Syed Ali Mujtaba / CHENNAI
Tamil month Margazhi is famous for Kolams, as women in the state draw different types of kolams in front of their houses throughout this auspicious month. Keeping pace with the anti-CAA protests all over India, some dedicated anti CAA protesters are using their deft fingers and a bit of Kolam powder to draw a design pattern to show their defiance against citizenship questions that is rocking the nation.
Margazhi is the nine month in traditional Tamil calendar. In 2019 -20 Margazhi month starts on December 17, 2019 and ends on January 14, 2020. It is one of the most auspicious months in the Tamil calendar, when temples are opened early morning and special pujas are performed.
Tamil Nadu’s main opposition party the DMK is spearheading the Kolam protest in the state to oppose the amended Citizenship Act of the BJP government. Members of the DMK women wing are actively participating in the protest and each passing day the Kolam protest is gaining creative and innovative form in Chennai city and elsewhere in the state.
The Kolams drawn by these peaceful protesters are a delight to watch. The messages written along with the design expresses the defiant mood of the protestors.
The ruling AIADMK government that is batting for the BJP government at the center is rounding up people who are part of such innovative protests. It has detained eight people including five women for drawing Kolams in Besant Nagar, a posh neighborhood in Chennai.
Even though the detainees were later released but the Kolam protest fails to subside in this southern megapolis. A woman functionary of DMK said, “we are drawing Kolams outside our residences and we will continue to do so in the coming days of this Margazhi month as we are following the orders on our party leader MK Stalin.
The DMK holds the view that the CAA is against Sri Lankan Tamils who are Hindus by faith as this law covers only Hindu migrants from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. Since Hindu Tamils from Sri Lanka do not fit into Hindi, Hindu Hindustan paradigm of north Indian mindset, its unacceptable to the people of Tamil Nadu.