Ranganathan Madhavan, the popular actor who has worked extensively in Bollywood and Tamil movies, wished everyone a happy Raksha Bandhan and shared a picture of himself with his son on social media where the two of them could be seen wearing the sacred thread that Brahmins wear. His son was tying the Rakhi on his hand in his sister’s absence.
https://twitter.com/ActorMadhavan/status/1161883744040435712?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
However, for his innocent tweet, the popular actor is being trolled by liberals. According to them, the sacred thread, or the Yajnopaveetham or the Poonal as it is called in Tamil, is a symbol of casteism and Madhavan should be ashamed of himself for upholding the traditions of his ancestors.
https://twitter.com/LiberalMantri/status/1161913627852595200?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
According to liberals, Madhavan should be embarrassed about his identity.
https://twitter.com/sathishkumarm9/status/1161899217196990464?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Madhavan was attacked for celebrating Raksha Bandhan as well.
https://twitter.com/ConradkBarwa/status/1161916881093238784?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Today is also the occasion of Avani Avittam, the auspicious day on which Brahmins change their sacred threads. The actor posted a picture of himself on Instagram wishing everyone the same.
In liberal circles, especially in Dravidianist politics, the Poonal is equated with a symbol of genocide and oppression. It is considered a symbol of casteism and not of the traditions of a particular section of Hindus as it actually is. Genocidal propaganda along the lines of the hatred that was peddled against Jews in Nazi Germany is quite prevalent in mainstream Dravidianist politics. Thus, it’s not really a surprise that Madhavan is being trolled for his recent pictures.
Earlier, Madhavan was also trolled by some ‘liberals’ for supporting PM Modi’s campaign urging voters to ensure that they vote in the general elections. He had also invited the wrath of Congress supporting ‘secular liberals’ after he had called out the party’s crass attempt to mock an interaction between PM Modi and Chinese premier Xi Jinping.