A lamp that’s been peacefully lit for generations suddenly becomes a “national security event.” A petitioner insists on shifting centuries-old tradition from the Utchi Pillayar Temple to the edge of a Dargah — not out of devotion, but out of design. And in a twist stranger than fiction, a high court judge orders CISF personnel posted to protect the madras High Court to escort him.
A simple festival moment turns into a full-blown communal powder keg — not by accident, but by strategy.
1. The Lamp That Became a Landmine
Karthigai Deepam traditions in Tirupparankunram have been stable for ages.
The lamp is lit at the Utchi Pillayar Temple every year. No drama. No police headlines. No communal tension.
Until now.
The petitioner’s sudden demand to light lamps near a Dargah, in a historically sensitive stretch, did not emerge from spiritual awakening.
It emerged from a political playbook. Because when devotion is genuine, it respects tradition. When devotion is weaponized, it looks for triggers.
2. Faith vs. Flashpoint — The Pattern Is Too Familiar
Tamil Nadu knows this script by heart:
Vinayagar Chaturthi processions deliberately rerouted through the narrowest, most sensitive lanes.
Northern states are blasting music in front of mosques exactly during prayer times.
And now: “If Deepam is lit at the temple, we must also light it at the Dargah.”
Not devotion.
Not tradition.
Just a repeat strategy — provoke, escalate, claim victimhood, and harvest political mileage.
Every time one deity’s name stops working as a tool, another will be picked:
Murugan
Mariamman
Ayyanar
Any village deity that can be converted into a flashpoint
It’s a rotating cast in a one-script drama.
3. The CISF Twist — When State Security Is Turned Into a Stage Prop
The most shocking twist?
A high court judge ordered CISF personnel — whose mandate is court security, ports, airports, and national infrastructure — to escort one petitioner to light lamps.
Not an official ceremony.
Not a state event.
Not even the traditional site.
A personal request turned into a state machinery performance.
It raises serious questions:
Since when do federal forces escort habitual provocateurs to religious flashpoints?
Is the judiciary supposed to enforce religious preferences?
What precedent does this set for future communal stunts?
Its governance turned into theatre — and the stage is a communal fault line.
4. The Real Agenda — Manufactured Angst Drives Manufactured Votes
Communal politics today thrives on micro-conflicts:
A route change
A loudspeaker
A lamp
A flag
A shrine boundary
The smaller the object, the bigger the outrage.
Because outrage is the commodity.
The lamp is just the latest prop.
When the traditional spot already exists and has always been used, shifting it near a Dargah isn’t a religious expression — it’s political choreography.
5. The One-Trick Pony Strategy: If One god Fails, Pick Another
This party’s strategy is painfully predictable:
If Murugan doesn't ignite communal heat → shift to Mariamman.
If that doesn’t work → pick a local deity like Ayyanar.
If not that → use Vinayagar, Ram, Hanuman, anyone.
It’s not worship.
It’s marketing.
One trick, endless costumes.
And the target audience?
Communities living peacefully for decades suddenly find their streets turned into symbolic battlegrounds.
6. Harmony Is the Real Casualty
Every year, Karthigai Deepam has been a unifying cultural moment.
This year, it became a headline.
Not because the public demanded it, but because political operatives manufactured it.
While ordinary people just wanted a peaceful festival, someone wanted a spectacle.
Someone wanted chaos.
Someone wanted to turn a flame into a fight.
🔥 CLOSING SHOT — THE TRUTH NO ONE SAYS OUT LOUD
This was never about lighting a lamp.
It was about testing how far one can push the system,
how easily institutions can be leveraged,
how quickly a peaceful tradition can be weaponized,
and how effortlessly devotion can be repackaged into division.
And the scariest part?
It worked — at least long enough to grab headlines.
Tamil Nadu deserves better than being used as a stage for manufactured communal theatre.
And the people know it — loudly, clearly, and increasingly impatiently.
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