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

This confrontation, recorded on camera, quickly gained attention online, sparking public outrage.

A ‘motivational’ speaker, who insulted a visually impaired teacher during a school event in Chennai was arrested Saturday after returning from a trip abroad.

Mahavishnu, the speaker, faced charges of promoting superstitions and publicly humiliating the teacher.

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.”