Rabindranath Tagore was one of the greatest ever sons of Bharat Mata. Born in Bengal, he was a rare individual with great skill in being a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer and painter. He reshaped Bengali literature.
Hailing from a big family and being the youngest of 13 children, he became a barrister in England in 1878. He was the first non-European, the first lyricist to win the Nobel Prize in Literature.in 1913.
From the age of 8, he was a prolific writer. His works include classical novels, stories, songs, dance dramas, essays and he has presented to all of us a matchless treasure trove, which include Gitanjali.
Tagore was a nature lover and he preferred to write his poems and stories enjoying nature by sitting on his family boat (bajra or budgerow), named “Padma”.
In 1901 Tagore moved to Santiniketan to found an ashram and an experimental school, amidst groves of trees, gardens.
In 1912, Tagore translated his 1910 work Gitanjali into English as otherwise we, non Bengalis would have missed a great work of international repute. Tagore was awarded knighthood by King George V in the 1915. He renouced this title in protest against Jallianwalabagh maasaacre after 1919.
Tagore wrote many novels and short stories in both Bengali and English. It is admirable that at sixty, Tagore took up drawing and painting; successful exhibitions of his many work were thrown open for public to enjoy. India’s National Gallery of Modern Art lists 102 works by Tagore in its collections.
His eternal gift to us and has been our national anthem “Jana Gana Mana” to which we stand with closed fists whenever we listen to it play.
Kanal Kannan, a well-known stunt master who had choreographed action sequencces for various movies, has been booked for speaking against rabid anti-Hindu demagogue E.V. Ramaswamy Naicker (EVR), known as ‘Periyar’ by his followers.
For the past one month, the Hindu Munnani (Hindu Front) Has been organizing meetings across the state for the reclamation of rights of Hindus. The closing ceremony was held last week at Chennai.
Addressing the occasion, Kanal Kannan said “Being Hindu is a matter of pride. Earlier, countries were conquered through sword and war. Today they are capturing nations through religious conversion.”
He also shared his personal experience when Christian missionaries had tried to convert him.
Speaking further he said “Lakhs of Hindus worship at the Srirangam Ranganathar Temple daily. Opposite to that (temple), there is a statue of a person who said ‘there is no God’ (referring to EVR). The day that statue is broken, that is the day of Hindu resurgence”.
This speech of his has created a controversy in Tamil Nadu with the stunt master now being booked by the state police.
Many on social media have voiced support for Kanal Kannan with the hashtag #isupportkanalkannan.
They have also lashed out at the MK Stalin-led DMK government’s hypocrisy pointing out that no action has been taken on U2 Brutus ‘Minor’ who had abused Hindu God Lord Shiva.
On the other hand, the two Dravidian parties have condemned Kanal Kannan for his speech.
AIADMK leader D. Jayakumar said that those who defame leaders like ‘Periyar’, Anna, MGR and Amma should be dealt with an iron hand. He said that the AIADMK would’ve dealt such persons strongly had the party been in power.
BJP Tamil Nadu President K. Annamalai has come out in support of the stunt master stating that it is not acceptable to have a statue on the way to a temple that says “There is no God and those who believe in God are fools”. He said that the statue can be kept elsewhere but not in front of the temple.
Click here to subscribe to The Commune on Telegram and get the best stories of the day delivered to you personally.
In a mind-boggling scandal that is set to rock the Vatican, a Cardinal close to Pope Francis has been accused of fabricating evidence and shielding an Indian Bishop accused of rape, abduction, fathering children through illicit affairs and murder.
Mysore Diocese Bishop Kannikadass William Antony has been accused of fathering children through illicit affairs with four mistresses and murdering four priests who opposed him.
The four priests namely – Father William Albuquerque, Father Raja Kannu, Father Raphael Colaco and Father Joseph Saldanha – were allegedly murdered by Bishop Williams and his men.
According to a report by Church Militant, the body of Fr. Raja Kannu was found hanging from a fan in his rectory in Palaya located 22 miles from Mysore. Fr. Albuquerque reportedly died under mysterious circumstances later in the day after he was summoned to the Bishop’s residence and served with a legal notice. Similarly, Fr. Saldanha was found dead in front of his rectory.
A letter dated 5th July 2022 sent by one Father Gnana Prakash of Mysore Diocese to India’s Apostolic Nuncio Archbishop Leopoldo Girelli charged Bishop William of raping, sodomizing, kidnapping, embezzling funds and murdering people.
According to the report by Church Militant, a Vatican Commission comprising of three Bishops began examining evidence against Bishop William in February 2021, after 37 priests from the Mysore Diocese wrote to Pope Francis on July 20, 2019. Bishop William was appointed by Pope Francis in 2017.
Pope Francis with Bishop William
The priests had demanded the resignation of Bishop William stating that he continued to have relations with his mistress and had fathered children through multiple illicit affairs. The four priests who were murdered were among the 37 signatories to the letter demanding Bishop William’s resignation.
The recent letter sent by Father Gnanaprakash also notes that 11 priests and a layperson from Mysore Diocese had travelled to New Delhi in April 2022 to meet with Girelli pleading for action against Bishop William.
However, instead of initiating action against the accused, it has come to light that the Catholic Church is trying to cover the tracks of Bishop William.
In a leaked phone conversation released by Church Militant, Bombay’s Cardinal-Archbishop Oswald Gracias (who is a key ally of Pope Francis) can be heard telling the accused Bishop William that he will arrange for the paternal DNA test to be conducted at a Catholic hospital so that they can control the media, doctors, and the ensuing publicity.
Pope Francis with Archdiocese of Bombay Oswald Cardinal Gracias
Asking if the ‘phone line is safe’, the Cardinal goes on to say “Rome has suggested as a sort of.. has asked.. but I thought.. I have suggested we’ll do it in a way which doesn’t set a precedent. And I’ll check with lawyers, etc. But before finally we move, I wanted to talk to you first. Nuncio, actually Nuncio should be talking.. but he’s so hesitant and he’s so diffident and so I told him…Would you be ready to go for a paternity test?” to which Bishop William replies “Personally, I have nothing against. But I don’t want shame on me and the Church”.
The Cardinal goes on to says that they’re trying to avoid embarassment to the Church, Vatican, and for Bishop William himself.
“Now, before we do it, I will check with the lawyers. Going to protect you, protect the child also no?”, the Cardinal asks the accused Bishop.
The Cardinal also says that he is trying to avoid a precedent with the Bishop’s case as then everybody else will ask “we want this, we want that” and ‘pressurize’ Rome.
“I’m trying to say that I discussed with Nuncio. I discussed also with Rome, I discussed it earlier. But now Rome has given me directions. Now, if you’re willing.” the Cardinal says to the Bishop.
“Personally I was thinking we’ll go to St. John’s, our own college, so we can control the media, control the doctors, control the publicity given to the whole thing. And it’s a credible organization no? So, so, they don’t get it out.”, the Cardinal tells the accused Bishop.
