Kanimozhi criticises Anurag Thakur over Hanuman-space remark

DMK MP Kanimozhi Karunanidhi has criticised BJP MP Anurag Thakur for his recent statement suggesting that Hanuman was the first to travel to space. Speaking at an event in Madurai on Saturday, she remarked that “such leaders were not in Tamil Nadu,” in reference to Thakur’s comments.

“If you ask children who first went to the moon, they will say Neil Armstrong. Some northern leaders, however, might claim the grandmother from our folk tales or even Hanuman first set foot on the moon. Thankfully, such people are not leaders in Tamil Nadu,” she said.

Thakur made the statement last month during an interaction with school children on National Space Day. He had said, “I think Hanuman ji was the first person to travel to space,” adding that “our veds, our textbooks and our knowledge” should be considered alongside conventional sources, and encouraging teachers to go beyond “textbooks given to us by the British.”




Kanimozhi had earlier criticised the remark, saying it blurred the line between science and mythology. In a post on X, she wrote: “A member of parliament and former union minister asking school children who first set foot on the moon, and insisting that it was not Neil Armstrong but Hanuman, is deeply troubling. Science is not mythology. To mislead young minds in classrooms is an insult to knowledge, reason, and the spirit of scientific temper enshrined in our Constitution. India’s future lies in nurturing curiosity, not confusing fact with fable.”

The exchange has sparked a broader conversation on whether personal or mythological beliefs should be presented in educational settings.



(With inputs from TOI)