Chennai- Former Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader RBVS Manian was booked for his incendiary speech in which he belittled Bahujan idols like Ambedkar and Thiruvalluvar. In his speech, he had dismissed Ambedkar as a stenographer who had worked as a proof reader under the first President of India, Rajendra Prasad. He also dismissed Thiruvalluvar as a fictitious person. Manian was arrested from his T.P Nagar residence and produced before the court. The Principal Sessions Court Judge sent the former Chief of the Tamil Nadu unit of VHP to a 14-day custody.

"Many people keep saying Ambedkar gave us the Constitution. They keep praising him. He didn’t come up with anything of his own (while framing the Constitution). There will be a lot of discussions. All of that was written by a stenographer. The stenographer typed it. Then a person had to verify if what was typed was correct. That’s the job Ambedkar had,” he said.

A member of Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi filed a case against the right-wing leader under sections 153 (promoting enmity between groups), 505 (inciting violence), and other provisions of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), and under Section 3 and relevant provisions of the SC-ST Act. Following this, he was arrested from his T.P Nagar residence and produced before the court. The Principal Sessions Court Judge sent the former Chief of the Tamil Nadu unit of VHP to a 14-day custody.

Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi, formerly known as the Dalit Panthers of India or the Dalit Panthers Iyyakkam is an Indian social movement and political party that seeks to combat caste based discrimination, active in the state of Tamil Nadu. The party also has a strong emphasis on Tamil nationalism. Its chairman is Thol Thirumavalavan, a lawyer from Chennai and its general secretary is the writer Ravikumar.

While Ambedkar is widely known all over India and the world as the constitution-maker, Thiruvalluvar is gradually gaining credence in India and abroad. He is already venerated by the Tamil community.

Who is Thiruvalluvar?

Thiruvalluvar is an ancient Tamil poet and philosopher. He is primarily known for his work - Thirukkural, also known as the Kural, which is a classic Tamil text that consists of 1,330 couplets or two-line verses. The Thirukkural is one of the most revered and widely read works in Tamil literature and is considered a masterpiece of ethical and moral wisdom. The great poet is believed to have lived between the 3rd century BCE and the 1st century CE.

The Prime Minister paid homage to the great saint on Thiruvalluvar Day on January 16th. He said, “Diverse in nature, the Kurals are a source of great motivation for people from all walks of life. Modi also urged the youth to read the Kurals. During his visit to France in July, the Prime Minister announced the establishment of a statue of the saint belonging to the Dalit community. “In just a few months, there will be a statue of the great Indian saint Thiruvalluvar in the Cergy prefecture of France,” PM Modi said on July 13 in Paris."

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