No Hindu religion during Chola period: Why does row erupt over Kamal Haasan’s remark?

Actor-turned-politician Kamal Hassan is facing ire from BJP politicians and troll army owing allegiance to the saffron party for backing the statement of noted Tamil director Vetrimaaran’s who stated a few days ago that Raja Raja Chola wasn’t a Hindu king.

Backing the national award-winning director, actor-turned-politician Kamal Hassan said that there was no Hindu religion during the time of the Chola period. A video clip of him purportedly doing rounds on the social media platforms where the actor can be heard saying that he once used to spread the word of Christ to the world.

It all started at an event Vetrimaaran attended where he said, “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.”

Hassan echoed similar sentiments and said, “There was no name called ‘Hindu religion’ during Raja Raja Chola’s period. There was Vainavam, Shaivam, 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.”

Vetrimaaran’s remarks came just a day after the release of the film ‘Ponniyin Selvan: 1’ which is based on a fictional novel inspired by Raja Raja Chola.

BJP leader H Raja slammed the director and said that Raja Raja Chola was indeed a Hindu king. He questioned Vetrimaaran – “I am not well versed with history like Vetrimaaran, 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?”

“Kamal Haasan has a habit of not reading deeply about anything. But it cannot be denied that he said to Karan Thapar that he sold the Bible for money, that his brother Chandra Haasan was buried in the Christian way,” Raja said.

This is not the first time that a statement on Raja Raja Chola has attracted media attention. 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, reported NDTV. He claimed, as reported by the NDTV: “Land had been forcibly taken away from them and many forms of caste oppression had begun during Raja Raja Chola’s reign.” – INDIA NEWS STREAM