‘Motivational’ speaker arrested in Chennai after ‘humiliating’ visually impaired teacher at school event

The arrest followed an outcry over the incident, which happened at the Government Higher Secondary School in Ashok Nagar in the city. During a school event meant to motivate students, Mahavishnu, who was invited as a guest last week, had claimed that deformities such as blindness and social inequalities were the result of sins committed in past lives.

Shankar, a visually impaired teacher at the school, strongly objected to the speaker’s remarks during the event. In a video widely shared on social media, Shankar confronted Mahavishnu, questioning the basis of his statements. Mahavishnu responded by belittling the teacher, dismissing his objections and questioning his qualifications to challenge him. This confrontation, recorded on camera, quickly gained attention online, sparking public outrage.

Chief Minister M K Stalin, currently in the United States, issued a statement on the issue on Friday. He announced plans to introduce new guidelines to ensure that events in government schools promote scientific thought and progressive ideas.

“Science is the only way to progress,” Stalin said in his statement, in which he underscored the importance of fostering scientific temper among students.

At the school, Mahavishnu had said: “Don’t think you can live whichever way you wish and die. Your next birth will be cruel.”

He added, “Many people are born without hands, legs, and eyes. Many are born without a house and with a lot of disease. If God is merciful, he should have created everyone equally. Why didn’t he? This birth has been assigned to you based on your deeds in your last birth.”

After a visually impaired teacher challenged his remarks, he directed the same claims at the teacher. Shankar’s response, and the subsequent inaction of other teachers present at the event, fuelled a public outcry. “The speaker treated the entire differently abled community poorly during his speech,” Shankar later told reporters. “He preached superstitious thoughts inside the school, which is against the rules. School is a secular place,” Shankar said.

The situation escalated further when it was revealed that Mahavishnu had previously met with School Education Minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi two years ago. Photos of the meeting circulated online, with critics questioning how the speaker had gained access to a government platform. “I cannot be expected to check the antecedents of every person who meets me,” Poyyamozhi explained.

The minister was also forced to step in to take swift action, visiting the school to personally felicitate the teacher, Shankar, for standing up to Mahavishnu. Poyyamozhi also promised strict action against those responsible for organising the event. “I won’t leave this easily. He came into my territory and insulted my teacher. Strict action will be taken against him,” said Poyyamozhi.

Allies of the ruling DMK, including the Congress and the CPM, criticised the government for allowing such a speaker to address students. Opposition parties, including the AIADMK and PMK, also called for action against Mahavishnu and the school authorities who invited him.

Despite the backlash, Mahavishnu’s followers defended him, claiming that his teachings were meant to inspire and guide students toward self-improvement. He has a significant following online, with over 4,00,000 subscribers on YouTube, where he regularly shares content related to spirituality, yoga, and meditation.

His foundation, Paramporul, offers training programmes across India, blending elements of traditional practices with motivational speaking.

A top official at the school education department told The Indian Express that the incident was an outcome of a system that gave space for a YouTuber to come and address students in schools purely for his social media following. “Mahavishnu is among the hundreds of such content creators online who present themselves as ‘life coaches.’ He had all necessary talents of such influencers including dropping names and flaunting influential network,” the official said.

The police, acting on a complaint filed by an association for the welfare of differently abled individuals, detained Mahavishnu on Saturday at the airport upon his return from a trip abroad. He was later produced in court and remanded to judicial custody.

The fallout from the incident led to the transfer of the principals of two government schools in Chennai, including the headmaster of the Ashok Nagar school where the confrontation occurred. Both were reassigned to different institutions, with officials citing their failure to properly vet the speaker before the event. “The school management should have checked Mahavishnu’s background before inviting him for the talk. They have made a mistake,” Poyyamozhi said.