SC Lawyer Faces Cyber Bullying After Right Winger 'Abuses' Her on Prime Time Debate on Sabarimala

At a time when the country was discussing the #MeToo movement, a television channel in the southern corner of the country aired a verbal assault on a Supreme Court woman lawyer. Advocate Rashmitha Chandran was termed as  'a cultural prostitute' in a prime time debate in Malayalam channel Janam TV on October 15, by a known Hindu Right Wing ally named Vidyasagar Gurumoorthi ,who was participating in the debate as a 'vedantha acharya' (vedantha master). The anchor apologised to Chandran on behalf of the channel. But Gurumoorthi stood by his arguments and continued attacking the advocate throughout the programme. 

Debating programmes in Malayalam news channels are very popular among viewers and have had controversial moments in the past as well. But this time round, with the ongoing #MeToo movement in the country and the Sabarimala issue rocking Kerala, this debate has raised many eyebrows.

In the now controversial segment of the debate on the Sabarimala issue, Chandran was invited to represent the Left and progressive section of the population who are generally in support of the Supreme Court's verdict allowing women of all ages to enter the temple in Kerala.

Apart from Chandran, the debating panel included Gurumoorthi who represented those who oppose this verdict, such as the Hindu Right wing, Malayalam movie director Viji Thamby and senior journalist A Sajeev.

This is the second time  Chandran and Gurumoorthi were engaging in a debate on the same subject on the same channel. The Janam debate aired on October 11, also saw a verbal duel between these two people, wherein Gurumoorthi is said to have constantly indulged in personal attacks on the advocate.

In the October 15 episode, midway through the debate, Gurumoorthi started diverting the topic by raising the issue of a rape case against a priest in which Chandran is appearing. As the issue is sub judice, Chandran pointed out to him that he could not discuss it in public. But instead of withdrawing his statement, Gurumoorthi began questioning her morality, implying that she was one of the "cultural prostitutes" who don't have any moral obligations and were working against women. When Chandran warned him that she could file a complaint against him based on this remark, he brushed it away. A Sajeevan, the senior journalist, condemned this statement on air and pointed out to the anchor that it went against the ethics of a newsroom and any debate.

Later, when Gurumoorthi was again given a chance to talk, he said he would not apologise and claimed that he was speaking on behalf of the Hindu followers of Lord Ayyappa who were watching the programme. He repeatedly asserted that he was a 'Brahmanical Hindu' suggesting 'racial superiority'. The anchor then stated that he had apologised only because it was a debate, which was seen as his offering indirect support to Gurumoorthi. 

After the programme, Gurumoorthi posted on the social media about this incident and stated that Chandran had filed a complaint against him in Palarivattam police station (Kochi). His post got around 3,500 likes and comments above 300, most of which  were in his support, with some of them even repeating the abuse.

Gurumoorthi's post opened the gates for the second round of verbal assault on Reshmitha Chandran in the form of cyber bullying. Many profiles, most of them displaying Hindu ideological signs, started sharing the programme video along with lewd comments and provocative statements. The cyber hooligans also started spamming Chandran's Facebook posts, which were written well before  this controversy arose and had nothing to do with this discussion.

While talking to Newsclick, Reshmitha Chandran said she was attacked because she was a woman. None of the other participants, all men, were attacked like this. During the earlier debate, too, Gurumoorthi had continuously tried to mislead the viewers by hinting that Chandran was a practicing Christian. "I am a Hindu. My parents are Hindus. All my certificates have marked that I am Hind Nair. My husband is a Christian. We follow a secular lifestyle. He (Gurumoorthi) was intentionally spreading false notions," she said, adding that "If he had apologised then, I would have let it go, taking it as something said on spur of the moment. But he didn't."

Chandran also alleged that Gurumoorthi had premeditated this. "I didn't know anything about him before the last debate. But he collected personal details about me. I am not a famous person. Still he got all details. He was trying to settle scores for the last debate," she said. 

This is not the first time a woman is being bullied by Hindutva forces in the virtual space. Many journalists, feminists and celebrities had faced the wrath of these cyber hooligans. However, this time, Chandran is firm on her stand and has pledged to "see this through".

"This is not an isolated issue. Any woman who speaks her mind in public space is being targeted. This is about my right to speak. I am going to go as far as it takes", she added.