Periyar statue smeared with saffron paint in Coimbatore, youth surrenders

A statue of Dravidian legend E V R Periyar in Coimbatore was smeared with “saffron-coloured liquid” on Friday morning by a cadre of a little-known Hindu outfit, in the second attack on the busts of the social reformer since the beginning of this year.

The statue located in Sundarapuram in Coimbatore was found defaced with the “saffron-coloured liquid” at around 6 am on Friday, leading to tension in the area. Hours after the incident came to light, Arun Krishnan, District Organiser of Bharat Sena, surrendered before the police claiming responsibility for the incident.

Statues of Periyar, as he is popularly known as in Tamil Nadu, have been the target of right-wing outfits in the past few years. In fact, the statue was among six busts of the legendary social reformer brought under police protection on Thursday evening following the arrest of a YouTuber who released a video on a song sung in praise of Lord Murugan.

“The attack took place when the policemen had stepped out for a while,” a police official said. In January, a statue of Periyar was found damaged by unidentified miscreants in Kanchipuram district, days after Tamil superstar Rajinikanth stoked a row by making controversial comments against the late social reformer.

Periyar, the legendary social reformer with Kannada roots, is a much-revered figure in Tamil Nadu who advocated a slew of reforms to ensure social justice. DK’s offshoots DMK and AIADMK that have been ruling the state alternatively since 1967 have implemented these reforms.

Friday’s attack on Periyar’s statue led to a political uproar with almost all political parties condemning the incident and seeking strict action against those trying to defame the legendary social reformer. They also said repeated attacks on Periyar’s statues reinforce the fact that those opposing his ideals fear him even nearly five decades after his death.

The attacks on Periyar statues, in the recent past, began in 2018 after BJP leader H Raja said the bust of the social reformer would be the next to fall, after a statue of Russian revolutionary Vladimir Lenin was pulled out in Tripura following the loss of CPI(M) in assembly elections.

While other parties condemned the incident on Periyar statue, the BJP appeared justifying the desecration with Raja going to the extent of calling Periyar a “British stooge”, while a few leaders said gave the incident a communal colour saying Hindus have nothing to do with it.

In response to Kanimozhi’s tweet that Periyar was not a mere statue but the path to self-respect and social justice, Raja said requesting the “British to continue to rule Madras Presidency” is certainly not an act of “self-respect.”

“Periyar was an unadulterated foreign stooge. Is there any doubt about that? His Dravidar Kazhagam passed a resolution demanding continuation of British rule in India. So, why should I not call him a British stooge?” he asked.