Some people attain greatness at a very young age. Some people get recognition after they become old. Some eccentric brilliant minds take ages before their thoughts and postulates gets decoded by people four or five generations after them.
Few people have walked on this earth who have broken the stereotype of academic education being equivalent to intelligence. Some special men have left hallmark of their greatness by being unique and different from other contemporary beings.
In 2001, a movie was made on the great American mathematician and a Noble laureate, John Forbes Nash Jr. titled “A Beautiful Mind”
In 2014, another movie was made on great British mathematician, Alan Turing titled “Imitation Game”
But in 2015, another movie was released, a movie that should be more dearer to us, than the aforementioned ones, about a great mathematical genius of all time, titled “A Man Who Knew Infinity” made on the life history of our very own Srinivasa Ramanujan.
Great men tend to share similarities, if one cares to look closely. Bhagavathpada Adishankara, Swami Vivekananda, Subramaniam Bharathi and Srinivasa Ramanujam, lived for a very short span of time in this world, but the impact that they left behind through their work will remain to touch human lives for times to come.
Persistence under penury can be a characteristics of people who strive to attain perfection in their area of profession. Srinivasa Ramanujam should be hailed as a “mathemagician” who was not recognized during his lifetime for his extraordinary contribution in the field of Mathematics.
He is considered to be a mathematician par excellence only to be compared with greats like Euler and Jacobi. For all his informal education, he became the first Indian to elected a fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge. He also became one of the youngest fellow of Royals society.
Just mere comments about “Simple Properties” and “Simple Outputs” seem to be profound. He individually compiled an astounding 3900 results such as Ramanujan Prime, Ramanujan Theta functions and mock theta functions. Most of his postulates or hypothesis are now found correct almost after a century of his existence.
But for all the revolutionary strides he made in mathematics, he credited his findings to the divine intervention of Namagiri Thaayar.
The famous Ramanuja number 1729, now fondly known as “taxicab number” is defined as the smallest integer that can be expressed as sum of two positive integer cubes in n distinct ways. Its also known as Hardy-Ramanuja number because when hardy visited Ramanuja in Putney when Ramanuja was taken ill, he quoted the number and states that hope it doesn’t bring bad omen for Ramanuja for which Ramanuja quipped that it is a very interesting number and proposed the postulate of taxicab number.
The state of Tamil Nadu celebrates Ramanuja’s birthday as “State IT day”. International Centre for theoretical Physics have constituted an award in Ramanuja’s name for young mathematicians from developing countries in co-operation with the international Mathematical Union, which nominates members of the prize committee.
He lived as if the only objective of his life was mathematics. He was selfless, sometime he can be considered as naive on his relationship with Hardy, he allowed Hardy to walk away with the credit, just because he never put his effort to win awards or accolades. Till he left this world, it is considered that he kept writing notes on theorems. His passion for mathematics is unmatched so is his resolve to follow strict vegetarianism according to his tradition.
It would be an understatement to say that Srinivasa Ramanujam was neither understood by his contemporaries nor by the generations followed. His pass time, work time even his lifetime can be described in one word, Mathematics! Any other normal human being might have lost their mind, if they were this much obsessed or dedicated to one subject or object, but not Srinivasa Ramanujam! He was an enigma! Yet, he credited his prowess to his family Goddess Namagiri Thayar of Namakkal.
He was unconventional, he ensured all the bare minimum for his existence was taken care of through whatever means available to him, so that he can continue his focus on mathematics. When other mortals would have scared for their life if they had failed in their regular academic subjects and thereby losing the scholarship they were bestowed upon, Ramanuja cared a little and kept looking for avenues to explore the subject deeper.
Srinivasa Ramanuja should have been an inspiration for many but he was not brought to limelight for reasons unknown. Today, the world, understands his contribution and it goes beyond pure mathematics. His contributions have a wide range of application – from data security to rocket science.
A tribute to Ramanuja would be to accept mathematicians around the world to explore the subject in their own way regardless of their academic achievements for that matter any individual who pursues their subject of interest with right earnest. Public institutions should think beyond regular classroom teachings and provide platform for those who are truly focussed on one subject regardless of their shortcomings in others. An overhaul of the education system around the world, can bring about a change, where present day Ramanujas will get avenues to shine.
Click here to subscribe to The Commune on Telegram and get the best stories of the day delivered to you personally.
A video shot at the Guntur Government General Hospital (Guntur GGH) in Guntur city, Andhra Pradesh, is attracting wide attention and angry comments online for the wrong reasons.
The video which surfaced on 20 December 2022 shows people waiting in a long queue at one of the hospital window counters, for prescription medicines. In the video shot through the open window counter at the hospital, staff of the government hospital can be seen in a large decorated hall, enjoying conversations and food items, oblivious of the time of day and the number of patients/patient attendees, waiting to avail of the government hospital’s medical services.
