Chennai: The M.K. Stalin-led Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) government Friday transferred the headmistress of a Tamil Nadu government school after it came under sharp criticism for inviting a motivational speaker, who is said to have spoken to students about “karma, sins and rebirth”.
Education Minister (schools) Anbil Mahesh has also formed a committee to probe the “regressive” speech of the motivational speaker, after a purported video of the address and a visually impaired school teacher objecting to it emerged on social media.
On 5 September, Paramporul Foundation founder Maha Vishnu was invited to the Government Girls Higher Secondary School in Ashok Nagar, Chennai, to deliver a motivational speech. However, Maha Vishnu instead began discussing rebirth, telling students that God did not create humans equally because of karma in their previous birth.
When a teacher, Shankar, objected, Maha Vishnu allegedly insulted the teacher. After a video of the incident was circulated on social media, the education minister held an inspection at the school on the morning of 6 September.
Without mentioning the incident, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin—who is on a tour of the US to attract investments—said, on ‘X’, that he had ordered the formulation of guidelines for conducting various programmes in schools to ensure that students are exposed only to progressive and scientific ideas instead of the “regressive” thoughts.
மாணவச் செல்வங்கள் அறிந்துகொள்ளத் தேவையான சிறந்த அறிவியல் சிந்தனைகள் தரம் மிகுந்த நமது பாடநூல்களில் இடம் பெற்றுள்ளன.
எதிர்காலச் சவால்களை, தன்னம்பிக்கையோடு எதிர்கொள்ளவும், அறிவாற்றலைக் கூர்மைப்படுத்திக் கொள்ளவும் தேவையான சிறப்பான கருத்துகளை ஆசிரியர்களே எடுத்துக்கூற முடியும்.…
— M.K.Stalin (@mkstalin) September 6, 2024
Mahesh said that he has constituted a committee under the director of the school education department, adding that appropriate action would be taken against the department teachers and staff, who had invited the speaker without checking background.
He also gave an assurance that action would be taken against the motivational speaker for insulting the teacher inside school premises. Hours after the inquiry committee was formed, the school education department transferred the headmistress, R. Thamizharasi, to a government school in Tiruvallur district.
Police have also launched an investigation to look into the allegations brought against Maha Vishnu, a native of Madurai. The 30-year-old was earlier known as Madurai Maha and appeared on a comedy show on TV.
Teacher praised for standing up against ‘regressive’ speech
Clad in a humble white shirt and veshti, Maha Vishnu was welcomed with a National Cadet Corps (NCC) parade at the entrance of the Chennai school. In a video clip of the event, he is seen being ushered in to the headmistress room, where he talks to school teachers.
Soon, he is taken to the event stage, where he starts discussing how God had not created everybody as equal because of the sins committed in the previous birth.
“If God was kind enough, everybody should have been created equally. But, one is born rich, some are born poor, some are born criminals, and some are born as heroes. Why did God create everybody with such differences? It is because you are given what you did in your previous birth,” he is seen telling the audience made up of students and teachers.
He is interrupted by the teacher, who tells Vishnu that what he was saying is wrong and “regressive”.
A visibly riled up Vishnu questioned the teacher on why he thought it was wrong to teach about rebirth and sins. Who else would teach the students about karma, sins and rebirth, he asks the teacher. “Will their husbands teach about it? Will their wives teach about it?”
He allegedly also tells Shankar that he was invited to speak before the students only because the teacher had not taught these these topics.
After the video began circulating on social media, the minister visited the school and met Shankar, a visually impaired teacher who teaches Tamil, appreciating him for standing up against the “regressive” thoughts of the speaker.
“The action taken in this issue will be a lesson to all the staff across the state,” the minister told the media.
When asked about taking action against the speaker, he said the teacher did not want to file a complaint against Vishnu.
“Teacher is so kind and said ‘we will forgive and forget’ (Marappom, Mannippom). However, as a school education minister, I will not leave him. He has come into my premises and has insulted my teacher. In the available video evidence, he is seen insulting my teacher and I will take appropriate action against him,” the minister said.
(Edited by Sanya Mathur)
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