Bombing of RSS office in Chennai in 1993, Coimbatore bomb blasts in 1998, and explosions at Chennai Central Railway Station in 2014 – these are the incidents that will strike the mind if one were to talk about Jihadi terrorist attacks in Tamil Nadu.
However, Islamic terror forces have for a long time wreaked havoc in the state that has either been deliberately brushed under the carpet or have failed to get the attention of the people, thanks to the minority appeasement politics of the Dravidian parties and a media that has been hegemonized by a certain motivated lobby.
While Tamil Nadu is largely considered as a ‘peaceful park’ (amaidhi poonga), residents of the state would be well aware that places like Coimbatore has time and again witnessed communal tensions and is now a hotbed of Islamic terrorism. After all, it is in this state that an entire village was converted to Islam in 1981.
Many consider that the communal faultlines grew wider as a result of the Ram Janmabhoomi movement in the 1980s and the subsequent razing down of the Babri Masjid at the Ram Janmabhoomi in 1992. Nevertheless, the reality of Islamic terrorism is being underplayed over fear of losing the vote bank.
Given below is a list of incidents of Islamic terrorism in Tamil Nadu:
September 5, 1971: Coimbatore Hindu Munnani Secretary Sivakumar was brutally murdered in the broad daylight near his house.
1981: Tirukovilur Sundaram was brutally murdered by Islamic terrorists in R.S. Puram, Coimbatore.
1982: During a BJP meeting before the polls in Coimbatore, BJP leader Jana Krishnamurthy was severely attacked by Islamic terrorists. The survival of was considered to be a huge miracle.
1988: Narayanan, Sakthidasan and Swaminathan were injured and survived a murderous attack at the Tiyagi Kumaran vegetable market in Coimbatore.
July 18, 1984: In Madurai, Hindu Munnani leader Ram Gopalan was attacked on the head by Al Umma’s leader S A Basha with a billhook that cut off a portion of his skull. He survived following a long intensive treatment and had stayed in coma for more than a month.
August 30, 1989: Hindu Munnani’s Secretary Veera Ganesh was stabbed to death by Islamic terrorists in Coimbatore.
September 5, 1991: Another Hindu Munnani activist Veera Sivakumar alias Veera Siva was murdered in broad day light near his house. A Muslim preacher said to be involved, was killed within 45 minutes of this murder.
August 8, 1993: A bomb exploded in the RSS office at Chetpet, Chennai, killing 11 persons. S.A. Basha and 15 others were arrested under the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act for their alleged involvement in the blast and for possession of lethal weapons. The other hardcore Al-Umma activists who were arrested included its firebrand State Secretary M. Mohammed Ansari, Mujibur Rehman, Ojir, Mohammed Aslam, Siraj alias Auto Siraj and Ahmed Pasha. This was followed by riots against the Hindus in December marking the first anniversary of demolishment of the Babri Masjid.
April 15, 1995: Coimbatore BJP leader Rajendran was killed.
November 29, 1997: Three members of the Al Ummah murdered a police constable named Selvaraj.
December 31, 1995: Hindu Munnani member Karthikeyan killed at Mettupalayam. Another Hindu Munnani supporter Dr. Hiriyan was attacked at his clinic in Mettupalayam. He survived despite multiple stab wounds.
January 31, 1997: During the riots in Coimbatore (following the assassination of Palaniappan Baba, the leader of the terrorist organization Jihad Committee in Pollachi on 20-01-1997), auto driver Raghupathi was killed at Selvapuram.
February 3, 1997: Krishnasamy, a retired teacher, was killed while walking near a woodworking shop in Coimbatore (for having saffron on his forehead).
September 1, 1997: Mahendran, Arunachalam and Rajini Ramesh were killed in different places in Coimbatore on the same day.
September 2, 1997: Trikmara Ram (Five Points), Murthy (Bodhanur), Murugan (Azad Nagar), Kannan were killed at different places. In the same month of the year, Jailer Bhoopalan was killed in the Coimbatore jail.
November 29, 1997: Traffic policeman Selvaraj was killed by a group of Muslim youths in the middle of the road in Ukkadam, Coimbatore, for questioning them in the name of law for all their illegal activities. Following the killing of Constable Selvaraj (29.11.1997), the police staged a sit-in demanding security for themselves. In the ensuing riots, many people lost their lives on both sides.
The year 1997 took many lives. Kottai Amir, an elderly man, was killed in the Ukkadam area for resisting Muslim terrorists. Today, there an award is conferred in his name for promoting religious harmony.
February 14, 1998: The Islamic front had staged a grand conspiracy against the BJP due to which several innocent lives were lost. A series of bomb blasts in Coimbatore targeting BJP leader Advani had killed at least 60 people.
