Three functionaries of Tamil Nadu Thowheed Jamath have been booked after a video emerged wherein one could hear Covai R. Rahmatullah, leader of the Thowheed Jamath (TNTJ) in Tamil Nadu issued death threats on open stage against Supreme Court judges in light of the Karnataka High Court verdict against the hijab.
Police on Friday (March 19) said that the Thowheed Jamath had organised a public meeting in Koripalayam in Madurai against the Karnataka court’s verdict on the hijab and the organisers allegedly made derogatory remarks on the verdict.
— Indu Makkal Katchi (off) (@Indumakalktchi) March 18, 2022
The Islamist organisations across India are very angry after the court ruled that girls wearing hijab is not necessary and banned the hijab in educational institutions.
Following the complaint, the Madurai police have booked three TNTJ functionaries under sections 153 (a) (promoting enmity between groups), 505 (1) (c) (intent to incite violence), 505(2), 506(1) (criminal intimidation) of the IPC.
While speaking to his supporters where there were women and children present, Covai R. Rahmatullah said “If an accident or a murder or some other unfortunate thing happens to a Supreme Court judge, then they are responible for the same. You are watching ordinary news reports today. If you see Big Breaking news tomorrow, it is the judges themselves who are responsible for their fate and not us. Are you going to file a case against me? Am I giving death threats? Register a case if you want! We are protesting for hijab and we’ll go to jail for that! Allahu Akbar!”,
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Ever since the DMK came to power, it has been doing politics primarily on the theme of ‘discrimination’ – one day it is ‘discrimination of Tamil language’, another day it is ‘discrimination of Tamil Nadu students’, another day it is discrimination in allocation of funds for Tamil Nadu.
The DMK resorts to this ‘discimination politics’, repeating these templates over and over in different forms, to distract the people from its abject failures.
In order to peddle this ‘discrimination politics’, the DMK stages various dramas in order to buttress and boost the image of the of its government, particularly its Chief Minister MK Stalin.
This shouldn’t come as a surprise as the DMK is a party which was founded and nurtured by leaders who themselves were scriptwriters – C. N. Annadurai and M. Karunanidhi.
So, scripting and staging dramas isn’t a big deal for the DMK as it is in their dna. What other parties can learn from them is how the DMK has been successful in using the relevant medium for its messaging, in tune with time.
If they had captured the medium of cinema back then to shape narratives, they’re doing so now by trying to establish their dominance in social media.
To an extent, they’ve been successful in peddling their narratives.
Being a party controlled by elite non-Brahmin castes, they usually give the ‘Brahminical’ spin to all such allegations of discrimination out of their visceral hatred towards one community.
That is because ‘Dravidianazism’ is ingrained in every cell of a ‘DMK Dravidianist’ and every story needs a villain. For the DMK and its allies, it is always a minority community who have long left the political space, minding their own business and keeping to themselves.
In order to keep that ‘Dravidianazi’ flame alive, we often see the party whipping up passions under the name of ‘social justice’.
In all the episodes of DMK’s dramas so far, the crux has been the same. Only the plots are different.
Episode 1
In October 2021, a video of a Narikuravar woman released by several DMK-friendly media outlets went viral on social media in which she alleged that she was denied food in temple.
Within a few days, pictures of HR&CE Minister Sekar Babu having food with her went viral on social media.
It finally culminated in CM Stalin visiting her house and giving the community pattas and ration cards.
Tadaa! CM Stalin is now the saviour of Narikuravar community.
It is pertinent to note that there was no video evidence of the woman being denied entry into the temple or not served Annadanam. Usually, Annadanams are conducted in temples across Tamil Nadu where the poor, destitutes and the most vulnerable sections of the society are provided food free of cost. This is not provided by the government but by the temples themselves.
Hero – A Dravidianazi.
Villain – The fictional Brahmin who denied her Annadanam.
Episode 2
Zakir Hussain is an Islamist, a ‘dancer’, and card-carrying member of the DMK who had joined the party in January 2021.
He quite often posts Hindumisic posts on his social media. Just like any other DMK cadre, he also frequently takes derogates Hindus with ‘cow dung’ and ‘cow piss’ jibes.
