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From “Murugan Is Vote Politics, Not Tamil Kadavul” To Vel On Stage: Thirumavalavan’s U-Turn At Thirupparankundram

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The Commune
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Thirupparankundram Hindu Unity Effect: VCK MP Thirumavalavan Know For His Rants Against Hinduism Picks Up Vel

A meeting organised by the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) at Thirupparankundram on 22 December 2025, which was announced as a protest, effectively took the form of a public political rally, drawing attention for its use of religious symbolism and charged rhetoric amid the ongoing Deepam-related dispute in the region.

At the event, VCK president and DMK–Congress ally Thol Thirumavalavan, a Lok Sabha MP, was ceremonially presented on stage with a Vel and a crown by party functionaries from Madurai southern and suburban districts. Videos and reports from the meeting showed cadres raising slogans against what speakers repeatedly described as “Sanatana forces,” with chants calling to “chase them away” and references to confronting “Sanatana gangs” and “religious extremist groups.” Speakers emphasised that the Vel was being invoked not as a religious object associated with divine worship of Murugan, but as a political symbol representing social justice, caste annihilation, equality, and resistance to what they termed oppressive structures.

The symbolism and rhetoric drew particular attention given the tense backdrop at Thirupparankundram, where Hindu groups have been mobilising to demand implementation of court orders permitting access to the hill and the lighting of the Karthigai Deepam. The VCK rally took place amid heightened political activity around the issue, with competing claims and protests over religious practices and access rights in the area.

The event also revived scrutiny of Thirumavalavan’s earlier public statements on Murugan and the idea of “Tamil Kadavul.”

In a previous speech, he had questioned the political use of Murugan’s identity, saying that portraying Murugan as exclusively a “Tamil god” or framing religious symbols around electoral mobilisation amounted to vote politics. He had argued that such narratives could entrap people in divisive political strategies rather than addressing substantive social issues.

In a clipping that has been going viral on the internet, he says, “At some point in time there may have been a ‘Tamil god’; there may be history about a Tamil god. we were told that story of two people, elder and younger brothers, fighting over a mango. Those two are elder and younger brothers. They were both born to the same father and mother. Even if that father had two wives or three wives, still two children were born. Are we now going to call one a Tamil god and the other a Hindi god? If we say only ‘Murugan’ is the Tamil Kadavul (god) and give a holiday for Thaipusam, will all of us as Tamils suddenly be able to hold our heads high? All this is for votes. If we go into that net, if we go on that basis, we will get caught in their net. Even if we say, ‘We are coming to worship Tamil god Murugan,’”

Against this backdrop, observers noted the contrast between Thirumavalavan’s earlier scepticism toward religious symbolism in politics and the prominent display of the Vel and crown at the Thirupparankundram meeting, which was framed by party speakers as a political act of resistance rather than religious devotion.

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