In addition to these, Hindu leaders over the years have been assassinated multiple times by jihadi forces and its related entities.
March 28, 2002: RSS Propaganda Secretary Murugesan was killed at his home in Kuniyamuthur, a suburb of Coimbatore.
October 24, 2012: Arvind Reddy, a worker belonging to BJP Tamil Nadu medical wing and working as a doctor in Vellore was stabbed to death.
November 6, 2012: An RSS worker named Anand in Coimbatore was attacked by one Syed Abu Thakir. The man was arrested 10 days later.
April 21, 2013: M.R. Gandhi, former BJP Tamil Nadu Vice President had an attempt on his life by a Muslim mob when he was out for a walk. Nesamani Nagar police arrested Abdul Samim (32) from Travancore, Ali Nawaz (33), Abdul Aziz (32), Shaji (32) and Mohammad Salin (35) from Melappalayam in Tirunelveli district. However all the accused were released by the court on the account of charges not being proven. Abdul Samim and Ali Nawaz were also in Poonamallee jail in connection with the murder of Hindu leader Suresh Kumar.
July 1, 2013: Vellaiyappan, 45, one of the leaders of the Hindu Munnani, who fought for reclaiming temple lands and resisting religious conversions was murdered in full public view in Vellore.
July 19, 2013: Two young men in their twenties killed Auditor Ramesh, Tamil Nadu BJP General Secretary in a gruesome manner while the other held the watchman who was witnessing the scene unfold. One of the man twisted Auditor Ramesh’s arms and broke it while the other banged his head violently against the wall. His throat was later slit and his body mutilated into multiple pieces. The police found a mutilated head and 23 cuts in his body when they arrived.
June 18, 2014: Suresh Kumar (48), the leader of the Hindu Munnani in Tiruvallur district, was mutilated and killed by the jihadis. His mouth was slit multiple time and his chest was split and filled with sand. It was not just a murder. It was a message. It was later learned that four assassination attempts had been made on him earlier.
September 22, 2016: Sasikumar, a Hindu leader, was assassinated in Coimbatore The National Intelligence Service is investigating allegations of links to Islamic terrorists.
February 5, 2019: Ramalingam was brutally murdered near Thiruvidaimarudhur in Thanjavur district by members belonging to the Popular Front of India and Social Democratic Party of India. He had resisted Islamic conversions in the Pakku Vinayagam Thoppy village near Kumbakonam.
January 27, 2020: Vijayaragu, a native of Trichy, was assassinated on January 27, 2020, by Islamic terrorists in Trichy.
More than 130 Hindu leaders have been killed by Islamic terrorists who have been nurtured by the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and other Tamil Nadu based Muslim parties.
While, attacks by Islamic terrorists gets covered extensively and triggers instant social media outrage, rarely does news of such attacks on Hindus belonging to this part of India gets national attention.
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VCK’s manifesto, its anti-Hinduism and anti-development
Thirumavalavan, the leader of the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) and a member of the DMK alliance, published his party manifesto for the 2021 Tamil Nadu assembly elections in a private hotel in Villuppuram on March 25, 2021. The manifesto included divisive anti-Hindu remarks and economically radical viewpoints that made the political audience and the general public frown.
According to the VCK’s manifesto, if elected to office, it would nationalise all temple lands and distribute them to poor Tamil farmers. Why should only Hindu temple lands be nationalised and distributed to poor farmers is a fundamental issue. Why not the lands of Mosques and Church? This isn’t the first time that Mr. Thirumavalavan or his party has made divisive remarks about Hinduism. On November 13, 2019 VCK Chief Thirumavalavan in a public meeting said, “If the building has a dome, it is a mosque; if it is tall and straight, it is a church; and if it has dirty idols/dolls, it is a temple”.
It was thought at the time that Thirumavalavan made these controversial remarks in order to divert attention away from Stalin’s MISA controversy. This raises the question of who is using religion to defend their political interests. This demonstrates the bigotry of ostensibly secular groups.
Another point in the manifesto said “ The party will take action to completely shut down Kaattupalli Port”. Even the protesters in Ennore region opposed only the expansion of the port and did not make any demands for a complete shut down of the Kaatupalli port. The spread of a failed communist ideology, based on which they demand the closure of ports, factories, and other development projects, is having a negative effect on Tamil Nadu’s growth story. This not only has an effect on established firms, but it also creates an adverse market climate. The ease of doing business in Tamil Nadu is declining as the number of politically motivated protests sees a sharp increase.
Finally, a point in the manifesto deserves special consideration. According to the statement, the party would work to pass legislation requiring women to hold 50 percent of seats in all legislative bodies. It is worth noting that the VCK has not fielded a single woman candidate in any of the six seats it is contesting in Tamil Nadu.
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