The Cardinal further goes on to give hopes to the Bishop that once he ‘comes out completely’, he can be projected as a hero who suffered much.
“What I’ve told Rome that if you really, if you come out like completely, we can then publicize and you’ll come out like a hero and a martyr. Everybody will say you’re a martyr, who suffered so much unfairly, the Church.. I’ll prove that.”, the Cardinal who is close to Pope Francis tells the accused Bishop.
The Cardinal openly admitted to Bishop Williams that he intervened in Bishop Franco Mulakkal’s case as well. Bishop Franco of Jalandhar Diocese is the first Catholic bishop in India to be arrested for raping a nun 13 times between 2014 and 2016. He was acquitted by a Kerala district in January 2022.
“Even Franco’s thing, finally I had to intervene with the Holy See (the central government of the Catholic Church) and you know, if only.. we could have saved all the pain and anguish and suffering for him if they had listened to me earlier.” the Cardinal tells the Bishop in the leaked audio.
“Don’t trust anybody. We don’t know, you know, in these things. You don’t know who’s playing a game, who’s behind what. It could all be a trick to trap you also,” the Cardinal further adds.
“Let’s put a closure to this because after the lockdown, there’ll be, again, a big hullaballoo,” Cardinal Gracias tells the accused Bishop.
Bishop William tells the Cardinal that the former’s lawyer is giving a beautiful explanation to Saldanha and that there is “absolutely no problem in the diocese” but he is being victimized by one Father. Gilbert Aranha and a couple of bishops in Karnataka.
“These few people want to put me to shame, they accuse me for (sic) murder. They accuse me for (sic) … what you call … finance misappropriation, all, all, all.”, Bishop William tells the Cardinal.
Retired Bombay High Court judge Justice Michael Francis Saldanha has come down heavy on the Church hierarchy for making “every conceivable effort” to “kill the complaint”.
“The fact that the Catholic Church has covered up for William for six years and encouraged him in counterattacking and hitting back at those who had complained is an unpardonable crime on the part of the Church at all levels, starting from this country up to Rome,” Saldanha was quoted saying in the report by Church Militant.
Reportedly, the Cardinal mentions Justice Saldanha 4 times in the 15-minute leaked audio, saying he knows the judge personally and that the judge has been constantly phoning him and requesting a meeting. The Cardinal tells Bishop William to take the DNA test as Justice Saldanha “will start publishing his letters once the lockdown is over.”
The Association of Concerned Catholics (AOCC) — a lay organization fighting to root out corruption in the Indian Church — had told Church Militant that it strongly objected to Bishop William’s DNA test being conducted in a Catholic hospital as the report would most certainly be manipulated.
Justice Saldanha has charged Cardinal Oswald Gracias of “criminal conspiracy” for attempting “to procure a fabricated and false” DNA paternity test certificate for “illegal purposes.”
He has written to India’s apostolic nuncio on Monday stating that Bombay’s cardinal-archbishop, Oswald Gracias, is guilty of a “serious criminal offense” which is punishable with 10 years rigorous imprisonment. He has also vouched for the authenticity of the leaked phone conversation.
Justice Saldanha has also stated that he “independently” investigated the charges of Bishop William fathering a boy born through his fourth mistress and found it to be true.
He also warned the St. John’s hospital which the Cardinal called “our own institution” that if any bogus testing is done and a false certificate is issued the matter would be taken up with the government of India urging for the withdrawl of the hospital’s licence.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin’s son-in-law Sabarisan Vedamurthy conducted a special yagam/yagna (sacrificial fire ritual) at the Thiruchendur Subramania Swamy Temple on Tuesday (August 2, 2022) to finish off his opponents. Sabarisan is popularly seen as the de-facto administrator calling the shots both in the party and in the government.
He had performed the (Kshatru Samhara Yagam), a vedic ritual performed to ‘destroy and finish-off enemies’. It is usually done by powerful businessmen and politicians for want of more wealth and power and ward of evil forces.
The yagam was conducted between 6 AM to 11 AM in the presence of Brahmin priests with Vedic chants. 100,008 Vedic verses is said to have been recited. Sabarisan had participated in the yagam yesterday with businessmen involved in land disputes in Chennai. According to unconfirmed reports, Senthil Kumar, a former benami and director of real estate firm Casa Grande and London Venkat, a benami of DMK family who manages the properties of family had accompaniede Sabarisan.
காசாக்ராண்டே செந்தில் குமார், லண்டன் வெங்கட் ஆகியோரோடு திராவிட மாப்பிள்ளை சபரீசன் சமயமூர்த்தி.
A small path along the beach leading to the Valli Cave was blocked and a Shamiyana tent was set up. A barricade was erected at the premises of the temple causing inconvenience to devotees who were unable to go to the Valli cave. The Tiruchendur Murugan Temple which comes under the control of Hindu Religious & Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) department was closed for devotees for more than 4 hours.
After the ritual, Sabarisan and his men entered the temple through the northern gate and had darshan of Lord Murugan.
It is to be noted that special yagams were not allowed inside the temple premises since the pandemic. It was done at the place of those wanting to do the yagam.
Many on social media have been pointing out the hypocrisy of the DMK over their claims of being a ‘rationalist party’.
It is worth remembering that a YouTube channel named ‘Karuppar Koottam’ run by followers of anti-Hindu bigot E.V. Ramaswamy Naicker and with links to the DMK set off a storm by abusing Kandha Sashti Kavasam, a hymn dedicated to the Hindu God Murugan.
Click here to subscribe to The Commune on Telegram and get the best stories of the day delivered to you personally.
“Swaraj is my birthright and I shall have it!” (‘स्वराज्य हा माझा जन्मसिद्ध हक्क आहे आणि तो मी मिळवणारच’). These words reverberated across the country, and rekindled the patriotism in many souls who had given up under the tyrranical rule of the British. These highly evocative words were spoken by Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak. the beloved leader of the people.
Born to a Marathi Chitpavan Brahmin Family in a rural area of Ratnagiri district, Bal Gangadhar Tilak was a prominent Indian nationalist, teacher, social reformer and journalist. He completed his bachelors education in Mathematics and Sanskrit at Deccan College and Law degree at University of Bombay.
His three-point programme for national awakening – Swaraj, Swadeshi and Nationalist Education – lit the fire of self-pride in every Indian’s heart. He founded the Deccan Education Society (1884) to inculcate young minds with nationalist thoughts and educate masses about Indian culture.
He along with friends, Bipin Chandra Pal and Lala Lajpat Rai (Lal-Bal-Pal) took the route of education, culture and media to reach out people.
These three actions took Bal Gangadhar Tilak much more closer to people through social reformation and mass mobilization.
Tilak is at the moment probably the most powerful man in India.”
– Edwin Samuel Montagu, British Secretary of State for India between 1917 and 1922, in An Indian Diary
In 1881, he started Marathi newspaper Kesari and English newspaper Maratha, which was a hit among public.
