Sacred Hindu epic denigrated by Dravidian propagandist author on social media
India 
6 December, 2025
Case Summary
An anti-Hindu remark denigrating the Mahabharata, a revered Hindu epic, was made by Dravidian propagandist author Nilakanthan RS. The accused called the Mahabharata a "shitty epic". This started with the backdrop of Congress Member of Parliament Shashi Tharoor on 8th December 2025, supporting Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s gesture of gifting a Russian-language Bhagavad Gita to President Vladimir Putin, calling it an appropriate cultural exchange rooted in India’s civilisational heritage. Tharoor also backed Union Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy’s remarks on introducing India’s epics into school education, stating that studying the Mahabharata, Ramayana and the Gita enriched a child’s understanding of Indian civilisation. Tharoor openly defended the value of the Gita and India’s epics. In reaction to this, one of DMK’s (Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam) most-amplified commentators, R.S. Nilakantan, responded to the same development by posting: “The Mahabharata is a shitty epic. The Russians are probably laughing at its lack of sophistication.” His remark reignited debate about the ideological ecosystem surrounding the DMK, where several figures routinely mock Hindu scriptures and symbols despite holding influence in political discourse and state-aligned media spaces. Nilakantan RS previously targeted Indian national symbols, communities, and leadership. His commentary included, in 2015, a call for violence against upper caste Hindus, tweeting, “If everyone picked up a gun and shot the nearest upper caste person, they’d be doing society a favour.” He advocated for India’s military defeat by China and made derogatory remarks about the Indian Army. His posts included calls for the assassination of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the bombing of North Indians. He was also associated with deeply misogynistic and perverse blog posts.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
The primary category selected in this case is- Hate Speech against Hindus. The subcategory selected 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 unmistakably represents anti-Hindu hate speech, as the accused openly denigrated the Mahabharata—one of Hinduism’s most sacred and revered scriptures. This epic embodies profound philosophical teachings, complex moral dilemmas, and the eternal principles of righteousness that guide millions of Hindus in their daily lives and spiritual paths. Revered globally, it forms the core of Hindu cultural identity, ethical values, and devotional practices. Verses from the Bhagavad Gita, contained within it, are regularly recited in temples, homes, and festivals to inspire strength and uphold virtue. The accused’s deliberate insult, branding this holy scripture a "shitty epic," constitutes a direct assault on the religious sentiments of billions of Hindus. This calculated mockery targets the timeless wisdom and sacred status of the Mahabharata, violating the community’s deeply held beliefs. Such actions are clear examples of crimes rooted in entrenched hostility towards Hinduism and its followers. As an author and social media personality with a vast reach, the accused’s brazen disrespect for Hindus and their faith fuels widespread provocation, encouraging others to ridicule Hindu gods, scriptures, and traditions, thereby intensifying religious animosity and fostering a hostile environment against the Hindu community. The accused's history of inflammatory rhetoric further cements this as anti-Hindu hate speech, exemplified by his 2015 call for upper-caste Hindus to be shot, which targeted a specific group within the community based on caste, revealing deep-seated hatred not just for individuals but for Hinduism itself. This upper-caste versus lower-caste narrative serves as a divisive ploy by anti-Hindu figures like the accused to fracture Hindu society along caste lines, weakening it from within while masking broader anti-Hindu agendas under the guise of social justice. By weaponising caste to incite violence against Hindus, the accused exposed his root hostility towards the entire Hindu community, using euphemisms to cloak religiously motivated attacks that aim to humiliate and dismantle Hindu unity and community. Together, these repeated instances of vitriol—culminating in the vile denigration of the Mahabharata—demonstrate a pattern of premeditated anti-Hindu animosity driven by profound contempt for Hinduism and its adherents. Such relentless targeting erodes the dignity of Hindus, incites division, and perpetuates hatred, marking this unequivocally as hate speech rooted in religious bigotry. Therefore, this case is added to the hate crime database of the Hinduphobia Tracker.
Case Status
Unknown
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Others
Perpetrators Range
One Person
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
