A motivational and spiritual speaker stoked controversy by his remarks on karma and rebirth, and allegedly blamed children for their struggles in life on Teachers Day, prompting the Tamil Nadu government to take action against him.
State school education minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi assured that action will be taken against the speaker for his controversial speech at a government school in Chennai.
Members of the Democratic Youth Federation of India and Students Federation of India staged a protest in Chennai questioning the school education department for permitting spiritual awakening classes in state-run schools at Saidapet and Ashok Nagar, and demanded action against the speaker "Maha Vishnu" who runs Paramporul Foundation, an NGO.
Two government schools that invited Maha Vishnu to deliver a motivational speech also faced criticism, as he had used the school premises to blame the children and for brazenly addressing a differently-abled teacher who confronted him for his religious remarks.
In his speech, he had blamed the British for systematically destroying Gurukulams and claimed that by mere chanting of certain mantras one could cause a rain of fire, cure ailments and even fly.
"All these were written as scriptures by our ancestors but the British erased them," he had said in a video that went viral.
"If God was kind, everyone should be born equal. One is born rich or poor, a criminal or a hero. Why such differences? You have been given in this life based on what you did in your previous birth," he had said.
At this, a teacher objected and said, in the video, that he was invited for a motivational talk and not spiritual discourse on school premises. This led to an argument with Maha Vishnu who accused him of having "ego issues."
Amid the controversy, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin said that he had been emphasising the importance of education and the need to develop scientific thinking at numerous events since the last three years.
"Science is the way to progress," he said in a post on the social media platform X on Friday.
The best scientific ideas that the students needed to know were available in the high-quality textbooks. The teachers could bring out the best ideas needed to face future challenges with confidence and enhance knowledge, he said.
"Steps will be taken by the school education department to provide the necessary innovative training, and social education with the help of appropriate departmental experts and scholars," the chief minister said.
He had ordered the formulation and issuance of new guidelines to regulate various programmes in schools across Tamil Nadu, ensuring that all the school children who are the future generation received progressive scientific ideas and lifestyles.
Expressing shock over the speech, TNCC president K Selvaperunthagai claimed the speaker made irrational comments to promote superstition under the guise of a self-confidence motivation programme in a girls' school.
"I strongly condemn the speaker for publicly uttering Sanatana ideas which incite certain religious sentiments among the students. I welcome the transfer of the headmistress who organised this event," Selvaperunthagai said in a statement in Chennai.
The attempt of communal forces to infiltrate Tamil Nadu in the name of God and religion cannot be allowed in the land of rationalist leader Periyar Ramasamy and great leader Kamaraj, he said and stressed that schools should be a common place for all religions.
PMK founder Dr S Ramadoss accused the speaker of converting the school premises into a veritable ground for propagating superstitions and called for stringent action against the perpetrator.
Congress MP from Karur Jothimani condemned the incident and said this would undermine all efforts of the government's ideological battle.
"The government must act against whoever invited and allowed him to speak against the scientific temper, the very basic foundation of our education system, and humiliate the teacher who asked the right question," she said in a post on X.
Congress MP Karti P Chidambaram, who took to X said, "distressing to see a charlatan peddle gobbledygook in a government school in Tamil Nadu."
Meanwhile, a source in the school education department said the principals of the two schools who invited Maha Vishnu have been transferred and a departmental inquiry was on.
Tamil Nadu Bharatiya Janata Party state vice-president Narayanan Thirupathy sought to know why the school principal was transferred though she had clarified that the lecture was organised to motivate the students and that no religious comments were expressed.
The Minister's action on the principal, based on some social media posts, was not only ridiculous but also reprehensible, the BJP leader said.
"Without knowing that spirituality is science, the Tamil Nadu government is supporting the inimical forces that are sowing anti-Hindu thoughts in the name of rationality," he said in a post on the social media platform X and demanded that the government withdraw the transfer action initiated on the principal.
In another post, Narayanan wondered whether the Indian Constitution stated that spirituality should not be discussed in government schools.