In the year 1894, he initiated the “Sarvajanik Ganesh Utsav” celebrations in Mumbai to have cultural togetherness and foster a spirit of national unity among the masses. In 1895, he initiated the celebration of “Shiv Jayanti”, the birth anniversary of Chhatrapati Shivaji. He was dead against the ‘moderate’ approach of Congress in attaining Indian independence.
In the year 1905, he along with other nationalist started the Swadeshi movement to boycott foreign goods and start using Indian goods and in 1914, he launched the Home Rule League with the rousing slogan “Swarajya is my birthright and I will have it”.
The greatest Indian of the day… indomitable Tilak, who would not bend though he break.
– Jawaharlal Nehru
Bal Gangadhar Tilak was arrested by the British thrice on sedition charges – first with incitement to murder of Assistant Collector of Pune Mr. Rand and sentenced to 18 months imprisonment and second was in 1908, for six years of rigorous imprisonment in Mandalay in Burma and in 1916, for his lectures on self-rule. In 1915, he wrote the famous ‘Gita Rahasya’ – is the analysis of Karma yoga which finds its source in the Bhagavad Gita.
Bal Gangadhar Tilak breathed his last in Bombay. His funeral at Chowpatty Beach, in a guest house called Sardar Griha – was attended by over a million people.
No man of our times had the hold on the masses that Mr Tilak had.
– Mahatma Gandhi, in his obituary for Lokmanya Tilak in Young India, August 4, 1920
On 28 July 1956, a portrait of Bal Gangadhar Tilak was put in the Central Hall of Parliament House.
From Chandrasekhar Azad to Veer Savarkar, Balgangadhar Tilak inspired a generation of freedom fighters to resist the British rule.
Click here to subscribe to The Commune on Telegram and get the best stories of the day delivered to you personally.
The News Minute (TNM), an online digital news platform known for its coverage of south Indian states, claims itself to be anti-establishment ‘speaking truth to power’. However, its truth to power is directed towards one party and one section of the people.
To the politically unaware, this news outlet comes across like a ‘neutral’, ‘independent’ and ‘unbiased’ media outlet posing the tough questions to those in power. In fact, political observers and media watchers point out that TNM started off as apolitical media house. But today, even an ordinary person with no poltical affliation can see through the propaganda infused in their writings.
TNM is popularly perceived as a ‘leftist’ media portal today. However, the Dravidian Stockist in them shines through if one were to scan through its content and its people. In fact, it would be not be wrong to call TNM the unofficial mouthpiece of the DMK.
Let’s start with a simple example for analysis.
The DMK and its IT cell along with its social media influencers trends the hashtag #GoBackModi whenever Prime Minister Narendra Modi visits Tamil Nadu. And each time the hashtag is trended, mainstream Tamil news channels give it ample coverage. The News Minute too has added to the narrative.
After DMK chief MK Stalin became Chief Minister, he too has been facing resistance with the hashtag #GoBackStalin. In November 2021, when CM Stalin visited Coimbatore, the hashtag #GoBackStalin was trending at the national level to protest against the CM’s visit to the region.
However, there was a deafening silence from media organizations masquerading as ‘neutral’ media which had jumped in to put a news item whenever #GoBackModi trended.
The News Minute which had covered more than 10 articles having reference to #GoBackModi had atleast 4 exclusive articles on the hashtag trending on Twitter.
The News Minute had even gone on to cover an article saying that “Go Back Modi” hashtags were not promoted by Pakistan despite that not being the case. It has been proved that ‘Go Back Modi’ hashtags were being promoted by bots in Pakistan.
However, it has not even put one article about #GoBackStalin which had also trended earlier in October 2020 when MK Stalin allegedly insulted Pasumpon Muthuramalinga Thevar by dusting off the Vibudhi prasad at the Thevar Temple.
This is just to give a cursory analysis that exposes TNM’s bias. The Dravidian Stock rot is well entrenched in the organization.
Dravidian Stockists Masquerading As ‘Neutral’ Journos
Let’s take a look at the kind of people working at TNM.
Shabbir Ahmed
Formerly a Deputy News Editor with Times Now, Shabbir joined TNM as a ‘Senior News Editor’ in February 2022. He currently handles The News Minute Tamil YouTube channel where he anchors the show ‘Yen Endra Kevi’ in which he mostly comments on the politics of Tamil Nadu focusing on BJP Tamil Nadu President K. Annamalai’s ‘problematic politics’. Problematic for him, as he was once called out for his brazen bias by the man himself.
Shabbir Ahmed
Some journalists in T.N including you have a visceral hatred for our Hon PM & BJP TN over the years.When your article is neutral & unbiased, we will respect and honour your work
When you bring your personal prejudice into your Instituions, I’ll be doing this
Annamalai wasn’t the only politician to call out Shabbir. He was also put in his place by PMK leader Dr. Anbumani Ramadoss back in 2019 at the pressmeet organized by the party after it announced its alliance for the Lok Sabha polls. Shabbir tried to overwhelm the PMK leader with a volley of questions that tested his patience.
There have been many instances when the Dravidian Stockist in him had reared its head even when he was with Times Now. He was one of the many ‘journalists’ at the forefront who had taken sides and led the anti-Sterlite protests that rocked Thoothukudi. He pounced on Superstar Rajinikanth who had rightly pointed out that anti-social elements had infiltrated the protests.
So #Vedanta#Sterlite which has been polluting environment & causing hardship for the people of #Thoothukudi for the past 24 years is NOT an Anti-Social eh? Mr Rajinikanth??? #SterliteProtest
In another attack on Rajinikanth, he had reported how Rajnikanth was accused of indulging in ‘publicity’ when the latter distributed relief during Cyclone Gaja. A Superstar who even a child can recognize is accused of indulging in ‘publicity’ by this wannabe ‘journalist’. Such is his desperation. He certainly seems to have a dislike towards the Superstar who is known for his nationalistic bent.
People accused actor-turned-politician Rajinikanth of publicity, after his Makkam Mandram distributed food packets in the aftermath of Cyclone Gaja, with the packets having the actor's stamp on it@Ahmedshabbir20 with the report #RajiniReliefStamppic.twitter.com/DLH4u1LNnO
In another case, he was dejected that Prime Minister Narendra Modi didn’t invite DMK chief MK Stalin for the swearing-in in 2019.
Agree or disagree, #DMK is the 3rd largest party in the lower house & not inviting DMK Chief Stalin for #PMModi swearing-in ceremony is nothing but petty politics.
He had taken a lot of effort to compile isolated incidents of crime to peddle a narrative that the law and order situation under the AIADMK regime had broken down. Shabbir has put no such threads compiling all the crimes that has happened under the DMK’s watch since May 2021.
Just 3 major incidents relating to law and order in the last 10 years of AIADMK govt, says a political analyst. Really? How about refreshing our memory?
So, when Shabbir announced that he was quitting Times Now it came as no surprise when he was accommodated in TNM.
