Noted actor Kamal Haasan recently remarked that the Hinduism did not exist during the Chola empire and so Chola king Rajaraja Chola was not a Hindu.

Reacting to this absurd comment, former MP and Congress veteran Karan Singh said it was “absolutely ridiculous” to say that the King Rajaraja I of the Chola dynasty was not a Hindu.

In a release, Karan Singh reasoned that Shiva was a ‘primordial Hindu deity,  focus of intense devotion for millions over the millennia from Srinagar down to Rameshwaram.’ Singh said that the emperor built one of the greatest Shiva temples which he referred to as ‘marvels of architecture’,  and especially pointed out the great BrihadeeswaraTemple in Thanjavur, where he claimed to have worshipped many times. 

“To say that he was a Shaivite, not a Hindu, is like saying someone is a Catholic but not a Christian. These semantic gymnastics in a way denigrate and confuse our great religion and are not acceptable,” Singh said in the release.

Read the full statement: