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DMK-Promoted, Brahmin-Baiting, Dravidian Stockist ‘Author’ Accused Of Faking Ph.D From UC Berkeley

August 28, 2022
Vallavaraayan

Anti-Hindu Brahmin-baiting ‘Dravidian Stockist’ and self-proclaimed ‘author’ Kannabiran Ravishankar (KRS), promoted for long by the top brass of the DMK, has been accused of faking his educational qualifications claiming to have a doctoral degree from University of California, Berkeley.

Kannabiran who goes by the handle @kryes on Twitter, is the Editor-in-Chief of Dravida Pozhil, which according to its website is “a quarterly, bi-lingual, academic research journal with focus on Dravidian studies”.

In Dravida Pozhil’s website, Kannabiran is mentioned as “Professeur adjoint – Littératures comparée (tamoul), Université de Paris, France.”

Kannabiran claims himself to be an ‘Investment Banker’ full time and an ‘Adjunct Professor’ in Comparative Literature (Tamil) part-time. He allegedly received a doctorate in ‘Comparative Literature’ from University of California, Berkeley.

However, questions have been raised over his educational qualifications now with a few Twitteratis exposing that his claims of having received a doctorate from UC Berkeley is bogus.

A Filtered Vulgar Anti-Hindu Bigot

Kannabiran is known for distorting Hindu scriptures and fomenting hatred against Tamil Brahmin community with vile casteist abuses. He has made several derogatroy and vulgar remarks against Hindu Gods. Many of his tweets have foul language objectifying Tamil Brahmin women. He had even used private photos of Tamil brahmin families including that of children to spew the Dravidian ‘anti-Brahmin’ vitriol.

Exhibit 1

If the ‘Karuppar Koottam’ YouTube channel run by followers of E.V. Ramaswamy Naicker (known as ‘Periyar’ by his followers) had abused Tamil God Murugan by slandering the devotional hymn Kandha Sashti Kavasam, Kannabiran Ravishankar distorted the hymn with sexual innuendos objectifying film actresses Anushka Shetty and the late ‘Silk’ Smitha.

Below are the screenshots of his tweets.

 

Exhibit 2

Back in 2018 when Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaking at the first International Solar Alliance had said that the world should look to Vedas to combat climate change, Kannabiran Ravishankar shared a derogatory image of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati with the caption “Please turn to Vedas for Underwear change and Climate Change”.

Exhibit 3

In another instance, he had shared an illustration from Thailand Ramayana saying that ‘Makaradhwaja’, the son of Hindu God Hanuman was born when Hanuman’s sperm fell on the mouth of a mermaid.

Exhibit 4

He had also abused the famous 12th century Tamil poet Sekkizhaar calling him a traitor and ‘venom’.

One of the greatest Tamil literary works Periyapuranam written by Sekkizhaar was given vulgar twist by Kannabiran Ravishankar. In a Twitter thread, the Dravidian Stockist sharing some verses of the text wrote that Sekkizhaar’s Periyapuranam was Tamil literature’s ‘masterpiece’ of obscenity.

Exhibit 5

He had even called for the razing down of the Thiruvalluvar Temple at Mylapore, Chennai saying that a Brahmin woman (referring to Goddess Vasuki) has been enshrined in the temple.

Exhibit 6

In another tweet, he had abused Goddess Devasena, one of the consorts of Lord Murugan.

Courtesy: @realitycheckind

Exhibit 7

In another tweet, he had shared a derogatory image of Lord Vinayakar and Goddess Saraswathi saying “Bachelors, your desire over aunties isn’t wrong. What Ucchishta Ganapathy is doing to Auntie Saraswathi? Lift the dressing and see.”

Exhibit 8

He had also abused members of the Saiva Vellalar communities as ‘Pannnada’, a derogatory Tamil cuss word. He had said that Saiva Vellalars along with Brahmins had institutionalized caste structures in Tamil society.

