Rajinikanth, one of India's biggest film stars, has faced protests over a controversial remark about Periyar EV Ramaswamy, an anti-caste icon known for his work among lower caste Hindus in the southern state of Tamil Nadu.
Periyar, born in 1879, is considered the father of the Dravidian Movement, which called for social reforms to end upper caste domination of Hinduism, thereby opening the door for the socially disadvantaged sections of the society.
Even in the early 20th century, Periyar was a controversial figure and was frequently attacked for his positions such as campaigns against idols, the entry of Dalits into temples, and a movement against the imposition of Hindi language largely spoken in the north.
Last week, Rajinikanth, 69, said a "portrait of Hindu Gods - Rama and Sita - was paraded naked and garlanded with slippers" at a 1971 rally organised by Periyar.
The Dravidian parties and scholars have contested the accuracy of the event and accused the film star of indulging in a "blatant lie" to gain political mileage. But Rajinikanth insists the incident was reported by Tamil weekly magazine, Tughlak.
According to The Hindu, an English-language newspaper published from Chennai, in its 1971 report, the rally taken out by Periyar did have obscene images of some of the Hindu Gods but Rama and Sita were not paraded naked.
Kolathur Mani, founder of Dravidar Viduthalai Kazhagam (DVK), a local political party, said Rajinikanth was pressured to speak "half-truths".
"I suspect this pressure is coming from the right-wing or BJP. They must have written the script for him," he told Al Jazeera. "We don't understand why he should lie so blatantly."
"Who is Rajinikanth?" asked Manuraj Shunmugasundaram, spokesman for Tamil Nadu state's main opposition party, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK).
"Just having ambitions doesn't make [Rajinikanth] a politician."
Tamil Nadu's politics has for decades been dominated by Dravidian parties and no mainstream party generally takes the risk of going against Periyar and his legacy of Tamil pride.
In 1955, Periyar was arrested for burning pictures of the Hindu god, Rama, in public places, said V Geetha, a scholar on Periyar and the Dravidian movement.
"But Tamil society did not mind it then," she explained. "Believers did find him problematic, but many of them understood the socially critical role he played.
"After all, all the non-Brahmins who supported Periyar were believers. Not all of them were non-believers. Rajinikanth is selling a blatant lie by saying the Gods were paraded naked," she said.
Dravidian party leaders have sought an apology from Rajnikanth for his comments, with police complaints filed against him for indulging in a "false propaganda".
Security at the actor's residence in the state capital, Chennai, has been increased in the wake of protests.
But Rajinikanth has refused to apologise . "There is no question of an apology or regret," Rajinikanth said while speaking to media earlier this week.
Filmmaker and supporter of Rajinikanth, Pravin Gandhi, accused the protesters especially the youth, of being "arrogant" owing to the influence of Periyar. "We have to change that, and this is a good war that Rajini sir has started.
"He wants to do something for this society and Tamil Nadu so all this opposition is nothing for him." (Source: Al Jazeera website)
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