In a fiery and ideologically charged speech delivered on 24 June 2025, Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) chief Thol. Thirumavalavan launched a scathing attack on the recently held Murugan Devotees Conference, branding it a political ploy by the BJP and its allies to manipulate Tamil religious identity for Hindutva gains. Speaking at an event to honour ‘secular leaders and intellectuals’, Thirumavalavan warned of a growing attempt to ‘communalize Tamil Nadu’s public life’.
He began by describing why his party ideology and why Ambedkar’s dream were still a dream in our country and then he started attacking the Sangh parivar, the conference and all things Hinduism.
He proudly stated that the meeting held in Trichy earlier this month “pierced the belly of the Sanatana forces.” It is noteworthy that the meeting was to “uproot Sanatana Dharma”.
After praising the “blue organisations”, he continued praising how the VCK started working towards bringing Periyarism, Marxism, Communism with Ambedkarism – that their one goal is to uproot Aryanism.
He claimed that the number of seats contested in elections is something that VCK is not concerned about, but the party is working towards realising Ambedkar’s dream.
“Existing India Should Be Destroyed”
He claimed that secularism is getting sharpened and that is “thanks to the BJP”.
He further said, “We do not criticize, oppose, or hate the BJP on the basis of just being a political party and wanting to defeat them in the elections. The ideology that they promote and prioritize is the most important. Why did Ambedkar create this Constitution? Why did he state that we are going to build a new India? Why did he want to destroy the existing India? That is the question. A nation called India has already been formed here.
It has been created by the white man. Even though it is scattered among various religions, a unity called India has already existed here and continues to exist. But that India should not continue, it must be destroyed. It should be destroyed. A new India should be built. It should be an India without caste discrimination. It should be an India without gender discrimination. Discrimination between men and women. The existing India is a discriminatory India. The India desired by revolutionary leader Ambedkar is one of equality. Why does India have discrimination? It exists because the caste social system persists. The ideology that men are superior and women are inferior is entrenched here. Therefore, if we want to build a new India where this discrimination is dissolved, the government established here should be a secular government. This is the problem here.”
Attacking BJP, RSS
Thirumavalavan reserved his harshest criticism for the BJP and RSS, framing them as enemies of Tamil identity and secularism. He said, “The Sangh Parivar’s ultimate goal is not to drive out Muslims or Christians. They know that Muslims and Christians are the original inhabitants of this land. None of them came from Arabia or Europe. They are not a group that occupied this land. They are the sons of this land. The original inhabitants have converted to Islam and are Christians. They (Sangh) know that but only if they sow hatred against them and unite the majority Hindus and retain power, can they overthrow the Constitution. They can destroy the dream of the revolutionary leader Ambedkar. This is the purpose of the Sangh Parivar. Don’t think that they are trying to grab the post of Chief Minister of TN, or that the post of Prime Minister is their ultimate goal and final destination. They want to continue in that position, to retain power, to have a government of their choice in all the states, and the reason for this is that the Constitution, formulated by the revolutionary Ambedkar, is creating a new India.”
He claimed, “One thing that cannot be destroyed by such nuclear weapons is the caste social structure in India. It cannot be destroyed by any weapons. Because it has an ideological form.”
State Religion Cannot Be Hinduism
On the topic of religion-based countries, he said, “They ask very simply, all countries have a religion, a state religion, why should it not be in India? The state religion is Buddhism for Sri Lanka, Islam for Pakistan, Christianity for America, Buddhism is the state religion in all South Asian countries, Christianity is the state religion in all European countries, Islam is the state religion in all Arab countries. Why should India not have a state religion? Good question. Logically, it is correct. This is correct on the basis of logic, but which religion can be made the state religion of India? Which religion is followed by the majority of the people here? Isn’t it a religion full of discrimination? It is the religion followed by the majority of the people here. That is what is said. At one time, this was not a form of Hinduism.”
Then he claimed that Lord Muruga had his own religion. He said, “Murugan himself had his own religion. The Lord Murugan we worship is called Kaumaram in the Sanskrit, and Kumaram in Tamil. There was a religion called Kumaram. That is the six religions – Shanmatham. Saivism, Vaishnava, Kanapathiyam, worshiping Ganapati, that religion is called Ghanapathiyam, Kaumaram, worshiping Murugan, Sauram, worshiping the Sun, Shaptham, worshiping Shakti. These are all the names of religions. In the northern language, these six religions are called Hinduism by combining them in Sanskrit. These are all separate religions. Saivism is another religion. Vaishnavism is another religion.”
