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Sympathizing Terrorists, Equating Lord Ram To Dog, Hailing Anti-Hindu EVR And What Not: Unmasking The Hate Politics Of TM Krishna

Hydra

The internet and the Carnatic music world witnessed a surprising turn of events on 20 March 2024 when the Carnatic musician sisters duo Ranjani Gayatri decided to withdraw from participating in the highly anticipated Music Academy’s conference slated for 2024. 

In addition to this, they have also pulled out from presenting their scheduled concert on 25 December 2024.

Most rasikas know about TM Krishna, the musician, his family background, etc. TM Krishna aka Thodur Madabussi Krishna belongs to a family that boasts of a hoary and extremely wealthy past. His grand-uncle is TT Krishnamachari, son of a Madras High Court judge TT Rangachari during the British Raj. An Iyengar by birth, TM Krishna was a student of Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer. He studied under the guidance of Sangita Kala Acharyas Bhagavatula Seetharama Sarma and Chengalpet Ranganathan before receiving mentorship from Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer.

TM Krishna is known more for his ‘activism’ than his music. He often courts controversy with his leftist views and plays second fiddle to the tunes of Dravidianists. 

He wrote elaborate pieces on how “power emanates from the backseat of a car.” Like a typical leftist, he even wrote how the festival of Raksha Bandhan perpetuates discrimination against women – “..we have to recognise that there are serious sexist issues involved in its construction.” 

Advocated For Human Rights For Terrorist Ajmal Kasab

Yes, he did advocate for the human rights of Jihadis like Ajmal Kasab. In a piece in The Hindu, he wrote elaborately on his opinion. “What do we achieve by hanging or electrocuting a criminal?”, he wrote. He also said, “You also give the person an opportunity to change, to introspect, to realise.”  A few other sentences from his piece include, “Some argue that the death sentence will work as a deterrent to others like Kasab. But there are no statistics to prove that countries that have banned the death sentence have a higher rate of murder or rape. We wanted justice and we got it, let’s not celebrate an execution.”

These words make one reminiscent of a typical leftist like Arundhati Roy or Teesta Setalvad who advocates for an “Azad Kashmir” and human rights for criminals and terrorists, respectively. 

His Leftist Connections

TM Krishna serves on the advisory board of Hindus for Human Rights, which receives funding from Soros and has ties to Jamat-e-Islami. He maintains a close relationship with Sunita Viswanath, the head of HfHR. Organizations such as HfHR, IAMC, and Jamat-e-Islami are perceived as anti-India and anti-Hindu.

This Advisory Board has the likes of Swara Bhasker, Dr Syeda Hameed, and quite a few Christian Pastors, Rajmohan Gandhi (MK Gandhi’s grandson) as well as a “Gandhian” Faisal Khan.

Anti-RSS

In an interview with National Herald, he said “Bringing the classical and the devotional world together and tying it up with Hinduism and RSS is a dangerous combination,” and that this can only be fought by “Dalit organisations”. When asked why it was important for an artist to dissent, he said, “The classical Brahamnical culture never gives you this freedom. We have lost Devdasi voice and face from music and dance.”

He wrote in Scroll in 2018 that when the then-President Pranab Mukherjee visited the RSS HQ in Nagpur, he failed the country. He wrote, “Should Mukherjee have attended the Tritiya Varsha Sangh Shiksha Varg? As a citizen of India he has every right to go where he pleases, and, after all, the RSS is not an illegal entity. But, as former head of the state, was he ethically right?” and that “his very presence gave legitimacy to the RSS school of thought.”

He further wrote, “But the problem lies with the belief that the RSS is representative of conservative Hindu nationalism. In fact, the RSS has vulgarised Hindu thought. With all its flaws, its casteist and patriarchal inners, this religion, like any other, allows for the distinct possibility of inquiry, questioning, equality, care, and universality.” He further wrote, “It is essential that we make an effort to wean the conservative Hindu away from the clutches of the RSS.”

On Gauri Lankesh’s Murder

Known for his anti-BJP and anti-RSS stand which is what a typical leftist does, he held the BJP and the RSS for Gauri Lankesh’s murder. He wrote in yet another leftist rag Scroll, “It is well known that I am no supporter of Narendra Modi, the Bharatiya Janata Party, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, Vishwa Hindu Parishad or their affiliates, but right now this is not just political distaste. I hold them morally responsible for permeating religious, intellectual, and cultural hate in this country.” He also justifies that this made people like him unsympathetic to RSS swayamsewaks being murdered – “And let me say this out loud, the BJP and company have not only poisoned the minds of their own supporters, they have achieved a larger goal. They have made the rest of us crass and inhuman to the extent that we are unable to empathise when an RSS member is killed.”

Singing ‘Carnatic’ Christian Hymns

In 2018, numerous notable Carnatic musicians began singing Christian hymns in the Carnatic style, incorporating elements of traditional saints’ compositions. In response, TM Krishna announced his intention to release at least one song per month focusing on Jesus and Allah.

Blatant Hinduphobia

He had also participated in the blatantly anti-Hindu global conference titled “Dismantling Global Hindutva in 2021“. 

