VHP members seek the revoking of Kannada actor Chetan Kumar’s residential permit for allegedly “hurting reigious sentiments”

Member of the Vishva Hindu Parishad filed a complaint against Kannada actor Chetan Kumar, for allegedly hurting their religious beliefs on social media.

The complaint sought to deport the actor to the U.S., where he is born and brought up, and revoke his Indian Residential Permit.

Kumar, born and brought up in the U.S.A, is a vocal critic of the caste system despite coming from a Brahmin family. In an article published on Friday, he shared his personal views on why he talks about the evils of caste and added that he faced racism in the U.S.A.

Activist and a member of the VHP, Girish Bharadwaj, penned a letter to the Foreigners’ Regional Registration Officer on Sunday, asking them to cancel the Residential Permit of the actor and take action against him.

Bharadwaj’s letter said that the actor was “raking communal caste sentiments and caste conflagrations resulting in social disharmony in a country with pluralistic ethos as India,”. He added that Kumar had a “dubious records” of making such remarks.

The letter further requested the actor’s immediate deportation to “his country” for violating the provisions of Indian laws.

Kumar who spoke about the rampant presence of caste in India and among Indians abroad said, “Why were all the Indian-Americans I studied with hailing from upper-caste and dominant caste backgrounds? Why weren’t students from Dalit and Adivasi backgrounds studying with me at Yale?  Was caste discrimination still prevalent in India while privileged society denied its existence, just as whites denied racism in America?”

Two complaints have already been filed against the actor based on separate instances of Kumar talking about the caste system in India.

The most recent complaint was filed on Friday by Sachidananda Murthy, the Chairman of the Brahmin Development Board.

He petitioned the police at the Ulsoor Gate police station after Kumar, who goes by the social media handle of Chetan Ahimsa, for discussing the concept of caste. Kumar had referred to the caste system in India as a “graded hierarchy of humans” that is perpetuated by Brahminism, and how it can be “uprooted”.

A second complaint was filed on Saturday, at the Basavanagudi police station by Pawan Kumar Sharma, the president of the Vipra Yuva Vedike, a community organisation.

Sharma had said that he had come across two videos on Wednesday that were circulated on social media by the actor, speaking against caste and the hegemony of Brahmins.

Kumar spoke about how Brahmins use religion and caste for vote bank politics. He added that the Indian constitution’s architect B. R. Ambedkar’s ideology has been gradually been killed over time.

He also said there’s a need to revive thoughts and discourse on intellectuals like Buddha, Ambedkar, Periyar and Basava, and walk on their path for a secular future.

Both cases against the actor had been registered under IPC sections 153B (imputations and assertions prejudicial to national integration) and 295A (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage reli­gious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or reli­gious beliefs).

Actor Chetan Kumar says that he is an actor and activist fighting for art, equality, justice and rationality according to his Twitter bio. He along with members of his organisation Chetan Foundation, have been actively involved in Covid-19 relief efforts across Karnataka.

Chetan Foundation has been delivering free food, masks, water, medical aids and ration kits to underprivileged, impoverished and marginalised communities in the State.

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