Ilaiyaraaja Draws Parallels Between Modi & Ambedkar in Book Foreword; Draws Flak

Ilaiyaraaja drew the comparisons in a foreword to ‘Ambedkar & Modi: Reformer’s Ideas, Performer’s Implementation’.

Music composer Ilaiyaraaja

Photo courtesy: Twitter

Music maestro Ilaiyaraaja drew flak on social media for drawing parallels between Dr. B.R. Ambedkar and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the foreword he wrote for a book titled ‘Ambedkar & Modi: Reformer’s Ideas, Performer’s Implementation’. The book is published by Bluekraft Digital Foundation.

Ilaiyaraaja Faces Backlash

In his foreword, Ilaiyaraaja said that Dr. B.R. Ambedkar would be proud of several achievements of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He added that both saw poverty and stifling social structures from close quarters and worked to dismantle them. He further wrote that both dreamt big for India, and believed in action rather than mere thoughts.

Ilaiyaraaja continued, “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 received a lot of backlash for making these comparisons.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin's son, Udayanidhi Stalin, reacted to the comparison by saying, “That is his own opinion. My leader (MK Stalin) has asked us not to react to it. It’s someone’s personal opinion.”

Meanwhile, Ilayarajaa's son Yuvan Shankar Raja has shared a cryptic post with an image of him wearing a black T-shirt that says, 'Dark Dravidian, Proud Tamizhan'.

Support For Ilaiyaraaja

Commenting about incident, Tamil Nadu BJP President Annamalai said, “Just like no one could silence maestro Ilaiyaraaja sir’s music for years, no DMK-led eco-system can dare to throttle his voice now”.

Union Minister L. Murugan has also criticized those calling out the musician. “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.”. Governor of Telangana & Lieutenant Governor Puducherry, Dr Tamilisai Soundararajan, too tweeted supporting Ilaiyaraaja.

Union Minister L. Murugan tweet on Ilaiyaraaja Controversy

Ilaiyaraaja Reacts to Backlash

Ilaiyaraaja, through his younger brother Gangai Amaran, stated that he stands by his remarks. “I’ll never take back a tune I composed for a movie just because somebody didn’t like it and similarly, I’ll never take back my comments about PM Modi, said my brother”, Amaran told a news agency.

Gangai Amaran, younger brother of Ilaiyaraaja