Tamil Nadu: Cleric’s Radical Speech Sparks Outrage; Case Filed Against Scholar Who Raised Alarm

A controversy has erupted in Tamil Nadu after police filed a case against Bala Gauthaman, CEO of the Vedic Science Centre, for reacting to a viral speech by a Muslim cleric, the Organiser reported.

The incident has sparked allegations of political bias and selective action, with critics accusing the ruling DMK government of shielding extremist voices while targeting Hindu scholars who highlight such threats.

The issue began when a video of Ustad Peer Mohammed, a resident of Cumbum in Theni district, was circulated widely on social media. In the video, the cleric is heard citing a hadis to justify violence and speaks of turning India into a Muslim nation.

The viral video shows the cleric saying, “Hadis is the collection of speeches, actions, deeds and principles. In that it is assured that those who wage war with India would be sent to heaven and not to hell. None of the Muslims who ruled India failed to follow the Hadis in letter and spirit. . . .If anything happens to Muslims here, leaders across the country would lend all kinds of support to us. They predicted some forces would turn India into a Muslim nation and Muslim rule would bloom.”

While critics labelled the remarks as inflammatory and 'anti-national', the Tamil Nadu police did not act against the cleric. Instead, they registered a case against Gauthaman after he discussed the speech on Shree TV.

“Without any complaint from anyone, suo motu, the Central Crime Branch police (social media monitoring wing) booked me. The complaint was preferred by a Sub-Inspector of Police and registered on that basis,” Gauthaman said.

Giving further details of the incident in a conversation posted on the PGurus YouTube channel, Gauthaman explained that the police had taken clips from his video to allege that it was he who had made the inflammatory remarks and removed the earlier parts of his video, in which he clearly mentions that he was only explaining the what the radical cleric had said.

Senior BJP leader H Raja condemned the police action. Writing on X, he said, “Without filing a case against the one who spoke about inciting terrorism and waging war against India… a case has been filed instead against nationalist Bala Gauthaman, founder of the Vedic Science Research Centre, who merely demanded action against such inflammatory speech?”

He added, “Supporting those who incite terrorism for minority vote-bank politics, remaining silent without taking legal action against those who destabilise the nation’s security and sovereignty, while at the same time filing cases against those who raise their voices for the nation’s protection — just because they are Hindu thinkers — is a blatant violation of democratic principles! The biased actions of the Tamil Nadu government and the police are strongly condemnable.”

Hindu Munnani state president Kadeswara Subramaniam also criticised the move, stating, “The ruling DMK is uninterested in taking action against them for hate speeches. Yet, if anyone expresses views in the national interest, it has become routine for this government to file false cases against them.”

In a detailed statement, he urged the police to withdraw the case against Gauthaman and instead act against Ustad Peer Mohammed, warning that such speeches pose a grave risk to peace and could incite violence.

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