Insult to Hindu sentiments: Tamil poet deliberately misinterprets religious scriptures to claim Lord Ram as mentally ill
Tamil Nadu, India 
8 August, 2025
Case Summary
Derogatory statements were made against the deity Lord Shri Ram during a public event by Tamil poet and lyricist Vairamuthu. This incident occurred at a literary event in Tamil Nadu, attended by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin, where Vairamuthu was receiving an award named after Tamil poet Kamban, who authored the Tamil version of the Ramayana. During this event, Vairamuthu claimed that after being separated from Sita, Lord Ram lost his mental balance and did not know what he was doing, referencing Section 84 of the Indian Penal Code to suggest that actions committed under mental illness or disorder are not considered crimes. He further claimed that while Kamban may not have known the law, he understood society and the human mind. This portrayal of Ram as completely innocent and forgiven made him a human, while elevating Kamban to the status of a god. The context of his statement referred to the episode in the Ramayana where Lord Ram killed Vali from behind. Vairamuthu, in a tweet describing the incident, claimed that Valmiki did not forgive Ram for hiding and shooting an arrow to kill Vali, nor did Vali forgive him, nor was the world ready to forgive that “sin.” He claimed that Kamban, however, redeemed Ram from that blame by portraying him as having lost his senses after being separated from Sita. The statement drew strong criticism from multiple sections of society, with BJP spokesperson Narayanan Tirupathi publicly calling Vairamuthu a fool, accusing him of thinking himself above God and justifying everything. BJP leader CR Keshav also condemned Vairamuthu for repeatedly insulting Hindu deities. Keshav noted the irony that Vairamuthu had the word ‘Ram’ in his name, yet distorted the Kamba Ramayana to portray Lord Rama as mentally ill.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been added to the hate tracker under the primary category of - Hate speech against Hindus. Within it, the 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 selected under the above-mentioned prime category 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. This case was added to the tracker because Vairamuthu deliberately made derogatory and insulting statements against the Hindu deity Lord Ram. He claimed that Lord Ram was mentally ill and did not know what he was doing, referencing Section 84 of the Indian Penal Code. He made these statements in reference to an episode in the Ramayana where Lord Ram killed Vali from behind. However, Vairamuthu conveniently ignored the fact as to why Lord Ram killed Vali. Vali had laid claim to his brother Sugreev's wife and unlawfully took away the kingdom by ousting Sugreev, which was why Vali was killed by Lord Ram. Punishing such a vile man was the righteous path, the path of Dharma, and that was exactly what Lord Ram did. Vairamuthu distorted and twisted the religious scripture. Furthermore, he deliberately chose to misinterpret the Kamba Ramayana and claimed that Kamban portrayed Ram as bewildered and mentally ill. In reality, Kamban’s lines were intended to depict the profound grief and emotional turmoil of Lord Ram after losing Sita in a poetic and devotional manner. It was a poetic portrayal of grief, loss, and sadness rather than a literal description of mental illness. Vairamuthu deliberately and maliciously misinterpreted it in a literal sense, stripping it of its devotional, philosophical and literary meaning. He then linked this to Section 84 of the Indian Penal Code (unsoundness of mind) to argue that Ram’s killing of Vali could be forgiven because Lord Ram was mentally ill. This was a clear instance of subversion of scripture, where a nuanced, metaphorical expression in a sacred text was taken out of context to insult Hindu deities. Vairamuthu’s remarks constitute hate speech because he deliberately demeaned Lord Shri Ram—a central and revered figure in Hinduism—by portraying him as mentally unstable and likening his actions to those of an insane criminal under IPC Section 84. This is not neutral literary critique but a public, premeditated distortion of sacred scripture aimed at ridiculing a core Hindu deity, thereby mocking and insulting the Hindu faith itself. Such targeting of a sacred symbol of worship mirrors the historical pattern of anti-Hindu slurs, where revered figures and practices are deliberately disparaged to provoke and undermine the community’s religious identity. Disclaimer: Media reports do not specify the exact date on which the literary event occurred. However, Vairamuthu’s tweet describing the event and reiterating the same mental illness trope was posted on August 9, 2025. Therefore, for the purposes of documenting this case, we have used the date of his tweet as the date of the incident.
Case Status
Unknown
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Others
Perpetrators Range
One Person
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
