Don’t fan communal tensions; this is Tamil Nadu, not North India: DMK to BJP

Chennai, DHNS: Singling out the BJP for orchestrating protests outside Lord Murugan temple in Thiruparankundram near Madurai to fan “communal tensions” in the state, the DMK dispensation on Wednesday asserted that the saffron party’s plan of dividing the society on “religious lines” might work in north Indian states but not in Tamil Nadu. 

Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) minister P K Sekarbabu said the department will ensure that centuries-old customs, rituals, and festivals are followed in the temple. The dargah has been standing atop the hill, where the temple is located, for the last 600 years. 

Members of the Hindu Munnani and BJP held a protest outside the famous temple, considered as one of the six abodes where Murugan is believed to have resided, on Tuesday in protest against a few people, allegedly from the Muslim community, consuming meat at the hillock. The protesters wanted the “sanctity” of the Hindu temple to be protected, while deriding attempts by some organisations to rename the hills as Sikkandar Malai. 

Tension prevailed at Thiruparankundram, 5 km from Madurai, for the whole of Tuesday due to the protests by the Hindu Munnani. However, the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court intervened and allowed the protesters to hold an agitation at Palanganatham junction, far away from the temple premises. 

Even as political parties and religious outfits fight it out in the open, residents of Thiruparankundram have come out openly against attempts to “communalise” the recent incidents. “We have been living as one family here for decades together. While Hindus visit the mosque for curing children, Muslims too come to the temple and pray,” a woman resident said. 

Madurai district collector M S Sangeetha said in a statement on Wednesday that while the residents are living in harmony, “outsiders” from both sides are creating trouble in the matter. “All efforts are being taken to ensure that public order is maintained,” she added. 

Sekarbabu, whose department administers the Murugan temple, alleged that the BJP wants to create a “dangerous situation” for the DMK government and termed the protest as “unwanted.” 

“BJP’s tactics of dividing people on communal and caste lines might work in north India but not in Tamil Nadu. There is no place for such communal politics in the Dravidian land and Periyar land. BJP wants to divide people in the name of religion, caste, and language,” Sekarbabu told reporters here. 

The minister said the BJP’s aim was nothing but “communalising the incident” and referred to a senior leader’s speech on Tuesday which he said was full of insinuations against a particular community. 

“I warn the BJP that they will be alienated by the people of Tamil Nadu if they continue with their communal politics. They will be taught a big lesson by the people in the 2026 elections…the CM has asked us to show restraint. Our CM will crush any attempt to divide the society,” Sekarbabu added.

The issue of ownership of the temple was settled way back in 1923 by a Subordinate Judge of Madura who said the whole hill, except “certain cultivated and assessed lands and the site of the mosque” belonged to the Murugan Temple. 

This is the second attempt by the BJP in five years to utilise Lord Murugan – in 2020, the party organised Vetrivel Yatra across the state following a controversy over disparaging comments against Kanda Shashti Kavasam, a collection of hymns in praise of the god, by Karuppar Kootam, a YouTube channel. 

Thiruparankundram, located on the outskirts of Madurai, has been a heaven of religious harmony with people from both religions coexisting and offering prayers at their respective places of worship. 

However, the current row began a fortnight ago when photographs of people allegedly consuming meat surfaced leading to strong objection from believers of Lord Murugan. 

The photograph also led to major confrontation between Ramanathapuram Lok Sabha MP Nawaz Kani and Tamil Nadu BJP chief K Annamalai who accused the former of leading the group that consumed meat at the hills.