After what appears to be an unreasonable wait, a man in the long queue outside the hospital, speaks up and questions the staff on the delay in providing hospital services like dispensing prescription medications, even as the queue outside the window counter, continues to get longer because of the delay in service.
The man beckons to one of the male staff members and brings the staff member’s attention to the long queue outside. He says “Sir, please enjoy yourselves later; first, dispense our medicines and the prescribed tablets for our children and other patients. Look at how long the queue is. Do you realize you have delayed the process and the queue is getting bigger?”.
The male staff member takes a look at the man’s prescription slip and guides him to a different counter, to which the man replies that he should have been given the right advice earlier, rather than being made to wait in a long line, while the staff is celebrating inside. A lady staff member walks over to support her male colleague, questions the man and asks him to stop shooting the video. The man tells her to continue explaining while he is shooting the video.
The lady staff member admits that the staff are enjoying a “semi” Christmas party and replies in an arrogant tone of voice, that the delay is not a very long 2-4 hour wait, implying that a government hospital delay of up to 2 hours of providing essential medical services to the poor and needy patients is a reasonable one, even if it is inconvenient to the weaker sections of society.
The man becomes agitated at this statement and asks her to look at how long the queue has grown because of the delay in service, on account of a Christmas party being held at the government hospital, during working hours. Another man in the queue agrees with the complainant and confirms they have been waiting for about 1.5 hours.
The woman retorts in a high handed manner, asking if there are written, published rules against such parties and celebrations, to which the man is heard asking her, if there are rules permitting such parties in the first place, on government premises and during working hours, causing undue distress to patients.
He replies that celebrations should ideally be held outside the government premises and certainly not during working hours, causing huge inconvenience to patients and their families. The man adds that it would be reasonable and helpful if there was somebody at the counter to, at least guide them to other counters. He mentions that the staff should have at least made them aware of what was going on (the celebrations) and how long it would take.
The woman staff refuses to acknowledge the impropriety of partying during working hours and continues to argue with the common man, already frustrated with a long delay. Both the male and the female staff members raise their voices against the man in a bid to intimidate him and ask him to stop recording the incident. The lady staff member (somebody refers to her as Sujatha) arrogantly asks the man if he is there to pick up his medicines or to argue with the staff.
Click here to subscribe to The Commune on Telegram and get the best stories of the day delivered to you personally.
A Hindu temple priest from a Scheduled Caste (SC) community in Andhra Pradesh posted a video recently, narrating his alleged harassment at the hands of the converted Christians of his SC community, who now constitute an overwhelming majority in his village.
A video has been doing the rounds on social media in which a man narrates his ordeal pleading for support from the Hindu community.
We are told this mandir purohit in Andhra Pradesh is narrating how he is being threatened by converted local Christians to abandon the temple and convert. Can someone caption this video and provide a complete transcript? pic.twitter.com/yphTVRLGOL
He says “Jai Sri ram! My name is Addepalli Raghavulu. I am from Sajjalavaripalem village – ‘Madiga’palli (Madiga is an SC community) colony within the larger village Nagaram Mandal, Bapatla district, Andhra Pradesh. With the help of the Tirumala Tirupathi Devasthanam (TTD), we built a Rama temple in the Madigapalli locality (the caste area within the larger village). In our village, people from my Madiga community who have converted to Christianity, are pressuring me to convert and give up the Rama temple, which is located within the SC locality of the village. I have resisted and because I have not given in to the pressure of Christian conversion tactics, the christians from my community threatened to file false cases against me, which they eventually did, claiming that I had bad-mouthed women from the Christian community. They have threatened to file more frivolous, false cases against me with the help of the Nagaram Mandal Superintendent of Police (SI)”.
In the video, he further adds “It is disheartening that the local AP police are not only turning a blind eye to this gross injustice but encouraging me to convert, on the grounds that Hindus have now become a minority in my Madiga caste (SC community) and hence what can a few Hindu members do against the much larger Christian numbers!”
“I request all Hindus to save the Sri Kodanda Rama temple in Sajjavaripalem village (Madigapalli/SC colony) from demolition and Pujaris like me who are proudly, happily working for the Hindu Dharma. We need your blessings and help from the leaders of our Hindu organizations”., the priest says.
“Dear Hindus, I am saddened and troubled by the 2-3 FIRs that were filed against me and the threat of another one, on the basis of false charges, simply because I have refused to convert to Christianity. If they succeed in filing these false cases against me with the support of the local police, there will be no more Hindus left in my community and no Pujari for this temple. It will be demolished or converted into a Church by the Christians. I am one of only a handful of Hindus left. I hereby request you to help me save this temple, our Hindu Dharma and my family. I hope I have the blessings and support of the Hindus with the help of this video. Jai Sri Ram! Jai Hind!”
