Kaliyapettai, Jan 24, 2020: Tension prevailed in Kaliyapettai, near Uthiramer in Kancheepuram district, after Dravidar Kazhagam founder Periyar’s statue was vandalized by miscreants.
Local people on January 24 found the face and hand of the statue damaged.
Senior police officers visited the spot and conducted a preliminary inquiry. The statue was installed by local residents 20 years ago, and was inaugurated by Dravidar Kazhagam leaders. The statue has now been covered with a white cloth, and police presence has been increased following the incident.
Villagers suspect that fans of actor Rajinikanth are involved in the damage. This is being seen a backlash to Periyarist organizations conducting protests against Rajinikanth, for his recent controversial speech regarding the anti-superstition rally attended by Periyar in Salem in 1971.
Local functionaries of Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi are lodging a complaint with the Salavakkam police. Further investigations are on to trace the suspects.
Periyar (Respected One), or Erode Venkatappa Ramasamy, was an Indian social activist and politician who started the Self-Respect Movement and Dravidar Kazhagam (party of Dravidians).
He is known as the ‘Father of the Dravidian Movement’ as he had done notable work against Brahminical dominance and gender and caste inequality in Tamil Nadu. He died on December 24, 1973, aged 94.
He promoted the principles of rationalism, self-respect, women’s rights and eradication of caste. He opposed the exploitation and marginalization of the non-Brahmin Dravidian people of South India and the imposition of what he considered Indo-Aryan India.
Source: thehindu.com