In December 2021, he claimed that Rangarajan Narasimhan, a self-proclaimed ‘temple activist’ prevented him from entering the Srirangam Ranganathar Temple. However, he himself in an interview to a YouTube channel had claimed that he has been going to the temple for many years and was never denied entry.
Immediately, the DMK-friendly media plunged into action to take his interviews. A narrative of ‘poor Muslim minority being ill-treated by oppressive Hindus’ was created.
Again, HR&CE Minister took the matter into his cognizance and said that appropriate action would be taken immediately.
In January 2022, Zakir Hussain was appointed as an advisor for the 17 district music schools under the Tamil Nadu government.
Again, there was no video proof or eyewitness testimony of Zakir Hussain being denied entry into the temple.
But the DMK managed to spin a story coveying this message “Though he is from a minority community, he should be allowed to enter the temple. But one community is refusing to let such people in! We are here to stand by him. We are the true champions of social justice.”.
Hero – A Dravidianazi
Villain – The ‘Brahmin’ who denied entry to a Muslim.
Episode 3
In February 2022, a clip of a school kid talking about ‘humanity’ went viral on social media. The clip is part of a vox pop video released by a YouTube channel where the anchor asks the question “Whom do you hate the most?”.
The reply to this question by this school kid who was later identified as ‘Abdul Kalam’ had received social media attention. The kid said “Do not hate anyone. Many people call me as ‘palla’ (the guy with the teeth). Why should I hate them? Everybody are like friends to me. Why should we be divided?”.
The anchor when he probes further, the boy says that one should empathize with people who are of bad influence and not be judgemental about them.
This clip had gone viral on social media with DMK MLA from Mannargudi and the party’s newly inducted IT wing head TRB Rajaa, the son of DMK MP T.R Baalu.
What was a casual harmless vox pop was given a communal colour by DMK MLA TRB Rajaa who identified the boy to be the son of a Muslim studying in a Christian school. One wonders how the DMK IT Wing head knew about the background of the child just a day after the video went viral. Or was it made viral by the DMK IT wing head himself?
On the same day TRB Rajaa had shared the vox pop video clip on his profile, Galatta Voice, a YouTube channel that is considered to peddle narratives favourable to the ruling DMK released a video which shows the boy’s school – St. Lazarus Middle School located in Madha Church Road in R.A. Puram area of Chennai. The correspondent of the school seated along with the nun and the boy talk about the value system they inculcate in their school. Is this is to counter the narrative set by the BJP against the Lavanya suicide case? We don’t know.
In another video released by Behindwoods, the boy’s mother says that her family is being asked to vacate their home where they’re currently staying. She said that the boy becoming a overnight sensation could be a reason for that. Soon, other YouTube channels like IBC Tamil, India Glitz, etc., who tow the line of the DMK too jumped the bandwagon in building the narrative around this boy and his family.
Following this, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister on February 24 met the boy and his family on February 24.
யாரையும் வெறுக்காமல் அன்பு செலுத்தவேண்டும் எனச் சிறுவன் அப்துல் கலாம் பேசிய காணொளி கண்டு நெகிழ்ந்தேன். நேரில் அழைத்துப் பாராட்டினேன்.
சாதி, மதப் பாகுபாடுகளைக் கற்பிக்காமல் சிறுவனின் மனதில் அன்பையும் மனிதநேயத்தையும் விதைத்த அவரது பெற்றோரும் ஆசிரியர்களும் பாராட்டுக்குரியர். pic.twitter.com/foXzlA1UeE
The next day on February 25, School Education Minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi while participating at the 125th anniversary celebrations of St. Anthony’s Girls’ High School in Chennai presented a check for ₹25,000 as scholarship to Abdul Kalam.
சென்னை புனித அந்தோணியார் பெண்கள் மேல்நிலைப் பள்ளியின் 125-ஆம் ஆண்டு விழாவில் கலந்துகொண்டு விழா மலரினை வெளியிட்டு உரையாற்றினேன்.
இந்நிகழ்வில், மாணவன் அப்துல் கலாமிற்குக் கல்வி ஊக்கத் தொகையாக ரூபாய் 25,000 ஆயிரத்திற்கான காசோலையினை வழங்கினேன். 1/2 pic.twitter.com/9JtUDLCoSS
Following this, CM Stalin announced that he has issued an order allocating a house to the boy’s family at the Tamil Nadu Urban Habitat Development Board in K.K. Nagar, Chennai.