In another recent incident, residents of a village in Andhra stood united in petitioning the local government authorities against the construction of a new church. They were successful with their petition against the church, as the authorities accepted their argument, that the village did not have any christians at present and clearly, a large church was being built, only to conduct a conversion drive among the gullible and vulnerable Hindu SC communities, by falsifying information on the Hindu religion and offering financial incentives to the economically weakers sections of society.
The Hindu Post reported that an activist has since visited the mentioned village and confirmed the information shared by the courageous Raghavalu, in his video. Apparently, only three SC families out of around 500 have remained Hindu. One can imagine the plight of the handful of Hindus among the hundreds of aggresive, fanatic converted Christians. This complaint based on the information shared in the video is being investigated.
Click here to subscribe to The Commune on Telegram and get the best stories of the day delivered to you personally.
Despite assurances to the court that monuments and temple structure would not be used for the Metro Rail project, Chennai Corporation has issued a demolition notice for the Sri Kaliamman Temple in Virugambakkam.
Arulmigu Sri Sundara Varadaraja Perumal Temple said to be at least 800 years old temple is located in the Virugambakkam suburb of Chennai. The Sunguvar Brahmin community had donated lands in the region for the maintenance of the temple.
As per 1910 records, these lands were shown being under the Taluk Board which over a period of time were encroached on by land sharks. The temple pond however existed which was also gobbled up by encroachments. The erstwhile temple pond is now a garbage dump.
A Muslim party had tried to grab a portion of this land belonging to the temple to build a mosque. The local mosque committee, which planned to build a mosque registered three acres of the illegally occupiedland in its name with the help of government officials.
After a long drawn court struggle, the Chennai collector rejected Muslim party’s claims and restored the lands to the Taluk Board. Since these lands are in the name of the Taluk Board, efforts are underway to reclaim the land and the temple pond in the temple’s name.
Adjacent to the Sri Sundara Varadaraja Perumal Temple is a small Kaliamman temple which also has a pond that currently has been encroached and efforts to reclaim this pond are also under way.
Controversy erupted, when the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) attempted to take over the temple and its pond for Metro work in December 2020. According to reports, the Metro work was originally planned on private lands near the temple, but the GCC changed its mind and decided to lay metro lanes through the temple.
In June 2022, the Madras High Court dismissed a writ petition filed against the takeover of the lands of Sri Sundara Varadaraja Perumal Temple and Thirukkachi Nambigal Temple in Poonnamalle, Chennai.
However, the aforementioned order was issued after the Advocate General of Tamil Nadu assured the Madras High Court (WP 12697/2022) that there was no proposal to harm any of the monuments or temple structures and that they would be protected. He also stated that only vacant or acquired commercial land will be used for the Metro Rail project.
It should be noted that the Madras High Court had previously issued an order on November 5, 2020, while hearing a batch of petitions against the encroachment of temple land, stating that the temple land should not be used for other purposes. The court observed that temples in Tamil Nadu are not only a source of identification of the ancient culture but also a testimony to the pride and knowledge of talent in the fields of arts, science, and sculpture. The Madras High Court also rebuked the HR&CE Department, which is the custodian of temple properties, for failing to protect the temple’s interests.
In this situation, the Assistant Executive Engineer of the GCC has written to the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Chennai, seeking protection for the removal of encroachments.
The letter states: “According to Greater Chennai Corporation records, the Kaliamman Temple at Kaliammankoil street (Virugambakkam Village Block No.21 T.S No.20.) is encroached upon by the Temple Trust to the extent of 60.80 sq.m, which is vested with the Greater Chennai Corporation. The aforementioned encroachments are interfering with Metro Rail construction and causing inconvenience to the public. On November 23, 2022, a notice was issued to the Tamil Nadu Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments.”
The GCC, which attempted to take over the temple for Metro work, has found another way to demolish the temple by labeling the temple as an encroachment.
Chennai Corporation has issued notice of demolition on 22Dec'22 for the 100+ years old Sri Kaliamman Temple, Virugampakkam for using the land for Metro Rail project. This is despite objections raised by the EO and a SLP filed in SC. Ironically, road is named after this temple 1/n pic.twitter.com/RzuVEM81JP
Hindu Munnani in a press release condemned the DMK government’s action and urged people to gather to protest the GCC’s decision to demolish the temple. The press release states: “The demolition of Arulmigu Sri Sundara Varadaraja Perumal Temple and Mahakaliamman Temple in Virugambakkam, Chennai is highly condemnable.Despite filing a formal petition to grant a title deed to the temple, no approval was given for years. According to the Supreme Court judgment (Case No. WP 574/2015) dated 07-06-2021, it has been ruled that any ancient temple should not be affected by road expansion in government projects and ancient symbols should not be affected. Archaeologists recently examined the temple and concluded that it is an ancient temple.”
The Greater Chennai Corporation’s Junior Engineer (JE) has stated that the Mahakaliamman temple will be demolished on Friday (23 December 2022).
