Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT) is considered to be one of the prestigious institutions in the country which has its main campus in Vellore, Tamil Nadu and three other campus located in Chennai’s outskirts, Amravati in Andhra Pradesh, and Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh.
People from across the country religiously write the VITEEE (engineering entrance exam) in order to study in the university.
But did you know that the library in the main campus which is used by people of all faith including the Hindu community is named after a anti-Hindu bigot?
The Central library of the Vellore campus of VIT has been named after the EV Ramasamy Naicker (hailed as Periyar by followers), who is known for spewing venom against Hindu Gods and Hindus, particularly Brahmins.
Following are some historical records about EVR that many do not know or consciously hide from the mainstream.
Abused Tamil And Tamil Literature
Ironically, the person after whom the library has been named had abused the world’s oldest language Tamil and also world renowned Tamil literature like Thirukkural, Silappadhikaram, etc.
In an editorial article of Viduthalai dated October 11, 1967, Periyar called Tamil as a “kaatumiraandi mozhi”, meaning barbarian language. He mentions Tamil as a barbarian language not once but several times during the course of his lifetime. He went to the extent of saying that ‘Tamil is a language that is not even useful for begging’.
Silappadikaram, the great Tamil epic written by Ilango Adigal and belonging to the ancient Sangam literature, was called by Periyar as an Aryan propaganda tool. One of the finest and richest literature ever produced by mankind, he considered it to be a treasure of superstitions and slavery of women.
Kamba Ramayanam, the Tamil version of Ramayana that is revered in Tamil Nadu was denounced by Periyar as a ‘storehouse of falsehood’.
In the edition of Viduthalai dating March 16, 1967, he observed that Tamil scholars and pundits deserved to be imprisoned for life and hanged as they did not create anything that led to society’s progress. He described the World Tamil Conference as a “census to enumerate fools”.
Tamil Saivite literature like Tevaram, Tiruvasagam and Tirumandiram which are part of the Thirumurai, a collection of songs in praise of Hindu God Shiva was called as rubbish by EVR.
While Thirukkural has been a revered work across the world, Periyar called it “feces placed in a golden plate”.
Abused Hindus And Hindu Gods
He had called the presiding deity Lord Rangathaswamy of Srirangam as a god who comes in search of prostitutes.
In 1953, Periyar organized agitation for the desecration of Ganesha idols. He had elaborated extensively on the motivations behind the breaking of the idols. He had said in a speech in 1953, “We have to eradicate the gods who are responsible for the institution which portrays us as sudras, people of low birth, and some others as Brahmins of high birth. While the former go on toiling, without any education, whereas the latter can remain without exerting themselves. We have to break the idols of these gods. I start with Ganesa because it is he who is worshipped before undertaking any task.”
EVR also claimed that no North Indian Brahmin ever died in the war against Ravana. He had also claimed that Rama had married other women apart from Sita for his sexual pleasure. He had also claimed that Ravana was, in fact, a Dravidian King from South India. None of EVR’s claims about the Ramayana has an ounce of truth to them, of course, but he made them anyway. The origins of most of these claims lie not in the Ramayana but in the virulent hatred that he harboured towards North Indians and Brahmins.
EVR had also called for genocide against Tamil Brahmins saying “If one Tamilan (non-Brahmin) dies for one Tamil Brahmin, only 3 of us will die out of every hundred. Balance 84%, sorry.. 100-3 equals 97, 97-3 equals 94. 94% of us will still remain but he (Tamil Brahmin) will be completely eliminated. We will definitely go this level. We can only go step by step.”.
EVR Was Against India
E.V. Ramasamy Naicker is a rabid anti-Hindu bigot known for his pro-British stance when the Indian Freedom Struggle was its peak. He pleaded with the British to not leave India and pledged allegiance to them asking the Madras Presidency to be ruled from London. He even went to the extent of demanding a separate Dravida Naadu and had met Mohammad Ali Jinnah regarding the same.
It is after this anti-Tamil, anti-Hindu, anti-Indian racist demagogue that the library in VIT is named after.
This article has been developed based on Reality Check India‘s tweet on the same subject.
Click here to subscribe to The Commune on Telegram and get the best stories of the day delivered to you personally.