The surge of criticism directed by Dravidianists towards YouTuber Madan Gowri for his podcast on his official YouTube channel with the BJP Tamil Nadu chief is alarming. The latest addition to the criticism comes from an ‘unknown’ Tamil Nadu Podcasters Association.
On 16 April 2024, an organisation named Tamil Nadu Podcasters Association, which doesn’t even have a website of its own, strongly criticized YouTuber Madan Gowri for his latest podcast series. The podcast series titled, “Voice of Tamil Nadu 2024,” aims to present political discussions with politicians in a fresh format, allowing them more space to express themselves, diverging from the traditional biased scrutiny like TV debates.
The association expressed dissatisfaction, particularly regarding the choice of the first guest, K Annamalai, the Tamil Nadu BJP president and the Coimbatore Lok Sabha 2024 candidate. This decision was perceived unfavorably within the Dravidian ecosystem, as it seemed to grant immediate prominence to the BJP. Consequently, there was a wave of criticism against Madan Gowri, accusing him of promoting narratives that were not aligned with the interests of the Dravidian ideology.
The condemnation issued by the Tamil Nadu Podcasters Association lacked decorum. They directly referred to YouTuber Madan Gowri as a “dog” and asserted that their “association” promotes left-wing ideology. Additionally, they implied that one must adhere to Dravidian ideology or face confrontation with them to survive displaying a concerning trend toward fascism. The “association” emphasized their disapproval and urged Gowri to reconsider his approach, cautioning against aligning with far-right ideologies. They emphasized the importance of maintaining integrity in content creation and discouraged association with fascist rhetoric. They urged Gowri to be transparent in his intentions and condemned any attempts to conceal affiliations with such ideologies.
The letter stated, “To Non-Virtuous Madan Gowri, Madan, who runs on the mantra of one video every day, does not know how many more bloodstained currency notes he would have counted on his fingers when he gets this letter of reprimand. But his depraved videos touch the poor millions unfortunately. We have never been angry with Madan, who acts as a representative of Wikipedia with one video a day and whatever content is the talk of the moment. But recently, the path he treads and the interviews he takes in the name of podcasts have made not only us but all social activists curl up.
It is clear from his ‘Annamalai’ interview that Madan Gowri, who talked about the woes of the people of Manipur through his videos, saw it all as content for monetisation. It is his right to invite someone who is in far-right politics and no one is denying that. But despite having so many questions to ask, he took an interview without political color and making Annamalai look like “He is a man just like us!” is a fascist positivist tendency to such ingrained idiocy.
Madan, who used to say something half-witted and later regretted it, we also ask him not to think of using the same strategy this time. It’s like we can’t lift the tail of something, will it even survive this? On behalf of the Tamil Nadu Podcast Producers Association, we express our strong condemnation to Madan Gowri who is immersed in that survival. Further, you are also requested not to disparage any of your posts of chatter with your fascist friends by citing them as podcasts. From now come without hiding the bund! Thanks. Long live Periyar.. Long live Ambedkar…”
தமிழ்நாடு வலையொலி தயாரிப்பாளர் சங்கம் மதன் கௌரி ஐ மிக வன்மையாக கண்டனம் செய்து வெளியிட்ட அறிக்கை. pic.twitter.com/mRtGk6Wr2p
— Schumy Vanna Kaviyangal (@Schumy_Official) April 17, 2024
It is noteworthy that this “Association” with no website was seen on social media platforms like Instagram and X from June 2023. Here is how big a presence it has on X. No one seemed to know some such organisation existed in the first place!
It is also noteworthy that the series features other politicians like DMK’s Kanimozhi, ADMK’s D Jayakumar and NTK’s Seeman.
In today’s technological era, decentralized social media platforms safeguard freedom of speech by granting users enhanced control over their content, and mitigate the likelihood of censorship or control by a singular entity. Additionally, they cultivate a broader spectrum of perspectives by enabling the emergence of niche communities and viewpoints that might otherwise be sidelined on centralized platforms. Consequently, they foster a more inclusive digital environment where freedom of expression flourishes. However, resorting to intimidation tactics, such as issuing warnings to isolate individuals for their viewpoints and content, is a disingenuous strategy employed by TNPA, as it undermines the principles of open dialogue and diversity of opinions endorsed by their ideologues such as EVR.
And the abusive and negative comments made the YouTuber turn off the comments section of the video.
Bro has turned off comments section which had 90% positive comments so far… pic.twitter.com/37VCLCS2Zp
— இந்தா வாயின்கோ – Take That 👊 (மோடியின் குடும்பம்) (@indhavaainko) April 18, 2024
The comments section was later visible, it is not clear why and how this happened.
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