Dravidianist YouTuber Madan Gowri who is famous for peddling fake news and half-truths is at it again. This time he is trying to “educate” his followers and viewers with a very quick 11-minute summary of the Thirupparankudram Hill issue. But does he spell out the facts and narrate the sequence of events as they happened? Well, no prizes for guessing – like a typical Dravidianist, he skipped the most important bits and has peddled a narrative demonising Hindu Munnani as the reason for the “unrest” in the area.
In a video on his YouTube channel titled, “Madurai Thiruparankundram Issue Explained! 😟”, Madan Gowri talks about all things under the sun but leaves out the most important and contentious bits of information to pin the blame on Hindu Munnani and paint the Islamists who desecrated the sacred Hill as saints and guess what? The Ramanathapuram MP is nowhere in the picture.
In his 11-minute video, he talks about the alleged history of the imaginary character called Sikandar, the dargah and tries to establish that the dargah was in existence for centuries and that the temple and the dargah coexisted all these years. He alleges that a long-standing court case over land ownership between the temple and the dargah was settled in 1923.
He then talks about the goat sacrifice done by the Islamists and tries to cement this lie as a fact – he says that a festival is held annually at the hill, where goats are traditionally offered. However, the Hindu Munnani expressed opposition to this practice, claiming it is against their religious sentiments. This disagreement has led to a clash between the Hindu Munnani and those who want to continue the tradition.
He then justifies that the police are right in their approach to implementing section 144/curfew. But nowhere in the video does he talk about the Kasi Vishwanathar temple, the goat sacrifice, the eating of non-vegetarian food at the hill and how Navas Kani claimed the dargah was under Waqf land – he skips all these details and only focuses on the protest.
In a portion of the video, he says, “Hindu Munnani says this is not Sikandar Hill, you should not take these things up. The others are calling it Sikandar Hill because Sikandar’s dargah is present there. But these people (Hindu Munnani) are saying it is not Sikandar Hill and one should not take goats there because it disturbs our sentiments. So this is what has happened in recent times. Then, Hindu Munnani said there would be a protest, but the police said no don’t protest here, it will create unnecessary tension, and they didn’t give permission. So, if one wants to protest, they have to get permission. But here the permission was denied and yet Hindu Munnani says that even without permission they would protest. But if they protest without permission, it will create a problem because this is a sensitive topic, a religious topic. They are saying they will do it in front of the temple and there is a dargah on top of the hill. So to avoid problems, section 144 was implemented in the Madurai district for today and tomorrow. So, I think I have told everything in 2000 years of history.”
ஏன்டா @madan3
இந்து முன்னணி பத்தி பேசுற நீ ராம்நாடு MP மாமிசம் கொண்டு போனத ஏன் டா பேசல ? "கலவரத்துக்கு காரணம் இந்து" அதானே உன் Narrarive ?
எதுக்கு இந்த எச்ச வேல பாக்குற ? 🤡#Annamalai | #SaveThiruparankundram pic.twitter.com/x9Sel5iW3E
— ᴋᴀʀᴛʜɪ (@TwitzKarthi) February 4, 2025
Even in this video, if you notice, he peddles the same narrative as agmark seculars do – if there is a mosque or a dargah or the Islamist minority involved, it is a “sensitive” topic since it is a religious issue and ideally it is the Hindus who must tolerate everything and do not take any action on what is their own.
You can watch the full video here:
What Actually Happened?
Tensions flared on 27 December 2024, when Madurai police detained a family attempting to bring goats and roosters to the hilltop dargah for ritual sacrifice. Led by Syed Abu Dahir, a 53-year-old from Malaiyadipatti, the family protested after being stopped at the base of the hill. Their detention sparked demonstrations by over 20 local Muslims in solidarity.
On January 5, 2025, another group of Muslim protesters gathered at the hill, demanding access to the mosque for prayers. When police denied their request, the situation escalated, resulting in a brief scuffle and several detentions.
Further unrest followed the announcement of an “Equality Feast” (Samaanbhojan) scheduled for January 18 at the hilltop dargah. Social media posts indicated plans for goat and rooster sacrifices during the event. Concerned about communal violence, authorities erected barricades and conducted searches to prevent livestock from being transported to the site. When protesters were informed that animal sacrifices were prohibited, clashes erupted between Jamath members and the police, disrupting the area further.
Compounding the issue, the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI), an AIADMK ally linked to the banned group PFI, has been accused of orchestrating these sacrilegious acts to inflame tensions.
On January 21, 2025, controversy deepened when DMK Manapparai MLA Abdul Samad conducted an unauthorized survey around the temple, allegedly to assert control over the hill. The same day, IUML leader Navas Kani reaffirmed in an interview that the dargah falls under the Tamil Nadu Waqf Board’s jurisdiction, further fueling the conflict.
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