Who was Raja Raja Chola? What's the controversy around the great southern king?

A controversy has erupted after Tamil filmmaker Vetrimaaran claimed that the Great Southern King Raja Raja Chola was not a Hindu king. His remark has found support from actor and politician Kamal Haasan and Congress parliamentarian S Jothimani. Several pro-Tamil activists have also claimed on social media that the Chola kings were Shaivites by faith and this identity of the Tamil kings was "hijacked."

Here is everything you should know about the great southern king whose empire was spread across Indian Ocean.

1. Who was Raja Raja Chola?
   The life and living conditions of the Cholas had always fascinated the people. The iconic king Raja Chola was the most powerful king in south India during his period of 985 CE -1014 CE. He is remembered for reinstating the Chola influence and ensuring its supremacy across the Indian Ocean. His empire stretched from as far as Sri Lanka in the south, and Kalinga (Orissa) in the northeast. He fought many battles with the Chalukyas in the north and the Pandyas in the south. Rajaraja laid the foundations for the Chalukya Chola dynasty.

He invaded Sri Lanka and started a century-long Chola occupation of the island.He invaded Sri Lanka, Lakshadweep, Thiladhunmadulu, and some tracts of Maldives. He also won Kandalur Salai (Kerala), thanks to his strong navy and army fleet. Raja Raja decimated everyone who comes in his way. He captured the regions of Gangapadi, Nolambapadi and Tadigaipadi (Karnataka) too.


The colossal Brihadisvara Temple in Thanjavur, dedicated to Lord Shiva which is a glowing example of Dravidian architecture, comes up under his direction. It becomes a hub of religious activities (It got the Unesco heritage site tag sometime back).The great emperor rolled out a project of a land survey, reorganizing his kingdom into units known as valanadus. The local self-government was revamped as created a foolproof audit system. The village assemblies and other public bodies were given autonomy.

1. What's the controversy around Raja raja Chola?
   Recently, Tamil filmmaker Vetrimaaran stoked a controversy, apparently targeting the Right wing forces. He claimed that Raja Raja Cholan was depicted as a Hindu king and already attempts were made to take away Tamil saint poet Tiruvalluvar's identity as well.

"They have already tried to saffronise Thiruvalluvar. We should never allow that." Tamil Nadu remains a secular state, resisting external forces, Vetrimaaran said.Supporting him, Kamal Haasan said: "There were Vaishnavism, Shaivism and Samanam. The Britishers coined the term Hindu," the veteran actor who watched Ponniyin Selvan along with the cast and crew, claimed.

Countering this, Telangana and Puducherry Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan, who hails from Tamil Nadu, remarked that there was an attempt to hide the Hindu cultural identity in TN and called for efforts to resist it.

Lashing out at Vetrimaaran, BJP's former national secretary H Raja claimed that Raja Raja Cholan was an ardent devotee of Lord Shiva and called himself 'Sivapadha Sekara'."He was responsible for building the Brihadishwarar temple. Has Raja Raja Cholan built churches or mosques to say he was not a Hindu?" he asked.