In Rameswaram Speech, PM Modi Takes A Sharp Swipe At Dravidianism: Says Lord Rama's Stories Mentioned In Sangam Literature

During his speech in Rameswaram on 6 April after the inauguration of the newly constructed Pamban bridge, Prime Minister Narendra Modi came down heavily on Dravidianism.

Modi's sharp takes, stating that there are stories about Lord Rama in Sangam literature and a remark about how leaders from Tamil Nadu do not even sign their letters in Tamil, in spite of speaking so much about the language, were significant due to their timing.

In the last few months, the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) had been at the forefront of opposing the New Education Policy (NEP) because it mandates the study of three languages. It alleged that the provision of third language was a way to impose Hindi through the backdoor.

The party had also objected to the impending delimitation, stating that it would be discriminatory against southern states, which had achieved better results in population control.

The reference to Lord Rama being mentioned in the Sangam literature was likely to have been because DMK politicians in the past have tried to delink Lord Rama and Tamil Nadu and even claimed that He did not exist.

Some of the Sangam-era works that mention Lord Rama are the Purananuru and the Silappadikaram. While the former has a reference to Sita dropping her jewels while being taken away to Lanka by Ravana in his pushpak vimana, the latter speaks of the port city of Poompuhar facing the a fate similar to that of Ayodhya after Rama's departure.

Political commentators were also quick to notice that his utterance of 'Jai Shri Ram' came in the presence of the local MP K Navas Kani of the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML). Navas Kani had recently led a group of people who consumed non-vegetarian food on the Tiruparankundram hill, which is one of the abodes of Lord Muruga and also stated that the Sikandar dargah on the hill was Waqf property.

His remarks, coming amidst protests demanding permission to allow animal sacrifice in the area, had sparked renewed fears about Muslims wanting to claim the sacred hill.

In his address, PM Modi also stated that his government had made a multi-fold increase in budget allocations to Tamil Nadu compared to the previous UPA government. He also urged the state government to start medical courses in Tamil medium so that poor children could also become doctors.

Also Read: 'New Pamban Bridge': India’s First Vertical Lift Railway Sea Bridge — All About It