A senior leader of India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said the massacre of Tamils in Mullivaikkal was the “largest genocide carried out in a single day in world history” and referred to May 18 as a “Black Day”, in a statement marking Tamil Genocide Remembrance Day.
Vanathi Srinivasan, president of the BJP Mahila Morcha, the dedicated women’s wing of the Bharatiya Janata Party, India’s ruling political organisation. She made the remarks in a post published on X on Monday commemorating the 17th anniversary of the genocide at Mullivaikkal.
In her statement, Vanathi Srinivasan described May 18 as a black day on which the “Mullivaikkal genocide” took place.
She further stated that the Mullivaikkal massacre remains “an unforgettable wound” in the hearts of Eelam Tamils and accused the then Congress-DMK alliance government of responding to the atrocities with “silence”.
“This day will forever be remembered in history as the day of betrayal committed against Eelam Tamils by the Congress-DMK,” she said, while paying tribute to the Tamils who lost their lives during the armed conflict.
The statement was released as Tamils across the North-East, Tamil Nadu and the global Tamil diaspora marked Tamil genocide Remembrance Day through memorial events, vigils and calls for international accountability over war crimes and genocide committed during the armed conflict in Tamil homeland.