“We had no intention of abandoning this campaign of breaking idols. We were waiting for an appropriate day to begin it.
Accordingly, May 27 had been designated as Buddha Day, and the government had even declared it a public holiday. We decided that Buddha Day was the most suitable day to begin the destruction of these Aryan gods.
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We then considered which deity should be broken first. Since they always place this deity first in all rituals and ceremonies, we decided that the image of Ganesha (Vinayaka) should be the first idol to be broken. Thus, on May 27, we broke the image of Ganesha.
Just as Hindi inscriptions on railway stations had been erased simultaneously in more than 500 towns by thousands of people, the breaking of Vinayaka idols also took place throughout Tamil Nadu, including villages without railway stations. In every part of Tamil Nadu, even in remote corners, Vinayaka images were made and then broken.
But did Vinayaka disappear because we broke these idols? No. In fact, there may even be a few more now.
People began conducting special worship and ceremonies for idols that had previously been neglected.
We are not concerned about that. If there were already 200,000 Vinayaka idols and another 3,000 have now been added, what difference does it make? When those 200,000 idols disappear, won’t these additional 3,000 disappear as well? Or can these newly created 3,000 idols somehow protect the original 200,000 from eventually vanishing? Certainly not.
People are merely playing games in the name of opposition. Yes, it is nothing more than a game.
Why do I say this? Because we did not break these idols for amusement.
The gods that are celebrated in this way are obscene, degrading, unjust, and irrational. They keep us in the position of Sudras and servants, destined to labor for others and remain deprived. They elevate the Brahmin— whether idle, unclean, or immoral—to the status of a superior caste, allowing him to live comfortably from the labor of others without working himself. It is these gods that sustain such a system.
Therefore, if our degraded condition and primitive social state are to end, these gods must disappear. We explain these reasons and these clear truths, and on that basis we break these idols.
If our opponents could provide a proper answer—if they could clearly demonstrate
that what we say is wrong and explain why— we would not hesitate to accept it. But no one has done so. No one has been able to do so.
Thanthai Periyar conducted the breaking of Vinayaka idols publicly at Trichy and his followers did the demonstration throughout Tamil Nadu on 27th May 1953.
Instead, they merely shout, ‘Ramasamy Naicker is breaking our gods! Our gods are being destroyed!’ Their response is simply to create more idols. But who creates these new idols? The very same people who already worship the old ones. Those who have never worshipped idols, who regard them as frauds and superstitions, and who have the courage to smash them into pieces, are not going to manufacture new ones. So why should we be concerned? Let the fools who constantly clash with one another continue doing so. What is new about that?
Furthermore, when we began breaking Vinayaka idols, some people organized campaigns to promote our sacred myths and Puranas as a counter to the propaganda of the Dravidar Kazhagam.
We are not worried about that either. We ourselves discuss these Puranas and point out the obscenities, injustices, irrationalities, and immoralities contained within them. That is precisely why we argue that they should be rejected.
If one wishes to break Vinayaka, one must first expose the stories and myths associated with him. Similarly, if one says that the Ramayana should be burned, one must first examine it page by page, chapter by chapter, exposing its contents before calling for its rejection.
We have never said that idols should simply be broken or texts burned without explanation.
In fact, when they promote these Puranas, it creates an opportunity for people to learn what these texts are truly like. Therefore, we are not concerned about such counter-propaganda or about the creation of new idols. They will cause us no loss.
Do you think we will stop with Vinayaka? No. We will continue, one after another, breaking these gods.
First we broke Vinayaka, an important Saivite deity. Next, we will break an important Vaishnavite deity. We will continue in this manner, perhaps on the special day associated with that deity. We are certainly going to do it.
I am announcing this now itself. Everyone should prepare!”
