A war of words ensued when Tamil Nadu Bharatiya Janata Party President K Annamalai spoke about an incident involving freedom fighter Pasumpon Muthuramalinga Thevar and former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Annadurai. He said that at the Golden Jubilee celebrations of the Tamizh Sangam at Meenakshi Amman Temple in Madurai, Thevar opposed the comments made by Annadurai. AIADMK members Sellur Raju and Jayakumar claim such an incident never occurred.
The BJP leader asserted that during a conference held in June 1956 at Madurai’s Meenakshi temple, a child sang a song from the Sangam era for Annadurai. Annamalai said that Annadurai, in response, commended the child’s singing but added that if her talent had been showcased centuries ago, people might have attributed it to her consumption of holy milk from Goddess Umaiyaval.
Annadurai also expressed the view that it was a positive development that people no longer believed in such stories due to their common sense, as per the allegations made by the Tamil Nadu BJP chief.
According to Annamalai, Pasumpon Muthuramalinga Thevar, a revered leader of the Thevar community and a freedom fighter, opposed Annadurai’s remarks. He said that Muthuramalinga spoke the following day, daring who would speak ill of Goddess Umaiyava in a temple where Sivapuranam was composed.
Thevar allegedly went on to state that if anyone who didn’t believe in God criticized those who did, it could lead to dire consequences, metaphorically referring to “blood abhishekam” for Meenakshi Amman instead of the traditional “milk abhishekam.” Annamalai alleged that Annadurai was kept in hiding in Madurai and only managed to escape after issuing an apology.
So Did The Said Incident Occur Or Not?
In the 8 June 1956 edition of Thamizhmurasu, it states that on the 4th day of the Golden Jubilee celebrations of the Madurai Tamizh Sangam happened on 2 June at the Aadi Veedhi of Meenakshi Amman temple as usual. Thevar requested the organisers for permission to speak but he was refused. But when the audience voiced out that Thevar be allowed to speak, he was given the opportunity. Thevar in his speech condemned that those who spoke against religion should not be given a platform such as the Golden Jubilee celebrations to speak. In addition, it is mentioned in the news article that DMK leader CN Annadurai made blasphemous statements.
English newspaper The Hindu edition dated 3 June 1956 also carried an article on the same event. It says, “Earlier, just when the fourth day celebration was about to commence, Mr. U Muthuramalinga Thevar, leader of the Tamil Nad Forward Bloc, got up and urged the organisers to allow him to address the audience first. As his request was refused, there was some confusion and a section of the audience became noisy. Some persons shouted that Mr. Thevar be allowed to speak whereupon the organisers consented. Mr. Muthuramalinga Thevar, addressing the gathering condemned in strong terms the organisers for providing a platform for leaders of communal organisations to give vent to their feelings at the meeting held in the precincts of a temple. He was referring to the “atheistic statements” made by Mr CN Annadurai, leader of the DMK when he addressed the gathering yesterday inside the Sri Meenakshi Amman Temple here. Mr. Thevar also spoke of the “impropriety” of the speakers who during the last 3 days of the Golden Jubilee celebrations, criticised the statements made by Mr. C Rajagopalachari about “Aryans and Dravidas” in his inaugural address on May 30 last. Mr Muthuramalinga Thevar then left the dias and the meeting went on without any incident.”
The book titled “Pasumpon Muthuramalinga Thevar – Or Aaivu Kannottam,” details about the incident mentioned by Annamalai. This book was published by the Pasumpon Muthuramalinga Thevar Research Centre, situated at Madurai Kamaraj University. Notably, PTR Palanivel Rajan, the head of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly, penned an introduction/foreword for the book.
The individual who provided C.N. Annadurai with the platform to speak in Madurai was none other than PTR Palanivel Rajan’s father, PT Rajan. It is worth mentioning that PTR Palanivel Rajan is also the father of DMK Minister PTR Palanivel Thiagarajan.
A research paper authored by A. Kalavathi, based on Thevar’s book, reveals intriguing details about the Madurai Golden Jubilee celebrations. At this event, a collector from Salem district allowed his ten-year-old daughter to speak. Subsequently, C.N. Annadurai addressed the audience, although it was originally PT Rajan’s turn to speak.
During his speech, Annadurai praised the child’s oratory skills but made a controversial remark. He stated that, in ancient times, a story would have been concocted, likening the child to Thirugnanasambandar, a revered divine poet, after receiving divine blessings. This comment not only incensed the audience but also irked Thevar.
The following day, Thevar attended the event and approached PT Rajan. He expressed his displeasure, asserting that Annadurai’s words within the temple precincts were blasphemous. Thevar also urged Rajan to refrain from hosting such events on temple premises, proposing open grounds as alternative venues to avoid such incidents.
Another individual, VS Navamani, whose father had close ties to Thevar and was a member of the All India Forward Bloc, confirmed Thevar’s condemnation of Annadurai’s speech at the Golden Jubilee celebrations. Navamani asserted that Annadurai was not an invited speaker but had spoken in place of PT Rajan. In addition to the blasphemous comments, he said that Annadurai also spoke unfavourably about Rajaji. In light of this, Thevar requested that such events not be held in temples. He even went so far as to suggest that if they did take place in temples, he would not hesitate to conduct an abhishekam with human blood.
Former AIADMK MLA Thiruchy Soundararajan, who had close ties with Annadurai, also attested to Thevar’s strong condemnation of Annadurai’s speech at the Madurai event.
Annamalai’s comments about Thevar and Annadurai, while condemning Udhayanidhi Stalin’s remarks about “eradicating Sanathana Dharma,” are rooted in the documented evidence surrounding this historical incident. However, it’s important to note that there is no newspaper report corroborating Thevar’s statement about conducting an abhishekam with human blood.
(With inputs form ABP Nadu)
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