இணையதள தொலைக்காட்சிக்கு மனிதநேயம், மதநல்லிணக்கம் குறித்து பேட்டியளித்த பள்ளி மாணவன் ஏ.அப்துல்கலாம் பெற்றோருக்கு தமிழ்நாடு நகர்ப்புர வாழ்விட மேம்பாட்டு வாரியத்தில் குடியிருப்பு ஒதுக்கீடு செய்து அதற்கான ஆணையினை மாண்புமிகு முதலமைச்சர் @mkstalin அவர்கள் வழங்கினார். pic.twitter.com/A9lSMFOvel
It is to be noted that the allotted house was constructed under the Pradha Matri Awas Yojana (Housing For All – Urban), a flagship initiative of Government of India to provide housing for the urban poor.
What is even more surprising is that the house had reportedly been allocated under PM Awas Yojana in the September of last year itself.
Once again, it has been established that the only saviour of minorities is CM Stalin. Many would think that there is no villain in this episode. But, the mention by the mother of the boy that they’re being asked to vacate from their current house did not come out of the blue. A ‘Muslim family’ is being asked to vacate their house by a ‘house owner’ who is implied to be a Hindu.
Hero: A Dravidianazi.
Villain: The house-owner who asked a Muslim family to vacate.
Epsisode 4
On March 5, Behindwoods YouTube channel released a video of a girl reportedly from Narikuravar community in which she makes remarks about their community being ill-treated.
This video went viral with once again the DMK IT Wing head T.R.B. Rajaa tweeting the snippet. This was again shared by DMK MP Kanimozhi.
Valla
On March 16, CM MK Stalin and School Education Minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi met her at the Secretariat and shared a clip of the meeting making her the poster girl of the ‘Dravidian Model’.
தன்னம்பிக்கை எதிரொலிக்கும் சகோதரி திவ்யாவின் பேச்சு எனக்குள் எதிரொலித்துக்கொண்டே இருக்கிறது!
திவ்யா, ப்ரியா, தர்ஷினி என நமது தகுதியும் திறமையும் யாருக்கும் சளைத்ததல்ல!
In the video, the girl mentions that she had already seen MK Stalin earlier during an event held by a ‘Bishop’ which Stalin acknowledges and asks ‘Oh, Peraayar? (Archbishop). This archbishop is believed to be Ezra Sargunam, the rabid anti-Hindu Christian bishop who had asked Hindus to be punched in ther face.
On March 17, a spectacle was made with CM Stalin doing a video call with the girl and her family.
Once again, the underlying message of is the same. ‘They’ are discriminating you. We are there for you.”
Hero – A Dravidianazi.
Villain – Those fictional ‘casteist’ students who allegedly ill-treated the girl.
By periodically peddling this narrative, the DMK is trying to get its optics right under the garb of ‘social justice’ while simultaneously appeasing its vote bank – the non-Brahminn Dravidian elite, Muslims and Christians.
Political observers note that by doing so, the DMK is managing to keep away the focus of non-fulfilment of its promises.
Key promises made in its manifesto like cancelling NEET, reduction of fuel prices, ₹1000 for women, waiving off jewel and educational loans remain as promises.
Instead of calling it a ‘Vidiyal Government’, it would be more apt to call it a ‘Vilambaram Government’.
Border Roads Organisation (BRO) opened the gateway between Union Territories of Ladakh and Jammu & Kashmir – the Zoji La Pass – for traffic on Srinagar-Kargil-Leh road at 11,650 feet on March 19, 2022, setting up an all-time record of the pass being opened after just 73 days of its closure this year. This is the first time BRO has been able to achieve the feat, after it had kept the pass open till January 05, 2022 through relentless snow clearance operations amidst tough weather conditions.
Since February 15, 2022, the snow clearance operations were undertaken from both sides of the pass by Project Beacon and Vijayak, located in J&K and Ladakh respectively. After sustained efforts, the connectivity across Zoji La Pass was initially established on March 04, 2022. Thereafter, efforts were made to improve the road conditions to create safe passage of vehicles. First convoy of vehicles carrying essential fresh supplies moved across the Zoji La Pass and reached Kargil bringing much needed relief to the people of Ladakh. Usually, the Zoji La Pass used to remain closed for around 160-180 days during winters on account of heavy snowfall.
