The 4th edition of Pondy Litfest began on the 5th of August 2022 and concluded on the 7th. The inauguration ceremony included many prominent figures but none larger than Sri Annamalai Kuppusamy, BJP state president of Tamil Nadu. His speech laid the perfect foundation and tone to this grand event, touching upon the contributions of Tamil Nadu in the freedom struggle, the need for revisiting the real history of India’s independence, the dharmic rule exemplified by Prime Minister Modi, Thiruvalluvar’s idea of a moral superpower and the contributions of Sri Aurobindo in the freedom movement and his spiritual teachings. Here are a few highlights of his speech:
- I was there in a small village in Tamil Nadu called Odanilai, a village with about 50 houses, to celebrate the 257th birth anniversary of a warrior called Dheeran Chinnamalai. His ability to take on the British, form an alliance with Tipu Sultan, successfully defeat them once and finally get caught and hanged. Such places are now rudimentary areas in Indian history. We have to now search for these places.
- As the state president of the BJP, I have had the privilege to travel and look at many such places containing some historical significance to India’s freedom struggle. Another such place is Tenkasi, it’s a small village. If you go there you will be amazed to stand in the same land, where Puli Thevar took on the British knowing fully well that he will be captured and killed.
- I am glad that all these great figures of history are now coming out and we’re reading about them. Especially our young generation who were taught a particular history that only spoke of the glory of our invaders.
- Recently I read an article that India is supposed to be a civilizational state but in the last 70 years, we’re portraying it as a nation-state. A civilizational has to have dharma as its roots, it has to preserve its culture. There are very few civilizational states left in this world. India can proudly claim as one of the preeminent civilizational states in existence now.
- There’s not a place in our country that does not have historical significance. Most of our villages where barely 100-200 live have a glorious history of at least 1000 years.
- After Narendra Modi took over as the Prime Minister 225 idols belonging to our country have been repatriated and brought back. Many of these idols belong to Tamil Nadu. It took prime minister Modi eight years to bring back 225 idols and counting compared to 50 in the last 75 years.
- While the Jallianwala Bagh incident was going on in Punjab, at the same time in Perungamanallur, a place in Madurai, 16 people from the Kallar community were standing up against the British and demanding the removal of the tag “criminal tribe” assigned to them. The way it happened in Jaiilanawala bag, the British brought their troops and gunned down all people right in the middle of the road.
- Unfortunately, all these events are missing from our textbooks and I am glad that on this occasion of the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, all these places and people are getting honoured.
- The arc of justice has to always bend towards moral justice. And this year thanks to our Prime Minister lot of moral justice is happening.
- 70 years before Jhansi ki Rani, Rani Velu Nachiyar was the only queen who had taken on the British, got defeated, came back after seven years, defeated the British and ruled for 17 years. At least now train, Velu Nachiyar express has now started in her honour.
- The two concepts of Sri Aurobindo’s philosophy of revolution and evolution as mentioned by PM Modi are of crucial importance now. The youth should be encouraged toward the concept of greatness as embodied in the philosophy of nark to Narayanan to create a maha Manav as propounded by Sri Aurobindo. On the 150th of his birth anniversary when the whole of this country is going through a spiritual awakening and all of us are looking beyond the materialistic life, it is important to take his thoughts forward, especially to the younger generation.
- Sri Aurobindo talks about the five classifications of human nature. The physical, the vital, the mental, the psychic and supramental education. If as a country we develop the fourth and fifth elements, psychic and supramental it will hold immense potential for this country.
- On Independence day Sri Aurobindo said that the day of independence was the first day for India to become a Vishwa guru.
- Not only India has given 200 crores of vaccines but we gave vaccines to 100 plus countries. We have not seen who is a friend or enemy, which country has waged war on us or which country had colonised us or which country has created corporations that have created famine in India. Our vaccines drive is going on the path of moral dharma. Unlike the other countries that have a materialistic worldview, they chose to horde vaccines and want to give them to their friends and allies but India was the first country that never got into hoarding. Our Prime Minister got a lot of criticism from political parties for not keeping extra vaccines in the country but he behaved exactly how the dharma of our land wanted him to behave.
- The former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, mentioned when he came to Delhi that “when I got Covid and I was admitted in the ICU, it was the Indian manufactured vaccine that helped me.” The country that once believed that India will dismantle into pieces is now dependent on the Indian manufactured vaccine for its survival.
- This year 194 countries have officially adopted the international day of Yoga. Ayurveda finding its place across the world. Khadi has hit a revenue of one lack crore rupee. Everything that is associated with India is finding a resurgence.
- Thiruvalluvar used to say “Before a country can lay claim to fame that it is a superpower, it has to first become a moral superpower. Before becoming a moral superpower its ruler has to rule with Dharma. Luckily we have a Prime Minister who is the epitome of Dharma. All the decisions that he has taken in the last 8 years have got the essence of dharma in them.
- Tamil Nadu is a spiritual land. It has 4 lack plus temples and more than 415 temples are more than 1000 years old. It had great saints and kings who patronised art and culture but unfortunately, it has gone through a form of moral decay because of unwanted influences. Though BJP is not in power in Tamil Nadu because of Modi Ji’s dharmic influence many of our Tamil brothers and sisters are rediscovering what the Tamil holy land is all about. This gives us a lot of hope.
- There are two centres that were balancing India’s spirituality for a long time, Tamil Nadu and Kashmir. We have lost Kashmir’s spirituality a long time back, Tamil Nadu is probably not where it should be but it’s only a matter of time before it gets there. When these two centres of spiritual powerhouses emerge, India will surely become a Vishwa guru.
He concluded his speech by thanking the organisers of the Pondy litfest for inviting him and putting up this important event together despite all the political obstacles that it faced in earlier editions.
