Last weekend, Tamil poet and film lyricist Vairamuthu was bestowed the Jnanpith Award, India’s highest literary honour. The announcement has met with widespread condemnation, as the recipient is certainly the most prominent name from Kollywood to have been accused in the #MeToo movement, with little to no redressal in the eight years since.
The announcement has also been met with widespread praise, especially as the win is seen as a cachet for the Tamil language itself. The Jnanpith Award was established in 1965, and one recipient is selected from 23 eligible languages. While it is not an award handed out by the government, its prestige is such that it is regarded as coming from top echelons which significantly increases its beneficiaries’ power.
To this end, there has also been a notable amount of criticism of this awarding choice from Tamil writers and translators, who feel that Vairamuthu is at best a commercial lyricist, not a litterateur, and that giving him such a tribute is an insult to those working with greater solemnity in the language. Such debate on artistic merit is common when major prizes are conferred. When the American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan was given the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2016, there was widespread dismay among authors who were aghast that the crafting of songs and of books were held at the same stature. Such a sense of scandal is normal, and can make for invigorating discourse. Many people receive accolades, for many reasons, and whether or not they deserve them is a matter of opinion and taste. In this particular case, the question of aptitude is separate from the concern about moral integrity that has upset so many others within and beyond the field.
Vairamuthu has been accused of sexual harassment or assault by at least 17 women — many of whom are anonymous, and some of whom are well-known and have stepped out publicly with their allegations, notably singer Chinmayi Sripada (who has endured an ongoing, informal blacklisting since she spoke out). That he continues to be feted in the world is a clear indication that many still believe that the art of a living artiste can comfortably be separated from the artiste themself. That the Bharatiya Jnanpith, the organistion that confers this honour, has taken this stance is disgraceful. The esteemed organistion has put its name and its funds behind a highly controversial figure, and in doing so created even more latitude for the notion that one’s ethical conduct is irrelevant to how one is platformed, supported, and rewarded. It empowers predators, and sends survivors further into the shadows. Quietly, survivors watch all the time as those who harmed them carry on in the world, unscathed.
So when a celebrity — someone who remains respected by other celebrities, political parties, and major gatekeepers in his industry, as can be seen from his presence at events, ongoing career, and in the flood of public congratulations that he has received now — continues to be able to live and work with such impunity, it is all the more disheartening for all who long for justice.