“It is the primary responsibility of the Hindu community living in this region to protect our deity. Therefore, we kindly request all the residents of the area to come together with their families to protect the temple.”, the Hindu Munnani said.
Click here to subscribe to The Commune on Telegram and get the best stories of the day delivered to you personally.
Amongst our Indian scientists who continuously endeavour on placing Bharat in the forefront of using atomic energy for peace time employment and defence time deployment, Dr.P K Iyengar (Padmanabhan Krishnagopala Iyengar) occupies a pride of place. His remembernce day falls on 21st December.
Born in 1931 in Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu, Dr. PK Iyengar joined the Department of Atomic Energy in his 21st year as a young research scientist. In his career spanning nearly 60 years, he excelled not just in pure research but also in its large scale usage.
In the sixties he turned to the design of India’s first plutonium fast-reactor, PURNIMA, and commissioned it in 1972. In 1974 he conducted the Peaceful Nuclear Explosion code named “Smiling Budhdha” at Pokharan. For these successful efforts, he was conferred the Padma Bhushan in 1975.
His contribution was there in the Pokharan-II nuclear explosion, code named “Shakthi-98”. He was the Director of the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre in 1984 and later was appointed Chairman of the Indian Atomic Energy Commission and Secretary to the Department of Atomic Energy in 1990.
He was in-charge of the constructed and commisioned India’s first plutonium reactor “DHRUVA” in Trombay. Later under his guidance two new power reactors were commissioned at Narora and Kakrapar.
He continued with the development of new reactor systems, such as liquid-sodium based fast reactors. He also initiated proposals for the export of heavy-water, research reactors, hardware for nuclear applications, etc., to earn precious foreign exchange. He motivated basic research in fields ranging from molecular biology, to chemistry and material science.
He established a “Technology Transfer Centre” for converting research results into large scale Industrial production. He opposed the waiver granted to India by the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) to conduct nuclear commerce because it was more of a victory for the United States than an Indian win.
In his long career Dr. Iyengar has been the recipient of many awards and honours. He founded the “Agastya International Foundation” and was focusing on rural education. As a scientist who worked tirelessly until his demise in his 80th year, the contributions of Dr. PK Iyengar will find a permanent place in the annals of indian Atomic Energy.
Surprsingly, what was proclaimed last fortnight by USA as it having been tested the atomic fusion energy in its laboratories was originally pioneered by Dr PK Iyengar (as cold fusion) in his experiments in the 1980s to prove the hypothesis that nuclear fusion can occur at ordinary temperatures under certain scenarios. The experiments were discontinued after Iyengar’s exit from the nuclear establishment by some conservative scientists.
Click here to subscribe to The Commune on Telegram and get the best stories of the day delivered to you personally.
Chief Minister Stalin assured that if the central government does not step forward to provide educational assistance to religious minority students, the Tamil Nadu government will take the matter into consideration and take appropriate action.
Chief Minister MK Stalin stated at a Christmas function hosted by the Christian Goodwill Movement in Chennai: “A government should treat all people equally and without bias. It should care for all its citizens. DMK government will always treat people equally. The Dravidian model of governance encompasses all these qualities.”
He also stated that he is unable to comment on the petition he received regarding the appointment of school teachers to religious minority schools and Adi-Dravidar Christian reservations because both issues are pending in the court.
CM MK Stalin stated, in an attempt to woo religious minorities and their votes, “Several people asked me about the pre-metric scholarship for religious minorities that was discontinued. It should be done by the central government. We continue to write to the central government regarding this; Let’s wait. If the central government does not come forward to do it properly, I promise that the state government will help in whatever way it can.”
It should be noted that scholarship based on religion is seen as a threat to the country’s secular fabric and the principle of equality. Chief Minister MK Stalin’s promise of scholarship based on religion from the state government is seen as an attempt to appease minorities in order to secure their votes.
On November 25, 2022, the Union government decided to cancel the pre-matric scholarships for students from class 1 to 8 belonging to minority communities from the academic year 2022-23. The government restricted the pre-matric scholarship scheme meant for minority communities to only include students of classes 9 and 10. The government justified its stand by saying that the Right to Education Act (RTE Act) covers compulsory education up to class 8 for all students.
‘Sports’ being a State subject, the responsibility to promote sports rests primarily with the respective State/Union Territory Governments. The Union Government supplements their efforts in this regard. However, this Ministry runs a Central Sector Scheme, namely, ‘Khelo India-National Programme for Development of Sports’ Scheme since dedicated towards promotion of sports
Under the component “Creation and Upgradation of Sports Infrastructure” of Khelo India Scheme, 298 sports infrastructure projects have been sanctioned across the country. Under this Scheme, the Ministry also supports sportspersons in various sports disciplines across the country which cater to development of play fields, community coaching development, establishment of Khelo India Centres at state as well as district levels, conduct of annual national competitions (Khelo India Games), identification of talented sportspersons in priority sports disciplines, establishment of sports academies, promotion of physical fitness through various Fit India programmes, promotion of women’s participation in sports, conduct of sports competitions for positive engagement of youth in extremism and terrorism affected areas, promotion of sports among persons with disabilities and promotion of rural and indigenous games.