Kavitha Muralidharan
This one article is enough to shed light on the Dravidian Stockist that she is who claims herself to be an ‘independent journalist’. She had penned a eulogy on MK Stalin after the DMK emerged victorious in the 2021 Assembly polls.
Kavitha Muralidharan
Even a layman in Tamil Nadu is well aware of the troubled relationship between DMK and biryani shops. In August 2018, Yuvraj, a DMK youth wing secretary and another party member named Dhivakar thrashed a hotel staff after he refused to give them free biryani. The incident gained national level coverage and DMK chief MK Stalin personally came to down to the hotel to apologize for his party men’s behaviour. However, this alleged ‘independent journalist’ had peddled fake news that the person who hit belonged to the BJP.
Madam @kavithamurali you’ve not yet apologised for your FAKE reporting that Briyani Guy is from BJP. In your defence you say, saying BJP is justified because he’s from RSS, again this falls flat because he was never with RSS but with Hindu Maha Sabha which is different from RSS. pic.twitter.com/xrIXfIWEly
When the BJP in Tamil Nadu raised the issue of Kongu Naadu as a counter to the DMK referring to the Union government as “Ondriya Arasu” (a term which has separatist undertones), Kavitha Muralidharan got jittered and jumped into write a piece for TNM saying that the uproar over Kongu Nadu was a retaliation to DMK government’s “federal assertion” and that having a Kongu Nadu carved out isn’t feasible.
And ofcourse, she has been instrumental in peddling the anti-NEET rhetoric of DMK through article, speeches and so on.
There are many such instances where her love for DMK just reeks through her teeth.
Ragamalika
She may not come across as an outright Dravidian Stockist but her visceral hate towards one man, one faith, one party comes out unscathed in the TNM article titled 11 women in Modi Cabinet: Why this is far from feminism in which she says “when feminism is anti-fascist, how can a feminist cheer the fact that there are now more women in a fascist government?”.
Ragamalika
For the first time since independence, India has got the most inclusive and diverse cabinet with many women walking the corridors of power. There are 11 women ministers in PM Modi’s cabinet, the highest in 17 years. However, for Ragamalika, the Editor of ‘Special Projects and Experiments’ at the TNM, this is not empowerment.
Be that as it may. The ruling DMK in Tamil Nadu has just 2 women Ministers out of 34 Council of Ministers.
But no outrage or sermons came from the ultra-feminist on the scanty representation of women in DMK. None. Zilch.
Bharathy Singaravel
The most vile and rabid Dravidian Stockist of TNM who has no qualms in flaunting the vile rabid Dravidian Stockist that she is, is Bharathy Singaravel. There is a reason for stressing on the adjectives to describe this alleged ‘journalist’ because she is one of those unrepentant ‘Dravidia-Nazi’ known for frothing hate against one community.
Bharathy Singaravel
Here is a sample.
In the above tweet, Bharathy Singaravel uses the word “Paarpaan” – a derogatory and genocidal term used against Tamil Brahmins – to call out the Brahmin identity of a defence policy analyst.
In another tweet, she wrote that Tamil freedom fighter Vanchinathan who is a Brahmin and killed British Collector Robert Ashe disgusts her. It is a shame that this woman shares the name of the great freedom fighter Subramania Bharathi.
Ofcourse, she couldn’t stomach it when BJP leader Uma Anandan, a Brahmin, emerged as a winner in the urban local body elections and became the lone BJP councillor in the Chennai Corporation.
This journalist of the alleged ‘neutral’ TNM had openly campaigned and asked people to vote for the DMK alliance in the 2021 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections.
And when the DMK won, she took to insulting the ‘Hindi belt’ for voting a genocidal, inept, self-absorbed bigot (referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi) to power.
In fact, when Shekhar Gupta had written that it would do good for MK Stalin to fix the fiscal deficit of the state by getting rid of freebies, Bharathy got so agitated that she started hurling expletives at him.
Given the precedents, the right place for this vile, abusive, casteist Dravidia-Nazi is not TNM but Murasoli or ‘Periyar’ Thidal.
Or may be, TNM is the English version of ‘Murasoli’ or ‘Viduthalai’.
TNM – A Frontal Media Organization By Dravidia-Nazis For Dravidia-Nazis
TNM has been an extraordinary ‘frontline warrior’ (fondly called Munkala Paniyalargal in Tamil or simply Munkalaps) in peddling rhetorics favourable to the Dravidia-Nazis.
For instance, the DK, DMK and its affiliates are known for delinking Tamil and Hindu culture by peddling that ‘Saivism’ (worship of Lord Shiva) is a separate religion and not part of Hinduism. Despite no takers for this non-sense, this false faultline is deliberately created to drive a wedge among Hindus pitting the non-Brahmin communities against the Brahmins, so that the socially and economically disadvantaged Hindus can be preyed on by Christian missionary forces.
But with the ascent of Hindutva, there is a growing Hindu consciousness among the Tamil population. The Adheenams (Saivite Mutts) who are custodians of large number of ancient temples and hold a significant command over different Hindu communites, have been instrumental in arresting the religious conversion menace. The Madurai Adheenam pontiff Sri La Sri Harihara Sri Gnanasambanda Desika Swamigal has been speaking his mind on the DK, DMK and followers of the anti-Hindu racist demagogue E.V. Ramaswamy Naicker (EVR). He has been vocal against the brazen nefarious interference of the ruling DMK government in temple affairs.
And so when he came hammer and tongs on the DMK government at a conference organized by Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) in Madurai, the vile and rabid Hindu-hater Bharathy Singaravel shot off an article like a true Munkalaps. In the article, she claimed that the Adheenams are ‘Saivite sects that have traditionally been dedicated to Tamil forms of worship and are part of the state’s non-Vedic culture defying Brahmin hold, north Indian worship which was brought into the land by the then Tamil kings’ while dissing Madurai Adheenam pontiff as part of Sangh’s Hindutva agenda.
This is a recent incident. The Dravidian Stockists at the TNM have for long been peddling the rhetorics favourable to the DK, DMK and ilk.
Be it on NEET, anti-Sterlite protests, selective coverage of custodial deaths, or whipping up sentiments against the erstwhile Edappadi K. Palaniswami AIADMK regime the TNM has gone out of its way in buttressing the DMK.
Anti-NEET Propaganda
In this video, Kavitha Muralidharan subtly infuses anti-NEET rhetoric by mentioning the late Anitha who was made a poster-girl by the DMK ilk for their agitations against the all-India medical entrance exam.
And then there are scores of articles against NEET making a case for doing away with the exam.
And like vultures, TNM pounce on the dead. They don’t leave a chance to report on the unfortunate death of students who weren’t able to crack NEET. The eagerness and enthusiasm that this outlet shows on reporting NEET suicides is missing in when students take their lives for scoring poor in other exams.
NEET has been turned into this demon by the Dravidian Stockists media in Tamil Nadu as if there exists no other exam in the world. There has been a string of suicides every year following the declaration of Class 12 public exam results. But those lives don’t matter to TNM because they don’t fit the DMK’s narrative.
