POSTED BY LONDON SWAMINATHAN ON 23 JUNE 2025

Six Resolutions passed in Madurai Hindu Conference

(Posted by London Swaminathan; 23 June 2025)

Pawan Kalyan decries ‘insults to Hindu beliefs’, in politically charged speech at Murugan Devotees’ Conference

Taking aim at what he described as selective criticism under the guise of secularism, Kalyan claimed that a group was trying to provoke Hindus with insults to the deity Murugan.

Synopsis: In an address at the Murugan Devotees’ Conference in Madurai on Sunday, Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan condemned what he described as rising insults against Hindu beliefs, and alleged mockery of deities and Hindu traditions under the guise of secularism.

Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister and Jana Sena Party leader Pawan Kalyan condemned what he termed “growing insults against Hindu beliefs and deities” during an address at the Murugan Devotees’ Conference in Tamil Nadu.

Speaking to a large gathering at the event jointly organised in Madurai on Sunday, 22 June, by the Hindu Munnani and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Pawan Kalyan declared:

“Murugan is the first revolutionary leader in the world. It was Murugan who raised me. It was Murugan who gave me courage. Don’t provoke us – when even the gentle are angered, the wild cannot withstand them.”

Taking aim at what he described as selective criticism under the guise of secularism, he said:

“Yet there is a group that mocks deities based on their dark complexion. A group that tries to provoke us by insulting Murugan – the very one who unites us. Some even dare to mock the Kanda Sashti Kavasam. They ridicule my culture, my heritage. And when questioned, they claim this is secularism.”

Ahead of the conference, a petition was filed in the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court by advocate S Vanchinathan, seeking a ban on the event, alleging it was a political meeting disguised as a religious gathering.

The court expressed concern over the blurring lines between religious celebration and political mobilisation, but nevertheless allowed the event to proceed with specific restrictions, including a prohibition on political speeches.

Also present were BJP Tamil Nadu President Nainar Nagendran, former Governor of Telangana Tamilisai Soundararajan, former Tamil Nadu BJP President Annamalai, and Union Minister of State for Information & Broadcasting and Parliamentary Affairs L Murugan, among others.

DMK allies alleged that the event was a political platform in disguise for the BJP, even as the saffron party and the Hindu Munnani maintained it was purely a spiritual gathering for Murugan devotees.

Responding to the criticism, Kalyan said:

“One political party leader asked why don’t you conduct Murugan Conference in Uttar Pradesh? Who are they to mock the faith of others? Who are they to insult Murugan? Can they speak this way about a religion that came from Arabia?”

He continued:

“It’s fine if you don’t respect my religion – but don’t insult it. A Christian can live as a Christian. A Muslim can live as a Muslim. But when a Hindu chooses to live as a Hindu, some people seem to have a problem.”

Though organisers had earlier stated the event would remain apolitical, six key resolutions were passed during the conference. These included:

SIX RESOLUTIONS

Lighting the traditional Karthigai Deepam atop the Thiruparankundram hill.

Commending Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s response to the Pahalgam terror attack.

Demanding protection for Murugan-associated hills, declaring them as belonging to Kumaran.

Calling for the withdrawal of the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) Department from temple administration.

Urging Hindu unity during elections to establish the strength of the Hindu vote.

Encouraging devotees to sing the ‘Kanda Sashti Kavasam’ collectively on the day of Sashti.

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Sangh Parivar holds ‘Murugan Conference’ ahead of 2026 election

With the 2026 assembly election round the corner, the Sangh Parivar, to counter the pro-Tamil narrative of the ruling DMK, has chosen to cling to lord Murugan, considered a Tamil god, by holding a conference on Sunday in Madurai in an attempt to consolidate a Hindu vote bank,

Though Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath gave a miss to the event, Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister and Jana Sena Party (JSP) president Pawanm Kalyan was in attendance and gave a fiery speech, dubbing secularism as Hindu bashing. Addressing the conference, organized by the Hindu Munnani (Hindu Front), an RSS affiliate, he said atheists in the country ridiculing only Hindu gods dare not touch the semitic religions of Islam or Christianity, which have come from the Arab region.

“The Constitution protects our Dharma. But, in the name of secularism, the atheistic crowd continues to ridicule my god and culture which has come to be the norm of secularism in the country. Can they criticize the semitic faiths? A leader of a political party questions why a conference for Murugan in Madurai and why not in Uttar Pradesh or elsewhere. It is dangerous. Lord Murugan is a Tamil god, with his presence all over the country and abroad. Don’t try to needle us. Fort, if we retort, it will be uncontrollable,” he said, hitting out at the DMK and its allies, without naming them.

COURT GAVE PERMISSION

The Muruga Bakthargalin Aanmeega Maanadu (Spiritual Conference of Devotees of Murugan) was embroiled in controversy, with the Tamil Nadu police imposing several conditions, including restricting the 11-day programme to three days. On June 13, the Madurai bench of the Madras high court, granted permission for the event but asked the Hindu Munnani to comply with the conditions laid down by the police in Madurai.

The conference organised by right wing outfit Hindu Munnani with the backing of the BJP was held under tight security as scores of people thronged to visit the replicas at the venue made of six abodes (known locally as Arupadai Veedu) of Lord Murugan that’s present across Tamil Nadu. The conference to celebrate the Tamil deity was attended by Andhra Pradesh’s deputy chief minister Pawan Kalyan, former BJP state president K Annamalai and the BJP’s ally and Tamil Nadu’s main opposition, the AIADMK. “Certain groups who make fun of our culture and faith and call it secularism will disappear,” Kalyan said speaking in Tamil.

Union home minister Amit Shah who on June 8 from Madurai urged people to participate in large numbers is likely to visit TN again in July – his third since April- ahead of the 2026 assembly elections. Shah, in his speech a week ago, drew in Lord Murugan over the Thiruparankunram issue.

In February, there was tension at a temple (one of the six abodes of Lord Murugan) in Thiruparankundram near Madurai after members of Hindu Munnani held a protest against a demand by a few Muslim organisations to rename the hillock, which is also home to a dargah as Sikander malai (hillock).

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FIVE AKH DEVOTEES

“Five lakh people have come today to Madurai for the conference for our ideology despite knowing that they will get wet in the rains today. This is a warning for the ruling government,” Annamalai said. He added that the Hindu religion was under threat referring to the attack in Pahalgham and India’s response to Operation Sindoor.

Sunday’s conference comes a year after the DMK, known to have been established with rationalist tenets, also organised a conference for Lord Murugan last year. Last August, the DMK government organised a two-day conference on Lord Murugan as part of its efforts to oppose the BJP painting them as anti-Hindu and to manage the fallout of deputy chief minister Udhayanidhi Stalin’s controversial remarks against Sanatana Dharma.–SUBHAM—-

TAGS- MADURAI, MURUGAN CONFERENCE, HINDU, SIX RESOLUTIONS, HINDU FRONT,