The Scheme Rashtriya Yuva Sashaktikaran Karyakram (RYSK) is an on-going Central Sector Scheme which was formulated, as an umbrella scheme in rationalization exercise undertaken on recommendation of Department related Parliamentary Standing Committee on HRD and in consultation with Ministry of Finance and NITI Aayog. The Objective was that the merger of the schemes under an umbrella scheme would effectively leverage the administrative structure of the scheme for effective implementation of the programmes. The 7 sub-schemes under scheme RYSK are:
Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan.
National Youth Corps.
National Programme for Youth and Adolescent Development.
International Cooperation.
Youth Hostels.
Assistance to Scouting and Guiding Organisations.
National Young Leaders Programme.
Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan (NYKS) is an autonomous body under the Ministry with headquarters in Delhi spread across the country through 29 State/UT Offices and 623 District level Nehru Yuva Kendras. Following Sub schemes of RYSK are implemented through NYKS along with schemes of other Ministries with their budgetary support and on voluntary basis.
National Youth Corps (NYC): Two National Youth Volunteers are deployed in each Block of the country to work as an extended arm of NYKS and function as bridge between the NYKS offices and the Youth Clubs in conduct of the programs of NYKS. An amount of Rs.5,000/- per volunteers per month are paid as honorarium.
This information was given by Minister of Youth Affairs & Sports Shri Anurag Thakur in a written reply in Lok Sabha today.
A DMK functionary who was arrested for kidnapping a businessman and was found guilty of cheating the court was accorded a grand welcome by a DMK MLA and the party’s cadres.
Earlier in October 2022, the police charged ten persons, including DMK councilor Vimala and her husband Krishnamurthy, in an incident relating to the kidnapping of a businessman at knifepoint and usurping land worth ₹25 crores.
Amar Ram, 53, of Sholinganallur, Chennai, owns a gold loan shop in the same neighborhood. In 2017, Amar Ram paid ₹60 lakh to DMK circle secretary Krishnamurthy and registered a deed to purchase 58 cents of land in Naavalur. After that, he paid a total of ₹10 crores and registered the land in his name in 2018. However, there was a dispute between Krishnamurthy and his brother Manoharan over the sold land.
Manoharan filed a case against Krishnamurthy and Amar Ram in the Chengalpattu court. On September 17, Amar Ram filed a complaint at the Chennai Marina Police Station.
In his complaint, Amar Ram said, “A lawyer named Sentamizh invited me to come near the Marina Lighthouse on the 16th of last month to talk about the land. Four unidentified individuals tied my eyes and kidnapped me in a car to Tiruporur Sub-Registrar office at knifepoint.”
He went on to say that ten people, including Krishnamurthy and his wife, 124th ward DMK councilor Vimala, attacked him and forced him to sign the cancellation certificate of the purchase agreement, and that he was only paid ₹60 lakh for land worth only ₹25 crores.
“Then, they pushed me out of the car and left. Action should be taken against 10 people including Krishnamurthy, Vimala, Senthamizh, and Manoharan,” the complaint ended.
Preliminary police investigation revealed that as the 58-cent land near AGS theatre in Navalur sold to Amar Ram now sells for more than ₹25 crores. Krishnamurthy and brother Manoharan had together decided to sell the land to the owner of a construction company. In order to modify the ‘power of attorney of the land in the name of the owner of the construction firm, Krishnamurthy abducted Amar Ram and blackmailed him into the registrar’s office.
It was also found that Amar Ram was threatened by showing a video call in which rowdies were seen around their family and threatened to kill them if he did not sign the agreement. In connection with this abduction incident, Marina police filed a case against DMK secretary Krishnamurthy, his wife-DMK councilor Vimala, Senthamizh, Manokaran, and ten others under five sections, including kidnapping and extortion of property.
However, after the Chennai city police filed the FIR, Councilor Vimala and her husband Krishnamurthy both went into hiding.
Both Vimala and her husband Krishnamurthy appeared before Egmore court to submit the Anticipatory Bail order documents, which they claimed to have got from Madras High Court.
However, Egmore Magistrate verified the anticipatory bail order submitted by DMK’s Vimala and Krishnamurthy and found that the Anticipatory Bail order from Madras High Court was fake. Following this, the Egmore police detained DMK councilor Vimala and her husband Krishnamurthy for presenting the magistrate with forged documents.
Though DMK councilor Vimala was granted bail and released in the case, her husband remained in jail because the court denied him bail. In the meantime, DMK Krishnamurthy was removed from all positions, including party membership.
