Explained | How Ilaiyaraaja's Comparison Of PM Modi To Ambedkar Created A Political Storm In TN

Ilaiyaraaja's foreword for a book praising PM Modi led to speculation among the people that the music director might be nominated as Rajya Sabha MP from Tamil Nadu by BJP.

Chennai: Music maestro Ilaiyaraaja has been ruling the Kollywood music space for over half a century now. He is, however, facing heat on social media over his recent statement, as a part of the foreward for a newly-released book in which he compared Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Dr BR Ambedkar.

In the foreword for 'Ambedkar & Modi, Reformer's Ideas, Performer's Implementation' by Bluekraft Digital Foundation, Ilaiyaraaja praised PM Modi and said BR Ambedkar would have been proud of PM's works if he were alive.

The words appear to have left his fans shocked, who are trying to figure out what is the reason behind the Dalit music director's sudden "rightward" shift, with some even linking it to Ilaiyaraaja's possible nomination to the Rajya Sabha by the BJP. 

How the controversy started

On the birth anniversary of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar last Thursday (April 14), Bluekraft Digital Foundation released the first glimpse of their book, 'Ambedkar & Modi - Reformer's Ideas, Performer's Implementation', with a foreword by Ilaiyaraaja, which was posted on social media.

"Both these striking personalities succeeded against odds that people from socially disempowered sections of the society face. Both saw poverty and stifling social structures from close quarters and worked to dismantle them. Both dreamt big for India, but both are also practical men who believe in action rather than mere thought exercises,” Ilayaraaja's foreword read.

The music director also lauded the PM for his pro-women initiatives such as 'Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao' and for triple talaq ban.

The tweet went viral in no time and social media got divided into two groups supporting and opposing Ilaiyaraaja's words.

Social Media Ire 

While the pro-BJP social media users extended their support to the music director, those against it started to trend a hashtag against Ilaiyaraaja on Friday. 

The hashtag with cuss words against the music director topped the Twitter trending list last Friday (April 15).

A social media user said: "You lost your respect."

"I think he is expecting Padma Vibhushan," said another social media user.

Reflecting the sentiments of many people from Tamil Nadu, a Twitter user named Madhan G Swamy posted: "Ideology matters more than your songs".

After maintaining silence for two days, music director Yuvan Shankar Raja, the maestro's son, reacted to the controversy by sharing an Instagram post in support of him. The post said, "Dark Dravidian and Proud Tamizhan". 

On Monday, Ilaiyaraaja said he would not take back his statement.

Though several of his fans turned against the maestro after the controversy, political party members, especially those at the Centre, came out in his support.

The Political Support

Several BJP leaders, including the party’s national president JP Nadda, Tamil Nadu BJP president Annamalai and other BJP leaders such as H Raja, extended support to the music director.

In a press release, Nadda said: “In Tamil Nadu, elements aligned to the ruling party in the state have left no stone unturned in verbally lynching, smearing and humiliating one of India's tallest musical maestros just because he has views not palatable to one political party and their allies is this democratic? One can have different wows and yet coexist happily but why take to insults?”

After the statement, DMK urged people opposing him to maintain restraint and be upright with their criticism. Commenting on the issue, Udhayanidhi Stalin said it’s wrong to criticise Ilaiyaraaja like this.

Amid the sparring, some BJP leaders also raised pitch to award Bharat Ratna to Ilaiyaraaja. 

Political aspiration? 

Though Ilaiyaraaja continues to remain silent on his political aspirations, Tamil Nadu BJP chief Annamalai requested people to not turn this into a political issue. 

He said: "Ilaiyaraaja has the right to freely express his viewpoints. He is not part of BJP but he is someone who earned the love of Tamil Nadu."

He added: "If the President considers him as one of the 12 nominated members of Rajya Sabha then it's indeed an honour. However, he should be conferred with a Bharat Ratna, a highest civilian honour." 

It may be noted that Ilaiyaraaja's brother Gangai Amaran is a member of the BJP.