Various dignitaries from civil administration and the Indian Army, including Director General Border Roads (DGBR) Lt Gen Rajeev Chaudhry, were present during the re-opening of the pass. Lauding the efforts of Project Beacon and Vijayak, the DGBR said, early opening of Zoji La Pass will not only bolster the defence preparedness of the country, but will also facilitate the movement of essential commodities to the people of Ladakh. He added that the opening of the pass will assist BRO to stock the material required for construction of important infrastructure projects in Ladakh. He reiterated BRO’s commitment to be in the forefront in Nation Building.
In the Government PU College in Uppinangady in Dakshina Kannada district of Karnataka, 231 Muslim students refused to appear for preparatory exams on Friday after being asked to remove their hijab, reports Times of India.
According to the reports, the college administrators had asked the students to obey the recent Karnataka high court order that banned religious attire such as hijab or burqa in educational institutions and asked to remove the hijab before entering the college premises.
The deputy director of PU education also had issued clear instructions that whoever violates the high court order would not be allowed to appear for the exam.
However, the Hijab issue is now national and international news and the girls refused to remove their hijab which forced the college not to allow them to sit for the exam.
However, the situation got really tense when nearly 250 students, including Muslim men, began to protest, demanding permission for the girls to write the exam wearing the hijab.
It is also reported that some local Muslim leaders tried to convince the girls to remove the hijab and write exams, but many Muslim students left without appearing for the exam.
College principal Sudhir Kumar said, “As many as 231 second-year PU students, including boys, left without writing the Kannada exam.”
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As the West uses its sanction power to cripple the Russian economy, Russian envoy to India Denis Alipov said Indian pharmaceutical companies may replace Western manufacturers who are leaving the Russian market.
“The withdrawal of many Western companies from the Russian market and those niches that have been vacated may actually be occupied by Indian companies in many industries, in particular, in pharmaceuticals,” Alipov told the Rossiya 24 broadcaster, as quoted by Sputnik news agency.
Denis Alipov who is the recently appointed Russian envoy to India said that it could become a “world pharmacy” and a leading manufacturer of drug copies that are no worse than the original.
During this height of the pandemic when nations were in need of vaccines, India’s “Maitri Initiative” helped many countries and reinforced its credentials as the “pharmacy of the world”.
India’s Maitri initiative was appreciated by world leaders who commended India’s efforts in rapidly expand vaccines production and supplies at critical junctures of the pandemic.
As the sanctions from the Western countries intensify, Russia is looking to enhance its economic engagement with non-European countries and Ambassador Alipov had said that Moscow welcomes the independent foreign policy of India amid the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Touching upon the relations with India, Alipov said, “Prime Minister (Modi) and the Indian leadership meet the consistent independent policy of the state in international affairs. We have repeatedly stated that we have welcomed the independent foreign policy of India and strengthening its role and its influence in the international arena.”
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After the Karnataka High Court upheld its ban on hijab in educational institutes the radical Islamist organisation Tamil Nadu Thowheed Jamath (TNTJ) has issued death threats to Supreme Court judges in light of the verdict on hijab given by the Karnataka High Court.
The open threat to the lives of the judges who said that Hijab is not an essential practice in Islam came during an event conducted in Madurai on Thursday (March 17).
The hate speech was made by the TMTJ leader Covai R. Rahmatullah who said if judges get killed over the hijab case verdict, then they will themselves be responsible for their death.
“If an accident or a murder or some other unfortunate thing happens to a Supreme Court judge, then they are responible for the same. You are watching ordinary news reports today. If you see Big Breaking news tomorrow, it is the judges themselves who are responsible for their fate and not us. Are you going to file a case against me? Am I giving death threats? Register a case if you want! We are protesting for hijab and we’ll go to jail for that! Allahu Akbar!”, he can be heard saying.
He also said that Supreme Court judges could meet a fate similar to the Jharkhand judge if they don’t deliver a verdict in their favour.
According to Rahmatullah, the court has sold itself to the BJP, and the court’s decision is invalid and illegal.
Rahmatullah alleged that the Karnataka High Court gave the anti-hijab verdict at the behest of Home Minister Amit Shah.
