The Muslim Youth League has lodged a complaint against right-wing author Sandeep Balakrishna for his derogatory remarks and false claims concerning Muslims and Malappuram district in Kerala.
Balakrishna, a self-proclaimed historian and companion of the Sangh Parivar, holds the position of chief editor at Dharma Dispatch, a right wing website.
Shareef Kuttoor, president of the Muslim Youth League Malappuram district committee, has taken the initiative as the complainant. The complaint has been filed with the Circle Inspector of Malappuram.
Balakrishna’s comments were aired during the 391st episode of “The Ranveer Show” on the YouTube channel ‘beerbiceps’, hosted by Ranveer Allahbadia, who has 7.9 million subscribers on YouTube.
“There is a remote village in Malappuram, in Kerala. There is a huge signboard at the entrance of the village saying that this is an Islamic village and only Islamic law applies here. Non-Muslims are discouraged from entering here. A signboard in a village. It is on Indian soil. Under the rule of the Indian constitution. How do you explain this, without understanding history and without understanding the fundamentals of what makes a village do this?” Balakrishna reportedly said in the show.
Several people who are natives of Malappuram and people who have visited Malappuram raised concerns about the derogatory and false statement on social media by tagging Ranveer.
Ranveer commented on the Instagram handle of Vipin Venu, who raised the false allegation. “I don’t agree with Sandeep sir’s views, almost entirely throughout the podcast. Unfortunately, social media has a way of providing half (or usually no) context. The entire episode is a debate between myself and sir. More argumentative conversations need to be had online to counter views exactly like this. If nobody has the difficult conversations, the polarization of our country will continue. Unfortunately, clips like this are an outcome of having controversial conversations on podcasts,” Ranveer said in the comment.
Even though Ranveer commented about the issue, he did not raise any issue while Balakrishna made the false statement. In fact, he said ‘fair enough’ after the statement, denoting he agrees with what Balakrishna said.
Meanwhile, earlier this month, Ranveer Allahbadia won the ‘Disruptor of the Year’ award from Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the 2024 National Creators Awards.
Balakrishna has made several anti-Muslim statements in the 84-minute podcast. He has made these types of comments before as well.
He has written two books, including ‘Invaders and Infidels: From Sindh to Delhi: The 500-Year Journey of Islamic Invasions’ (2020). He also writes articles like ‘Nothing to Apologize for Manusmriti’, which provide insight into the daily routine and life of a Brahmin patriarch.
“We reside in Malappuram. You won’t even find a signboard on the mosque walls proclaiming exclusive access for Muslims and barring non-Muslims. So his intention is to spread fake news. If a self proclaimed RSS historian is publicly making such claims, one can only imagine what they might be spreading internally through their WhatsApp groups and other channels. This misinformation is now being weaponized as an election tool in several parts of India. I didn’t file this complaint on behalf of any specific community or political party; it’s for all residents of this district. This is a place where people come together and support each other regardless of their community, religion, or political affiliations,” Shareef, the complainant, said to Maktoob.
