A Periyar statue has been allegedly painted in saffron colour in Sundarapuram, Coimbatore leading to a tense situation in the city. A complaint has been filed by Dravidar Kazhagam (DK) workers against the vandalism of the statue.
According to the reports, the incident caused tensions in the Sundarapuram area in Coimbatore after some unidentified people allegedly vandalised the statue of Periyar E V Ramasamy in the early hours of Friday.
Reportedly, the statue was installed by Thanthai Periyar Pasarai 25 years ago, which was inaugurated by Dravidar Kazhagam president K Veeramani. The Tamil Nadu police said that some unidentified people poured saffron paint on the statue of Periyar.
Periyar followers gather at the spot, demand action
As news regarding the incident spread, more than 20 people gathered at the spot and demanded action against the people who disrespected the statue. Deputy commissioner of police (law & order) G Stalin visited the spot and assured them that appropriate action would be taken against the miscreants.
Commissioner of police Sumit Sharan said a case would be registered in the Podanur police station. He added that the police have begun an investigation and are collecting CCTV footage from nearby commercial establishments. We will arrest the people who desecrated the statue, he said.
The local police, along with the supporters of Periyar cleaned the statue and removed the saffron paint from it. Following the incident, more police personnel have also been deployed at five more statues of Periyar and three statues of Dr B R Ambedkar in the city.
From breaking Murthis to Ravana Leela: Periyar’s long history of hatred towards Shri Rama and Sita
Over the years, Periyar has 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’. If Periyar were to be believed, Rama was part of a conspiracy to deny the throne to Bharata, who, according to Periyar, was Dasaratha’s rightful heir.
Periyar also claimed that no North Indian Brahmin ever died in the war against Ravana. He had also claimed that Rama had married other women apart from Sita for his sexual pleasure. He had also claimed that Ravana was, in fact, a Dravidian King from South India. None of Periyar’s claims about the Ramayana has an ounce of truth to them, of course, but he made them anyway. The origins of most of these claims lie not in the Ramayana but in the virulent hatred that he harboured towards North Indians and Brahmins.
Periyar had even broken murthis of Lord Ganesha, burnt pictures of Lord Ram and conducted Ravan Leela.