 

Targeted Attacks On Tamil Brahmins

Kannabiran has made several vicious and targeted attacks on Tamil Brahmins especially the women members of the community. From spiritual discourser Vishakha Hari to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, KRS had spared none.

He had made casteist and a sexist reference to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s Brahmin and woman identity when he said to a Twitter user “Why are you fighting? Go eat the ‘Maavadu’ and pickle prepared by Nirmala Maami”.

He had also made sexual comments on well-known spiritual discourser Vishakha Hari saying “Maami looks nice. Seems like Mama only needs to go to the gym?”

He had once commented that he would keep ogling at the “Madisaar Maami” (referring to Vishaka Hari) for an entire day as she looks “so pleasant”.

Sharing the image of former Tamil Nadu Chief Secretary Girija Vaidyanathan clad in her traditional attire, Kannabiran wrote “A snake will strike without consideration of time. A Paapaathi (Dravidian slur word for Tamil Brahmin women) will strike at the correct time. Understand that Paapaathi > Snake.”

Picture Courtesy: @realitycheckind

In another tweet, he had called the now-retired IAS officer a “Paapathi Sirukki” (a Brahmin Bimbo).

Courtesy: @realitycheckind

He also picks pictures of unsuspecting Tamil Brahmins and uses them to spew anti-Brahmin canards.

 

Courtesy: @realitycheckind
Courtesy: @realitycheckind

In 2018, he had enacted a drama using kids in which they were taught to forcibly remove the poonool (sacred thread) of a kid disguised as a Brahmin.

During the hijab controversy, he had shared a caricature of a Brahmin pulling the hijab of a Muslim woman and captioned it with the poem of Mahakavi Bharathiyar on Draupadi’s vow.

 

Did KRS Really Receive His Ph.D From UC Berkeley?

On 20 August 2022, Periyar Maniammai Institute Of Science And Technology had held its 30th convocation with Dravida Kazhagam (DK) President K. Veeramani presiding over the function. KRS had received the “Degree of Doctorate of Letters” in this convocation ceremony.

SKP Karuna, another prominent Dravidian Stockist and a friend of KRS had put a tweet saying “Even though he has received a doctorate from the prestigious UC Berkeley for his research on Tamil literature, the man who is fighting non-stop to uphold the dignity of Tamil is being rewarded a honorary doctorate by Thanthai Periyar University. Proud moment to be a Tamil.”

Following this, a Twitter handle by the name The Common Swadeshi put out at a series of tweets disputing Kannabiran’s claims of having received a Ph.D from UC Berkeley.

In 2014, KRS had claimed to a Twitter user that he was doing his Ph.D under Prof. George Hart in University of California, Berkeley and that his thesis got accepted.

When this alleged scam by KRS came to light, he produced a foreword written by Prof Hart in an attempt to pass it on as a proof of his educational credentials.

However, a Twitter user by the name Vij Van who claims to have enquired with Prof. Hart shared the latter’s reply to his email in which Prof. Hart noted that KRS was neither his student nor has he worked with him.

Kannabiran Ravishankar’s name is neither listed in the Ph.D Alumni Directory or ongoing Graduate Students list of UC Berkeley. However, he had claimed in a tweet that his department was School of South and South East Asian studies at UC Berkeley.

Reality Check India, an anonymous Twitter handle which tracks Dravidian discourse has been following up this case for a long time. According to Reality Check India, they now have confirmation from the Assistant Director of Media Relations and Communications University of California, Berkeley that there are no records of a Kannabiran Ravishankar at the University.

In his recent book “Tamil or Sanskrit” KRS introduces himself as a Ph.D holder from UC Berkeley having worked in New York Columbia University and Paris University.

In a conference organized by Periyar International USA in 2019, KRS presented himself as a Professor in CNRS Paris (Sorbonne) and did not mention his UC Berkeley PhD presumably because Prof. George Hart was also a speaker.

Now, his claim of being a ‘Researcher and Adjunct Professor at the Paris University has also come under question as there is no Kannabiran Ravishankar mentioned in any of the university websites.

