Thirumavalavan, leader of the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) and Member of Parliament from Chidambaram, has sparked controversy once again by referring to HAMAS, the Palestinian Sunni Islamist political and military organisation, as freedom fighters. Several governments, including the United States and the European Union, have designated HAMAS a terrorist organisation.
At the book release event for Kasi Anandan’s “Breaking the Chains” (Vilangai Udaithu) on 3 August 2024, held at the Sir PT Thiyagarajan Auditorium, VCK leader Thirumavalavan began his speech by recounting how he became acquainted with the author, Kasi Anandan, an exile from Sri Lanka’s Tamil Eelam. Thirumavalavan’s speech focused on his involvement in supporting and promoting the Tamil Eelam movement. He lauded Kasi Anandan as a pioneering figure in the Tamil Eelam struggle, comparing him to LTTE chief Prabhakaran.
During the book release event for the autobiography of Tamil exile poet Kasi Anandan, Thirumavalavan delivered an extensive speech reflecting on various aspects of the book, which detailed Anandan’s life. He then shifted to a controversial discussion, arguing that religious and ethnic nationalism poses a threat to language-based nationalism, as both tend to suppress linguistic identities. To illustrate his point, he drew parallels between the situation in India and the imposition of the Sinhalese language on Tamil Eelam’s population by the Buddhist-majority government in Sri Lanka.
Thirumavalavan asked, “What is the true enemy of Tamil nationalism? Is it Telugu nationalism, Kannada nationalism, Malayalam nationalism, or Indian nationalism?” He elaborated, “We should understand the basics that Indian nationalism opposes linguistic-based nationalism, and conversely, linguistic-based nationalism stands in opposition to Indian nationalism. Indian nationalism will never accept the emergence of distinct national identities based on linguistic groups such as Kannadigas, Malayalis, Telugu, Tamils, Marathis, and Gujaratis. Similarly, fundamentalists also reject linguistic-based nationalism. Therefore, how can Telugu nationalism be an enemy of Tamil nationalism? It simply cannot be.”
He then clarified that, without directly naming Indian nationalism, the real threat to Tamil nationalism is any form of nationalism that denies linguistic-based identity, national and ethnic rights, state rights, and state autonomy. He drew a parallel to Sri Lanka, where Buddhist Sinhalese nationalism is viewed as the adversary to Tamil nationalism.
Later, the VCK MP asserted, “Tamil nationalism is contained in opposing Sanatana, Tamil nationalism is contained in egalitarian politics, Tamil nationalism is contained in Women’s freedom.”
At the same event, Chidambaram MP Thirumavalavan claimed that Indira Gandhi’s Congress party had supported the LTTE militants by providing warfare assistance and weapons training, which significantly bolstered their movement. He argued that successful liberation wars typically require strong backing from a sovereign government. Thirumavalavan noted that Hamas’s ongoing struggle is similarly supported by a sovereign government, which plays a crucial role in such conflicts. He emphasized that even if a militant organization operates independently, it benefits from the support of a sovereign government to achieve its objectives.
Thirumavalavan said, “The liberation struggle has been won only by the support of any government to the liberation movements at the global level. Today, if we say that the Hamas organisation is fighting against the country Israel means it is a fact that they cannot fight this as a group, we should understand that they are supported by some sovereign government. So, whether it is Eelam liberation struggle or any national liberation struggle, even if the liberation movement is strong enough to run alone, the liberation movement and the militants needs the favor of the government in some corner of the world, it needs their support.”
Later he said, “So if we ask which country’s support is essential for us first, the bitter truth is India’s support.”
(This speech was not included in the full video on YouTube or in the MP’s posts on X but was featured in one of his Facebook posts)
Who is HAMAS?
Hamas, short for “Harakat al-Muqawama al-Islamiya” (Islamic Resistance Movement), is a Palestinian Sunni Islamist political and military group that has governed parts of the Gaza Strip since 2007. Founded by Palestinian imam Ahmed Yassin in 1987, Hamas emerged from his 1973 Islamic charity, Mujama al-Islamiya, which was affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood.
In the 2006 Palestinian legislative elections, Hamas won a majority in the Palestinian Legislative Council by promising to combat corruption and advocating for resistance against Israeli occupation. Following the Battle of Gaza in 2007, Hamas took control of the Gaza Strip from the rival Fatah faction and has since governed the area independently of the Palestinian National Authority. In response, Israel intensified its blockade of Gaza, and Egypt also began its own blockade in 2007. This has led to multiple conflicts with Israel, including major clashes in 2008-09, 2012, 2014, 2021, and 2023.
Initially, Hamas sought to establish a state in all of Mandatory Palestine, but by 2005-2007, it began to accept the 1967 borders in agreements with Fatah. A 2017 charter supported a Palestinian state within these borders while not recognising Israel. Despite offering long-term truce proposals based on the 1967 borders, some view Hamas’s long-term goal as still seeking a single state over the entire former Mandatory Palestine. The 2017 charter removed antisemitic language from its 1988 predecessor, focusing instead on a struggle against Zionism rather than Judaism.
Hamas has engaged in extensive armed conflict with Israel, attacking civilian targets and launching rockets. The conflict involves issues such as the Israeli occupation, Jerusalem’s status, Israeli settlements, and Palestinian rights. On 7 October 2023, Hamas launched a significant attack on Israel, resulting in the deaths of 1,139 people and the capture of approximately 250 Israeli civilians and soldiers. Several countries, including Australia, Canada, Israel, Japan, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States, have designated Hamas as a terrorist organisation due to its militant activities. In 2018, a UN motion to condemn Hamas was not passed.
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