A cruel murder of an ordinary hardworking Hindu simply because he questioned the conversion maniacs,this time Islamists, who belong to Popular Front of India a known extremist Islamic organisation has shaken the small town of Thirupuvanam in Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu. Ramalingam, a former Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) functionary, catering food and renting out vessels was murdered in cold blood for having a difference of opinion with Islamists who were trying to convert dalits. Ramalingam went to the specific area to pick up workers for his catering work when he chanced upon some Muslims who were proselytizing.
In a video circulating in Social media Ramalingam could be seen confronting them.
PMK Kumbakonam Office Bearer Ramalingam who opposed Muslim conversion in a Dalit colony has been murdered. Looks like radical outfit Popular Front of India is behind the murder. Media, Journos, Liberals & loudmouths who howl for every single thing *silent*? #JusticeForRamalingam pic.twitter.com/9E0xOcMplG
— SG Suryah (@SuryahSG) February 6, 2019
He says,
“Do not waste your time preaching.Work for the prosperity of this nation. Your aim..both Muslims and Christians’ aim is to destroy India. Can you buy me a house in your area?I can buy this house for you.I can even buy a house for a Muslim in a Christian area. Will you eat the food I offer to my god?”
The other man says “you should know who the real god is first.” Ramalingam continue, “You are spreading separatism. This is my country! My rights! We’ll eat what you offer to Allah. Our religion doesn’t preach separatism. But can you buy or atleast rent a house for me in your area? You are living in India for rent. It’s a rental house you are living in. This is my desh! My country! We see both Christians and Muslims as brothers. But you don’t. Why are you coming to me(to convert my people)? Am I coming to you? I’ll wear your skullcap. Will you wear our sacred ash?”
The Muslim man says “problem is that you don’t know which God is true”. Ramalingam greets them (the Islamic missionaries) by saying ‘salam alaikum’. I respect Islam because unlike Christians madly convert people you only accept those who convert to your religion.” He then gives the sacred ash and asks them to apply it on their foreheads. The Muslim man says “First you should know the true God.You should know whom you should worship” and wipes off the sacred ash.
Ramalingam further says “You people are terrorists. You want to destroy what remains of Hinduism. Why do you want to destroy Hindus? Why don’t you do that to Christians?”. The other man asks “Why don’t you eat with them? Why don’t Iyers eat with them? Come on let’s go to sit in an Iyer’s house”.
The hands that dared to apply sacred ash on the foreheads of religious extremists were chopped and he was bled to die very much like professor Joseph whose hands were chopped for writing supposedly blasphemous things about the prophet. Even the secular CPM government of Kerala has asked for a ban on the terror outfit and NIA has suggested the same after it busted a terror training camp and found the organisation to be involved in the murder of Hindu activists.
Kerala police, in an affidavit submitted to the Kerala HC has accused the PFI of pursuing the clandestine agenda of ‘Islamisation’ through conversion and communalisation of issues’ as per this The Hindu report. Other takeaway from the affidavit is that activists of the NDF/PFI had been found to be involved in 27 communally motivated murder cases, 86 attempt-to-murder cases, and 106 communal cases registered in Kerala alone.
Ramalingam had told his son that those who attacked them were people known to them and identified one of them whose names have been mentioned in the police complaint filed by the son. Five people Azharuddin, Mohammed Riyaz, Nizam Ali, Sarfudin and Mohammed Rizwan, of whom two belong to PFI have been booked as suspects by the police.
In Kumbakonam murder of former PMK functionary, cops are suspecting involvement of PFI. Sources: Ramalingam was murdered because of an altercation that he had with a group of Muslim men who were preaching Islam in his village @Ahmedshabbir20 with details #JusticeForRamalingam pic.twitter.com/cHtRoAfTdI
— TIMES NOW (@TimesNow) February 7, 2019
Meanwhile the Jamaat has circulated messages asking for monetary help from its members to help defend the accused.
கொலை குற்றவாளிக்கு மதரீதியிலான ஆதரவு. இந்துவே இனியும் ஏமாறாதே. pic.twitter.com/TcoWfk3lMS
— H Raja (@HRajaBJP) February 7, 2019
While this gruesome incident has brought many a secular Tamil Hindu out of the stupor they have so far been in, attempts to malign it as an RSS conspiracy and BJP looking to gain foothold in TN by sparking communal tension are being made by the ever secular Dravidian ideological supporters. They focus on the fact that it was a ‘dalit colony’, existence of which is evidence of the discrimination Dalits face in Hindu Dharma and hence justifies the proselytization attempt.
It is a pity that Ramalingam’s right to defend his religion at a place of his fellow Hindus doesn’t register with them. And are they saying that rich & poor Muslims/Christians don’t live in separate colonies? Do Shia and Sunnis live together, and do Black and White Christians? Don’t Indian Muslims (whatever sect or skin color) get treated as inferior to Arab Muslims in the Middle East, and likewise can an Indian Christian expect to escape racism in Europe or America merely because he/she is a Christian? Every society has internal divisions along class, sect and other fault-lines – does this mean we start preying on each other’s weak and underprivileged people? Will such a world be a harmonious place?