In essence, the Dravidian Stockists at TNM enabled DMK’s anti-NEET propaganda by selectively reporting on NEET suicides.
Anti-Sterlite Propaganda
During the anti-Sterlite protests, TNM carried an article and a video of Nityanand Jayaraman giving a response to a video by Let’s Make Engineering Simple (LMES) that sought to give a bigger picture of the pollution crisis. LMES had questioned the motivation of Nityanand Jayaraman in targeting Vedanta to which he conveniently replied “People choose and pick their battles based on what they think is deserving of their attention”. During the second wave of the pandemic, the Tamil Nadu government allowed Sterlite to produce oxygen from its Thoothukudi plant to meet the rising demand for oxygen. TNM carried an article written by Nityanand Jayaraman advocating the DMK government to shut it down keeping in view of the ‘bigger picture’.
Miscellaneous Pro-DMK Propaganda
TNM had run (or still runs) a separate segment called the “Cooperative Federalism Project”, an editorial campaign that seeks to put the state’s perspective. In its description of the project, India is defined as “a sum of its various states and cultures.”, parroting the idea of India mouthed by Rahul Gadhi and the DMK.
The campaign against GST, centralized tests and Governor are straight out of DMK’s political playbook.
When rains lashed Chennai causing flooding in many areas, TNM took it upon itself to buttress the DMK government by publishing a detailed article about how ‘broken radars and conflicting weather reports‘ led to Chennai floods. The fact of the matter localities such as T. Nagar, West Mambalam, Kodambakkam, K.K. Nagar, Saidapet and other areas were inundated due to the indiscriminate dumping of debris and garbage in the drainage canals by Corporation contractors and not completing desiltation work on time.
Not just in covering political news, the Dravidian Stockist propaganda is infused in even movie reviews. Bharathy Singaravel is an expert on that while Sowmya Rajendran adds a dash of her secular wisdom. The outlet suffered a meltdown when film director Mohan G’s Draupadhi and Rudra Thandavam who had the courage to speak the unspoken truths hidden in plain sight in the society.
TNM – The Unofficial Mouthpiece Of DMK
TNM is considered as the authority over south news and views. However it does come with a certain ideological and political bias. Nothing wrong in that. But it is problematic when it tries to shove its opinion under the garb of being ‘neutral’.
More than what is spoken and published, it is their silence on certain matters that gives away its Dravidia-Nazi leanings. Ofcourse, they resort to ‘token reporting’ every now and then to come across as ‘non-partisan’. Like they did in the case of custodial death of Vignesh.
But the facts mentioned above only makes it clear that the news outlet apart from being a leftist can also be considered as the unofficial mouthpiece of the DMK.
Click here to subscribe to The Commune on Telegram and get the best stories of the day delivered to you personally.
The Delhi High Court Wednesday (July 27, 2022) delivered its final order on Srishti Madurai Educational Trust vs Government of NCT of Delhi & Others to ban sex-selective surgeries on intersex infants and children and to implement the Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights recommendations.
The High Court directed the Delhi Government to implement the recommendations prepared by intersex activists Gopi Shankar Madurai and Anjali Gopalan which asked the Government of Delhi to declare a ban on medically unnecessary, sex-selective surgeries on intersex infants and children except in cases of life-threatening situations.
The order also noted that Srishti Madurai can approach the Delhi High Court again if it is not satisfied with the implementation of the verdict.
Speaking to The Commune, Gopi Shankar Madurai who is also the South Region representative of the National Council for Transgender Persons (NTCP) said that he hopes that Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal will implement the order at the earliest and uphold the constitutional rights of Intersex infants & children in Delhi.
“I thank Advocate Shri Robin Raju for supporting intersex human rights and appearing pro bono in this case.”, he said.
Click here to subscribe to The Commune on Telegram and get the best stories of the day delivered to you personally.
On the occasion of Adi Amavasya, about 300 villagers from Ikkarai Boluvampatti Block congregated at the Adiyogi for a traditional celebration in the evening today. As is customary on Adi Amavasya, these villagers from Boluvampatti, Semmedu, Muttathuvayal and Kottaikaadu – attired in their most colourful traditional dress – offered Paal Kudam, a ceremonial offering of milk to deity, and offered Pooja to the Yogeshwara Linga right in front of the Adiyogi. What turned out to be an unexpected bonus for visitors from far and wide, the villagers then offered a charming routine of traditional dance and music to the Adiyogi Shiva.
“It is a matter of great pride that Sadhguru has consecrated the Adiyogi statue near our village,” said
Shri Velumani,a farmer from Semmedu village, and a participant in the proceedings.
“People from all over the world come to visit. Sadhguru has offered all of us from the villages around, an opportunity to offer Pooja to the Yogeshwara linga on Amavasya. On this Adi Amavasya, we’ve brought Paal Kudam accompanied by Shiva Vadyam (traditional instruments). We are planning on grander
celebrations in the coming years.”
Students of the village schools, too, pitched in with a compelling display of Silambattam – stick and
spear twirling. This was followed by a delightful display of Kummiyattam – a folk dance based on
clapping.
“The Amavasya Pooja expenses are completely borne by us,” said a beaming Mr Kangaraj, another
participating villager. “We are also offering Annandanam. People of all ages participate in the festivities. Each person celebrates according to their wish. Some take the karagam – a pot of water decorated with flowers carried on the head – while some make rice offerings. Everyone participates with full involvement. It is a manifestation of our strong bond with Isha.”
The Amavasya Poojas by the villagers are a regular feature at the Adiyogi for nearly 5 years now.
These celebrations have become a draw for locals as well as global tourists and visitors.
(This is an official press release from Isha Foundation. The Commune was not involved in creating this content.)
Click here to subscribe to The Commune on Telegram and get the best stories of the day delivered to you personally.
Around 200 innocent people who were illegally abducted and held captive by different NGOs run by Christian missionaries were rescued following the intervention of a social activist named Kishore and local BJP cadres from Coimbatore.
The NGOs had rented a building belonging to one ‘Blesss India Children Home’ located at Attukal near Thondamuthur to house the illegally abducted homeless destitutes. This institution is said to have been closed in 2015 over violations of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
Many of those illegally detained were found to be old men and women who had families. Some of them worked as daily wage labourers and were forcibly abducted during their work. In videos that are doing the rounds on social media, they can be seen lamenting how they were forcible taken, tonsured and tortured by the members of the NGOs. Those who refused to get tonsured were reportedly beaten with PVC pipes by the NGO members. Of the 130 people, heads of 110 people were found tonsured according to the Times of India report.
One of the victims named Nataraj was quoted saying in a Times of India report that he was forcible taken into a vehicle by four men when he was returning from Coimbatore Medical College and Hospital.
Another person who was waiting to get free lunch provided by some NGOs were forcibly taken into a vehicle, tonsured, and kept captive at the shelter.
A man who had gone to pay school fees for his son and was abducted when he was waiting for a bus to go to Pollachi.
