Tamil Nadu, formerly known as Madras State, was the area in which the Self-Respect Movement was started by E. V. Ramasamy in the early years of the twentieth century. It was for the first time that the so-called lower castes rebelled against the hegemony of the Brahmins and started a movement which rejected all superstitions, religious rituals, and the highest one of them—God! So, in this state, whichever party comes to power has to conform to the ideology of EVR, or Thanthai Periyar as he came to be known. Thus, in this state, one can expect that the ideology of the rationalist movement cannot expect any significant opposition.

My first programs in Tamil Nadu started accidentally. Though my college education was in Chennai and I am quite fluent in Tamil, my first interaction in that language came by accident. In 2004, if my memory serves right, there was the second National Teachers Science Convention at Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh. I had an interaction with all the participants as a sort of curtain-raiser for the training session that was to follow. The usual controversy about the medium of language came up—English or Hindi? The North Indians wanted it to be in Hindi, while the others insisted on English. I finally settled for a compromise that I would speak in both languages. One gentleman from the audience objected and said that it should be English only. I replied to him in Tamil, saying that I could have that interaction in Tamil itself if he wanted, but the others would not understand a word of it! There was such a deafening applause from his group of about ten people, and the whole atmosphere turned cordial. I had my interaction in Hindi and English. When the talk was over, this gentleman came to me and asked me whether I could have a program in Tamil at his place. He was Dr. Madhavan, the Director of the Planetarium at Tiruchirappalli. So started my tours of Tamil Nadu! My first program was a two-day interaction for students of a few girls’ colleges, and it went on very well—in Tamil! Though I started my program with a disclaimer that my Tamil was not very good, some of the girls came and told me that my Tamil was super!

With this started my tours of Tamil Nadu. After the Trichy interaction, there was one more at the Chennai Planetarium arranged by Dr. Iyamperumal, the Executive Director. That was the beginning of a wonderful, fulfilling relationship with that organisation which continues even today and hopefully for many years to come. Along with these programs, other organisations like trade unions and the Tamil Nadu Science Forum started having our programs in many places. The Tamil Nadu Rationalist Forum was a member of FIRA but had not arranged for any of my interactions as they had not known that I could communicate in Tamil. But once they came to know of it, Dr. Veeramani and Kumaresan arranged quite a few programs and even training sessions. I would like to share some of my experiences with our readers.

In Erode, one of our interactions was at the hall which was the first one founded by Periyar. But before the program was to start, the local organiser told me that I should not say anything about God, as it was a very controversial topic. I said yes, but when my talk started, I told the audience that I was very proud to have the opportunity of speaking at the auditorium built by Periyar, but had been told by the organisers not to say anything about God as they felt it was a very controversial topic. I also told them that in this auditorium, it would be a controversial topic if one were to say that there was a God, and not the other way round! I told them that I was starting my talk by quoting Periyar: “There is no God, there is no God, there is no God at all.” The applause was thunderous, and the members of the managing committee told me that the auditorium was hired by the local organisers saying that it was for a science program, and they were not aware of what it was! They also said that due to the lack of this understanding, they had even charged rent for it! They assured me that the next time I came over, they would organise the program themselves, not charge any rent, and even arrange for all the other facilities at their expense! We had quite a few interactions at various schools and colleges. That series of programs went on very well.

We have close contacts with Aruchamy of Coimbatore, belonging to the organisation called Periyar Dravidar Kazhagam, who has provided the know-how and the manpower for quite a few programs shot by major channels like Discovery, BBC, Australian TV, etc. Their group arranged for our interactions in quite a few places. At one time, the Puttaparthi prestidigitator had come to Chennai and had allegedly “materialised” rings for quite a few of the DMK ministers. At that time, we had a series of programs in which I “materialised” the usual things along with rings and distributed them, much to the delight of the audience who loved the parody of the ministers! The publicity because of these attracted the attention of many other groups, including the Association of High Court Lawyers of the state and some trade unions too. In September 2006, a series of programs was organised in Chennai, and the first one was the anniversary celebration of a magazine held at one of the well-known auditoriums of Chennai. After my lecture-demonstration, some people came backstage and started some arguments. But the editor of the magazine told me that I need not handle them, and he ticked them off. They went away threatening that they would see how my next programs would go on. The next few programs went on uneventfully, but at one of the programs at a place called Porur, a few people came with stones in their hands and told the organiser of the program that my talk would not be allowed. There were police around, but instead of assuring protection, they told me that we had better have it some other day. That program was to celebrate Periyar’s birthday, and imagine it being called off in Tamil Nadu! At that time, I wrote a stinker of a letter to the Chief Minister and also the Commissioner of Police of Chennai.

Later on, when Aruchamy and his friends came to know of this incident, they arranged for a program in the very same place, and this time they were ready for any eventuality! There were around a thousand people who had come, and there was not a whimper of protest from anyone! There have been dozens of such presentations, including many training programs conducted by various organisations like the Tamil Nadu Science Forum, Tamil Nadu Rationalist Forum, Birla Planetarium, etc. During these tours, I had the occasion to meet many interesting people, including a so-called “fire swami” at Thanjavur, many die-hard Hindutvawadis, hardcore Christian proselytizers, and such. On one of these tours, I investigated the famous Nadi Jyothisham of Vaitheeswaran Kovil, etc. The last mentioned has been posted as one of my earliest on Nirmukta.

But the latest is what happened on the 17th inst. I was invited by the Executive Director of the Planetarium, Dr. Iyamperumal, to deliver a lecture-demo on scientific temper. There was very good coverage by the press and other media. However, on the next day, I started receiving calls on my mobile, some of which were threatening me to repeat what I said at that program in public. I had not realised what had happened, but came to know later that some vested interests of the Hindutvawadi groups had started publicity claiming that our miracle exposure program was anti-Hindu! This point has been clarified again and again, so there is no need for any further explanation. But it is a very good sign that our program has had an impact, and the vested interests have felt threatened! I forwarded the numbers to some of our people who asked for their addresses so that they said one such program could be organised in their very locality! The brave warriors of Hindutva did not have the courage to give their addresses! That apart, Dr. Iyamperumal has informed me that he has gotten a number of enquiries for my phone number, and he has told all of them to kindly send their request by letter and he would give them the required information by post. He also expressed his regret for all the adverse calls, but I told him that we thrive in adversity as it was nothing new to us. The strangest part of the whole controversy is that none of those who called had attended the program. All their surmises were based on newspaper reports! Dr. Iyamperumal gave me the very good news that all the children who attended the three-day camp had a very good opinion of our presentation and were praising it! The reactions were all from people who had based their opinion on newspaper reports and the statement of the BJP office-bearer. This clearly shows their ideological bankruptcy!

Anyway, a number of programs have been planned in Chennai by our supporters. In fact, Dr. Iyamperumal has promised to have one full-day interaction open to the public. When we had such a program in the first week of February during a science festival at the same venue this year, the response was overwhelming and it had to be wound up because of the large crowds which could not be controlled.