Kamal Haasan’s “No Hindu Religion During Chola Period” Remark Sparks Row
Kamal Haasan has defended National Award-winning Tamil director Vetrimaaran’s assertion that Raja Raja Chola wasn’t a Hindu king, which generated controversy.
“Raja Raja Chozlan wasn’t Hindu but they (BJP) are trying to steal our identity. They have already tried to saffronize Thiruvalluvar. We should never allow that. ”
Then, Kamal Hassan echoed similar sentiments and said, “There was no name called ‘Hindu religion’ during Raja Raja Chola’s period. There was Vainavam, Shivam, and Samanam, and it was the British who coined the term Hindu since they didn’t know how to refer to it collectively. It is similar to how they changed Thuthukudi into Tuticorin.”
Vetimaaran’s comments were made barely one day after the movie Ponniyin Selvan: 1, which is based on a made-up book that was inspired by Raja Raja Chola, was released.Although Vetimaaran did find support from Mr Haasan, BJP slammed the director. BJP leader H Raja has stated that Raja Raja Chola was indeed a Hindu king. He questioned Vetimaran – “I am not well versed with history like Vetrimafran, but let him point out two churches and mosques built by Raja Raja Chola. He called himself Sivapadha Sekaran. Wasn’t he a Hindu then?”
It’s undeniable that news about Raja Raja Chola has already made headlines in Tamil Nadu.In 2019, film director PA Ranjith sparked controversy after he criticized the king. He said at that time that the rule of the erstwhile king was a dark age for Dalits.
He claimed, “Land had been forcibly taken away from them and many forms of caste oppression had begun during Raja Raja Chola’s reign”.
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