Polemics has had a long-standing role in Tamil culture, tradition and discourse. The debate over the merits of poet-saint Vallalar’s Thiru Arutpa , which rapidly deteriorated into personal attacks, is a case in point.
Angry as he was with the popularity enjoyed by Thiru Arutpa , Sri Lankan Tamil scholar Arumuga Navala r launched a campaign against it, terming it Marutpa. The debate began in 1898 and split opinion among Tamil scholars. Arumuga Navalar died in 1879 and Kathiraiver Pillai, a self-proclaimed student of Navalar, continued the campaign against Thiru Arutpa in 1903.
Despite having delved deep into spiritualism, the opposing groups of literary scholars spewed venom against one another in the form of pamphlets and small publications, all of which have been documented by P. Saravanan in his book Arutpa-Marutpa: Kantana Thirattu (Collection of Condemnations).
Of pride and knowledge
“The hatred stemmed from their pride and knowledge. Tamil scholars in Sri Lanka had knowledge of both English and Tamil, which gave them an edge over their counterparts in Tamil Nadu. Moreover, they were elite Saivites and could not accept anything other than traditional Saivite literature,” said Mr. Saravanan.
How a debate on the merits of a literary work veered into mudslinging is explained by a pamphlet published by Koodalur Vishuvalinga Mudaliar.
Crossing limits
The publication threw to the wind all notions of decency and ridiculed Arumuga Navalar as an “impotent who overcame his disability by taking medicines and delivered children.”
The publication did not stop there. “Even the children lack intelligence. One child is dumb, another is deaf and yet another is crippled,” it said.
K. Nagappa Pillai, a disciple of Vallalar, went to the extent of publishing a notice announcing the death of Kathiraiver Pillai. “He was a son of my concubine and died of injuries caused by beatings with chappals and faeces,” he said in a sharp attack.
The supporters of Arumuga Navalar and Kathiraiver Pillai also reacted in a coarse manner.
Even Arumuga Navalar launched a scathing attack on Vallalar, saying, “He had to leave Chennai because his wife was living with a mendicant.”
