At a recent book launch event, Madras High Court judge GR Swaminathan delivered an emotional speech in which he took a dig at the prevailing situation in Tamil Nadu around the lighting of the Karthigai deepam atop the Thirupparankundram Hill, during the book launch event where he was reportedly asked not to light the ceremonial lamp (kuthu vilakku), a moment that, he said, left him disappointed but reflective.
Speaking at the release of a book on Kamban by the Kambar Kazhagam, Justice Swaminathan said he had not originally planned to address the gathering. He explained that he attended the event at the invitation of the organisers through his wife and had assumed he would remain a quiet attendee. However, he said he was surprised to find his name listed as a “special guest” and was further taken aback when he was initially asked to light the traditional lamp.
“I was startled and thought, ‘Oh God, I am going to light the lamp,’” he said, recalling his reaction. According to the judge, moments later he was told that he would not be permitted to do so and was asked to remain seated. “I felt deeply disappointed at that moment,” he said, adding that he nevertheless believed that “a day will surely come when I will light the lamp.”
Justice Swaminathan said the incident stood in contrast to what he described as a moving sight at the event, where schoolgirls wearing sacred ash on their foreheads approached him for autographs. He said the moment reaffirmed his belief that people should not feel hesitant about expressing religious identity in public spaces and described the sight as one that gave him “deep satisfaction and happiness.”
While most of his address focused on broader reflections on values, integrity, and classical Tamil literature, the judge made it clear that the lamp-lighting episode had affected him personally. He framed it not as a grievance, but as a moment of quiet resolve, reiterating his faith that circumstances would change in the future.
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