New Delhi: A statue of Dravidian icon Periyar was reportedly defaced with cow dung by unidentified miscreants in a village of Coimbatore district in Tamil Nadu following which the local police launched a probe to identify and arrest those responsible for the vandalism.
Citing sources, a report by India Today said locals in Vadachithur village discovered a bust of the social reformer installed at Samathuvapuram smeared with cow dung and informed the police. Soon a team of police personnel accompanied by other government officials arrived at the scene and cleaned the statue with water and detergent, the report said.
A police official said they have launched a probe into the incident and perpetrators are being identified.
The incident is seen as backlash to the recent remarks against Sanatan Dharma stirred by Tamil Nadu Minister and Chief Minister M K Stalin’s son Udhayanidhi Stalin.
Udhayanidhi Stalin, the son of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin, sparked a massive row as he equated Sanatan Dharma with contagious diseases like dengue, malaria and Covid-19, Speaking at a ‘Sanatana Abolition Conference’, Udhayanidhi compared Sanatan Dharma to viral diseases and asserted that the ideology must not only be opposed, but “eradicated”.
“Few things cannot be opposed, that should be abolished only. We can’t oppose Dengue, Mosquitoes, Malaria, or Corona, we have to eradicate this that’s how we have to eradicate Sanatana. Rather opposing Sanatana it should be eradicated,” the Tamil Nadu Minister for Youth Welfare and Sports Development told the gathering, according to news agency ANI.
A few days later, another DMK Minister, A Raja, added more fuel to the controversy by equating Sanatan Dharma with diseases carrying a social stigma such as AIDS and leprosy, adding that Udhayanidhi’s stance on Sanatan dharma was “soft”.
Addressing a public event, A Raja said: “Sanatan and Vishwakarma Yojana are not different, they are the same. Udhayanidhi Stalin was soft in comparing and claiming that it should be eradicated like malaria and dengue. These (dengue, malaria and such) do not carry a social stigma. Honestly, leprosy and HIV are seen as disgusting and rebuked.”
The controversial remarks by DMK ministers are viewed by many as being influenced by Periyar’s teachings who vehemently opposed the caste system prevalent among Hindu society.
Periyar is revered figure across southern India, especially Tamil Nadu.
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