Even as the Chozha debate rages on, a lot of people are coming out in support of Director Pa Ranjith with the hashtag #StandWithPaRanjith. This follows the hashtag #PrayforMentalRanjith which a lot of people used to lash out against the director for saying that the Chozha period was a dark time for Dalits. He had stated that land was grabbed from the Dalits, this did not go down well with many people on Twitter who came out in defense of Rajaraja Cholan and his administration.
However, the last two days a lot of people have started trending the hashtag #StandWithPaRanjith. The Birsa Ambedkar Phule Students' Association has also issued a statement in solidarity with the Tamil director and condemned the intimidation and harassment he has been facing on social media. "This attack on Pa Ranjith — a vocal Ambedkarite filmmaker who has produced highly successful films that deal with caste — is a reaction that is symptomatic of the visceral hatred that caste Hindus have against assertive Bahujans," they said in their statement.
They also went on to say — "The fact that a Dalit can occupy positions of great influence and expose their Brahmanical scriptures and ideology hurts the caste Hindu for their position of privilege is threatened."
Observing the fact that the case has been filed by the Hindu Makkal Katchi, the BAPSA said that it comes as no surprise. Stating that the Hindu organisations have been trying to woo Bahujan masses, BAPSA said, "However, this project is not based on Ambedkar’s radical notion of Samta (equality) but on the pliant subservience demanded by the notion of Samrasta (harmony) propounded by the likes of the RSS — who both want to appropriate Ambedkar and simultaneously reject his ideas. As Ambedkarites, we must stand vigilant against such appropriations."