He was later released on bail and was found attending DMK party events. Recently, he was seen along with DMK MLA and Chennai Southwest district secretary Mylai Tha. Velu during the birth anniversary celebration of DMK leader Anbazhagan. The accused Krishnamurthy was given a warm welcome by DMK MLA Mylai Velu, DMK division secretary Murali, and other DMK cadres.
Photos of DMK functionaries giving a grand welcome to an accused who cheated the court and was involved in the kidnapping and assault of a businessman went viral online, drawing criticism from all sections.
Ever since the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) party came to power in May 2021, the number of instances displaying political high handedness, U-turns, arrogance, and discrimination is endless.
The range of issues on which the party has made irresponsible comments, brazenly insensitive caste and religion based statements, displayed gross misuse of power, has provided enough fodder for the Tamil Nadu media, social media platforms and the common man for commentary.
The DMK managed to scrap through a win on account of the vulnerabilities in the AIADMK. People hoped that a change in regime will bring them dawn and that’s what the DMK promised. However, the DMK is fast depleting its trust reserves among the Tamil people as witnessed by the public’s reactions to the words, actions and behaviour of DMK leaders, revealing the party’s true colours and exposing its dark side. The statements, actions and behaviour of its top brass are in complete contrast to the ideals that it preaches – “social equality”, “social justice”, and “self respect” regardless of caste or religion.
The DMK claims to be the only true mainstream custodian of non-discrimination and ‘self-respect’ in Tamil Nadu and the sole protectors of the masses across caste and religious lines, a subject that is hotly debated and joked about at present, based on the open and blatant discriminatory personal conduct of its leaders in public, which is reflective of a party culture where its own proclaimed social justice, self respect principles are flouted almost on a daily basis!
Here’s a long list of incidents, many of them shocking in nature, considering the core principles that the DMK preaches and potently uses against its opponents! They are reflective of its narrow mindedness and feudal tendencies.
Number 1: When RS Bharathi Degraded Dalit Judges
Speaking at an event in Anbagam (the DMK youth wing headquarters), senior DMK leader RS Bharathi in February 2020 said that it was because of the ‘alms’ given by the Dravidian Movement that made Dalits become judges.
Number 2: Feudal Mindset Of DMK Leaders
• In May 2020, DMK leaders T.R.Balu and Dayanidhi Maran’s statement at a public meeting “Are we from a downtrodden community?” in reference to the perceived inferiority of the SC/ST communities, was unabashedly discriminatory for a party that claims to be anti-caste. The casteist comment stirred a major controversy in Tamil Nadu.
Honorable Chairman @DrRamShankarMP National Schedule Caste Commission, New Delhi
DMK Lok Sabha Members T.R.Balu and Dayanidhi Maran recently talked about Schedule Caste people on bad manner, so #NCSC_Committee have to file a case and take action on them. pic.twitter.com/aidkJQInF0
Number 3: DMK MLA Makes A Dalit Carry His Slippers
Ambur DMK MLA A.C. Vilwanathan had gone to visit the rain-damaged barrier at Ponnappally village in Thirupatthur district. Panchayat Secretary, Shankar was seen following him around with the MLA’s slippers in his hands. Sankar belongs to a Scheduled Caste community.
In February 2021, as part of Stalin’s election campaign meeting held at Erode T.N.Payalam, MP Anthiyur Selvaraj, belonging to the Arundathiyar community, was asked not to mingle with the party seniors along with Stalin. He was made to sit on a chair below the dais, clearly a decision based on caste.
Number 5: DMK Minister Carried By Fishermen To Prevent His Footwear From Becoming Wet
DMK Minister Anitha Radhakrishnan was carried by fishermen in order to allegedly save his expensive footwear from getting wet!
Number 6: Prejudiced Treatmenr For VCK Leader
In August-2021, VCK leader Thol. Thirumavalavan, was offered a plastic chair, not once but twice by DMK ministers in the presence of DMK Minister R.S. Rajakannappan, who was seen seated in a plush sofa seat. The VCK party leader Thiruma was seen with “respectfully” folded hands seated in a plastic chair.
In another similar incident DMK MLA Anbazhagan was seen sitting in a comfortable, cushioned chair while Thiruma was once again seen sitting in a plastic chair.
Number 7: Casteist Abuses At Government Officers
In March 2022 DMK minister Raja Kannappan verbally abused a Block Development Officer belonging to Scheduled Caste community. It stirred controversy among the public which resulted in the re-shuffling of the cabinet.
Number 8: Demeaning Dalit Woman Leader
In May 2022: DMK’s propaganda secretary, Dindigul Leoni said that Chief Minister MK Stalin was solely responsible for a Dravidian revolution by elevating a member of the Dalit community “that once carried slippers on their heads”, to the position of a Chennai Mayor. The casteist slur received strong condemnation from human rights activists.The intentional reference to the member and his community’s caste-based occupation/plight was an unnecessary, insulting reminder.