A snippet of the original video was shared by Indu Makkal Katchi handle on Twitter.
— Indu Makkal Katchi (off) (@Indumakalktchi) March 18, 2022
The full hate speech is available on Youtube channel named ‘Online Dhava 24X7’ and it is over 17 minutes and in that video Covai R. Rahmatullah is heard saying that while sadhus could roam naked in India, Muslim girls were being prevented from wearing modest clothing like the hijab.
There is also another video in which women along with children who are clad with hijab of Indian flag colours say “If you attack Muslims, we will get on the ground. We are not afraid of Modi, Yogi, and Amit Shah. This is a crowd that fears only Allah. Don’t make us lose patience. If we lose patience, then, you won’t exist,”.
Tamil Nadu Finance Minister Palanivel Thiagarajan presented the state’s budget for the year 2022-23 on Friday (March 18).
Of all the items presented, one of the probelmatic ones is about the Social Media Monitoring Centre.
The Finance Minister in his budget speech mentioned that the state government has decided to form a special Social Media Monitoring Centre under the police department.
It has been claimed that the Social Media Monitoring is being set up to ‘to battle fake news and misinformation on social media platforms’.
However, many have expressed concerns stating that the DMK government with the state police machinery under its control might use it to muzzle dissenting voices.
Ever since the DMK came to power, there has been a series of crackdown on social and political activists.
In July a case was registered against News J, a TV channel of the AIADMK party, and members of the party’s IT wing based on some posts they had posted years ago.
YouTuber Maridhas was arrested on December 9, 2021, for a tweet that came in the light of the late Chief of Defence Staff Bipin Rawat’s death. A DMK functionary had lodged a complaint against the YouTuber, for his tweet that compared Tamil Nadu to Kashmir. He was also charged wiith
Kishore K Swamy, another political commentator known for his brutal criticism of the DMK, was incarcerated for 6 months by slapping Goondas Act on him.
BJP IT wing office-bearer Saravana Kumar from Dindigul was arrested for criticizing the DMK government and later released following a protest by BJP cadres in front of the police station. Another BJP functionary Kalyana Raman was arrested for allegedly derogating CM Stalin and his late father Karunanidhi.
There have been multiple instances where the state police had cracked down on opposition parties and those who posted tweets criticizing the Stalin government based on complaints filed by DMK cadres or office bearers.
It is to be noted that Finance Minister Palanivel Thiagarajan was previously the head of the DMK’s IT Wing, a post that has now been given to DMK MP T.R. Baalu’s son and Mannargudi MLA T.R.B Rajaa.
With the launch of an exclusive ‘Social Media Monitory Cell’, it is being feared that freedom of speech and expression would be at stake as the DMK government will weaponize the unit to huntdown anyone who doesn’t agree with the party.
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The National Commission for Women (NCW) has summoned the Tamil Nadu Director General of Police (DGP) over a complaint regarding a Facebook group that allegedly targets young married women to have illicit sexual relations and later threatens them of releasing their private pictures in public.
The complaint notes that the Facebook group named WSB Rebels 2.0 group initially encourages women to share their personal problems and intimate details. It says that the Facebook group admin and moderator also compelled women to write detailed articles about their sex lives in the name of ‘tasks’ adding that women were also compelled to share their intimate bedroom pictures and live videos inside the group.
However, much to the shock of the members, all personal details including intimate pictures were shared by the group admin and moderator to another Whatsapp group which has many men including some politicians and ‘Periyarists’, the complaint notes.
The complaint further claims that these men, politicians/’Periyarists’ prey on the women of WSB group by slowly developing relationships with these women, take nude pictures and videos of the women, and later threaten and extort money from them using their vulnerability.
Many women who have fallen prey to the group have been facing constant harassment, the complaint notes.
The complainant also mentions that she had filed a police complaint on 7th August 2020 at the Shastri Nagar Police Station but no action has been taken.
A case was also filed at the Saidapet Metropolitan Magistrate Court on 14th Octobebr 2020. The court ordered the police to register the case and file a report by 27th November 2020, the complaint states.
Apparently, the Inspectorof W19 Adyar All Women Police Station submitted a report before Magistrate stating that on enquiry of the case, it was revealed that many women are being pushed to prostitution by the gang following which the case was transferred to ‘Crime Against Women and Children’ Wing of Police Department, the complaint further states.
