Video of two Malayalam actors' marriage used to spread lies and mock Hindu ancient practices
Kerala, India 
25 February, 2025
Case Summary
Anti-Hindu propagandists took to social media to spread misinformation and incite hatred against the Devadasi ritual, an ancient Hindu practice, while peddling false narratives about Hindus. A video was circulated with the misleading claim that it depicts the implementation of the Devadasi system. The footage, which actually showed the wedding of a couple, was falsely portrayed as a Dalit woman being forced to marry a Brahmin under the Devadasi system. Several social media users shared the video alongside a voiceover that attempted to misrepresent the Devadasi tradition. The narration falsely claimed that minor girls were married off to gods in temples, which is why they were called Devadasis—interpreted as "Servants of God." It further claimed that temple priests exploited these girls, including subjecting them to sexual abuse, and that this practice eventually became state-sanctioned prostitution. The voiceover further asserted that while the Devadasi system was abolished due to the efforts of various organisations, it still persists in some parts of Karnataka. Though the audio did not directly claim that the video in question depicted a Devadasi marriage, it deliberately created that false impression. X user Seema Budh shared the video, writing, "Until 1950, Brahmins used the daughters of poor Dalits by making them Devadasis. But why were Hindus not in danger at that time?" However, this claim was entirely fabricated. The video dis not show a Devadasi marriage but was actually a recording of the wedding of Malayalam television actors Kris Venugopal and Divya Sreedhar, which took place in October 2024. The couple met while working on the TV serial Patharamattu and later tied the knot. This deliberate misrepresentation of a regular wedding ceremony as a Devadasi marriage is yet another example of malicious propaganda aimed at vilifying Hindus and distorting history.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been added to the tracker under the prime category of- Hate speech against Hindus. Under this, the first sub-category selected is- Subversion of scriptures. Subverting the religious scriptures of Hindus has particularly devastating consequences. Subversion of the scriptures of Hindus is often done to justify or promote hatred, discrimination, or violence against specific individuals or groups of Hindus. Religious scriptures are often nuanced and those who harbour religious animosity towards Hindus often misquote or misrepresent the scripture to legitimise their animosity and hate towards the faith and its adherents. Any such misquoting of scriptures or subversion to justify hate, violence and discrimination against Hindus owing to religious animosity is hate speech and is categorised as such. The second sub-category under which this case has been placed is- Anti Hindu subversion and prejudice and within this, the tertiary category selected is- Anti-Hindu Fake News or Downplaying. Hate speech is defined as any speech, gesture, conduct, writing, or display that is prejudicial against a specific individual and/or group of people, which is leading to or may lead to violence, prejudicial action or hate against that individual and/or group. Media plays a specific and overarching reach in perpetuating prejudicial attitudes towards a community owing to unfair, untrue coverage and/or misrepresentation/misinterpretation, selective coverage and/or omission of facts of/pertaining to issues affecting a specific religious group. This type of bias can dehumanise the victim group, making it easier for others to justify harmful actions against them, which aligns with the objectives of hate speech laws aimed at preventing such harm. It is often observed that the media takes a prejudicial stand against the Hindu community driven by their need to shield the aggressor community which happens to be a numeric minority, however, is the one perpetrating violence against Hindus. For example, the media is often quick to contextualise religiously motivated crimes against Hindus, omit or misrepresent facts that point towards religiously motivated hate crimes, justify and/or downplay religiously motivated hate crimes or simply present fake news to stereotype Hindus. Such media bias leads to the denial of persecution and is often used to dehumanise Hindus, leading to justification for violence against them. For example, the media covered several fake allegations of Hindus targeting Muslims and forcing them to chant Jai Shree Ram. Most of these cases were proved false and fabricated after police investigation. These fake news reports were subsequently never retracted or clarified. Such fake news led to the justification of violence and dehumanisation of Hindus based on the argument that since Hindus targeted Muslims and forced them to chant Jai Shree Ram, the dehumanisation of Hindus and violence against them was par for the course and merely a retaliation. Such media bias leads to prejudicial portrayal of Hindus and offers a justification for violence against them and therefore, is considered hate speech under this category. The third sub-category relevant here is- Anti-Hindu slurs, mocking faith. Anti-Hindu