Number 9: Assaulting A Poor Woman
Minister KKSSR Ramachandran assaulted a poor woman who had come to seek his help with a petition in Virudhunagar, Palavanatham village.The video indicates an attitude of arrogance and superiority over a member of a lower caste community.
Number 10: Abusing Hindu Rituals
In July 2022 DMK’s Dharmapuri MP S Senthil kumar’s angry, unjustified rant against a bhooja puja ceremony for a government project, in full public view, displayed a deep rooted anti-Hindu, religious hatred. His comments captured on video garnered wide spread criticism from various quarters, as unnecessary and “extreme”. While there was no objection to it by the audience and participants, Senthil Kumar is seen arrogantly questioning a government employee, on why only a Hindu priest was present and priests of the Christian and Muslim religions were not, at the inauguration ceremony. It is an old, widely accepted aspect on cultural and religious lines in India, to have a traditional inauguration done, to which the general public and even the courts have not objected to!
In a survey conducted by the Tamil Nadu Untouchability Eradication Front (TNUEF), it was shocking to discover that many Dalit panchayat presidents in the state were not allowed the convenience and dignity of a chair in their offices. The survey found, that in 22 out of the 386 panchayats surveyed, Dalit presidents were not provided chairs. They were not even allowed to hoist the national flag, when the country was all set to celebrate its 75th Independence on August 15, 2022.
Number 12: Denying Agency To Dalit Woman Mayor
Minister K.N. Nehru behaviour towards Mayor Priya, reeked of a high handed attitude implying casteist discrimination towards a member of a SC community. His comments on the dais in full view of the audience “yemma, va, nillu” in Tamil, are instructive/commanding in nature and indicative of disrespect for the woman’s mayoral position, on the basis of her caste.
Number 13: Wilfully Hurting Hindu Sentiments
DMK Deputy General Secretary A. Raja’s derogatory comments on Hindus “You’re untouchable as long as you’re Hindu and a “Shudra” as long as you remain a Hindu”, hurt Hindu sentiments and caused an uproar, leading to public demonstrations of displeasure at the minister’s comments, a man known for his anti-Hindu rants.
Number 14: Belittling Women For Using ‘Free’ Bus
DMK Minister Ponmudi made remarks in a belittling way while reminding women members in the audience about the ‘free bus scheme for women’ introduced by Stalin government.
“For you only 4000 rupees per card. Did he (Stalin) give or not? You got it right? Open your mouth and say. You got 4000 right? How are you going in bus today? If you want to go from here to Koyambedu or anywhere, you are going in ‘OC’ (free). You are going in ‘OC’ bus.”, he said.
His comments clearly imply that people of the lower working class communities, ought to be grateful for the generosity of the chief minister and hence stop complaining or asking for other basic necessities.
Number 15: Unnecessary Reference To The Caste Of A Dalit Woman
“See who’s the chairman of this village? You are from a downtrodden community right? You are ST right?”, said Ponmudi during a panchayat event. Such blatantly casteist comments are unethical and uncalled for, by a senior DMK leader and the Minister for Higher Education, K Ponmudi. He had also openly and publicly referred to a Mugaiyur Panchayat woman member, by her caste name.
Number 16: Practicing Untouchability
On 23 September 2022, leader of Vanvengaigal party Iraniyan went to meet DMK Minister KKSSR Ramachandra at his residence in Greenways Road, Chennai. He was reportedly made to wait for more than 3.5 hours. After much persuasion, Iraniyan was asked to leave his slippers out and come inside. He was called by his caste name, in a clear indication of Ramachandran’s belief in the superiority of his own caste. The petitioner was not even offered a seat despite having many sofas around. When Iraniyan had come forward to turn the pages of the petition to explain the problem in details, he was asked to maintain distance
Number 17: Disrespecting Cadres Of Own Party
In October 2022 during the DMK general council meeting DMK Lok Sabha MP T.R. Baalu asked one of the party workers to bring his footwear. The volunteer was seen carrying the sandals and placing them at the leader’s feet.
Number 18: Abusing Women
DMK functionary Saidai Sadiq’s shameful, gender-specific comments reached a new low and caused a furore in many circles when he called BJP women leaders, Gayathri Raghuram, Namitha and Gautami “items” (a demeaning, colloquial term for actresses in certain types of songs and movie scenes in Indian films). He had also mocked the popular actress turned politician, Khushbu who had earlier had a stint with the DMK.
Number 19: Bossy High-handedness Towards Party Cadre
2G scam tainted, DMK MP A Raja can be seen holding his head high and ignoring party workers and visitors who bend over in his presence, as a sign of respect.