In another instance, an old lady who was sitting in a temple near her home in Kalveerampalayam, Marudamalai was abducted. The old lady’s relatives searched and caught the vehicle and in the intervening 2 hours, the NGO members had shaved her head, gave her only a nightie and burnt the clothes she was wearing.
இரவு வேலையை முடித்துவிட்டு காலையில், 1ம் வகுப்பு படிக்கும் தன்னுடைய குழந்தைக்கு பள்ளி கட்டணம் செலுத்த பொள்ளாச்சி பேருந்திற்காக சாலையில் நடந்து சென்றவரை அடித்து இழுத்து வந்து அடைத்து வைத்து விட்டனர். கையில் இருந்த 1530ரூபாயையும் பிடுங்கி கொண்டனர் pic.twitter.com/lskclruRmL
A construction worker who was sleeping on the roadside in Edappadi near Salem was abducted by the NGOs stating that they orders from District Collector.
ஜார்க்கன்டில் இருந்து கோவைக்கு ஒரு வேலையாக வந்தவரை ரயில்வே நிலையத்திலேயை வைத்து கடத்தி விட்டனர். மொட்டை அடித்து கையில் வைத்திருந்த PAN கார்டு, ஆதார் கார்டு, அனைத்தையும் எரித்து விட்டனர் நன்றாக ஆங்கிலம் பேசுகிறார்
A man who had come from Jharkhand to Coimbatore for work was abducted at the railway station. The NGO members burnt the PAN card, Aadhaar card, and the cash that he had.
amount of hate spewed by ruling party on north indian guest workers reached a level where an illegal organ trading group abducted a well educated Jharkhand resident from coimbatore railway station, tonsured his head and held him captive in a remote location@HemantSorenJMMpic.twitter.com/vGD8f2tLlR
Many others who were detained also alleged that the NGO took away their belongings and their documents like Aadhaar, PAN card, driving licence, and destroyed them.
When the people had resisted, the NGO members had allegedly told them that they can go and complain to whichever police they want as nothing would happen.
The illegal detention came to light after the neighbourhood heard distressing cries from the building.
Following this, Perur Tahsildar Indumathi lodged a complaint with the Thondamuthur police station. A case was registered and six people were arrested which includes – B Jubin (Anbu Ashram, Vizhupuram); K. George (Paralogathin Pathai Trust, Chennai); V Balachandran (Meetpu Trust, Dharmapuri); C Arun (Anbu Jothi Ashram, Chennai); Symon Senthilkumar (Adaikkala Karangal, Coimbatore); Selvin (Pugalidam Trust, Chennai).
Once the neighbourhood alerted, a local social activist named Kishore along with members of BJP Coimbatore district had arrived at the spot demanding action against the perpetrators.
However, they were released the very next day on bail by the police. The Anti Human Trafficking Unit (AHTU) of Tamil Nadu police, which helped the NGOs, said that the district administration had given permission to these NGOs to go on a drive for ‘rescuing’ homeless people.
The AHTU inspector Roslin was quoted saying in a report that the District Collector had given permission two weeks ago to rescue mentally ill and homeless people and rehabilitate them.
“Upon the advice of the District Social Welfare Officer, we supported them and rescued only the destitute people. Without our knowledge, they took a few people who are not mentally ill. We have nothing to do with it,” AHTU inspector R Roslin was quoted saying in the report by The New India Express.
On the other hand, District Collector Sameeran had denied giving any written approval to the NGOs and added that they might have shown the letter requesting permission.
“The fact is that police believed it was for a good purpose and assisted them. The inquiry will bring out the truth,” the District Collector was quoted saying in the report.
Social Activist Thaliyur Kishore along with BJP Coimbatore Preisdent Balaji Uthamaramasamy protested for arresting and slapping Goondas Act against the culprits.
Selvakumar, who closely work with the BJP in the region mentioned that these people were abducted for harvesting their organs to be sold in the illegal organ racket. He also said that the institution ‘Bless India’ where the abducted people were kept was reopened in 2021 with the support of the local DMK councilor Ravi. He added that the police were complicit in the crime by giving the ‘license to abduct’ to these dubious NGOs.
Despite the crime being done by Christian missionary NGOs, both Times Of India and The New Indian Express resorted to secularizing the incident. The report by The New Indian Express make no mention of Christian missionary NGOs while the Times Of India report names the NGOs involved. The report by The New Indian Express also slyly hid the fact that the Bless India Children Home was involved in a POCSO case by stating that it was ‘closed in 2015 for some violation’. The Times Of India report branded the protest demanding action against the culprits as protest by ‘right-wing outfits’.
Click here to subscribe to The Commune on Telegram and get the best stories of the day delivered to you personally.
Ramanand Sagar’s blockbuster television series Ramayan, which had captivated and enthralled millions of Indians back in the 1980s, was met with fierce opposition from the then Secretary of Information & Broadcasting Ministry Bhaskar Ghose, who is the father of alleged journalist Sagarikha Ghose.
In the biography of Ramanand Sagar titled An Epic Life: Ramanand Sagar: From Barsaat to Ramayan penned by the ace film director’s son Prem Sagar, it has been mentioned that Bhaskar Ghose wanted to secularize the Hindu epic series and even tried to stop the series midway.
“Ghose’s dictatorship still did not end. He told Papaji (referring to this fatherRamanand Sagar) that by reducing the Hindu element in Ramayan, it could be made a little more secular so that it could be watched by diverse viewers. This meant that there was no unity among the Hindus, and their ascendency could be in danger”, notes Prem Sagar in his father’s biography.
It must be noted that the series enjoyed great popularity even among members of the Islamic faith according to D. K. Bose, the media director of Hindustan Thompson Associates.
“But Papaji did not give up, despite all these conspiracies by Ghose. Nor did he agree to any kind of compromise in his direction of the show which he felt could not be stopped or changed. He was smart enough to send the video tapes to Ghose just at the time when there were only few hours left for the broadcast.” Prem Sagar writes.
He also noted that the show invited continuous barrage of criticism from the press and bureaucrats who wanted to truncate the show despite its massive success.
“Bhaskar Ghose refused to give Papaji an additional twenty-six weeks so that the show could be stopped midway. But the addiction to Ramayan in the country was so strong that if it had stopped, the whole country would have been hurt. Despite Ghose’s many efforts, the broadcast of the show did not stop.”, Prem Sagar mentions.
This excerpt from Ramayana serial producer Ramanand Sagar’s biography by his son states how then DD head Bhaskar Ghose wanted to make Ramayana ‘secular’ to appease ‘minorities’. Bhaskar Ghose is @ghosesagarika’s daddy and @sardesairajdeep’s father-in-law!pics via @CestMoizpic.twitter.com/0Co5kb5FoP
Ramanand Sagar’s Ramayan was first aired in Doordarshan between 1987 and 1988. Back then, the show had a viewership like no other and earned a hefty amount for each episode. It was once again re-telecasted during the 2020 corona virus lockdown and managed to create a record even in this age of digital OTT platforms. The show became the highest viewed entertainment programme globally when 77 million people watched the show on April 16, 2020.
