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Maridhas Malaichamy

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Maridhas Malaichamy
Born
Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India[1]
NationalityIndian
Occupation
YouTube information
Channels
Subscribers785,000
Total views107.15 million
Last updated: 29 Dec 2023

Maridhas Malaichamy,[2] known by his YouTube channel Maridhas Answers, is a right-wing YouTuber[3][4] and social media influencer from Madurai, Tamil Nadu. He promotes the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) through his social media posts.[5][6][7]

According to fact-checkers, Maridhas has published fake news in his YouTube channel.[8][9] Maridhas has faced numerous cases[10][11] and is currently facing various cases for defamation, forgery, publishing fake news, promoting hatred and enmity among religious groups, among others.[12][13][14][15]

Early life

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Maridhas hails from Anna Nagar, Madurai, Tamil Nadu.[5] He has a post-graduate degree in engineering and worked as a college lecturer.[16] He has written[when?] a book titled Why I support Narendra Modi.[17]

YouTube career

[edit]

He operates a YouTube channel named Maridhas Answers and publishes propaganda videos to promote BJP.[5][6][18] He is also active in social media and publishes content supporting the BJP.[5][6] Maridhas has been critical of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) party in social media.[17][19] He is also critical of leaders who had spoken in support of Tamil nationalism.[17] He is a right-wing social media influencer.[10]

In 2020, Maridhas published a counterfeit email in July 2020, impersonating Vinay Sarawagi, the Associate Execute Editor of News18 India.[20] Vinay Sarawagi later took legal action against Maridhas.[21]

Times of India reported that Maridhas has constantly addressed Journalists using derogatory language such as beggars, bootlickers, mercenary and made personal attacks against them.[22]

Fake news

[edit]

A International Fact Checking Network certified fact checker, Youturn, reported that Maridhas has deliberately spread fake news and rumors through his YouTube channel. The fact checker also reported that Maridhas is trying to create religious divisions among people in Tamil Nadu by releasing videos based on rumours and lies.[8]

Maridhas in July 2019 published fake news claiming there were less toilets for women in Tamil Nadu government schools and 25 million students were affected due the absence of Navodhya schools in Tamil Nadu. In another video, Maridhas published fake news claiming that "25 million school students were affected from 2006 to 2011 due the implementation of Samacheer Kalvi" while Samacheer Kalvi was implemented after 2011.[9] Maridhas in May 2021 published false news related to the Tamil Nadu government's implementation of free pass for women in public buses.[23]

Lawsuits and arrests

[edit]

Videos against MK Stalin and DMK

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In 2019, Maridhas had published several videos critical of DMK, the primary opposition party in Tamil Nadu at the time and its leaders. DMK registered a complaint with the local police accusing Maridhas of uploading videos "which are entirely baseless, false and intended to create public mischief."[24]

On 5 August 5, 2019, DMK leader MK Stalin had issued a statement in which he called the manner of abrogation of Article 370 as "anti-democratic, unconstitutional and against federal principles". In their complaint, DMK accused Maridhas of purposefully misconstruing the political stand of DMK, as support for terrorists. Maridhas was "portraying Muslims in Kashmir as terrorists and, thereby, creating ill-will against that group of people... Maridhas primarily intends to disturb public tranquillity and promote enmity and incite hatred between religious groups, namely Muslims and non-Muslims. Mr Maridhas uses the recent policy statements issued by the DMK to buttress his efforts to ultimately create public mischief against Muslims, who are a minority in India."[24]

The DMK accused Maridhas of running a website seeking donation and using the donated money "to commit crimes and offences".[24]

The complaint caused social media debates among his followers and critics.[24]

Anti-Muslim commentary

[edit]

In March 2020, Maridhas uploaded YouTube videos blaming the Muslim community and the Tabligi Jamaat for the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in India.[25] In the video, he falsely claimed without any evidence, that "coronavirus is being purposefully transmitted by (Muslim) terrorists to slaughter innocent people all across the world."[26][27]

Maridhas was booked in April 2020 by Tirunelveli police for stoking communal sentiments on grounds of malicious comments against the Muslim community in his YouTube channel in response to a complaint over his coronavirus videos.[28][29] Maridhas was arrested on 16 December 2021 for the case.[27][30] He was charged under sections 292(A) (publishing grossly indecent or scurrilous matter or matter intended for blackmail), 295(A) (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings by insulting its religion or religious beliefs) and 505(ii) (statement creating or promoting enmity or ill-will between classes) of the Indian Penal Code and 67 (publishing or transmitting obscene material in electronic form) of the Information Technology Act. On 20 December 2021, the court ordered notice to the state and sought a response.[31]

