DMK leader MK Stalin who had warned BJP to not try to ‘saffronise’ Thiruvalluvar, is today trying to come close to Hindus
The Dravidian parties, left and Tamil nationalists have a strong aversion for one colour in Bharat, Saffron. If you say saffron they would be joggled as if they touched a live wire. However, these days the Dravidian parties are trying to portray themselves as not being averse to Hindus. But it seems that their new found love for Hindus is only for the upcoming assembly elections next year. Their distaste for Saffron exposes their Hinduphobia.
Senior Journalist Rangaraj Pandey told the Organiser that saffron is the colour to be respected and actually these people can be booked for denigrating it. “Only a political novice or a veteran who can foresee the future course of political happening could do such things. Why is splashing saffron paint or wrapping a saffron coloured towel a disgrace for AIADMK, DMK, DK? Saffron is one of the tri-colours in our national flag. It is to be identified with sacrifice, hermitage and service. It is present in other religions too. In Christianity nuns, students of theology wear saffron dresses. Muslims, who are in Dargas, use saffron. Jains, Buddhists, Sikhs use the colour saffron. It is beyond religion.”
Dwelling further Pandey said “Anna advocated ‘one race one god’ theory. He accepted god. MGR and Jayalalithaa were never afraid of going to temples to pray. They never shied away from showing their religious faith and belief in spirituality. CM Edapadi Palanisamy and Dy. CM O Panneerselvam wears sacred ash and kumkum on his forehead. But why are they agitated over draping a saffron towel or smearing of saffron paint? Had they thrown slippers, or black tarred the statue, we could accept it as a disgraceful act, as we perceive black for negativity, sorrow and to show displeasure. How can it amount to desecration if miscreants use saffron cloth or paint on statues?”, he asks.
“There is no question of desecration. In all such events, police arrest someone saying he is mentally disturbed and close the case. But damage caused to saffron is irretrievable. I do not know why these leaders consider saffron as a shame. Or do they mean to disgrace the national flag on which Saffron is present”, asks Pandey.
Retired government official Ved Prakash cited that in 2018 March at Namakkal, AIADMK cadres decorated Anna, MGR and Periyar with saffron neck band. Won’t it be considered as desecration according to their standards today? Both DMK and AIADMK do not utter a word over this incident.
In another picture, a young woman dressed in black is seen showering flowers to pay respect to Periyar, whose statue was bedecked with saffron jasmine garlands. Was it acceptable to them then? If others do it, is it desecration?
Pandey elaborated “It is the part of brainwashing methods adopted in the state. The Meanings of many words have been distorted systematically and methodically to convey the exact opposite in order to disrespect and demean it. Particularly there are plenty in Hindus customs, culture and spiritual terms which the Dravidianists have denigrated. Ear boring is compared to a lie, tonsuring head to mean a cheat, sporting namam or sacred ash on forehead comes to mean forgery, playing cymbals to mean obsequious, carrying Kavadi on shoulders (wooden arch on a wooden base) to blindly support someone, Govinda Govinda as something gone forever, Pandaram, Paradesi a term to say sadhus (detachment from mundane things) to mean Hindu leaders, jalagreedai or abhishekam to god now denotes a drunk man, and so on. In this list they have now added saffron to mean it is disreputable. The list is exhaustive and now saffron colour has been included. If they insult saffron, they indirectly cause shame to the national flag.”
BJP spokesperson Narayanan Tirupathi said, “Saffron is the color of India and Hinduism for thousands of years. It is nothing wrong if a saffron shawl is draped on an MGR statue, who was spiritual and had faith in Hinduism. But if someone had done it with the intention to create social unrest, that should be probed”.