“Even after a lapse of 15 months from the date of orders of the Hon’ble Metropolitan Magistrate, the case has not been registered by the Police Department and no action has been taken so far. Since, many politicians who can influence the ruling party are involved in this case, the lives of the affected women are in danger.”, the complaint letter to the NCW says.
Taking cognizance of this complaint, the NCW has issued a notice to Tamil Nadu DGP to appear before it on March 22 along with a detailed Action Taken Report in the matter.
NCW receives a complaint from Tamil Nadu against a Facebook page over alleged indecent representation & outraging the modesty of women. The Commission issues a notice to TN DGP to appear before it on March 22 along with a detailed Action Taken Report in the matter. pic.twitter.com/UN1P6EQq4O
Amidst the ongoing invasion of Ukraine by Russia, the International Chess Federation (FIDE) removed Russia from being the host of the prestigious Chess Olympiad in the last week of February.
Soon, FIDE, which was looking for a new host country, received a message from India saying that the country is ready to host any chess event.
Bharat Singh Chauhan, the secreatary of the All India Chess Federation (AICF) had pinged FIDE’s Rresident Arkady Dvorkovich to which the latter responded saying if an ‘Olympiad’ would do.
Immediately, Bharat Singh started moving things to leave to get the opportunity for India. In less than a week since he spoke to Dvorkovich, India’s bid to host the Chess Olympiad was ready. This would be the first time that the country has got the opportunity to host the event.
Mr. Bharat Singh left no stone unturned. Former world champion Viswanathan Anand wrote to FIDE backing India’s bid.
But to secure the bid, a lot needed to be put in place. The place for the event, accommodations for players coming from other countries, and so on. There was also a guarantee of $10 million (around ₹76 crore) that needed to be given.
Bharat Singh had shortlisted three locations – Delhi, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu – and had been in touch with the state governments there.
However, the proactiveness of the Tamil Nadu government along with its geographic location and strong chess culture tipped the scales in the state’s favour.
Bharat Singh’s friend Srinath Narayanan who is a Grandmaster and coach set up a meeting with Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin in Chennai. CM Stalin immediately furnished the financial guarantee the same day.
As soon as the Tamil Nadu government came on board, Bharat Singh went scouting for rooms and venues on the East Coast Road along wiith five to six IAS officers.
Within a day around 2,000 rooms in 23 hotels were booked of which about 1200 are sea-facing. A temporary secretariat has been set up in Mahabalipuram. A channel of communication has been opened with players around the world. Translators in four languages have been appointed for coordination.
So in a matter of 2-3 days, a financial guarantee of ₹76 crore, accommodation for players and the venue of the event was a done deal.
Meanwhile, pictures and videos of the hotels with sea-sided views, along with a proper submission of a bid impressed FIDE.
There were few other countries bidding to host but only India managed to submit a proper bid, thanks to the proactiveness of the state administration.
India getting a chance to host the Chess Olympiad gains even more significance with the country boasting of young prodigies putting a challenge even to world champions.
The Chess Olympiad is slated to take place between the end of July and the beginning of August.
Chennai had hosted the World Championship Match in 2013.
Another case of child sex abuse has emerged from Kerala where an orthodox church priest has been arrested for sexually abusing a minor girl in the Pathanamthitta district on Thursday, (March 17).
The Church in Kerala is a very powerful institution with far-reaching power and according to news reports, published in Manorama, the pastor who sexually abused the minor has been identified as Pondson John, a priest from the Orthodox Church at Koodal.
The girl’s parents had sent her to talk to the priest for counselling because she was not doing well academically and fully placed their trust on the priest to guide their child.
However, the Christain priest repeatedly sexually abused the 17-year-old minor girl and as per the police complaint, the accused behaved inappropriately with the minor on two different locations on March 12 and 13.
Of all the places, the priest first sexually abused the victim in the church following which, the girl refused to go to the church the next day.
However, the priest then came to the victim’s house, took the girl inside a room, closed the door, and sexually abused her. When the girl was abused in her own home, the traumatic experience caused her to totally refuse to counsel.
She later told some of her friends what had happened who then informed the school authorities and a complaint was registered on the childline, following which the police arrested the accused pastor.