Then he brought in Adi Shankara, he said, “Many people tried to bring all the religions together for many years, including Adi Shankara. Then there was no Hindu religion. The religion of the Brahmins at that time was the Vedic religion. Theirs was not Hindu. The Shaivism religion was not Hindu. The Vaishnavism religion was also not Hindu. No, all this happened after the arrival of the white man, in the early 1800s, in the 19th century, and now we have the 21st century. The change that occurred 200 years ago is that a religion called Hinduism never emerged. It is impossible to say who created this. The founder of Islam was the Prophet Muhammad. The founder of Christianity was Jesus. The founder of Buddhism was Gautama Buddha. The founder of Samanam (Jainism) was Mahavira. No one knows who created Hinduism. It is impossible to say who created [Hinduism]… There is no evidence for it.“
He continued, “If we say why this has not been declared as the state religion, then this religion is fundamentally a religion with discrimination. No religion in the world accepts superiority or inferiority based on birth. All religions have only brotherhood as their basic principle. The soul, this life-breathing principle, is fraternity.No matter which religion you choose, there is brotherhood in it. Let us be brothers and sisters. Let us cultivate love. That is what Buddhism says. In Buddhism, there is no God, no worship, no rituals, no traditions. It is the only religion that talks about individual morality and social morality. At that time, the followers of the Vedic religion spread it as an atheistic religion. That is why they destroyed Buddhism by calling it an atheistic religion. “
Hinduism Does Not Talk Of Brotherhood/Fraternity
Continuing his venomous speech, he said, “Buddhism talks about brotherhood. Islam talks about brotherhood. Jainism talks about brotherhood. Christianity talks about brotherhood. Does Hinduism talk about brotherhood? I could not enter the sanctum sanctorum. Those who are angry at me for rubbing off the vibhuti, are you ready to take me inside? Can you hold a protest to take me into the garba griha of the temple?”
He further said, “He is not able to accept me as his brother. He is trying to defeat you and me in hypocritical politics by saying that you are a devotee of Lord Muruga. Since there is no brotherhood in Hinduism, the Constituent Assembly debated extensively and took the position that this religion should not be officially declared as the state religion through the Constitution. Because if it is the state religion, the Constitution will approve this discrimination. The Constitution itself will recognize discrimination.”
Lord Murugan Lived Like Us
Moving on to the topic of Lord Murugan, he said, “You are calling me a Muruga devotee. Are there only Muruga devotees in Tamil Nadu? There are more Ayyappa devotees than that. If we have to talk about the story of Murugan, we will have to talk for hours. Our land is Tamil land with five types of land. In it, Murugan is the leader of Kurinji soil. Murugan is the leader of Kurinji millet. He was born like us, lived like us, led our people, is what our literature says. Tamil literature says that. Sangam literature says that. He is not a character that can be found in Puranas. We have literatures that mention that Murugan was born, grew up, lived, and ruled the people. They have made him Subramaniam. Comrades, you should know one truth no Brahmin would name his child Murugan. Are the RSS workers, these Murugan devotees ready to answer this comment? Bring any person and ask him if he is by caste Brahmin but his name is Murugan – is that possible? Maybe if he says that, he will call it Skandan. It is Kandan in Tamil and Skandan in Sanskrit; in North India this idea has gone there. What is his name there? Subramanian Su-Brahminian. The SUbramanian that they claim to be theirs does not fit in our story. That Subramanian is not the leader of Kurinji millet. Our Murugan is the leader of Kurinji Millet. That is there in our Sangam literature. There is only Arupadaiveedu (6 holy abodes) of Murugan in TN alone, which other state do you have it? That’s why I raised a question that some people couldn’t tolerate. If Murugan is a Tamil god, his father Shiva can also be a Tamil god. If Murugan is a Tamil god, then Shiva is Tamil man and Parvathi is a Tamil woman. If both of them are in Kailash, then Kailash is the land of Tamils. Then the whole of India is the land of Tamils. If Lord Shiva lives in Kailash, then Kailash also belongs to Tamils. From Kailash to Kanyakumari, Lord Shiva is a proof that Tamils lived. According to that story, Shiva was a Tamil and Parvati was a Tamil woman. So, Ganapati can also be a Tamil. Why doesn’t anyone call Ganesha a Tamil god? If he hears all this logically, he gets angry. Why are we the only ones being humiliated? These stories don’t exist in other religions. If there were such mythological stories in other religions, Tell me, let’s talk.”
