A First Information Report (FIR) was registered against poet and assistant director Viduthalai Sigappi on Monday, May 8, for a satirical poem on manual scavenging deaths that he recited at an event held in honour of Dalit History Month, organised by director Pa Ranjith’s Neelam Cultural Centre.
The FIR has been registered by the Abhiramapuram police based on a complaint by Suresh Parthasarathy, leader of Bharath Hindu Munnani, a lesser-known right-wing outfit, alleging that the poem hurts the sentiments of Hindus. The FIR has been registered under IPC Sections 153 (provocation with intent to cause riot), 153A (1)(a) (promoting religious enmity) 295 A (outraging religious sentiments), 505 (1)(b) (inciting fear or alarm among the public), and 505 (2) (promoting enmity between classes).
The Tamil poem in question, titled ‘Malakuzhi Maranam’ (Manhole deaths), is a work of satire that attempts to bring attention to manual scavenging deaths across India. It has names of Hindu gods as characters and it is ‘Raman’, ‘Lakshmanan’, and ‘Hanuman’ who enter the manhole as ‘Sita’ watches on. Viduthalai, who also works as an assistant director to Pa Ranjith, recited the poem on April 30 at the Vaanam Arts Festival organised by Neelam Cultural Centre to celebrate Dalit History Month. Dalit History Month is observed in April every year–the month of Dr BR Ambedkar’s birth.
Videos of the event, including the poetry recitation, were widely shared on social media. In his complaint, Suresh said that the police should take action against the poet for allegedly insulting Hindus.
In a statement released earlier today, May 9, Neelam Cultural Centre has condemned the Bharath Hindu Munnani for their complaint against Viduthalai Sigappi. The statement says, “The poem expressed concern about manual scavenging deaths that repeatedly happen across the country. To point out the ignorance of society towards this issue, the poem depicted the characters who are in the status of gods instead of mortal human beings, to get the attention of society towards such deaths. This is the freedom of the creator. The poem's intention was not to insult anyone’s beliefs,” the statement noted.
மலக்குழி மரணங்கள் குறித்த அக்கறையை மதப்பிரச்சினையாக்கி விடுதலை சிகப்பி மீது வழக்கு தொடுத்திருப்பது படைப்புச் சுதந்திரத்திற்கு எதிரானது. இதன் பாடுபொருள் மலக்குழி மரணம் பற்றியது,அவைதான் பேசுபொருளாகியிருக்க வேண்டும். திசை திருப்பும் நடவடிக்கையை வன்மையாக கண்டிக்கிறோம்! @CMOTamilnadu pic.twitter.com/yLp1OBF22F
— நீலம் பண்பாட்டு மையம் (@Neelam_Culture) May 9, 2023
The statement also alleged that threats have been issued to Viduthalai in the past three days by groups who are “attempting to turn creative freedom into a communal issue.” Neelam Cultural Centre also condemned the police and the Tamil Nadu government for registering the FIR.
Also speaking to TNM, a representative of Neelam Cultural Centre said, “The intention of the poem is for those unaffected by manual scavenging to put themselves in the place of the victims of manual scavenging deaths. We can see from the reaction to this poem that there is more shock and anger about the imaginary situation in the poem than the actual deaths because of manual scavenging. This is the exact point the poem is trying to make about society. So it is an incorrect approach to interpret the poem literally.”