News Tamil Nadu

Protest Erupts After Leftist-Dravidian Director Karu Palaniappan Repeats Debunked Claim About RSS And Gandhi’s Assassination At Tiruppur Book Festival

January 25, 2025
The Commune

Despite numerous debunking and even the Supreme Court rebuke forcing an apology from political figures like Congress scion Rahul Gandhi for spreading the false claim that “An RSS member killed Gandhi,” some leftist Dravidianists continue to perpetuate this misinformation. Jumping on this bandwagon is leftist film director Karu Palaniappan, known for promoting Dravidianist ideologies through fabricated narratives, repeating this discredited claim of RSS involvement in the assassination of Gandhi at a book festival in Tiruppur.

Palaniappan, who attended the event as a special guest, asserted that EV Ramasamy Naicker wanted India to be effectively renamed “Gandhi Nadu” after an RSS member assassinated Gandhi. His comments sparked strong protests, particularly from Tiruppur RSS leader Mohana Sundaram, which led to a scuffle at the event. The altercation intensified as Hindu organizations, including RSS, Hindu Munnani, and the BJP, gathered to demand action after the alleged attack on Sundaram. The incident disrupted the book festival, which is part of a larger initiative to promote reading across districts, and attracted a large crowd at the Velan Hotel complex in Tiruppur, where the event is taking place until 2 February 2025.

The tension escalated further as the opposing groups clashed, leading to a dharna organized by the protesting Hindu groups. Prominent figures such as Kadeswara Subramaniam from Hindu Munnani and Senthil Vel, district BJP president, joined the protests, calling for the arrest of those responsible for the attack on Sundaram. Despite police efforts to calm the situation, the dispute remained unresolved, and a formal complaint has been filed, with investigations currently underway.

This is not the first time Dravidianists and Leftists like Palaniappan have falsely claimed that an RSS member assassinated Gandhi. In the past, leaders such as VCK chief Thirumavalavan and deputy general secretary Vanni Arasu have spread the same baseless narrative, particularly during times when Hindu groups were gaining prominence or when the image of Dravidian icon E.V. Ramasamy Naicker was under scrutiny. These statements are often used strategically by Dravidianists and Periyarists to provoke Hindu activists by spreading controversial and false narratives, with the intent of stoking tensions and later portraying them as instigators of violence.

Gandhi’s Assassination Conspiracy

There is clear evidence of a systematic campaign to malign the RSS regarding Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination, despite no legal evidence connecting the organization to the crime. The RSS opposed the anarchist tactics of Nathuram Godse and Narayan Apte, the assassins of Gandhi, as well as their followers. Despite the court’s acquittal of Vinayak Damodar Savarkar in the case, the narrative pushed by certain groups continues to link him to the assassination conspiracy falsely. Congress, Leftists, and Dravidianists have persisted in wrongly accusing the RSS of involvement in a crime its members had no part in.

Before the Partition, Nathuram Godse, a member of the Hindu Mahasabha, was highly critical of Savarkar and other senior leaders like Dr. Syama Prasad Mukherjee, B.S. Munje, and L.N. Bhopatkar. He opposed their passive stance on Gandhi and the Congress, focusing more on internal conflicts within the Hindu Mahasabha than any conspiracy.

While Nathuram Godse was responsible for assassinating Gandhi on 30 January 1948, there is no credible evidence linking the RSS to the crime. Godse shot Gandhi three times at close range. Despite repeated, misleading claims that would be worthy of Joseph Goebbels’ propaganda tactics, no evidence has been presented to connect the RSS as an organization to the assassination.

Goebbels famously said, “Propaganda works best when those being manipulated are confident they are acting on their own free will.” This is exactly the type of manipulation used against the RSS in the aftermath of Gandhi’s assassination to distort public perception.

A similar narrative was propagated by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who later apologized in the Supreme Court, clarifying that he had never accused the RSS as an institution for Gandhi’s assassination. In 2014, Rahul Gandhi reiterated his position in the Bombay High Court, stating he had only referred to individuals associated with the RSS, not the organization.

In his affidavit, Rahul Gandhi explained his remarks, saying that while the philosophy of those associated with the RSS was destructive, he had never blamed the organization itself for the assassination. He also clarified his comments about Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, stating that Patel had been critical of the RSS.

In his statement to the Supreme Court, Rahul Gandhi explained that the RSS’s actions had consistently pursued a majoritarian agenda. Still, he did not accuse the institution of being directly responsible for the assassination. His statement led to the court asking RSS activist Rajesh Kunte if he was satisfied with Gandhi’s clarification. Kunte, the complainant, indicated that he was satisfied, and the matter was set to conclude.

(With Inputs From One India Tamil)

Subscribe to our channels on Telegram, WhatsApp, and Instagram and get the best stories of the day delivered to you personally.