He went on to claim that ‘they’ were stealing their identities and history, gave them new identities, gave new explanations, only to divide and destroy the Tamils.
Speaking to the plastic chair incident, he said, “I may suddenly say that I don’t want to go the electoral path, I may say that one day. These people are weighing us like an average. They think I am doing it for money or plastic chair, that is all their intelligence. If I am sitting on the floor, on a plastic chair, or on a sofa, it is not a big deal to someone who thinks that everything is the same. If I am sitting on a sofa, it is normal. If I am sitting on a big stool, it is nothing.”
Connecting EV Ramasamy Naicker & Ambedkar
Continuing his speech, he said, “They are trying to put a wedge in the Constitution itself. They will celebrate Ambedkar Jayanti. They will erect a statue of Ambedkar, touch his feet and worship him, but they are trying to destroy the constitution that was framed by him and making it watered down. To understand this, you need Ambedkar’s glasses, you need Periyar’s glasses. Periyar himself criticized Ambedkar himself at one point. There is a report that when Ambedkar died, Periyar reportedly said that Ambedkar should also be worshipped in the same way as Buddha, Jesus, Allah, etc. Periyar had such respect for Ambedkar that he put him in that row. That Periyar had to say that we will burn the Constitution written by Ambedkar. He organized that protest.
Why did he organize it? It was not because he had any hatred for Ambedkar. The two men were so different, but they were close friends. If he came to Tamil Nadu, Ambedkar would definitely meet Periyar.”
Then he explained why EVR wanted to burn the Constitution. Thirumavalavan claimed, “What Periyar said is that the Constitution gives freedom to all religions and gives them the right to spread their views and beliefs. By giving that freedom, Hinduism also gets that right. Therefore, the Constitution itself gives them space to spread superstitions again and again. So Periyar raised a war cry against it and for that, he waged a struggle that destroyed that part of the Constitution. Ambedkar burned Manusmriti. The alternative to Manusmriti is the Constitution of India. The Manusmriti that was there then is what created the India of today, the discriminatory India we are seeing today which is made by Manusmriti. The India we are in was created by Manusmriti and to destroy it the revolutionary leader Ambedkar created the Constitution.”
Again, attacking Hinduism he said, “They claimed Muslims and Christians are deceiving the poor and simple Dalit people and converting them. How can someone be deceived and converted? Those who could not bear these atrocities converted themselves. All the Muslims in India may have been descendants of ancestors who suffered such atrocities at one time. On the basis of caste, everyone is a Dravidian, in their eyes, everyone is a Shudra, so they had atrocities. Caste atrocities are not only against SC, ST. The caste system is against every caste. Caste eradication is not a demand for SC, ST people. It is the demand of everyone who wants brotherhood, it is the demand of everyone who values democracy, it is the demand of everyone who wants equality.”
How Can One Talk Of Tamil Nationalism Without Periyar?
In what seemed like an attack on NTK chief Seeman, Thirumavalavan said, “Are any of the Tamil nationalists here talking about caste eradication? The bigger absurdity is that they are talking of Tamil nationalism by standing against Periyar. How can you be a force in support of Tamil nationalism when you cannot even identify who the real enemy of Tamil nationalism is? Those who speak Tamil nationalism are talking about fake Tamil nationalism. In reality, if there is something that is against the Tamil nationalism, it can only be Indian nationalism. How can Telugu be against Tamil nationalism? How can Kannada be against Tamil nationalism? Each should build their own nationalism. Each nationalism should unite and build a united front. They are creating Indian nationalism by flowing, which is the Hindu nationalism presented by the BJP today. There is religious nationalism. Without talking about all that, without opposing all that, without making fun of all that, without saying that they are the reason for all this, without talking about the big businessmen like Adani Ambani who are behind them, and if they say that they are going to oppose Periyar, then you should understand whose people they are.”
Attacking ADMK
He accused the ADMK of betraying Tamil politics by aligning with the BJP. He said, “ADMK is just thinking of political gain and today they are joining the Bharatiya Janata Party and justifying it and talking. If they were loyal to MGR and Jayalalithaa as they are, they would never have joined BJP. I have respect for Edappadi Palaniswami. You are making a huge historical mistake. You are converting all the ADMK cadre who have grown up learning social justice politics into people for the BJP. You are converting them into volunteers who can serve the Sangh Parivar.”
