On Sunday, Kasthuri Shankar, the actress arrested for her contentious statement regarding Telugu individuals, appeared in court and was subsequently incarcerated. Kasthuri Shankar’s case has generated widespread attention.
Actress Kasthuri sparked a controversy with her comment about Telugu-speaking individuals in Tamil Nadu. Kasthuri Shankar appeared in a Chennai court on Sunday and the court remanded her to judicial custody.
Kasthuri sent to Puzhal central prison
After the Madras High Court Madurai bench rejected her anticipatory bail petition, a Chennai police team arrested the actress in Hyderabad on November 16. Following a controversy, the actress retracted her statements and issued an apology. Despite her apology, individuals lodged complaints against Kasthuri Shankar with the police. The Chennai police tracked her down at a film producer’s residence in Hyderabad and apprehended her. They then transported her to Chennai, where they presented her before a magistrate court at Egmore. The court remanded her to judicial custody until November 29, and she was later transferred to the Puzhal central prison.
Seeman, the leader of the Tamil nationalist party Naam Tamizhar Katchi, questioned the need for the arrest and incarceration of Kasthuri Shankar despite her apology.
What is the controversy
The core of Kasthuri Shankar’s recent accusation that sparked controversy was the claim that certain individuals of Telugu descent, who had migrated to the state many centuries ago to work for the rulers at the time, were now asserting their identity as Tamils.
The actress pointed out that individuals adhering to a specific political ideology, and identifying as Tamils despite their Telugu roots, tend to exclude Tamil Brahmins from the Tamil identity. This is why they align themselves with the ‘Dravidian’ label rather than ‘Tamil’ in their ideological stance.
Supporting Brahmins at a demonstration on November 3, Kasthuri Shankar made that accusation.
She attempted to challenge the validity of the Aryan invasion theory and the assertion that Tamil Brahmins belonged to the Aryan race, a notion commonly embraced in Tamil Nadu by advocates of the Dravidian ideology.
After the uproar, the actress clarified that she aimed her remarks only at supporters of the “Dravidian ideology” who argue that Tamil Brahmins are not truly Tamil. Kasthuri Shankar also maintained that she never made any disrespectful statements about Telugu-speaking individuals.
