Lakhs gather in Madurai as Hindutva groups rally around Murugan hill dispute

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Hindutva organisations in Tamil Nadu put up their biggest ever show of strength with lakhs of people turning up from across the state for the Murugan Devotees Conference in Madurai, on Sunday, June 22. The event was the culmination of several months of agitations by the Hindu Munnani and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) demanding complete control over Thirupparankundram hill in Madurai which they describe as the ‘Ayodhya struggle of the South’. The hill also has a centuries old Sufi shrine and a mosque.

In place of the Jai Sri Ram slogan, which came to symbolise the Ayodhya movement, ‘Muruganuku Aro Hara’ and ‘Vetrivel Veeravel’ have become the battle cry of the Hindutva mobilisation around the Thiruparakundram agitation. Aro Hara, an invocation to lord Muruga, is another version of Ara Hara Hara chanted by Shiva devotees in the North.

Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan and K Annamalai, the former Tamil Nadu BJP chief, were the star attractions at the event. The actor turned politician and the former IPS officer delivered fiery speeches, drawing rapturous applause and chants of Aro Hara. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath skipped the event but posters of the Hindutva firebrand were all over the city and the venue.

Six resolutions were passed in the conference urging Hindus to unite to prove their vote bank during the elections. Other resolutions demanded lighting of Karthigai Deepam at Thirupurkundram hill, protecting the hills that belong to Lord Murugan and removing all government control over the administration of temples in Tamil Nadu. Participants were also asked to take an oath to not allow religious conversions in their area. 

Pawan Kalyan, who delivered the speech in Tamil, made an interesting reference to the Pasumpon Mutthuramalinga Thevar, the controversial icon of the dominant Mukalathor community in the Madurai region. 

“South Tamil Nadu’s biggest leader Pasumpon Muthuramalinga Thevar is considered an incarnation of Lord Murugan. There is a peacock near his statue,” Kalyan said, sending the crowd into a tizzy. Peacock is considered the vehicle of Murugan. Supporters of Thevar were accused of unleashing a wave of terror on Dalits during the 1957 Mudakalathur riots.

Pawan Kalyan also raised concern about what he sees as a skewed understanding of secularism in India. He said that while expressions of identity and pride are encouraged in other religions, Hindu culture and deities are often ridiculed or treated with suspicion. “A Muslim can proudly be a Muslim, a Christian can follow their faith without fear, but when a Hindu tries to be a Hindu, it becomes an issue. This is the unfortunate truth of our so-called secularism today,” he said.

He also added, “Secularism, in its true sense, means no discrimination on the basis of religion. But in our country, it often means no discrimination against any religion except Hinduism.”

The conference, which came in for criticism from parties in Tamil Nadu’s ruling alliance such as the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), Communist Part of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)), was given permission by the High Court after the organisers gave an undertaking that there would be no political speeches.

That did not stop Annamalai from making a veiled reference to the DMK. He said that the success of the event showed that the people of the event had chosen ‘swami’ over ‘nidhi’. It was seen as a reference to Edappadi Palaniswamy, chief of All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), a key BJP ally, and the DMK youth wing’s head, Udhayanidhi Stalin. While the AIADMK has not directly endorsed the event, four former ministers from the party attended the conference.

He also drew parallels between the geopolitical situation in West Asia and India’s own struggle against terrorism. Referring to the ongoing conflict involving Israel, he said, “Jews, who make up just 0.2% of the world population, are fighting against four nations to protect their rights. But when India fights against cross-border terrorism, we are criticised by political leaders, both within and outside the country.”

Annamalai then turned his attention to what he described as the repeated marginalisation of Hindus in India, especially in the political arena. He lamented that despite being a majority, Hindus are often the most tolerant, and yet they bear the brunt of political appeasement and neglect.

“Hindus usually forgive people, whether the wrongs are small or big. But today, they are constantly troubled in their way of life. What’s worse is that many political leaders, who come to power with the votes of Hindus, later speak in a derogatory manner about them because they assume Hindus will never unite,” he said.

RSS leader Vanniarajan said that untouchability was one of the key reasons behind the fragmentation of Hindu society, calling it a historical wrong that deeply weakened the unity of Hindus over time. “Ancient Hindus celebrated the entire world as a single family with philosophies like yaathum oore, yaavarum kelir, but then a disorder crept into the Hindu society in the form of untouchability and discrimination and it led to the biggest fall of the Hindus,” he said.

He also said that RSS believed that untouchability is a sin and it must be uprooted to unite the Hindus. “Temples in thousands of villages should be opened to all communities for worship. Cremation grounds and water bodies should be common and accessible to all," he added.

The conference was held in the backdrop of the recent controversy that broke out in February 2025, revolving around the Thirupurkundram Hill, where Hindu Munnani and right wing groups alleged that the hill was taken over by Muslims and are planning to rename it as ‘Sikandar Malai’ (Sikandar Hill). 

The controversy began with the opposition to the Kasthuri festival (sacrificing animals) at the Sikandar Dargah located on top of the Thirupirkundram hill. The Thirupparankundram hill also houses the Subramaniya Swamy Temple, one of the first abodes of Murugan and Kasi Vishwanathan temple. 

The event witnessed huge mobilisation from Southern Tamil Nadu particularly from the Mukkulathor community strongholds. 

While political parties in Tamil Nadu like the DMK, VCK, CPM, CPI and NTK questioned the motive behind holding such an event and criticised the Sangh Parivar for trying to appropriate Murugan, who is also known as Tamil god. The event saw four former AIADMK ministers and present MLAs on the stage with Hindu Munnani, RSS, VHP, BJP and other Sangh Parivar leaders. 

AIADMK leaders from South Tamil Nadu particularly Madurai, Thoothukudi and Virudhunagar were in attendance. AIADMK deputy floor leader RB Udhayakumar, Sellur Raju, Kadambur Raju, KT Rajenthera Bhalaji and VV Rajan Chellapa were sitting on the dais. 

This was seen as a clear shift in AIADMK’s stance and attending a conference organised by Hindu Munnani for the first time.