Dravidian Model poet Vairamuthu, who functions like the court poet of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, faces sexual harassment allegations from multiple women and has drawn criticism for derogatory remarks about Hindu deities, has been conferred India’s highest literary honour – the Jnanpith Award.
Ironically, the sexual harassment accused poet known for anti-Hindu comments will be getting an award that consists of a bronze replica of Saraswati, the Hindu goddess of knowledge and wisdom.
About Jnanpith Award
The award is not given by the Government of India but by the New Delhi–based literary and research organisation Bharatiya Jnanpith, a private entity.
There is no statutory or government-mandated process governing how these bodies are formed; the organization appoints members internally.
For each Indian language, Bharatiya Jnanpith forms a Language Advisory Committee (LAC) comprising writers, critics, scholars, and academics from that language’s literary community. These committees evaluate authors and recommend names based on their lifetime literary contributions.
The final decision is made by the Jnanpith Selection Board, also appointed by Bharatiya Jnanpith, which typically includes senior literary figures and sometimes past awardees. The board reviews the nominations and selects the recipient of the award.
However, the award has been formally presented by the President of India in a ceremony on different occasions.
Controversies Of Vairamuthu
Vairamuthu in 2018 claimed that the 7th-century mystic poet Andal was a Devadasi who lived and died at the Srirangam Temple.
Woke singer Chinmayi Sripaada publicly accused Vairamuthu of sexual harassment, including inappropriate demands and career coercion. Around 17 women have levelled sexual harassment charges have come forward with claims of molestation, groping, and exploitation. One report indicated a woman was molested by him at age 18 in his office, where he allegedly hugged and kissed her. Vairamuthu has consistently denied the charges, labeling them as vendetta or politically timed.
In 2021, he had penned a song that romanticizes pedophilia. The song is about a school-going girl in love with a grey-haired old ‘poet’ and was filmed with actor Anika Surendran who was 16 years old at that time.
Vairamuthu had also ridiculed Ram Janmabhoomi Temple and also raised questions about his birth.
In July 2024, Vairamuthu mocked Hindu practices in a poem under the garb of condoling the Hathras stampede tragedy.
The decision by the New Delhi–based literary and research organisation Bharatiya Jnanpith to confer the Jnanpith Award on Vairamuthu raises questions about the values, standards and principles that India’s most prestigious literary institutions seek to uphold.
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