Culture and Dharma Shine Bright: Voice of Covai’s Inaugural A3 Conclave Ends On A High Note

The A3 Conclave–’Awake, Arise and Assert’ conducted by Voice of Covai, was held in Coimbatore on 30 November and 1 December.

The event, which was conceived with the objective of promoting Bharatiya values and Sanatana Dharma, was a huge success. It saw the registration of over 20,000 people and garnered over 1.3 million views online.

Participants were treated to a variety of topics, with the speeches and discussions addressing various issues such as myths and truths about Indian history, social media and its impact, combating the opponents of Sanatana Dharma, and the ongoing atrocities on Hindus in Bangladesh.

The event began with an address by the Shankaracharya of Kanchipuram, Sri Vijayendra Saraswathi, who joined via video conference. 

This was followed by talks on Sanatana Dharma by Swamini Sadvidyananda and the Aryan invasion theory by Jayasree Saranathan, setting the stage for an engaging exploration of historical and spiritual narratives.

Dr. Alexander Jacob, a retired Director General of Police of Kerala, enthralled the audience with his discourse on the history and spread of Tamil culture worldwide, adding a cultural dimension to the discussions.

Complementing the intellectual sessions, the event also featured a vibrant exhibition area. The hall had stalls set up by businesses and organisations wishing to support the event and the cause of dharma. These stalls offered participants an opportunity to engage with dharmic initiatives and products, adding a practical aspect to the event’s objectives.

The highlight of the afternoon session was a discussion with senior pracharaks of the Arsha Vidya Samajam—Vishali Shetty, O Sruthi, and Anagha Jayagopalan. Their return to Hinduism after falling prey to Islamic conversion, made possible due to the efforts of the Samajam led by Acharya K R Manoj, was a deeply moving experience for the audience.

While the audience was heartened by the activities of the Samajam, which has brought back over 8,000 women to the Hindu faith, the pracharaks’ poignant stories left many teary-eyed. 

Following this were talks by leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the state. H Raja, who headed the party’s coordination committee in the absence of state president K Annamalai, spoke about the status of Hindu temples in Tamil Nadu.

Raja’s talk, replete with statistics and anecdotes, threw light on the sad state of affairs in temples under state control, touching on issues like low income from temple lands, inadequate priest salaries, and encroachments.

Senior leader Prof. Raama Sreenivasan, known for his witty takes, addressed the audience on the topic ‘75 years of the Indian constitution.’ Sreenivasan highlighted the Congress party’s controversial role in amending the Constitution, particularly the 42nd Amendment, which curtailed many cherished rights.

“Their past is in stark contrast to what they claim to be doing day, i.e. ‘saving the Constitution. The Constitution that Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi are proudly displaying was actually restored by the Janata party.”

The day concluded with an effort to recognise dharmic voices. Awards were given to young and rising social media influencers whose work had been gaining traction in recent years.

Among those recognised were Vignesh and Suganesh from Politalks, Karthik Gopinath of Ilayabharatham, and cartoonist Jegan.

This was followed by the screening of winning entries from a short film competition organised by Voice of Covai. These films creatively conveyed social messages, with two—one about a child spreading awareness on smoking and another on a group of interview candidates helping a friend instruct his ‘digitally illiterate’ mother to send a document via a smartphone—receiving maximum applause.

The second day began with an interactive session featuring politico-religious analyst Jerome Anto. His talk addressed the issue of conversions by Christian missionaries and highlighted actionable steps for Hindu society to counter these efforts. Anto’s openness to questions left a lasting impression on the audience. 

Acharya Manoj then provided an overview of the measures taken by Arsha Vidya Samajam to bring back victims of conversion to the Hindu fold. According to him, the right kind of education about Sanatana Dharma, coupled with a comparative study of other religions are the main requirements to stave off such threats. “People have to realise that all religions are not the same,” he stressed.

This theme was echoed by USA-based author Sahana Singh, who shared examples of how Hindu children in America struggle to defend their faith due to a lack of awareness about their own religion. Her talk served as a perfect segue for the next session by spiritual preacher Siva G Sathyaseelan, who explained the reasoning behind many well-known Hindu rituals and practices.

The floor was then taken by Esther Dhanraj, who returned to Hinduism after deeply studying Christian theology. Dhanraj’s presentation highlighted internal challenges within Hindu society, including apathy toward politics, misrepresentation, and divisions based on region, language, and caste. Her hard-hitting insights set the stage for Anand Ranganathan, a well-known political commentator and scientist.

In his talk titled “From Treadmills to Travelators: India to 2047,” Ranganathan presented a balanced critique of the country’s progress since independence. He differentiated between welfare measures and freebies, calling the latter as things given out to appease a certain group even if it is not in the interest of the nation.

Describing policies like monthly cash transfers to women and the continued promise of minimum support prices (MSP) for farmers (especially for rice and wheat) as freebies, he linked these to broader issues such as rising state and national debt and Delhi-NCR’s air pollution to ask if these were really beneficial.

The event also marked the return of BJP Tamil Nadu president K Annamalai to state politics. Following the chanting of mantras by priests, he was presented with a Sengol by the organisers. In his speech, Annamalai emphasized the importance of holding politicians accountable and praised Ranganathan for his candid critique of all political parties, including the BJP.

Not shying away from pulling a few political punches, Annamalai took potshots at the elevation of Udhayanidhi Stalin, actor Vijay’s 'khichdi' ideology and how the family politics of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam has made even US-educated politicians like Palanivel Thiaga Rajan to sing paens of someone who is clearly much less accomplished than him.

Appreciating Voice of Covai for organizing the event, he called for more such initiatives to empower the middle class and facilitate discussions on the state’s progress. He also highlighted some of the achievements of the BJP government in the dharmic space, specifically mentioning how under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership, hundreds of stolen idols have been brought back home. 

“The A3 conclave will be conducted by Voice of Covai every year, and we are sure the next edition will be even bigger and better,” said Sudarshan Seshadri, the founder president of the organisation, expressing gratitude for the overwhelming response from participants.

Continuing further, he said that Voice of Covai is not just an organisation but a ‘movement’ and that they would support all those wanting to set up similar organisations in their cities to drive informed policy making and bring about social welfare.