After circumstances had been filed by the Indu Makkal Katchi (IMK) in opposition to Viduthalai Sigappi (alias Vigneswaran) for reciting a poem titled Malakuzhi Maranam (Death within the Sewers) at a latest occasion, filmmaker Pa. Ranjith’s Neelam Cultural Centre defended the poet, condemning the police and State authorities for not understanding (or not wanting to know) the core message of the poem and appearing in opposition to artistic freedom.
The poem depicts Lord Ram, Lord Lakshman and Lord Sita getting into the sewers to clear a blockage. The Twitter web page of Indu Makkal Katchi posted the video of Mr. Sigappi’s recitation with a demand that he be arrested. “If you do not arrest this guy, IMK will put out videos of Prophet Mohammed and Jesus (Christ) in the same tone,” it stated, tagging the official handles of the Tamil Nadu Police and Chief Minister M.Ok. Stalin.
Following this, Mr. Ranjith, in a assertion, stated the poem mirrored the truth of deaths that happen throughout India when human beings enter the sewers to wash them and strove to interchange human beings with gods to underline the social difficulty.
“The poem’s intention is to ask a question of whether the death of Gods while cleaning sewers will evoke empathy. This is a part of a person’s creative freedom, and there was no intention to hurt any religious sentiment,” he added. He additionally criticised the ‘propaganda’ unfold by sure teams on social media that Viduthalai Sigappi, a Hindu Adi Dravidar, belongs to a different faith, and he’s attacking Hinduism.
“An individual’s creative freedom is being turned into a religious conflict, and this is when democratic forces have to oppose these attacks. In the last three days, Viduthalai Sigappi has been threatened by these groups and his family members, who live in the village, are being questioned by the police,” he stated.
