Being a Tamilian is the same as wanting to be a Maharashtrian, Telugu, or Malayali, we all have our pride, Makkal Needhi Maiam founder Kamal Haasan said in a one-on-one conversation with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, after participating with him in the Delhi leg of the Bharat Jodo Yatra.
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In the conversation, shared by Mr. Gandhi on his YouTube channel on Monday, the Congress leader presented a strikingly shot photograph of a tiger drinking water in a pond to the actor-politician and asked him to speak about his perspective of what is unfolding in India as a South Indian.
“It is the same from Assam or Meghalaya,” Mr. Haasan said.
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When Mr. Gandhi asked about his view of the violence and the hatred that is being spread in the country, Mr. Haasan said, “It is a synthetic…reproduced…manufactured thing. If you go to Kerala, more than Tamil Nadu, amity prevails. Unless...you doctor it. We have to understand that this country prevails only with a plurality.”
When Mr. Gandhi said that ‘Hatred is actually blindness and misunderstanding’, Mr. Haasan responded, “The worst form of the criticism is an assassination.”
Mr. Gandhi then asked Mr. Haasan about what it means to be a Tamilian.
Mr. Haasan said, “It is the same as wanting to be a Maharashtrian, Telugu, or a Malayali. We all have our pride. When it comes to Tamil Nadu, they always feel it is an island…with a parochial mindset and language chauvinism. At a particular point, there was a feeling that there is apathy from the centre. They are unhappy with what is happening now, but that is not permanent. We should approach it like you are doing it now, by reaching out to the people and lending an ear. This is the reason I am celebrating your walk.”
Later, Mr. Haasan expounded on how he went from being a bitter critic of Mahatma Gandhi to an admirer. “I was a bitter critic of Gandhi ji. My father was a Congressman and he said ‘just read history’. I discovered Gandhiji on my own when I was around 24-25 years old and, over the years, exponentially, I have become a fan. To actually correct myself and say sorry…that’s why I made Hey Ram.”