Click here to subscribe to The Commune on Telegram and get the best stories of the day delivered to you personally.
By Dravidian Stockists, For Dravidian Stockists: Why TNM Is The Unofficial Mouthpiece Of DMK
The News Minute (TNM), an online digital news platform known for its coverage of south Indian states, claims itself to be anti-establishment ‘speaking truth to power’. However, its truth to power is directed towards one party and one section of the people.
To the politically unaware, this news outlet comes across like a ‘neutral’, ‘independent’ and ‘unbiased’ media outlet posing the tough questions to those in power. In fact, political observers and media watchers point out that TNM started off as apolitical media house. But today, even an ordinary person with no poltical affliation can see through the propaganda infused in their writings.
TNM is popularly perceived as a ‘leftist’ media portal today. However, the Dravidian Stockist in them shines through if one were to scan through its content and its people. In fact, it would be not be wrong to call TNM the unofficial mouthpiece of the DMK.
Let’s start with a simple example for analysis.
The DMK and its IT cell along with its social media influencers trends the hashtag #GoBackModi whenever Prime Minister Narendra Modi visits Tamil Nadu. And each time the hashtag is trended, mainstream Tamil news channels give it ample coverage. The News Minute too has added to the narrative.
After DMK chief MK Stalin became Chief Minister, he too has been facing resistance with the hashtag #GoBackStalin. In November 2021, when CM Stalin visited Coimbatore, the hashtag #GoBackStalin was trending at the national level to protest against the CM’s visit to the region.
However, there was a deafening silence from media organizations masquerading as ‘neutral’ media which had jumped in to put a news item whenever #GoBackModi trended.
The News Minute which had covered more than 10 articles having reference to #GoBackModi had atleast 4 exclusive articles on the hashtag trending on Twitter.
The News Minute had even gone on to cover an article saying that “Go Back Modi” hashtags were not promoted by Pakistan despite that not being the case. It has been proved that ‘Go Back Modi’ hashtags were being promoted by bots in Pakistan.
However, it has not even put one article about #GoBackStalin which had also trended earlier in October 2020 when MK Stalin allegedly insulted Pasumpon Muthuramalinga Thevar by dusting off the Vibudhi prasad at the Thevar Temple.
This is just to give a cursory analysis that exposes TNM’s bias. The Dravidian Stock rot is well entrenched in the organization.
Dravidian Stockists Masquerading As ‘Neutral’ Journos
Let’s take a look at the kind of people working at TNM.
Shabbir Ahmed
Formerly a Deputy News Editor with Times Now, Shabbir joined TNM as a ‘Senior News Editor’ in February 2022. He currently handles The News Minute Tamil YouTube channel where he anchors the show ‘Yen Endra Kevi’ in which he mostly comments on the politics of Tamil Nadu focusing on BJP Tamil Nadu President K. Annamalai’s ‘problematic politics’. Problematic for him, as he was once called out for his brazen bias by the man himself.
Annamalai wasn’t the only politician to call out Shabbir. He was also put in his place by PMK leader Dr. Anbumani Ramadoss back in 2019 at the pressmeet organized by the party after it announced its alliance for the Lok Sabha polls. Shabbir tried to overwhelm the PMK leader with a volley of questions that tested his patience.
https://twitter.com/boomboxheto/status/1099975183975104513
There have been many instances when the Dravidian Stockist in him had reared its head even when he was with Times Now. He was one of the many ‘journalists’ at the forefront who had taken sides and led the anti-Sterlite protests that rocked Thoothukudi. He pounced on Superstar Rajinikanth who had rightly pointed out that anti-social elements had infiltrated the protests.
In another attack on Rajinikanth, he had reported how Rajnikanth was accused of indulging in ‘publicity’ when the latter distributed relief during Cyclone Gaja. A Superstar who even a child can recognize is accused of indulging in ‘publicity’ by this wannabe ‘journalist’. Such is his desperation. He certainly seems to have a dislike towards the Superstar who is known for his nationalistic bent.
In another case, he was dejected that Prime Minister Narendra Modi didn’t invite DMK chief MK Stalin for the swearing-in in 2019.
He had taken a lot of effort to compile isolated incidents of crime to peddle a narrative that the law and order situation under the AIADMK regime had broken down. Shabbir has put no such threads compiling all the crimes that has happened under the DMK’s watch since May 2021.
So, when Shabbir announced that he was quitting Times Now it came as no surprise when he was accommodated in TNM.
Kavitha Muralidharan
This one article is enough to shed light on the Dravidian Stockist that she is who claims herself to be an ‘independent journalist’. She had penned a eulogy on MK Stalin after the DMK emerged victorious in the 2021 Assembly polls.
Even a layman in Tamil Nadu is well aware of the troubled relationship between DMK and biryani shops. In August 2018, Yuvraj, a DMK youth wing secretary and another party member named Dhivakar thrashed a hotel staff after he refused to give them free biryani. The incident gained national level coverage and DMK chief MK Stalin personally came to down to the hotel to apologize for his party men’s behaviour. However, this alleged ‘independent journalist’ had peddled fake news that the person who hit belonged to the BJP.
When the BJP in Tamil Nadu raised the issue of Kongu Naadu as a counter to the DMK referring to the Union government as “Ondriya Arasu” (a term which has separatist undertones), Kavitha Muralidharan got jittered and jumped into write a piece for TNM saying that the uproar over Kongu Nadu was a retaliation to DMK government’s “federal assertion” and that having a Kongu Nadu carved out isn’t feasible.
And ofcourse, she has been instrumental in peddling the anti-NEET rhetoric of DMK through article, speeches and so on.
There are many such instances where her love for DMK just reeks through her teeth.
Ragamalika
She may not come across as an outright Dravidian Stockist but her visceral hate towards one man, one faith, one party comes out unscathed in the TNM article titled 11 women in Modi Cabinet: Why this is far from feminism in which she says “when feminism is anti-fascist, how can a feminist cheer the fact that there are now more women in a fascist government?”.
For the first time since independence, India has got the most inclusive and diverse cabinet with many women walking the corridors of power. There are 11 women ministers in PM Modi’s cabinet, the highest in 17 years. However, for Ragamalika, the Editor of ‘Special Projects and Experiments’ at the TNM, this is not empowerment.
Be that as it may. The ruling DMK in Tamil Nadu has just 2 women Ministers out of 34 Council of Ministers.
But no outrage or sermons came from the ultra-feminist on the scanty representation of women in DMK. None. Zilch.
Bharathy Singaravel
The most vile and rabid Dravidian Stockist of TNM who has no qualms in flaunting the vile rabid Dravidian Stockist that she is, is Bharathy Singaravel. There is a reason for stressing on the adjectives to describe this alleged ‘journalist’ because she is one of those unrepentant ‘Dravidia-Nazi’ known for frothing hate against one community.
Here is a sample.
