South Indian music composer Ilaiyaraaja drew the ire of left-wing and liberal social media users as images of a foreword he wrote for a book on Ambedkar, were revealed. In the foreward, as per the images on social media, he said Dr. B.R. Ambedkar would be proud of several achievements of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his tenure. The book, titled ‘Ambedkar & Modi: Reformer’s Ideas, Performer’s Implementation’, is published by Bluekraft Digital Foundation.
Now, Union Minister L. Murugan has slammed those trolling the composer. “What is Ilaiyaraaja sir’s crime? That he has a point of view which the DMK and their ecosystem don’t like? The Constitution of India allows freedom of expression and by denying the same to Ilaiyaraaja sir, the DMK has shown its anti-Dalit and anti-Constitutional nature.”
In his foreword, Mr. Ilaiyaraaja said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had ‘strengthened the legal safeguards for socially marginalised communities through a number of laws and constitutional protections.
“Pro-women legislations such as the banning of triple talaq and the rise in sex-ratio due to the historic ‘Beti Bachao Beti Padhao’ movement, which has brought in social transformation, is something that Dr. B.R. Ambedkar would have been proud of,” he wrote.
Mr. Ilaiyaraaja also noted that Dr. B.R. Ambedkar and PM Modi ‘succeeded against all odds that people from socially disempowered sections of the society face and both saw poverty and stifling social structures and worked to dismantle them’. He further added: “Both dreamt big for India, but both are also practical men, who believe in action rather than mere thought exercise. The Atmanirbhar Bharat that Prime Minister Modi is building is a fitting tribute to the dreams of our freedom fighters.”
Similarly, BJP State President K. Annamalai said Mr. Ilaiyaraaja’s comments have rattled ‘powerbrokers’. “Just like no one could silence maestro Ilayaraja sir’s music for years, no DMK-led eco-system can dare to throttle his voice now! His foreword to this book, ‘Ambedkar & Modi’ has rattled known political power brokers,” he said.
Few days ago, music composer A.R. Rahman was celebrated by the left-wing and liberal social media users after he appeared to undercut Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s suggestion that Hindi should be accepted as an alternative to English, by saying that Tamil should be the ‘link language’.
Published - April 17, 2022 12:45 am IST