On MS Subbulakshmi

He wrote a hitjob piece on the revered carnatic singer Bharat Ratna MS Subbulakshmi for rabidly leftist rag The Caravan. This piece reeked of the typical the leftist-Dravidianist narrative, scrutinizing a revered figure’s private life based on hearsay by repeating her Devadasi origin and her alleged “Brahminization” for social acceptance, which is a derogatory attack on both MS Amma and her heritage.

Overall, the hitjob follows the standard leftist template by invoking phrases and concepts such as patriarchy, feminism, and overdrive of “Brahminical superiority”, suggesting an agenda-driven approach.

However, he sang a different tune when he heard the news of his being conferred with the Sangita Kalanidhi. He said, “It is also humbling because the recipients of the awardees include my teacher Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer, T. Brinda, M.S. Subbulakshmi who you admire and look up to for inspiration.”

On Lord Rama

In an interview with the Open Magazine in 2017, when asked about working with Perumal Murugan, he said “I have worked with Perumal for nearly a year now and we (Shriram Kumar, Krishna, Sangeetha, and Arun Prakash) have tuned 11 of his compositions. His kirtanas cover a wide range of themes— from non-irrigated agricultural land, love, the five elements and the mind to the palm tree. My hope is to keep moving the discourse to a point where it really doesn’t matter what you are singing about. You may get to a point where Rama is equalised with a palm tree or a dog.”

In the same interview, when asked if worldly events and incidents directly affect his music, he says, he subconsciously reacts to events like others. He adds, “In the line ‘Rama nama shu thali re lagi’, I make it ‘Rahim nama’.”

Ironically, 22 January happened to be his birthday. Whether it was intended or not, it is not clear, but he “celebrated the day” with some non-veg food and beer. Whether it was to rub it in the Hindus’ face is not clear. 

 

When he heard of the news that the President of the country (Ramnath Kovind) had donated to the Ram mandir in Ayodhya in 2021 (in a personal capacity), he found it “deeply upsetting” since the “entire Ayodhya movement has caused the death of so many.”

On the day of Bhoomipoojan in Ayodhya on 5 August 2020, he wrote, “With absolutely no evidence to support this, let me say that the downfall of the BJP begins today. And I am not a superstitious person.”

Back in 2018, he wrote that 6 December 1992 was one of the darkest days in history. “December 6th 1992 was one of the darkest days in our recent history. That moment led us to where we are today, a country where we have nearly normalised communal violence and hatred.”

He also wrote a piece after the Pran Prathistha in The Telegraph titled “Heartless devotion: what ails India’s bhakti fabric”. In this piece, he mainted that there was no proof that the temple existed in the first place. He wrote, “…the Supreme Court verdict that allowed the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya stated that there is no proof that a temple had been demolished to build the Babri masjid since there was an intervening gap of about four hundred years between the dating of the underlying structure and when the mosque was built.”

He tried to establish that this form of bhakti was not real bhakti. Well, one might want to ask if his tears and his emotions when he sings Carnatic songs on deities exude bhakti. He also brings in some Modi bashing in the piece, because why not.

Praising EVR

He hailed EVR and has even sung songs revering him. In 2023, he released a song titled “Sindhikka Sonnavar Periyar,” which means “EVR told us to think,” in contrast to what EV Ramasamy Naicker told his Dravidar Kazhagam followers. EV Ramasamy Naicker always wanted his followers not to think and just follow his orders like a military organization.

Very ironic that he sings in praise of the same person who called for the genocide of TM Krishna’s own community. 

Belittled Brahmins

He extended solidarity to controversial ‘activist’ Meena Kandasamy who had called the Brahmin community ‘dicks’ indicating how close-knit he was with the leftist and Dravidianist ecosystem.

In 2020, as a prelude to the release of his book on Mridangam makers titled “Sebastian & Sons: A Brief History of Mrdangam Makers”, The Hindu published an excerpt of the book titled, “Keeping the Cow and the Brahmin Apart”. In an attempt to show the Mridangam makers in a good light, he threw muck on his own community, his music fraternity. His piece was filled with political overtones.

TM Krishna, a controversial, namesake Iyengar who wears a lungi to a kutcheri to sing in praise of Allah or Jesus rather than the Bhakti towards his faith that was inculcated as he grew up. Blessed with musical prowess, Krishna needlessly took the Dravidianist-leftist way to prove a point to whom, one wonders and for what. 

Given his background, upbringing, and musical journey, it’s disheartening to witness Krishna aligning himself with ideologies that only end up contaminating the culture and tradition that he brought with him. Rather than embracing his heritage and using his platform to enrich the art form, he has veered off course, purely engaging in “activism”. 

In hindsight, it’s regrettable to witness the potential of a gifted musician like Krishna being overshadowed by his association with contentious political agendas. One can’t help but ponder what greater contributions he could have made to Carnatic music had he chosen a different path — one focused on fostering tradition and unity, rather than divisive activism.

The Sangita Kalanidhi was earlier conferred to stalwarts like MS Amma, Palghat Mani Iyer, Madurai Mani Iyer, Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavatar, DK Pattammal, Papanasam Sivan, Maharajapuram Santhanam – these doyens worked towards uplifting the art form and not denigrating it like TM Krishna is doing.

Conferring the Sangita Kalanidhi on Krishna only gives a platform and lionises the “cause” that the likes of TM Krishna stands for – the leftist and Dravidianist “cause”. In doing so, the Music Academy is only staring at its own downfall.

Hydra is a freelance writer. 

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