavataram, popularly known as Kamba Ramayanam, is a widely read and popularly accepted version of Valmiki’s Ramayana in Tamil Nadu.
Kamban Ramayana is considered a classic piece of Tamil literature, which is a translation of Valmiki Ramayana, which is in Sanskrit language. Karunanidhi was always against Kamban Ramayana as he believed that Valmiki had projected Ravana as a demon. The DMK had organized statewide demonstrations when Kar Sewaks were proceeding to Ayodhya. DMK was never supportive and had any sympathy for Ayodhya’s Ram Janmabhoomi issue. DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi had nourished anti-Ram sentiments throughout his life.
In addition to Ayodhya, his antipathy for Ram was evident through his pet project Sethusamudram Shipping Canal Project, connecting India and Sri Lanka. As a staunch supporter of Periyar, Karunanidhi once got angry with opposition to the canal project. He asked in anger in front of TV cameras, “Who is Ram? Ram is a lie. There is no historical truth in an epic that depicted Ravan, a Dravidian as a villain.”. The UPA government, led by Man Mohan Singh had supported his project.
Karunanidhi and his party had been vehemently opposing construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya since the beginning. On December 5, 1995, a day before demolition of Babri Masjid, Karunanidhi wrote in Murasoli, DMK’s mouthpiece:
‘What does karseva mean? Service to God or service to sow seeds of unrest? [And a lady here to lend a hand to this deed?]
They say Ram was born in the Treta Yuga
Dvapara yuga arrived and has been crossed
When one says this is Kali Yuga
It means twenty lakh years have gone by
‘They say Ram was born there twenty lakh years ago. Who saw that, I wonder? Who has written about it? Now by insisting that this is the exact place, how just is it to demolish Islamic history?
‘If you say you want a temple for Ram in Ayodhya, we do not quarrel about that. But if you say to build the temple you will demolish Babri Masjid, we will not agree!’
In this piece, Karunanidhi is seen ridiculing Karsewa as sowing seeds of unrest. Karunanidhi goes on to say how people should believe that Ram was born 20 lakh years back and how it is justified to demolish Islamic history. He even announced in the said piece that he would never agree to the construction of the temple by demolishing the Babri masjid.
Karunanidhi came out with a strong statement when Babri Masjid was pulled down. He blamed the central government for its failure to protect the structure, saying, “For not taking steps to prevent such a dastardly deed, the Centre will have to take full responsibility for what is going to happen.”
His son MK Stalin continued his father’s line. Stalin reached sharply when CBI court exonerated 32 accused in the case. Stalin alleged that the CBI failed to act fairly in the Babri mosque demolition case and that it has become a "caged parrot" of the BJP-led Centre. He said,”
Destroying any place of worship was injustice and a gross illegal act. He said that the CBI, which should have acted in an impartial and fair manner with a sense of caution, 'failed' to do so and "has become a caged parrot of the BJP-led Centre today, which is shameful.".
However, DMK MLA and secretary of its minority wing – S Masthan - offered Rs 11,000 as a donation towards the construction of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya, He was an MLA from the Gingee Assembly constituency. He had come under severe attack from partymen for donation.
However, Stalin’s stand on the Ayodhya issue was somewhat softened in November 2019 when the Supreme Court ruled its judgement. Stalin appealed to all the citizens to accept the SC verdict. He said in a statement, The SC has given a verdict in a long-standing dispute. People should look at this verdict without any disagreement," read a statement issued by Stalin. He expressed the hope that the parties which have been assigned roles by the apex court will carry out their duties. He said, “Communal harmony should be maintained and the diversity of the country should not be disturbed. I hope the stakeholders will take forward this judgement with utmost caution," the statement added.
J Jayalalithaa did not make any public comment on the issue of Ayodhya Kar Sewa or the issue of temple construction. However, her opponents always accuse her of creating favourable conditions for Kar Sewaks. Interestingly, Tamil Nadu sent the largest number of Karsewaks to Ayodhya from southern states. People of Tamil Nadu still believe that J Jayalalithaa had great sympathy for the Ram temple at Ayodhya.
Her affection for the issue was reflected at the National Integration Council (NIC), held immediately after the demolition of Babri masjid, Jaylalitha is believed to have strongly argued in favour of closing the Ayodhya chapter for the larger good of the country once and for all. In the same meeting, Jayalalithaa cautioned political parties against pursuing minorities for votes. This was in complete contrast to other political parties. which were strongly condemning RSS and BJP over the issue.
(Reference – K Govindacharya to Firstpost on December 6, 2016).
E V Ramasamy is the person who propagated the theory of invasion of Aryans in Tamil Nadu. He used to call himself the person fighting for the Dravid cause and argued against all the popular beliefs and faiths of Indians. In 1953, Ramasamy organised the desecration of Ganesh idols. Thousands of Ganesh idols were broken on the given day.
On August 1, 1956, E V Ramasamy had planned to burn pictures of Bhagwan Ram. For him, Ramayana was a war between Aryans and Dravids. While Periyar was arrested on the day, his followers went ahead with the plan on Marina Beach.