In the above tweet, Bharathy Singaravel uses the word “Paarpaan” – a derogatory and genocidal term used against Tamil Brahmins – to call out the Brahmin identity of a defence policy analyst.
In another tweet, she wrote that Tamil freedom fighter Vanchinathan who is a Brahmin and killed British Collector Robert Ashe disgusts her. It is a shame that this woman shares the name of the great freedom fighter Subramania Bharathi.
Ofcourse, she couldn’t stomach it when BJP leader Uma Anandan, a Brahmin, emerged as a winner in the urban local body elections and became the lone BJP councillor in the Chennai Corporation.
This journalist of the alleged ‘neutral’ TNM had openly campaigned and asked people to vote for the DMK alliance in the 2021 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections.
And when the DMK won, she took to insulting the ‘Hindi belt’ for voting a genocidal, inept, self-absorbed bigot (referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi) to power.
In fact, when Shekhar Gupta had written that it would do good for MK Stalin to fix the fiscal deficit of the state by getting rid of freebies, Bharathy got so agitated that she started hurling expletives at him.
Given the precedents, the right place for this vile, abusive, casteist Dravidia-Nazi is not TNM but Murasoli or ‘Periyar’ Thidal.
Or may be, TNM is the English version of ‘Murasoli’ or ‘Viduthalai’.
TNM – A Frontal Media Organization By Dravidia-Nazis For Dravidia-Nazis
TNM has been an extraordinary ‘frontline warrior’ (fondly called Munkala Paniyalargal in Tamil or simply Munkalaps) in peddling rhetorics favourable to the Dravidia-Nazis.
For instance, the DK, DMK and its affiliates are known for delinking Tamil and Hindu culture by peddling that ‘Saivism’ (worship of Lord Shiva) is a separate religion and not part of Hinduism. Despite no takers for this non-sense, this false faultline is deliberately created to drive a wedge among Hindus pitting the non-Brahmin communities against the Brahmins, so that the socially and economically disadvantaged Hindus can be preyed on by Christian missionary forces.
But with the ascent of Hindutva, there is a growing Hindu consciousness among the Tamil population. The Adheenams (Saivite Mutts) who are custodians of large number of ancient temples and hold a significant command over different Hindu communites, have been instrumental in arresting the religious conversion menace. The Madurai Adheenam pontiff Sri La Sri Harihara Sri Gnanasambanda Desika Swamigal has been speaking his mind on the DK, DMK and followers of the anti-Hindu racist demagogue E.V. Ramaswamy Naicker (EVR). He has been vocal against the brazen nefarious interference of the ruling DMK government in temple affairs.
And so when he came hammer and tongs on the DMK government at a conference organized by Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) in Madurai, the vile and rabid Hindu-hater Bharathy Singaravel shot off an article like a true Munkalaps. In the article, she claimed that the Adheenams are ‘Saivite sects that have traditionally been dedicated to Tamil forms of worship and are part of the state’s non-Vedic culture defying Brahmin hold, north Indian worship which was brought into the land by the then Tamil kings’ while dissing Madurai Adheenam pontiff as part of Sangh’s Hindutva agenda.
This is a recent incident. The Dravidian Stockists at the TNM have for long been peddling the rhetorics favourable to the DK, DMK and ilk.
Be it on NEET, anti-Sterlite protests, selective coverage of custodial deaths, or whipping up sentiments against the erstwhile Edappadi K. Palaniswami AIADMK regime the TNM has gone out of its way in buttressing the DMK.
Anti-NEET Propaganda
In this video, Kavitha Muralidharan subtly infuses anti-NEET rhetoric by mentioning the late Anitha who was made a poster-girl by the DMK ilk for their agitations against the all-India medical entrance exam.
And then there are scores of articles against NEET making a case for doing away with the exam.
And like vultures, TNM pounce on the dead. They don’t leave a chance to report on the unfortunate death of students who weren’t able to crack NEET. The eagerness and enthusiasm that this outlet shows on reporting NEET suicides is missing in when students take their lives for scoring poor in other exams.
NEET has been turned into this demon by the Dravidian Stockists media in Tamil Nadu as if there exists no other exam in the world. There has been a string of suicides every year following the declaration of Class 12 public exam results. But those lives don’t matter to TNM because they don’t fit the DMK’s narrative.
In essence, the Dravidian Stockists at TNM enabled DMK’s anti-NEET propaganda by selectively reporting on NEET suicides.
Anti-Sterlite Propaganda
During the anti-Sterlite protests, TNM carried an article and a video of Nityanand Jayaraman giving a response to a video by Let’s Make Engineering Simple (LMES) that sought to give a bigger picture of the pollution crisis. LMES had questioned the motivation of Nityanand Jayaraman in targeting Vedanta to which he conveniently replied “People choose and pick their battles based on what they think is deserving of their attention”. During the second wave of the pandemic, the Tamil Nadu government allowed Sterlite to produce oxygen from its Thoothukudi plant to meet the rising demand for oxygen. TNM carried an article written by Nityanand Jayaraman advocating the DMK government to shut it down keeping in view of the ‘bigger picture’.
Miscellaneous Pro-DMK Propaganda
TNM had run (or still runs) a separate segment called the “Cooperative Federalism Project”, an editorial campaign that seeks to put the state’s perspective. In its description of the project, India is defined as “a sum of its various states and cultures.”, parroting the idea of India mouthed by Rahul Gadhi and the DMK.
The campaign against GST, centralized tests and Governor are straight out of DMK’s political playbook.
When rains lashed Chennai causing flooding in many areas, TNM took it upon itself to buttress the DMK government by publishing a detailed article about how ‘broken radars and conflicting weather reports‘ led to Chennai floods. The fact of the matter localities such as T. Nagar, West Mambalam, Kodambakkam, K.K. Nagar, Saidapet and other areas were inundated due to the indiscriminate dumping of debris and garbage in the drainage canals by Corporation contractors and not completing desiltation work on time.
Not just in covering political news, the Dravidian Stockist propaganda is infused in even movie reviews. Bharathy Singaravel is an expert on that while Sowmya Rajendran adds a dash of her secular wisdom. The outlet suffered a meltdown when film director Mohan G’s Draupadhi and Rudra Thandavam who had the courage to speak the unspoken truths hidden in plain sight in the society.
TNM – The Unofficial Mouthpiece Of DMK
TNM is considered as the authority over south news and views. However it does come with a certain ideological and political bias. Nothing wrong in that. But it is problematic when it tries to shove its opinion under the garb of being ‘neutral’.
More than what is spoken and published, it is their silence on certain matters that gives away its Dravidia-Nazi leanings. Ofcourse, they resort to ‘token reporting’ every now and then to come across as ‘non-partisan’. Like they did in the case of custodial death of Vignesh.
But the facts mentioned above only makes it clear that the news outlet apart from being a leftist can also be considered as the unofficial mouthpiece of the DMK.
Click here to subscribe to The Commune on Telegram and get the best stories of the day delivered to you personally.