On 22 December 2021, the Madras High Court judge G.R. Swaminathan quashed the first information report of this case citing the fact that the Tablighi Jamaat meeting already came under bitter and sharp criticism in the entire media in the earlier days of the pandemic and that a slightly exaggerated comment by Maridhas's video is acceptable. The court also observed that the video did not question the religious belief of Muslims but only attacked the "irresponsible conduct" of the Tablighi attendees of the congregation.[10][11]

Forgery and defamation

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In July 2020, Maridhas was sued by the Vinay Sarawagi, the Associate Execute Editor of News18 India accusing Maridhas of forging an email to attempt to evoke Hindu religious sentiments, incite people to attack and commit crimes and encourage false claims with the intention of promoting hatred among religious groups and communities. Vinay stated that the fake email damaged both his reputation and that of his channel.[32] The Chennai Cyber Crime Branch registered a case on charges of forgery, IT Act and damage to reputation against unnamed people for creating and circulating a fake email[26][12]

In July 2020, Maridhas was sued by senior editor M. Gunasekaran and senior anchor Jeeva Sagapthan of News18 Tamil Nadu accusing Maridhas of defamation, publishing fake news against them and speaking about their personal lives without any evidence. They also filed a civil defamation suit of ₹15 million.[13] In the same month, News18 Tamil Nadu filed a case against Maridhas, accusing him of defaming its editor and journalists, attempting to stir communal unrest[15] and provoking and outraging the feelings Hindus.[14] The Madras High Court restricted Maridhas from posting defamatory videos against News18 Tamil Nadu and its journalists and directed him to delete all defamatory videos previously posted by him against the channel.[33][34] In August 2020, the Chennai police reached his house in Madurai for questioning and seized his laptop.[35]

Bipin Rawat's death

[edit]