E V Ramasamy's followers even organised Ravan Leela in 1974. This was a year after Periyar’s death.It was organised as per the written wish of E V Ramasamy. This was obviously in response to Ram Leela.
Over the years, Periyar spread numerous canards about the Ramayana. All his lies were directed towards slandering the Maryada Purshottam. His lies ranged from accusing Shri Rama of being casteist to claiming that he killed and mutilated women. According to him, the Ramayana and Mahabharata were written by ‘cunning Aryans’ to erase the ‘Dravidian identity’.
Major political parties and other organizations draw intellectual inspiration from E V Ramasamy's ideas. They continue to use Dravid theory for their political gains. For example, Ramavataram, popularly known as Kamba Ramayanam, is a widely read and popularly accepted version of Valmiki’s Ramayana in Tamil Nadu.
Kamban Ramayana is considered a classic piece of Tamil literature, which is a translation of Valmiki Ramayana, which is in Sanskrit language. Karunanidhi was always against Kamban Ramayana as he believed that Valmiki had projected Ravana as a demon. The DMK had organized statewide demonstrations when Kar Sewaks were proceeding to Ayodhya. DMK was never supportive and had any sympathy for Ayodhya’s Ram Janmabhoomi issue. DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi had nourished anti-Ram sentiments throughout his life.
In addition to Ayodhya, his antipathy for Ram was evident through his pet project Sethusamudram Shipping Canal Project, connecting India and Sri Lanka. As a staunch supporter of Periyar, Karunanidhi once got angry with opposition to the canal project. He asked in anger in front of TV cameras, “Who is Ram? Ram is a lie. There is no historical truth in an epic that depicted Ravan, a Dravidian as a villain.”. The UPA government, led by Man Mohan Singh had supported his project.
Karunanidhi and his party had been vehemently opposing construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya since the beginning. On December 5, 1995, a day before demolition of Babri Masjid, Karunanidhi wrote in Murasoli, DMK’s mouthpiece:
‘What does karseva mean? Service to God or service to sow seeds of unrest? [And a lady here to lend a hand to this deed?]
They say Ram was born in the Treta Yuga
Dvapara yuga arrived and has been crossed
When one says this is Kali Yuga
It means twenty lakh years have gone by
‘They say Ram was born there twenty lakh years ago. Who saw that, I wonder? Who has written about it? Now by insisting that this is the exact place, how just is it to demolish Islamic history?
‘If you say you want a temple for Ram in Ayodhya, we do not quarrel about that. But if you say to build the temple you will demolish Babri Masjid, we will not agree!’
In this piece, Karunanidhi is seen ridiculing Karsewa as sowing seeds of unrest. Karunanidhi goes on to say how people should believe that Ram was born 20 lakh years back and how it is justified to demolish Islamic history. He even announced in the said piece that he would never agree to the construction of the temple by demolishing the Babri masjid.
Karunanidhi came out with a strong statement when Babri Masjid was pulled down. He blamed the central government for its failure to protect the structure, saying, “For not taking steps to prevent such a dastardly deed, the Centre will have to take full responsibility for what is going to happen.”
His son MK Stalin continued his father’s line. Stalin reached sharply when CBI court exonerated 32 accused in the case. Stalin alleged that the CBI failed to act fairly in the Babri mosque demolition case and that it has become a "caged parrot" of the BJP-led Centre. He said,”
Destroying any place of worship was injustice and a gross illegal act. He said that the CBI, which should have acted in an impartial and fair manner with a sense of caution, 'failed' to do so and "has become a caged parrot of the BJP-led Centre today, which is shameful.".
However, DMK MLA and secretary of its minority wing – S Masthan - offered Rs 11,000 as a donation towards the construction of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya, He was an MLA from the Gingee Assembly constituency. He had come under severe attack from partymen for donation.
However, Stalin’s stand on the Ayodhya issue was somewhat softened in November 2019 when the Supreme Court ruled its judgement. Stalin appealed to all the citizens to accept the SC verdict. He said in a statement, The SC has given a verdict in a long-standing dispute. People should look at this verdict without any disagreement," read a statement issued by Stalin. He expressed the hope that the parties which have been assigned roles by the apex court will carry out their duties. He said, “Communal harmony should be maintained and the diversity of the country should not be disturbed. I hope the stakeholders will take forward this judgement with utmost caution," the statement added.
J Jayalalitha:
J Jayalalithaa did not make any public comment on the issue of Ayodhya Kar Sewa or the issue of temple construction. However, her opponents always accuse her of creating favourable conditions for Kar Sewaks. Interestingly, Tamil Nadu sent the largest number of Karsewaks to Ayodhya from southern states. People of Tamil Nadu still believe that J Jayalalithaa had great sympathy for the Ram temple at Ayodhya.
Her affection for the issue was reflected at the National Integration Council (NIC), held immediately after the demolition of Babri masjid, Jaylalitha is believed to have strongly argued in favour of closing the Ayodhya chapter for the larger good of the country once and for all. In the same meeting, Jayalalithaa cautioned political parties against pursuing minorities for votes. This was in complete contrast to other political parties. which were strongly condemning RSS and BJP over the issue.
(Reference – K Govindacharya to Firstpost on December 6, 2016).