Not Murugan Devotees, They Are Modi Devotees
Attacking the Murugan Devotees Conference, he said, “Those who did not fight for basic issues are now holding Muruga devotees conferences without any devotee asking. They are not really Muruga devotees. Modi devotees. It is a conference of Modi devotees; it is not a conference of Muruga devotees. If it was a Muruga devotees conference, we should have gone too. We are all Muruga devotees. We do not think of him as God, but as our ancestors. Tamil Sangam literature tells us that he is also one of the ancestors.”
He further attacked the ADMK saying, “Don’t the ADMK leaders know what conspiracy they are hatching? How have you become so diluted that you can attend RSS programs? How can you watch videos of people insulting Anna while he is sitting in a Muruga devotees conference? Where will this end? You are talking like this because we are in the DMK group. You are not saying that. We are talking about this because we believe that ADMK is also a Dravidian movement. We are talking about this because we believe that the leaders and workers of the ADMK are from Periyar’s path, otherwise we are not going to talk about it, there is no need to talk about it.”
Attacking the BJP, he said, “Does the BJP have a history of fighting for land records? How many devotees of Muruga do not have land records? There are millions of people who do not have land records. In any country in the world, there is no one who is a landowner except India. In any country in the world except India, the children of the soil do not have land records. There are people lying in a house and a hut. What kind of struggles have you led for those people? Those who fought for land rights, the VCK, have demanded that land be given to all those who do not have land. We have been protesting and presenting five demands. A person who has never been to the field is sitting in a corner and writing on Facebook. He does not know what field experience is. He knows only if he has traveled a kilometer. He does not know how much struggle it is to travel from point to point in this caste-based social structure. Only those of us who are standing in the field know how big a battle it is to hoist a flag.”
Praises Jayalalithaa
Attacking the present leaders of the ADMK and praising its former leader, he said, “It takes a lot of courage to say that you are going to be partners with a specific person/party. Can anyone say that today? We are not worried about the losses we are facing in the political arena, about the electoral losses, about the temporary losses, how parties like ADMK are amused by the criticism of leaders like Periyar who have shaped this land ideologically and the talk of politics against them, even today, with a sense of camaraderie. I believe ADMK is still a Dravidian movement, so I am presenting this as a camaraderie movement. Jayalalithaa was born in the Brahmin community. She did not do it just as an election campaign. She said it sincerely that she has been deceived by the BJP and will never have any relationship with Modi again. Shouldn’t they fulfill the promise she made? MGR warned the RSS. MGR was not born in any caste belonging to Tamil soil. MGR was one who does not come under any list in this caste where one can say they are OBC or MBC or Scheduled Caste. But he had a special interest in this land, a special interest in these people, and he believed in the social justice politics that Periyar spoke about. He legalized the writing reform brought by Periyar.”
Conference To Divide People
Attacking the conference, he said, “Why did they hold this conference today? What demands did the Muruga devotees make? They are dividing people in the name of religion. They are trying to create social division here in the name of Hindus and non-Hindus. At one time, there was the idea of national division, but today social divisionism is happening here. Social divisionism is happening. The politics that can do this is the politics of the Sangh Parivar. This is Hindutva. Talking about Lord Shiva or talking about Mahavishnu is not Hindutva. That is Hinduism. Hinduism is completely different from Hindutva. Hindutva is the agenda of the Sangh Parivar. Hinduism is the faith of the people. It is a faith, a philosophy. Hindutva is the action plan of the Sangh Parivar. One of them is to overthrow the Constitution. To declare a state religion. To change the name of India or Bharat and declare it as Hindustan or Hindu Rashtra. What will happen if all this happens? India will go back to what it was. India will go the way it was 2000 years ago. Since there is a need to prevent that, we are telling the Sangh Parivar to be careful. That is why we are joining hands with the left-wing forces who have that opinion.” He further said, “If caste eradication is what we have to fight against, we should fight against the fascism of the Sangh Parivar.
Stop Freebies, Stop Alcohol Sale
Concluding his speech, he said, “When can you call a government become a good government – when it provides education free of cost. A government that provides medicine free of cost can be a people’s government. Both of these are very, very important. Stop all freebies. Close liquor shops. Control the drug trade. Can you do all this yourself? If you come to power, give it to me and I will show you. Like others, I am not asking to consider me also a “rowdy”. The revolutionary Ambedkar had that idea. It was because of that idea that he could write such a constitution.”
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