slurs and the deliberate mocking of the Hindu faith owing to religious animosity involve the usage of derogatory terms, stereotypes, or offensive references to religious practices, symbols, or figures. One of the common anti-Hindu slurs used against Hindus is “cow-worshipper” and “cow piss drinker”. The intention of using this term is to demean and mock Hindus as a group and their religious beliefs since Hindus consider the cow holy. Additionally, some symbols and the slurs attached to them have a historical context that exacerbates the insult, hate, stereotyping, dehumanisation and oppression against Hindus. Cow worship has been used for centuries to denigrate Hindus, insult their faith and oppress Hindus specifically as a religious group. There has been overwhelming documentation about how cow slaughter has been used to persecute Hindus with cow meat being thrown in temples and places of worship. There has also been overwhelming documentation where cow meat (beef) has been force-fed to Hindus to either forcefully convert them to Islam or denigrate their faith. Apart from cow worship, the Swastika – which holds deep religious significance for the Hindus – has also been misinterpreted and distorted to use as a slur against Hindus. Similarly, the worship of the Shivling has been used by supremacist ideologies and religions to denigrate Hindus owing to religious animosity. Such slurs and denigration stem out of inherent animosity and hate towards Hindus and their faith, therefore, it is categorised as hate speech targeted at Hindus specifically owing to their religious identity. Here, the deliberate misrepresentation of the Devadasi system as a form of institutionalised exploitation and the false claim that it continues in modern times exemplify a subversion of Hindu scriptures and traditions. The Devadasi practice, in its original and purest form, was a sacred and respected tradition in which women dedicated themselves to temple service, involving dance, music, and spiritual responsibilities. However, anti-Hindu propagandists distorted its historical significance, falsely equating it with oppression and sexual exploitation while ignoring similar practices in other cultures and religious institutions. This deliberate misinterpretation is a clear attempt to subvert Hindu traditions and portray them in a negative light. Moreover, the derogatory claims made in the video and by social media users that Hindu priests used Devadasis for sexual exploitation and that the system was a form of "legal prostitution" is not only factually incorrect but also a direct insult to Hindu temples, traditions, and religious figures. Such defamatory remarks are an attempt to malign Hinduism by associating it with oppression and immorality, vilifying the faith and its followers. The post by X user Seema Budh, for example, falsely accuses Brahmins of historically exploiting Dalit women, using caste-based vilification to fuel anti-Hindu hatred. Fake news which aims to perpetuate the narrative that ‘upper caste’ Hindus are tyrannical towards disadvantaged sections of the Hindu society is essentially anti-Hindus in nature, owing to the intention behind spreading disinformation of this nature. It is often claimed that even such disinformation cannot be termed anti-Hindu in nature since both the purported victim and aggressor are from the Hindu community, however, the disinformation is spread with the specific intention of discrediting the Hindu society and their faith by branding it oppressive and tyrannical. The intent of spreading such disinformation is to signal that Sanatan Dharma itself is discriminatory in nature and that it is a faith that is only meant for the practice of a specific class of Hindus who are considered ‘upper caste.’ Such a false narrative is perpetuated in order to discredit and delegitimise the faith and dehumanise its followers. The direct consequence of the creation of such false ‘atrocity literature’ is an increase in violence against specific sections of Hindus and the exertion of pressure on another section of Hindus to alienate themselves from their professed faith, as it seeks to convince them how the faith itself discriminates against them. Since such narratives attack the core of the faith with the intention of delegitimisation, dehumanisation and alienation of Hindus, it is considered a hate crime against Hindus and the faith they profess. Further, the intentional dissemination of a false narrative, using an unrelated Malayalam actors' wedding video, highlights the lengths to which anti-Hindu propagandists go to manufacture hate. The fact that the actual context of the video was ignored in favour of pushing a misleading anti-Hindu story proves how fake news is weaponised to attack Hinduism. At its core, this case represents a calculated effort to malign Hinduism, distort its scriptures, and propagate bias. By spreading misinformation and stripping Hindu traditions of their true essence, those responsible for this false narrative aim to tarnish Hindu culture and history while inciting hostility against Hindus, and for this reason, this case has been included in the tracker.
Case Status
Unknown
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Others
Perpetrators Range
From 2 To 5
Perpetrators Gender
both
Sources 