Forget about the fact that this chap is a downright criminal, look at how he goes about not even acknowledging those slaves who fall at his feet and how it is being promoted by the party IT wing. pic.twitter.com/oVIJvng6A7
Number 20: Making The Mayor And Commissioner Ride Footboard
Chennai mayor, R Priya and senior IAS officer, Gagandeep Singh Bedi were seen riding on the footboard of a vehicle that was part of the TN CM’s convoy, during an inspection of the city. The CM did nothing to stop this shameful act and instead appeared to be pleased with the attempt to gain his favour. This type of behaviour does not bode well for people holding elected or bureaucratic positions and takes away the dignity accorded to such positions.
Number 21: Subservience To The First Family
At the ‘coronation’ ceremony of the actor turned politician Udayanidhi Stalin, seasoned and experienced DMK members and ministers, bowed down in submission to the CM’s wife and his young, inexperienced son accompanied by comments on wanting to work for a future leader and possibly the chief minister! Yet another act of nepotism in a dynastic party promoting family members over senior, talented, accomplished leaders based on merit.
That the DMK has become a family party and not a people’s party or a social justice party as it claims is evident. In the TN state assembly, DMK ministers were seen heaping undue praise and flattery on CM Stalin’s son, actor-turned-politician, Udayanidhi Stalin. Their flattery ranged from comparing the Karunanidhi ‘dynasty’ with characters from revered Hindu spirirual texts and ancient Tamil kingdoms to a recounting of the names of his Tamil movies.
VCK leader Vanniyarasu in an interview had said that during the 2009 Lok Sabha elections the VCK had asked for contesting from a general (unreserved) constituency to which Karunanidhi had supposedly said “You guys don’t aspire for general seats”.
Number 24: Step-Motherly Treatment Within Family For Marrying A Dalit
There are whispers that M. Karunanidhi chose Stalin over MK Alagiri as his political heir because M.K.Alagiri married a Dalit woman. DMK family never acknowledged this marriage and was not allowed in their family functions. Even today, MK Alagiri is kept aloof from the first family, both politically and personally.
Number 25: Usurping Panchami Land
Panachami lands are lands assigned to be distributed for the Scheduled Caste people in Tamil Nadu during the British rule in 1892. It can neither be sold nor re-classified. There are lot of instances of panchami land being appropriated by DMK workers and leaders. The Murasoli building is located in Kodambakkam, one of the prominent areas in Chennai
Number 26: Killing Dalits
A large number of laborers from the tea estates of Manjolai (mostly Dalits) congregated in Tirunelveli and protested for better wages. A large contingent of stone-throwing and lathi-wielding police brutally assaulted the protesters forcing them to run toward the river. It resulted in the death of 17 laborers, including two women and a two-year-old child.
Number 27: Scanty Representation For Dalits
The population of Dalits is around 1.40 crore in Tamil Nadu but their representation in DMK’s powerful body is only 1.65% during the year 2018.
Number 28: Discrimination Of Dalit Leaders
Dalit woman leader Sathyavani Muthu, Former MP, the late C. T. Dhandapani, Parithi Ilamvazhuthi, and V.P. Duraiswami are some of the leaders at a higher level who was ill-treated by DMK and later quit DMK for the lack of respect. We cannot count on at the grass-root level discrimination.
In yet another instance that higlights the plight of law and order in Tamil Nadu, former AIADMK Minister MR Vijayabhaskar’s car was reportedly attacked with acid and a panchayat vice chairman belonging to the party was kidnapped in broadday light by unidentified miscreants.
AIADMK leader MR Vijayabhaskar was on his way to Karur when unidentified miscreants blocked his car at Nagampattti and threw acid. After breaking the windshields and glasses of the car was broken, AIADMK panchayat vice chairman Thiruvika was allegedly kidnapped.
According to reports, Thiruvika had filed a petition in Madurai Bench of Madras High Court against the delay in holding village panchayat election in Karur. The court had given time till 2 PM on 19 December 2022 to conduct the election.
In Karur’s 12 panchayats, 9 members of the AIADMK and 3 members of the DMK were elected. However, three of them later defected to the DMK allegedly due to harassment and compulsion making the tally 6:6. The seat of vice chairman had remained vacant. AIADMK leader Edappadi K. Palaniswami has alleged that Thiruvika was kidnapped to prevent him from contesting for the vice chairman post. He also alleged that the police had prevented AIADMK councillors from entering the District Collectorate to vote in the election.
According to Palaniswmai, Thiruvika’s son had filed a complaint which the police had refused to entertain initially. However, they’ve now launched a hunt to identify the miscreants who carried out the attack after the incident gained traction on social media.
தமிழகத்தில் நடப்பது ஆட்சியா ? காட்டாச்சியா ? சட்டம் – ஒழுங்கை சீர்குலைத்து ஜனநாயாகப் படுகொலையில் ஈடுபட்டு வரும் விடியா திமுக அரசுக்கு கடும் கண்டனம் !
