No proof Lord Ram existed: DMK minister

Chennai: Tamil Nadu Transport Minister S S Shivashankar on Friday stoked a controversy by claiming that there was “no proof” to establish that Lord Ram existed while drawing a parallel with the kings of the Chola Dynasty, whose age-old buildings still serve as a piece of evidence to their existence. 

Speaking at an event to mark the birth anniversary of Rajendra Chola in Gangaikondacholapuram in Ariyalur district, Shivashankar asked the people of Tamil Nadu to see through the well-crafted strategy to “hide Tamil history” and “propagate their (north Indian) history.” 

“Ariyalur MLA, who spoke before me, said the Ramar Temple in Ayodhya has a 3,000-year history. It is not true. There is no history,” Shivashankar said while making it clear that palaces and ponds built by the Cholas serve as evidence of their contributions to society and their existence. 

“As far as Rama (Lord Ram) is concerned, there is no history. They call him a reincarnation. If that is true, he could have never been born. We revere them as God. If you are born as a God, you can never be reincarnated. Like our leader Kalaignar (M Karunanidhi) said, they will suppress our history to show that theirs is superior,” Shivashankar added.

The minister also went on to say that the Ramayana and Mahabharata don’t have any “life lessons” for people to learn while singing peans on Tirukkural, a collection of couplets written by Tamil saint-poet Thiruvalluvar 2,000 years ago. 

“Thirukkural teaches life lessons, and Tamils should follow the couplets. That’s why our leader constructed Valluvar Kottam in Chennai to propagate Thiruvalluvar and promote Chilapathikaram, a Sangam Era literature,” Shivashankar added. 

Shivashankar joins the long list of DMK ministers who have made controversial remarks on Hinduism and its god. His comments come almost a year after Sports Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin stoked a row by calling for the “annihilation” of Sanatana Dharma by equating it with dengue and malaria.

Udhay’s comments put the DMK and its ally Congress in the line of fire of the BJP, which called the remarks an “insult to Hinduism.” However, despite pressure, the DMK youth wing chief refused to back down on the remarks and stood by them.