In December 2021, Maridhas posted a controversial tweet about the Coonoor chopper crash that killed the Chief of Defence Staff Bipin Rawat and 12 others,[21][36] in which he insinuated that Tamil Nadu was "turning into a Kashmir" under the DMK rule. He deleted the tweet later on.[21] In a separate tweet, he alleged without evidence that DMK and DK supporters had made fun of Rawat's death. On 9 December 2021, Maridhas was arrested by cyber crime police for the tweets.[21] BJP executives and functionaries gather in front of his house and quarrelled with the police.[5] His arrest was condemned by Seeman[37] and Tamil Nadu BJP President K. Annamalai.[38][39] His arrest was welcomed by the Chennai press club.[40] Judge G.R. Swaminathan of the Madurai bench of the Madras High Court later quashed the FIR registered against Maridhas observing that his actions did not attract the charges against him.[41]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Kumar, N. Vinoth (13 December 2021). "YouTuber Maridhas has got Tamil Nadu BJP bickering". The Federal. Chennai. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
  2. ^ Regi, Abhay. "The Hindu Right's purge of progressive Tamil television newsrooms". The Caravan. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
  3. ^ "Madras High Court Issues Notice to Right-wing YouTuber Maridhas". NewsClick. 30 July 2020. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
  4. ^ "HC notice to police on YouTuber plea | Madurai News – Times of India". The Times of India. 22 December 2021. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
  5. ^ a b c d e "மாரிதாஸ் என்ற பா.ஜ.க. ஆதரவு யூடியூபர் கைது". BBC News (in Tamil). Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  6. ^ a b c கரிகாலன், இரா செந்தில் (11 December 2021). "மாரிதாஸ் கைதுக்கு எதிர்ப்பு: சீமான் எழுப்பும் குரலுக்குப் பின்னால் இருப்பது என்ன?". Vikatan (in Tamil). Retrieved 3 January 2022.
  7. ^ "யூடியூபர் மாரிதாஸ் மீதான வழக்கு ரத்து: உயர் நீதிமன்றம் உத்தரவு". Hindu Tamil Thisai (in Tamil). 14 December 2021. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
  8. ^ a b "மாரிதாஸ் பரப்பிய வதந்திகள், பொய்களின் தொகுப்பு !". You Turn. 17 December 2021. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
  9. ^ a b "சமச்சீர் கல்வி தொடங்கி பள்ளிக் கழிப்பறை வரையில் மாரிதாஸ் கூறிய பொய்கள் !". You Turn. 22 July 2019. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
  10. ^ a b c Kannan, Kaushik (23 December 2021). "Madras high court quashes yet another FIR against YouTuber Maridhas". The Times of India. Madurai: The Times Group. Retrieved 24 December 2021.
  11. ^ a b "HC quashes FIR against YouTuber Maridhas". The Hindu. Madurai: Kasturi & Sons. 23 December 2021. Retrieved 24 December 2021.
  12. ^ a b "Crime Branch books Youtuber Maridhas for forgery, hacking". The Hindu. Chennai: Kasturi & Sons. 24 July 2020. Retrieved 10 December 2021.
  13. ^ a b "Blogger sued by TV channel and editor over 'baseless allegations'". Deccan Herald. 29 July 2020. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  14. ^ a b "'No compromise with YouTuber Maridhas': Senior journalist M Gunasekaran". The News Minute. 5 March 2021. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  15. ^ a b "Private news channel lodges complaint against YouTuber". The Hindu. 13 July 2020. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  16. ^ "மாரிதாஸ்". Vikatan.com. Vikatan. n.d. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
  17. ^ a b c Koushik, Janardhan (27 August 2019). "Why Maridhas, author of book on Modi, is trending on Twitter?". The New Indian Express. Chennai: Express Publications. Retrieved 10 December 2021.
  18. ^ "YouTuber Maridhas Sued at Madras High Court by News 18 and Editor Gunasekaran | Lawsisto Legal News". lawsisto.com. Retrieved 7 January 2022.
  19. ^ "YouTuber Maridhas Arrested Again By TN Police". Ahmedabad Mirror. 16 December 2021. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
  20. ^ "மாரிதாஸ்-க்கு நியூஸ் 18 இமெயில் அனுப்பியதாக திட்டமிட்ட பொய்| நியூஸ்18 மறுப்பு". You Turn. 10 July 2020. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
  21. ^ a b c d "YouTuber Maridhas arrested in TN for controversial tweet on crash of chopper carrying CDS". The New Indian Express. Madurai: Express Publications. 9 December 2021. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
  22. ^ "நேரடியாகப் பொய் சொன்ன மாரிதாஸ்... நேரம் பார்த்து போட்டுடைத்த நியூஸ் 18". Samayam Tamil (in Tamil). Retrieved 3 January 2022.
  23. ^ "பெண்களுக்கு இலவச பயணத்திட்டம் ஏமாற்றா ? மாரிதாஸ் மறைத்த உண்மை!". You Turn. 11 May 2021. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
  24. ^ a b c d Hooli, Shekhar H. (28 August 2019). "DMK files complaint against Hindu YouTuber Maridhas: #ISupportMaridas trends with 1 lakh plus tweets". ibtimes.co.in. Retrieved 7 January 2022.
  25. ^ "YouTuber Maridash held again for controversial video linking Muslims with Covid-19". Hindustan Times. 17 December 2021. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
  26. ^ a b "YouTuber Maridhas arrested for 'TN turning into Kashmir' comment after chopper crash". The News Minute. Madurai. 9 December 2021. Retrieved 10 December 2021.
  27. ^ a b "Maridhas arrested again, this time for 2020 video on Muslims, COVID-19". The News Minute. 16 December 2021. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
  28. ^ "TN police book YouTuber Maridhas for communal videos on COVID-19". The News Minute. 5 April 2020. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
  29. ^ "T.N. man booked for making communal comments on YouTube". The Hindu. 5 April 2020. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
  30. ^ "YouTuber Maridhas arrested again for video connecting Tablighi Jamaat with Covid spread". The New Indian Express. Tirunelveli: Express Publications. 16 December 2021. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
  31. ^ "HC seeks State's response in Maridhas's plea to quash FIR". The Hindu. Madurai: Kasturi & Sons. 21 December 2021. Retrieved 24 December 2021.
  32. ^ "News18 fake email case: Chennai CCB books case based on channel's complaint". The News Minute. 24 July 2020. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  33. ^ "News18 and editor Gunasekaran sue Maridhas for defamation, Madras HC says remove videos". The News Minute. 29 July 2020. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  34. ^ S, Mohamed Imranullah (30 July 2020). "HC directs vlogger to pull down defamatory videos against news channel". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  35. ^ "Chennai police team questions YouTuber Maridhas in Madurai". The Hindu. 2 August 2020. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
  36. ^ "Provocative post lands YouTuber in trouble". The Hindu. Madurai: Kasturi & Sons. 10 December 2021. Retrieved 10 December 2021.
  37. ^ ""தம்பி மாரிதாஸ் கைதை கடுமையாக எதிர்க்கிறேன்: நாங்கள் என்னதான் பேசுவது?": சீமான் பேட்டி". Puthiya Thalaimurai (in Tamil). Chennai: PuthiyaThalaimurai.com. 9 December 2021. Retrieved 10 December 2021.
  38. ^ "Maridhas arrested by DMK out of vendetta, claims BJP chief". The Hindu. Chennai: Kasturi & Sons. 10 December 2021. Retrieved 10 December 2021.
  39. ^ "Annamalai, Seeman slam Maridhas' arrest". News Today. Chennai. 10 December 2021. Retrieved 11 December 2021.
  40. ^ "யூடியூபர் மாரிதாஸ் கைதுக்கு சென்னை பத்திரிகையாளர் மன்றம் வரவேற்பு". Puthiyathalaimurai (in Tamil). 12 December 2021. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  41. ^ "Court quashes FIR registered against YouTuber Maridhas". The Hindu. Madurai: Kasturi & Sons. 14 December 2021. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
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