Statue of Tamil poet and philosopher, Thiruvalluvar vandalized

Chennai, Nov 04: Statue of Tamil poet and philosopher, Thiruvalluvar was vandalized in Pillayarpatti in Tamil Nadu earlier on Monday. This incident has shocked the locals; the politicians and Tamil activists are condemning the culprits and seeking to take strict action against them.

Reportedly, the miscreants have applied cow dung on the statue of Thiruvalluvar. Police have registered a case and the investigation is underway.

As per some reports, this incident took place amid an ongoing row between the BJP supporters and Dravidian parties over the religion of Thiruvalluvar in Thanjavur district.

In a speech in Thailand on Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi used a Tirukkural as an example to drive home, the Saffron brigade of Tamil Nadu coated themselves into severe criticism after that on the same day for trying to 'saffronise' Thiruvalluvar, the poet who wrote Tirukkural.

The BJP's Tamil Nadu unit tweeted with a picture of Tamil poet and philosopher Thiruvalluvar wearing a saffron shawl instead of the usual white has drawn gained criticism from Dravidian groups.

The Tamil Nadu government's official image of Thiruvalluvar sports a white dhoti and no sacred ash on the forehead.

The Thai translation of Thirukkural, launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Bangkok, had the image of Thiruvalluvar in a white dress without the sacred ash on the forehead.

Thiruvalluvar, commonly known as Valluvar, was a celebrated Tamil poet and philosopher. He is best known as the author of Thirukkuṛaḷ, a collection of couplets on ethics, political and economical matters, and love.

Valluvar has influenced a wide range of scholars down the ages since his time across the ethical, social, political, economical, religious, philosophical, and spiritual spheres.