Protest politics

The leaders of the outfits approached Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa's office, urging her to intervene in the matter. The day after the protest, the Home Secretary convened a tripartite meeting where the producer, director and Vijay's father S A Chandrasekaran, himself a veteran director and producer, agreed to cut five scenes, besides tendering an apology for hurting the sentiments of the community, though unintentionally. Chandrasekaran went a step ahead and said that his son would play a Muslim in his next film.

The protests were not limited to films made in Tamil language alone. Exactly two months before the agitation over Thuppakki was staged, the outfits rose in protest against the controversial short video clip, Innocence of Muslims, which sparked outrage and violence across the world. In Tamil Nadu, activists belonging to various outfits, including Tamil Nadu Muslim Munnetra Kazhagam (TMMK) and Tamil Nadu Thouheed Jamaat (TNTJ), laid siege to the office of the Consulate General of the US here on September 14.

Protesters broke through the barricades and security rings that were placed outside the consulate, and pelted stones, burnt the US flags, destroyed CCTV cameras and threw sandals into the compound. Similar protests were held at several places across the state.

The protests were considered intelligence failure on the part of the police and the then Chennai City Police Commissioner, J K Tripathy, was removed from the post.

Observers say that the authorities were unnerved by the stealth and fury of the protest, and were keeping this in mind while dealing with the later protests.

The federation was in the news earlier over the question of the marriageable age of a Muslim girl. Last June, Perambalur district collector Darez Ahmed, a young, proactive civil servant who won awards from the state government based on his work in the most backward district, directed the social welfare department officials to stop the marriage of a Muslim girl. Though the marriage was held with the permission and presence of the parents of both the bride and the groom, she was found to be only 17 years old. The member outfits of the federation staged a protest in the district against the administration, stating that a Muslim girl who has attained puberty, agreed to be 15 years of age, can marry as per the Muslim law.

... contd.

ALSO READ

Quake-hit and shaken, Bhaderwah spends nights in the open

Former civil aviation secy changes mind, seeks airport security exemption as EC

BCCI suspects Gujarat players in other teams were also approached

Police on money trail, Sreesanth in fresh trouble