There were heated exchanges between Tamil Nadu BJP President K. Annamalai and DMK Minister Ponmudi, who slammed Tamil Nadu governor RN Ravi for his remarks on Karl Marx. Others like PMK founder Dr. Ramadoss and the Commumist parties too joined the bandwagon in pouncing against the Governor. But what did he say that has angered these people?
Speaking at the book launch of Deenadayal Upadhyay’s Dispersion of Thought and Integral Humanism at the Raj Bhavan in Chennai, Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi said that “colonised minds controlled India’s intellectual space,” and that Karl Marx, Rousseau, and Abraham Lincoln were “worshipped” at the expense of Indian scholars such as Deendayal Upadhyaya.
In his rebuttal to governor RN Ravi, DMK Minister Ponmudi said, “Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi made inappropriate remarks about Karl Marx, the father of socialism. Periyar was the first to publish the Communist Party Manifesto in Tamil, which was written by economist Karl Marx and his friend Friedrich Engels. Periyar and Anna were the ones who worked for the ultimate goal of the Dravidian movement, classless equality, as advocated by socialism.”
However, Tamil Nadu BJP President Annamalai was quick to point out that the founding father of Dravidar Kazhagam, EV Ramasamy, was himself critical of communism and communist.
Here is a list of instances and quotes from EV Ramasamy Periyar in which he criticised Communists and communism. The majority of the quotes were taken from the book “Collected Works Of Periyar E.V.R” by Dravidar Kazhagam’s current president, Ki Veeramani.
He claimed that Brahmins dominate trade union leadership positions, saying, “The leader of the Congress party is a Brahmin. The leader of the socialists is a Brahmin. The leader of the communists is a Brahmin. The leader of the Hindu Maha Sabha is a Brahmin. The leader of R.S.S is a Brahmin. The leader of the Trade Union is a Brahmin. The President of India is a Brahmin. They are all one in the heart of hearts.”
EV Ramasamy Naicker described Communists as exploiters, similar to foreigners, saying,”The communists have their office at a foreign place like Bombay or Delhi, they are only interested in exploiting us like the other foreign controlled parties. Janaskthi’s [CPI journal] editors are Brahmins and wherever Brahmin goes he is likely to support caste differences.”
EV Ramasamy Naicker stated that Communism is a useless ideology, saying, “Talking Communism without eradicating caste is like discussing higher education without the rudiments of learning.”
He claimed that the introduction of Communism into India would result in the exploitation of people who did not own land. “There can be no scope for Communism in a country, where there is absence of common ownership and rights. If attempts are made to bring in Communism in a country, which does not have common ownership and rights, it will only give room for those who already enjoy more rights to reap the benefits of Communism,” EV Ramasamy Naicker said.
He went on to say that the cooperative spirit will reign in the future, propelling society forward, and that communism is not required to teach this. EV Ramasamy Naicker stated, “One day or other the co-operative spirit will reign supreme making the society march on towards progress. It is not necessary that Communism should be fostered for that. Without talking a word about communism, you can make the society progressive with the help of mere co-operation.”
He went on to say that communism is a sham and that their only agenda is to criticise the rich while ignoring Brahminism and Varnashrama Dharma, which are promoted by people like Rajaji and political parties like the Congress.
In his speech delivered at Trichy on 21-2-1943, EV Ramasamy Naicker said, “All the talks on communism in our country is bogus. Our youths must keep away from such talks. What is the work they do? Their eyes are always on the leaders of the Justice Party (In 1944, Periyar transformed the Justice Party into the social organisation Dravidar Kazhagam and withdrew it from electoral politics). Their work is to criticise the Muslims and rich people. They are not worried about the evil casteism or reactionary propaganda of Gandhi. They are not worried about Rajaji who wants only the Brahmins to live happily. They are not worried about the Congress party that upholds the Varnasrama Dharma. They are not worried about khadhi being symbolic of barbarous age. The communists are dominated by the evil forces cited above. So I appeal to the youth to be aware of these communists. Communism here, as it is, is a sugar coated poisonous pill. Beware!”
On December 25, 1968, under the rule of DMK Chief Minister Annadurai, Tamil Nadu witnessed the worst massacre of Dalits, who were protesting for the pay hike. However, instead of criticizing the perpetrators of the crime EV Ramasamy Naicker criticized Communists who were with the Dalits during the protests.
During the Sembanur Kovil public meeting on January 12, 1968, just a few days after the massacre, EV Ramasamy Naicker said, “The Communists were responsible for the Nagai Taluk massacre (referring to Keezhvenmani). They were responsible for the deaths of 42 people.”
Blaming the Communists and asking Dalits to live within their means rather than protest for pay raises, EVR said, “Without telling you how the workers should live with what they have, the Communist comrades are trying to create riots and revolutions in Tamil Nadu and overthrow this regime.”
Aside from what EV Ramaasamy Naicker said about communists and communism, there are a number of accounts written by various authors about the atrocities committed by Communists.
A book titled “Famine, Murder, and Disaster (பஞ்சம்,படுகொலை, பேரழிவு)” written by Aravindan Neelakandan has exposed the true face of communism and Karl Marx, which substantiates what Governor RN Ravi said about Karl Marx during his speech.
“It is from India culture, the science and technology was exported to Europe. Karl Marx did not see the destruction of the technologies of Indian culture as a loss to humanity. Instead, he welcomed it and referred to it as a historical necessity.”, the book notes.
The author of the book Aravindan Neelakandan quotes Karl Marx as saying,”The destruction of Indian industries was revolutionary. Destruction of the age-old industries of Indians is a necessity to destroy the self-reliance of Indian villages.” This tendency of Karl Marx was referred to as a “white European cultural tilt” by sociologist Joyce A. Lautner, he added.
Similar to the Dravidian Stockist, communists have a tendency to demand free speech when they are not in power, but to crush dissent with brutal force when they are elected. The legal action taken by the Communists in Kerala and DMK in Tamil Nadu against dissenting YouTubers and for social media posts is evidence of their hypocrisy and cruel intentions. To summarize, EVR and Karl Marx have nothing in common other than their long unkempt beard.
Therefore, instead of lecturing on what Governor RN Ravi should say, DMK Ministers should introspect on what their own ideologue had said about Communists and Communism.
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