Tamil lyricist Vairamuthu has been chosen as this year’s Jnanpitha award recipient.
The last time a Tamil writer won the award was more than two decades ago, when D Jayakanthan received it in 2002.
But alongside the congratulations, condemnations are pouring in.
The question many people are asking is this: what message does this send to women, especially women in the literary and film industries?
That a man accused by several women of sexual harassment will continue to be celebrated and honoured?
You may wonder why there is such an outpouring of anger. Is it relevant?
And should a man be judged forever based on allegations against him?
In Vairamuthu’s case, this outrage is justified.
I’ll take you through the accusations against him, why several writers themselves are opposing this award, and why critics say the way Vairamuthu handled these allegations sets a troubling example.
Let me explain.
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Many people wrongly believe that only singer Chinmayi Sripada accused Vairamuthu of harassment.
That is far from the truth.
In fact, survivors themselves have shared some estimates.
According to them, more than a dozen women have spoken about their experiences.
But many chose to remain anonymous.
They feared possible repercussions.
A light music singer made an allegation about an incident in 1998.
At that time, she was just starting out in the industry.
She said that Vairamuthu repeatedly pressured her.
According to her, he asked her to accompany him on an overseas trip.
When she refused, she says he told her he had the power to make or break her career.
Another musician told TNM that after initially offering professional help, Vairamuthu began calling her frequently and expressing romantic interest, asking her to meet him alone, saying he had even written poems about her.
Hayma Malini, a TV presenter, said she had witnessed Vairamuthu behaving inappropriately with a young presenter. She also wondered why the Tamil industry was not standing by Chinmayi.
Even people within the industry have acknowledged the allegations.
Music composer AR Raihanah, sister of AR Rahman, said in an interview that Vairamuthu’s behaviour was an “open secret” in the industry and that several women had spoken to her about it.
There are also several anonymous accounts — women who say they were harassed when they met him for professional reasons.
Vairamuthu, of course, has denied all the allegations.
During the MeToo movement in 2018, he released a statement saying the accusations were false and driven by ulterior motives.
He said he had gathered “unshakeable evidence” of his innocence and challenged accusers to approach the courts.
But the truth is, even after all these allegations, Vairamuthu appears to have faced almost zero consequences – professional or otherwise.
His influence in politics and culture remains intact.
He has repeatedly been honoured at public events.
The Tamil Nadu Chief Minister has publicly praised him and even visited his house on his birthday.
Major film stars like Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan have congratulated him on the Jnanpitha award. They have all shared stages with him multiple times.
And many critics have pointed out that this is precisely the problem.
When powerful men continue to celebrate someone facing serious allegations, it sends a message, intentional or not, that these accusations don’t matter.
And those questions become even more significant when we consider the stature of the award itself.
The Jnanpitha Award, established in 1964 by the Bharatiya Jnanpith, is widely regarded as India’s most prestigious literary prize.
It is not a government award. Instead, it is conferred by a private literary foundation through a selection committee of scholars and writers.
Past recipients include literary giants such as Amrita Pritam, Mahasweta Devi, Kuvempu and Girish Karnad.
Now, with Vairamuthu being awarded, some argue that an artist’s work should be judged separately from their personal life.
Others disagree.
Musician TM Krishna says honouring Vairamuthu in this manner “legitimises and empowers him”, only serving to further marginalise the women who spoke up.
Writer Meena Kandasamy drew a comparison with the Nobel Prize in Literature.
The prize was suspended in 2018.
This happened after sexual assault allegations surfaced.
The allegations were linked to a figure connected to the Swedish Academy.
Singer Chinmayi has also spoken about the consequences she faced after raising the issue — including a ban from the dubbing artistes’ union and a sharp decline in professional opportunities.
But quite a few literary critics have raised another question. Even if one is to separate the art from the artist, does Vairamuthu’s art deserve the award at all?
Editorials in Tamil literary magazines and blogs have made this argument.
They say Vairamuthu is widely known as a film lyricist.
But many critics do not consider his work central to modern Tamil literature.
Writer Jeyamohan even alleged that Vairamuthu had lobbied for the Jnanpith for years through political networks — though the accusation has not been independently verified.
Several writers and intellectuals have also signed a statement opposing the award, arguing that it undermines both the reputation of the prize and the tradition of Tamil literature.
The statement also notes that multiple women have accused Vairamuthu of sexual harassment.
And this is not the first time such a controversy has erupted.
In 2021, when the ONV Literary Award was announced for Vairamuthu by the ONV Cultural Academy, the decision faced strong backlash.
Members of the WCC and several prominent writers opposed the move, and the academy eventually said it would reconsider the award.
No one is asking for punishment forever. Restorative justice matters. But when a powerful man faces no consequences, offers no acknowledgement, and no accountability to the women who spoke up, the question is inevitable: why honour him at all?
It’s yet to be seen if the Jnanpitha will listen.
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Produced by Megha Mukundan, Script by Lakshmi Priya, Camera by Ajay R, Edit by Dharini Prabaharan