The controversy over Carnatic musician and social activist TM Krishna receiving the prestigious Sangita Kalanidhi award is taking broad turns, with people from unexpected quarters contributing to the debate. After Carnatic vocalists Ranjani and Gayatri and several other musicians withdrew from the Music Academy Conference 2024 in Chennai over TM Krishna, whom they “ideologically” differed with, Zoho Corporation founder Sridhar Vembu alleged on March 21 that Krishna has chosen to “be in bed with forces that want to destroy Dharma and break this nation.” 

The industrialist, in turn, was rebuked by Tamil Nadu’s Information Technology Minister Palanivel Thiagarajan, popularly known as PTR, who urged Sridhar to exercise restraint instead of “denigrating” people he disagrees with.

Sridhar had said in an X post that he wished he learned Carnatic music and admitted to being “a zero compared to a talent like T M Krishna,” before adding that he found the musician’s “woke politics” nauseating. “If he truly wanted to reform Hindu society, he could start with Swami Vivekananda. Instead he has sadly chosen to be in bed with forces that want to destroy Dharma and break this nation. That I cannot stand,” he claimed.

Quoting Sridhar’s post, PTR said that he disagreed with the business magnate on many matters, but respected his right to air his views. However, people in responsible positions, the minister said, should avoid using demeaning phrases like “forces that destroy Dharma and break this nation.” “Being successful does not make him an arbiter of patriotism, or even of Dharmam. Decorum has restrained us from using his own problems over the past year to question his character or integrity. He should exercise the same restraint, instead of denigrating people with whom he disagrees,” he wrote on X.

The controversy had erupted after singers Ranjani and Gayatri distanced themselves from the Music Academy conference, alleging that TM Krishna “caused immense damage to the Carnatic music world” and “insulted” icons such as MS Subbulakshmi and Tyagaraja. Several more musicians followed in their footsteps, citing ideological differences with TM Krishna and accusing him of “slandering” and “hurting the sentiments” of many people in the industry.

Notably, TM Krishna has frequently called out the Brahminical hegemony in the Carnatic music industry, and has also been a vocal supporter of the sexual assault survivors who named several prominent figures in the industry during the ‘Me Too’ movement in 2018. Many people have now extended support to the singer, pointing out that many of these ‘offended’ vocalists did not speak out when several sexual assault allegations had come up against prominent names in the Carnatic music industry.