Various political parties, social organizations, and Islamic associations across Tamil Nadu have joined the protest.
Published Sep 19, 2025 | 9:05 PM ⚊ Updated Sep 19, 2025 | 9:05 PM
Pro-Palestine protest in Chennai. (Supplied)
Synopsis: Actor Sathyaraj urged world nations to intervene and said the United Nations must take a decision to stop the killings. Drawing parallels with the Tamil struggle, he said: “Every time people fight for liberation, genocide is carried out. Our Tamil Eelam brothers who fought were brutally killed—not only the fighters but also innocent civilians. In the name of war, entire communities are being systematically destroyed, with the support of the United States.”
In Chennai, a massive rally and public meeting were organized on Friday, 19 September, by the Periyar followers federation against Israel’s genocide in Palestine.
Various political parties, social organizations, and Islamic associations across Tamil Nadu have joined the protest.
Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi leader and MP Thol. Thirumavalavan, MLA Thaniyarasu, Manithaneya Makkal Katchi leader Jawahirullah, May 17 Movement coordinator Thirumurugan Gandhi, actors Sathyaraj, and Prakash Raj, filmmaker Vetrimaaran, and several other leaders participated in the demonstration, which drew thousands of people.
Speaking at the event, actor Prakash Raj noted that, “This is a gathering of everyone who speaks for humanity. Some people ask, ‘What is the need for such a meeting?’ If speaking against injustice is called politics, then yes—it is politics, and we will speak.”
He further recited a poem: “The wars will end. Leaders will shake hands and walk away. But somewhere, an old mother will still wait for her son, a wife will wait for her husband, and children will wait for their father. That is the truth. We may not know who abandoned this land, but we do know who continues to pay the price for it.”
Prakash Raj also recited another poem, that goes: “If I want my poems to be free of politics, then I must hear the sound of birds. But if I want to hear the sound of birds, the roar of fighter jets must first be silenced.”
Criticising Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and USA, the actor said, “Today, for the injustice happening to Palestine, Israel alone is not responsible. America is responsible. Modi’s silence is responsible too.”
He added, “When a wound forms on our body, if I remain silent, it only worsens. Similarly, if a nation suffers a wound and we remain silent, that silence will wound the nation even more.”
Actor Sathyaraj too condemned the ongoing massacre in Gaza, calling it “unbearable” and a violation of humanity.
“How can bombs be dropped on Gaza without any humanity? After carrying out such attacks, how can they sleep peacefully? They say man evolved from monkeys, but it looks like the process stopped halfway—that is why such brutal thinking exists,” he remarked angrily.
Sathyaraj urged world nations to intervene and said the United Nations must take a decision to stop the killings. Drawing parallels with the Tamil struggle, he said: “Every time people fight for liberation, genocide is carried out. Our Tamil Eelam brothers who fought were brutally killed—not only the fighters but also innocent civilians. In the name of war, entire communities are being systematically destroyed, with the support of the United States.”
He added that some might question the impact of holding such protests in Chennai, but stressed that in today’s world of social media, the message will spread globally. “Participating in such meetings is the duty of artists like me. If our fame does not serve the cause of humanity and freedom, then there is no use being popular actors,” he said.
Sathyaraj praised leaders like Thol. Thirumavalavan and Thirumurugan Gandhi, calling them “real heroes,” while describing himself and other actors as only “shadow heroes.” He urged everyone to unite their voices against injustice.
Clarifying the purpose of the gathering, he said: “This is not a meeting in support of Islam, but one for humanity.”
Director Vetri Maaran has also condemned the ongoing violence in Palestine, stating that it amounts to a planned genocide.
He said bombs are being dropped even on schools and hospitals, while olive trees — the source of livelihood for many — are being destroyed.
Pointing out that one in five people are dying of hunger and one in five children are dying due to malnutrition, he said Gaza has been turned into a famine-stricken region. He emphasized that it is the duty of everyone to condemn this genocide.
VCK MP Thol Thirumavalavan, speaking at the rally, said that Periyar’s politics means fighting for people who are pushed beyond limits and affected by oppression. He said the rally demonstrated this spirit of Periyar’s politics, bringing people together in times of crisis.
Thirumavalavan condemned American imperialism and Israeli Zionism, asserting that the rally voiced strongly for Palestine’s liberation and the dismantling of Israeli domination. He said Israel was created by the British as an occupying territory by settling scattered Jewish populations in Palestine during World War I.
Wherever there is conflict — be it Palestine, Sri Lanka, or Ukraine — he said America’s hand of imperialism is present. Just as the US branded the LTTE as a terrorist organization and ensured world nations did not recognize it, he said America and Israel have deliberately labeled the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas as a terrorist group.
Thirumavalavan noted that the UN took two years to recognize the killings in Gaza as genocide, while to this day it has not acknowledged the Mullivaikkal massacre. He pointed out that while the US immediately provided military aid to Israel during attacks a decade ago, today, despite 193 nations recognizing the genocide in Gaza, no country has taken any real action.
He charged that Israel is carrying out genocide to seize the entire land and criticized the UN for taking two years to recognize it, blaming the US for using its veto power for political interests.
In this context, he urged India to take a clear stand against Israel and to protect Palestinians. The MP further said no other state in India has raised such a voice, recalling that during the genocide in Eelam too, it was only Tamil Nadu that spoke out, even on the grounds of human rights violations.
He concluded that this role of Tamil Nadu has been nurtured by Periyarist, Marxist, and Ambedkarite ideologies. He further called for protests to be organized at Jantar Mantar in Delhi to press these demands and assured that the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi would extend its full support.
May 17 Movement coordinator Thirumurugan Gandhi said that once the UN declares a country guilty of committing genocide, other nations must immediately send their military forces to protect the people facing genocide.
However, in the case of Israel, no country has acted in this manner. He added that just as India remained silent during the genocide in Eelam, it is now maintaining silence on the ongoing genocide in Palestine as well.
Declaring Hamas a terrorist group is wrong, he said, stressing that it is in fact a liberation movement — and the countries that call it terrorist are themselves terrorist nations. While Israel must be declared a genocidal state, at the same time Palestine must be recognized as an independent nation, he urged.
(Edited by Sumavarsha, with inputs from Subash Chandra Bose)
