Raja Raja Cholan not Hindu: Kamal Hassan backs Vetrimaaran

Chennai: Taking Tamil director Vetrimaaran's lead, actor Kamal Hassan's statement that there was no Hindu during the age of Raja Raja Chola also caught the whirlwind of controversy, Asian News International reported.

Vetrimaaran had said that king Raja Raja Chola was no Hindu, but BJP was trying to make him so to steal Tamil people's identity. BJP has already tried to saffronize Thiruvalluvar. "We should never allow that," ANI quoted Vetrimaaran.

Later, Kamal Hassan emerged, backing the director, saying that there was no name called 'Hindu religion' during the king's period. There were Vainavam, Shaivam, and Samanam, for which the British gave a collective name, 'Hindu'. It was the same as how the colonial reign changed Thuthukudi into Tuticorin, he stated.

Vetrimaaran's statement came after the release of the Mani Ratnam directorial 'Ponniyin Selvan 1'. The film is based on a novel by Tamil novelist Kalki Krishnamurthi on Raja Raja Cholan.

BJP came up to attack Vetrimaaran at the first opportunity. BJP leader H Raja said that Raja Raja Chola was a Hindu king for sure. He said that he was not well versed with history as Vetrimaaran, but the director must show him a church or mosque built by the medieval king. After calling himself a Sivapadha Sekaran, how he could not be Hindu, Raja asked.

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.

Raja Raja Chola had made headlines before too. Director PA Ranjith lit a controversy in 2019 after he criticized the king, saying that his reign was a dark age for Dalits. According to him, under the king's rule, Dalits' lands were forcibly taken, and various kinds of caste oppression over the community began.