To say Rajaraja is not a Hindu is akin to saying a Catholic is not a Christian, says Karan Singh

Former MP and Congress veteran was reacting to the recent controversy surrounding the Hindu identity of King Rajaraja I of the Chola dynasty

Former MP and Congress veteran Karan Singh on Friday said it was “absolutely ridiculous” to say that the King Rajaraja I of the Chola dynasty was not a Hindu.

He was reacting to the recent controversy that erupted after filmmaker Vetrimaaran commented in a function that there were attempts to give a Hindu identity to Rajaraja Chola. He implied that the Chola king was a Shaivite and Hinduism as a religion did not exist in that era. Actor Kamal Haasan on Thursday had backed this line of argument.

In a statement, Mr. Singh said to say that Rajaraja was a Shaivite and not a Hindu was akin to saying that “someone is a Catholic but not a Christian”. “These semantic gymnastics in a way denigrate and confuse our great religion,” he said.

According to him, though the word ‘Hindu’ may have gained traction only later, deities like Shiva, Vishnu, Hanuman, Ganesha, Mahalakshmi and Mahakali were all part of “Sanatan Dharma for millennia”. “One should not try and create a division between Shaivism, Vaishnavism, and Shaktism,” he said, adding they were the three main streams of Hindu religion.

Mr. Singh added that the Brihadeeswara temple built by emperor Rajaraja was an architectural marvel, where he had worshipped many times.