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The news that the Jnanpith Award, a prestigious literary honour, will be conferred to Tamil writer Vairamuthu for the year 2025 is being criticised by many over the multiple accusations of sexual harassment against him.
Several artists, including singer Chinmayi Sripada, expressed anger and disappointment over the award. They said that it minimises the experiences of the women who stood up to him while further legitimising Vairamuthu.
Poet, lyricist and writer Vairamuthu has been accused of sexual harassment by many women, including Chinmayi and singer Bhuvana Seshan. Some of them have remained anonymous.
Literary organisation Bharatiya Jnanpith announced on Saturday, March 14, that the 60th Jnanpith Award will go to Vairamuthu. The organisation was founded in 1944 by industrialist Sahu Shanti Prasad Jain.
Since 1964, the Jnanpith award has been given annually to writers for their contributions in Indian languages and is considered a prestigious honour in Indian literature. It carries a cash prize of Rs 11 lakh, a bronze statuette of Vagdevi (goddess Saraswati), and a citation. The award is conferred by the President of India.
Past awardees include Amrita Pritam, C Narayana Reddy, UR Ananthamurthy, MT Vasudevan Nair, Mahasweta Devi, Girish Karnad, Krishna Sobti, Amitav Ghosh, and Gulzar.
The Bharatiya Jnanpith Selection Committee for 2025 comprised writers and scholars including Pratibha Ray, Madhav Kaushik, Damodar Mauzo, Suranjan Das, A Krishna Rao, Prafulla Shiledar, Kesubhai Desai, Janaki Prasad Sharma, K Srinivas Rao and Maheshwar.
Criticising the decision, Chinmayi said, “In 2018, multiple women of different age groups named one Poet - Lyricist as their molester. Today the Gnanpith is awarded to the man…The collective voices of the women who named him, were silenced. I paid a very heavy price - the rest of the women who left their dreams behind weren’t half as lucky as I.”
Chinmayi also criticised actors Kamal Haasan and Rajinikanth, who congratulated Vairamuthu for the award.
Reacting to actor-politician Kamal Haasan’s congratulatory message, Chinmayi said, “Men in such power in cinema transitioning to politics completely turning a deaf ear to women who come on record to say they were molested by “his uncle-mentor” must remind women who vote - that men will never be on our side.”
Musician, writer and activist TM Krishna also criticised the award for Vairamuthu, saying it “legitimises and empowers him while further marginalising all the women who have had the courage to stand up against him.”
“We cannot and should not separate an artist from the art he makes. #metoo,” he wrote.
Writer Meena Kandasamy reiterated her views from 2023, when she had reacted to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin’s visit to Vairamuthu’s house on his birthday.
“...why is it that politicians need to hobnob, embarrassingly, in the public gaze, with a poet who's been accused of being a sexual predator,” she Meena had asked at that time.
Many others also criticised the decision to confer the award on Vairamuthu.
Only two Tamil writers -- PV Akilan (1975) and D Jayakanthan (2002) -- had previously received the Jnanpith Award.