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‘Story, Screenplay, Direction – DMK’: How DMK’s propaganda machinery is trying hard to boost Stalin’s image
Ever since the DMK came to power, it has been doing politics primarily on the theme of ‘discrimination’ – one day it is ‘discrimination of Tamil language’, another day it is ‘discrimination of Tamil Nadu students’, another day it is discrimination in allocation of funds for Tamil Nadu.
The DMK resorts to this ‘discimination politics’, repeating these templates over and over in different forms, to distract the people from its abject failures.
In order to peddle this ‘discrimination politics’, the DMK stages various dramas in order to buttress and boost the image of the of its government, particularly its Chief Minister MK Stalin.
This shouldn’t come as a surprise as the DMK is a party which was founded and nurtured by leaders who themselves were scriptwriters – C. N. Annadurai and M. Karunanidhi.
So, scripting and staging dramas isn’t a big deal for the DMK as it is in their dna. What other parties can learn from them is how the DMK has been successful in using the relevant medium for its messaging, in tune with time.
If they had captured the medium of cinema back then to shape narratives, they’re doing so now by trying to establish their dominance in social media.
To an extent, they’ve been successful in peddling their narratives.
Being a party controlled by elite non-Brahmin castes, they usually give the ‘Brahminical’ spin to all such allegations of discrimination out of their visceral hatred towards one community.
That is because ‘Dravidianazism’ is ingrained in every cell of a ‘DMK Dravidianist’ and every story needs a villain. For the DMK and its allies, it is always a minority community who have long left the political space, minding their own business and keeping to themselves.
In order to keep that ‘Dravidianazi’ flame alive, we often see the party whipping up passions under the name of ‘social justice’.
In all the episodes of DMK’s dramas so far, the crux has been the same. Only the plots are different.
Episode 1
In October 2021, a video of a Narikuravar woman released by several DMK-friendly media outlets went viral on social media in which she alleged that she was denied food in temple.
Within a few days, pictures of HR&CE Minister Sekar Babu having food with her went viral on social media.
It finally culminated in CM Stalin visiting her house and giving the community pattas and ration cards.
Tadaa! CM Stalin is now the saviour of Narikuravar community.
It is pertinent to note that there was no video evidence of the woman being denied entry into the temple or not served Annadanam. Usually, Annadanams are conducted in temples across Tamil Nadu where the poor, destitutes and the most vulnerable sections of the society are provided food free of cost. This is not provided by the government but by the temples themselves.
Hero – A Dravidianazi.
Villain – The fictional Brahmin who denied her Annadanam.
Episode 2
Zakir Hussain is an Islamist, a ‘dancer’, and card-carrying member of the DMK who had joined the party in January 2021.
He quite often posts Hindumisic posts on his social media. Just like any other DMK cadre, he also frequently takes derogates Hindus with ‘cow dung’ and ‘cow piss’ jibes.
In December 2021, he claimed that Rangarajan Narasimhan, a self-proclaimed ‘temple activist’ prevented him from entering the Srirangam Ranganathar Temple. However, he himself in an interview to a YouTube channel had claimed that he has been going to the temple for many years and was never denied entry.
Immediately, the DMK-friendly media plunged into action to take his interviews. A narrative of ‘poor Muslim minority being ill-treated by oppressive Hindus’ was created.
Again, HR&CE Minister took the matter into his cognizance and said that appropriate action would be taken immediately.
In January 2022, Zakir Hussain was appointed as an advisor for the 17 district music schools under the Tamil Nadu government.
Again, there was no video proof or eyewitness testimony of Zakir Hussain being denied entry into the temple.
But the DMK managed to spin a story coveying this message “Though he is from a minority community, he should be allowed to enter the temple. But one community is refusing to let such people in! We are here to stand by him. We are the true champions of social justice.”.
Hero – A Dravidianazi
Villain – The ‘Brahmin’ who denied entry to a Muslim.
Episode 3
In February 2022, a clip of a school kid talking about ‘humanity’ went viral on social media. The clip is part of a vox pop video released by a YouTube channel where the anchor asks the question “Whom do you hate the most?”.
The reply to this question by this school kid who was later identified as ‘Abdul Kalam’ had received social media attention. The kid said “Do not hate anyone. Many people call me as ‘palla’ (the guy with the teeth). Why should I hate them? Everybody are like friends to me. Why should we be divided?”.