If religious conversion is as fruitful as missionaries make it out to be, it should be Dalits who reach out to them, not vice versa. That it is unfruitful has come out in open time and again even from the mouths of fake dalit champions like Thirumavalavan of VCK, a dalit party. Even though he has written a thesis arguing that the infamous Meenakshipuram Islamic conversions made a positive change in the economy and dignity of the converts, he has admitted “Converting to other religions reduces the numerical strength of dalits. They are fragmented into minority groups and discrimination continues”. It applies to both Christianity and Islam. In his own words, one Ramaiah became Rasaiah as a Christian and changed his name to Ibrahim after he converted to Islam.
In a Daily Pioneer interview Arjun Sampath of Hindu Makkal Katchi, who visits Meenakshipuram often, noted that there were two kinds of Muslims in the village. The Dalits who converted were known as Navi Muslims and they were yet to be accepted by the Islamic community and that some of the families had to reconvert as they couldn’t find grooms for their daughters. It is no secret that both Christian and Muslims outfits consistently ask for reservation benefits for Dalits who convert to their respective faiths.
Andhra Pradesh assembly has passed a unanimous resolution appealing to central govt to consider members of SC community, who converted to Christianity, as belonging to their original caste only and apply reservations accordingly.
— ANI (@ANI) February 6, 2019
Converts are still called Dalit Christians and they are neglected in important occasions, administration of the church and even discriminated to the level of having separate churches. However it’s not only to ask for reservation that both the Abrahamic religions come together.
Bishop Ezra Sargunam, president of Evangelical Church of India, a leading church ‘planter’, who could be seen with the so called social justice warriors such as Thirumavalavan, DMK president MK Stalin (M Karunanidhi before him) and DK functionary Veeramani, from Christmas parties to secular alliance meetings, openly called for Muslims to indulge in violence in a meeting organised by SDPI, the political outfit of PFI a few months back. He said “I don’t know how Muslims are tolerating this. They’ve dared to touch you. You should take care of them. Our god has told me to show the other cheek. We don’t know this kind of work. But it’s not the case for bhais(Muslims). You should rise to the occasion. We are here to support you. We will organise more such meetings with the presence of big personalities like Thirumavalavan, Vaiko and MK Stalin”.
This bares open the nexus between the two Abrahamic religions in annihilating the kuffars aka non-believers. Even though both religions have their own social evils to deal with, they are hell bent on destroying Hindu Dharma simply because their religions preach intolerance towards people who follow other faiths, especially polytheists & ‘idol-worshippers’. That they think it’s their birth right to be intolerant towards the real secularists, Hindus, is proven by such incidents.
Bishop EZRA SARGUNAM asking SDPI to go all out against Hindus who are questioning them, for which he is promising support of Vaiko, Thirumavalavan and M.K.Stalin of DMK. This happened just nine months back. #Ramalingam #JusticeForRamalingam pic.twitter.com/D65nwUBPgB
— Vishwatma 🇮🇳 (@HLKodo) February 7, 2019
After DMK president MK Stalin’s speech deriding Hindu marriage customs and rituals, while attending a Muslim marriage, created a social media storm a few days before, as did his call for uprooting Hindu Dharma in a conference organised by VCK, the death of Ramalingam has forced many fence sitters, Tamil tweeters in particular, to come out in support of Hindu Dharma, Hindu outfits like Hindu Munnani and even BJP to some extent. PMK leader Ramadoss has come out in support of his party’s ex-functionary and condemned the murder unapologetically.
Statement from @drramadoss condemning Jihadis who murdered PMK functionary Ramalingam in cold blood for resisting conversion attempt.
Has any party other than PMK & BJP condemned this brutally?
Where are those who lamented for Gauri Lankesh? #justiceforramalingam pic.twitter.com/l2DW7HJ8gY
— Ethirajan Srinivasan 🇮🇳🚩 (@Ethirajans) February 6, 2019
BJP leaders across the country have also raised their voice in support of Ramalingam. BJP national secretary H Raja visited the bereaved family. Though ADMK leaders have spoken against MK Stalin’s ramblings, they’re yet to speak on this specific issue. MK Stalin has condemned the murder using words as ‘neutral’ as possible. More than the fact that he was murdered simply for raising a voice against conversion, that he was as secular as the next door Hindu is what has shocked the fence sitters out of the ‘secular TN’ utopia they’ve been living in.
From Ramalingam's FB page:
Those who do not belong to any political/caste outfits, who want to provide free food to #Gajacyclone victims can contact for utensils & catering services…FREE!
This humble soul is not with us anymore, killed by PFI terrorists. #justiceforramalingam pic.twitter.com/5WS2TzEXte
— Ethirajan Srinivasan 🇮🇳🚩 (@Ethirajans) February 7, 2019
https://twitter.com/TrueIndology/status/1093442144516354050
One cannot be sure whether this gruesome incident will change the political discourse of TN all of a sudden. But it surely has lifted the non existent veil of secularism that blinded the eyes of Tamil Hindus and resulted in an unprecedented awareness about the nature of Abrahamic religions which, even if late, is a welcome change.
References
https://www.facebook.com/pragashrgoundar/videos/429327424507929/
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[…] February 2019, Ramalingam, a Pattali Makkal Katchi functionary in Thirubhuvanam near Kumbakonam was murdered by Islamists […]