Jean Luc Chevillard, a Senior Researcher at Université Paris Diderot cleared the air that KRS does not have any institutional connection with the CNRS or with any French university.

KRS’ Google Scholar page shows him having a verified email at Kurtz Institute. However, the link leads to the website of Dravida Pozhil and not that of Kurtz Institute, a non-profit organization established by one Paul Kurtz of which he is said to be a board member. It is noteworthy to mention that this Paul Kurtz was awarded a honorary degree by the Periyar Maniammai University.

Another anonymous Twitter handle by the name “Everything is upside down” had posted the chain of emails he/she had sent to UC Berkeley institute about KRS’s Ph.D claims. Officials of the university had stated that the Office of Registrar could not find anything dating back to 1975.

What has come across as a major red flag is a heavily edited image of a person holding a Ph.D diploma, shared by KSR in 2017 claiming to be himself.

Responding to a Twitter user,  who had asked what the doctorate was on KTR said that he received Doctor of Literature (Tamil) 1.5 years ago.

If one observes the above picture shared by KRS closely, it can be seen that the name of the institution is written as “University of California Santa Barbara” and not “University of California Berkeley”.

A Twitter handle by the name Internet Dinosaur had done a reverse search on the image and found it to be lifted from a online graduation gown catalog.

 

KRS Stands By His Claims

Defending himself, KRS shared a long note standing by his credentials but unwilling to clear the air. He stated that he might lose his job if he does.

“Why not place all the information in public domain? Why only share my certificates with a selected few concerned? Why can’t it be placed in the open? Why not give my work address or my guide’s name in public? Yea, it can be done. But will their frenzy stop?  With that information, they will write to my department and ask me to be removed. For that, they will take some Twitter screenshots calling me anti-Brahmin, anti-Hindu, etc. Before this, there were many such anonymous letters from people!”, he had said in his note without giving proof of his Ph.D credentials.

Kannabiran claims that his thesis title was ” The Comparative Nuances of Drama and Social Justice between the Master Poets – Shakespeare, Shelley, Ilango & Kamban.”. However, neither the thesis nor any publications of Kannabiran Ravishankar can be found.

About his association with Paris University, he said that there are many Paris universities like Paris 1, Paris 2, apart from three Sorbonne universities. “I am only a part-time (Adjunct) in one of the Sorbonne university. My full-time job is different. Not all visiting professors are listed online.”, he had said.

However, both American University of Paris and Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne have said that KRS is not affiliated with their institution.

How KRS Was Platformed And Promoted By DMK Leaders

In October 2021, KRS called on DMK chief and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin and gifted a book on the late DMK patriarch Karunanidhi. In the picutre shared he is identified as a professor of Paris University.

He has been regularly featured in Dravidian Professionals Forum, an organization founded and headed by DMK MLA and current Tamil Nadu Finance Minister PTR Palanivel Thiagarajan and shares close ties with him.

Source: @realitycheckind

It may be recalled that PTR Palanivel Thiagarajan shared close ties with members of the rabid Karuppar Koottam as well.

In September 2021, DMK MP from Dharmapuri Dr. Senthilkumar had shared on his Twitter about his meeting with KRS. In his tweet, the DMK MP said “Met Kannabiran Ravishankar this evening and talked for a long time like friends for several days. Forgot to talk about his and my favorite actress ‘Silk’ Smita.”

Conclusion

As evident from his Twitter, KRS is a high decibel foul-mouthed Dravidian Stockist having close ties with the ruling DMK. He had presented himself as a Ph.D holder from UC Berkeley in many of his tweets, books and and forums. However, there is no record of his Ph.D at the UC Berkeley as per the information available on public domain. A mail from the university also confirms his non-candidature. His other claims of having worked at CNRS Paris – Sorbonne University also looks prima-facie doubtful.

If by chance, KRS happens to be a Ph.D holder from UC Berkeley or a faculty of one of the Paris University as he claims to be, then these institutions must confirm whether they approve of his Nazi-style demonization of Hindus and Brahmins in particular.

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