DEROGATORY REMARKS ON BHARATHIAR

TAMILS MUST BE VIGILANT ABOUT THEIR 

POET’s HONOUR

N.Nandhivarman

Bharathi Anbargal Arakkattalai is a group of Mahakavi Bharathiar’s fans who gathered at the initiative of the Secretary to Government S.Hemachandiran I.A.S and made it regular to meet in the Mahakavi Bharathiar Memorial Museum on every month 11 th, since 11 th is the birthday of Mahakavi. During 2005 unusually a politician was called to speak on Mahakavi. Sahitya Academy Awardee Writer Raja Narayanan, Professor Pannjangam, Dr. Daniel Jayaraj and other Bharathi followers were there.

 N.Nandhivarman said that “While we Indian citizens are hailing Bharathiar as a Bard of Indian Nationalism, we should also be aware that derogatory remarks against him are spreading among netizens in all languages of the world. Wikipedia, the Free encyclopedia in the net world has two pages of reference about Bharathiar. The one under the title Subramanya Bharathi has some lines under conspiracy theories, wherein the other side views of Bharathiar are recorded, unnecessarily. 

Quoting verbatim what appeared in the Free encyclopedia:

Conspiracy theories

These conspiracy theories may be offensive to a few Tamilians. Bharathi was addict to Ganja, a narcotic drug and was somewhat mentally ill Though he publicly espoused the cause of freedom to women, he didn’t provide enough freedom to even his wife. Though his poems and words were against caste-ism, in reality he was living.

Though he publicly espoused the cause of freedom to women, he didn’t provide enough freedom to even his wife. Though his poems and words were against caste-ism, in reality he was living as a typical Iyer

He was running a cotton mill and the product price was much higher than the one by British. This situation make the people to go for British products; which affected Bharathi’s business and he started fighting against the British for his business than for Indians.

 “If in all languages such derogatory remarks against Bharathiar reach all the nook and corner of the world, what should we do? Is it time to just sing sonnets on Bharathi sitting at our homes, while in world Bharathiar is portrayed as an oppressor of women, drug addict, casteist, selfish convert to nationalist cause etc. Similarly in written Encyclopedias among the famous diary-ists of the world renowned Ananda Ranga Pillai had not found his legitimate place. Tamils and Tamil Scholars are closing their eyes to what happens elsewhere. Otherwise how could our eminent men are left out in written encyclopedias and in net encyclopedias derogatory remarks remain without being expunged because our scholars did not raise voice of protest.” said N.Nandhivarman

“Mahakavi Bharathiar had been rare statesmen, visionary, and a universal man whose thirst for world affairs made him the most knowledgeable species of his times.” said N.Nandhivarman and quoted from a book Mahakavi Bharathi in the Hearts of Soviet people published in Russia in 1982 on the eve of his centenary. Sergei A.Baroozdin, a Soviet Writer states that “Subramania Bharathi was a real friend of the Soviet Union. When the first Soviet Revolution (1905-1907) took place in Old Russia, it was Bharathi who wrote in the following in 1906.

(Article: Russian Revolution published in India magazine September 1906.) So when media was not as powerful as of now, Bharathi amidst his poverty was keenly watching the events in the world and commenting upon it.

Writer Raghunathan in the preface to the book mentioned above records “In Fact Bharathi blossomed into the bard of freedom and projected himself into the limelight of patriotic poetry at the turn of this century, in the wake of Russian Revolution, which as is known, was one of the main factors that prompted the Indian National liberation movement to turn militant, led by able leaders like Bala Gangadhara Tilak. Hence naturally Bharathi expressed his support to “The just efforts of our Russian comrades in their struggle for emancipation and for abolition of tyranny” in an article written in September 1906 itself, said Raghunathan.

 The Tamil Department in Pondicherry is named as Subramania Bharathiar School of Tamil Studies, but Bharathiars followers are not offering practical suggestions on how that Department could serve better, this lethargy should go and scholars must offer practical suggestions, said N.Nandhivarman. He also handed over a Report which he has submitted for creation of a Bharathiar Chair in the Pondicherry University and the subjects it can research upon.

 [Few days after this speech, Nandhivarman, General Secretary Dravida Peravai edited the Wikipedia and expunged derogatory remarks on Bharathiar. Still adverse and false remarks on Aringnar Anna is there, even after deleting, it again gains visibility, may be someone is keen to portray Anna as a Telugu and not Tamil, which is totally misleading information.]

N.Nandhivarman

2^nd August 2006