The anchor when he probes further, the boy says that one should empathize with people who are of bad influence and not be judgemental about them.
This clip had gone viral on social media with DMK MLA from Mannargudi and the party’s newly inducted IT wing head TRB Rajaa, the son of DMK MP T.R Baalu.
What was a casual harmless vox pop was given a communal colour by DMK MLA TRB Rajaa who identified the boy to be the son of a Muslim studying in a Christian school. One wonders how the DMK IT Wing head knew about the background of the child just a day after the video went viral. Or was it made viral by the DMK IT wing head himself?
On the same day TRB Rajaa had shared the vox pop video clip on his profile, Galatta Voice, a YouTube channel that is considered to peddle narratives favourable to the ruling DMK released a video which shows the boy’s school – St. Lazarus Middle School located in Madha Church Road in R.A. Puram area of Chennai. The correspondent of the school seated along with the nun and the boy talk about the value system they inculcate in their school. Is this is to counter the narrative set by the BJP against the Lavanya suicide case? We don’t know.
In another video released by Behindwoods, the boy’s mother says that her family is being asked to vacate their home where they’re currently staying. She said that the boy becoming a overnight sensation could be a reason for that. Soon, other YouTube channels like IBC Tamil, India Glitz, etc., who tow the line of the DMK too jumped the bandwagon in building the narrative around this boy and his family.
Following this, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister on February 24 met the boy and his family on February 24.
DMK IT Wing head TRB Rajaa is believed to have facilitated this visit.
The next day on February 25, School Education Minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi while participating at the 125th anniversary celebrations of St. Anthony’s Girls’ High School in Chennai presented a check for ₹25,000 as scholarship to Abdul Kalam.
Following this, CM Stalin announced that he has issued an order allocating a house to the boy’s family at the Tamil Nadu Urban Habitat Development Board in K.K. Nagar, Chennai.
It is to be noted that the allotted house was constructed under the Pradha Matri Awas Yojana (Housing For All – Urban), a flagship initiative of Government of India to provide housing for the urban poor.
What is even more surprising is that the house had reportedly been allocated under PM Awas Yojana in the September of last year itself.
Once again, it has been established that the only saviour of minorities is CM Stalin. Many would think that there is no villain in this episode. But, the mention by the mother of the boy that they’re being asked to vacate from their current house did not come out of the blue. A ‘Muslim family’ is being asked to vacate their house by a ‘house owner’ who is implied to be a Hindu.
Hero: A Dravidianazi.
Villain: The house-owner who asked a Muslim family to vacate.
Epsisode 4
On March 5, Behindwoods YouTube channel released a video of a girl reportedly from Narikuravar community in which she makes remarks about their community being ill-treated.
This video went viral with once again the DMK IT Wing head T.R.B. Rajaa tweeting the snippet. This was again shared by DMK MP Kanimozhi.
Valla
On March 16, CM MK Stalin and School Education Minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi met her at the Secretariat and shared a clip of the meeting making her the poster girl of the ‘Dravidian Model’.
In the video, the girl mentions that she had already seen MK Stalin earlier during an event held by a ‘Bishop’ which Stalin acknowledges and asks ‘Oh, Peraayar? (Archbishop). This archbishop is believed to be Ezra Sargunam, the rabid anti-Hindu Christian bishop who had asked Hindus to be punched in ther face.
On March 17, a spectacle was made with CM Stalin doing a video call with the girl and her family.
Once again, the underlying message of is the same. ‘They’ are discriminating you. We are there for you.”
Hero – A Dravidianazi.
Villain – Those fictional ‘casteist’ students who allegedly ill-treated the girl.
By periodically peddling this narrative, the DMK is trying to get its optics right under the garb of ‘social justice’ while simultaneously appeasing its vote bank – the non-Brahminn Dravidian elite, Muslims and Christians.
Political observers note that by doing so, the DMK is managing to keep away the focus of non-fulfilment of its promises.
Key promises made in its manifesto like cancelling NEET, reduction of fuel prices, ₹1000 for women, waiving off jewel and educational loans remain as promises.
Instead of calling it a ‘Vidiyal Government’, it would be more apt to call it a ‘Vilambaram Government’.