Bengaluru (Karnataka): Kannada actor Chetan Kumar was arrested by Seshadripuram police and taken to court on Tuesday for allegedly hurting Hindu sentiment through his tweet.
Shivakumar of Bajrangi Dal lodged a complaint at the Seshadripuram police station based on the tweet. In his controversial tweet, posted on Monday, Chetan wrote, "Hindutva is built on LIES Savarkar: Indian 'nation' began when Rama defeated Ravana & returned to Ayodhya --> a lie 1992: Babri Masjid is 'birthplace of Rama' --> a lie 2023: Urigowda-Nanjegowda are 'killers' of Tipu--> a lie Hindutva can be defeated by TRUTH--> truth is EQUALITY."
In the complaint, Shivakumar accused Chetan of hurting the religious sentiments of Hindus. Ironically, Chetan Kumar's name of the Twitter handle is Chetan Kumar Ahimsa, who was accused of hurting sentiments.
Chetan Kumar is an American Kannada-language film actor and a public intellectual. Apart from his acting, he has been in the limelight got his socio-political activism in India. Also known as Chetan Ahimsa, he made his on-screen debut in the 2007 cult classic film Aa Dinagalu which earned him the Udaya Film Awards for best debut actor male. His most recent success came in the 2013 hit Myna, for which his performance received strong critical acclaim.
Chetan's activisms include a rehabilitation fund from the state government for victims of Endosulfan (2013), the building of 528 homes for the evicted tribals of Dhidalli, Coorg (2016), the founding of FIRE—Film Industry for Rights and Equality — for the benefits of women, writers, and workers in the Kannada Film Industry (2017), a recognized identity for the Kadugolla community (2018), a state-approved 'minority status' for Lingayats (2018), among others.
Kumar is regularly invited as a panellist for TV and media discussions on socio-political issues. He has been voicing his views through writings about social concerns (e.g., casting couch, water politics, against steel bridge construction, against communal politics and reservations for the marginalized) and recent government policies (Land Acquisition Bill, intolerance, and environmental destruction).
Kumar got married in February 2020, with a wedding ceremony that got into limelight for entirely different reasons than what catches the public eye in case of celebrity weddings. The wedding ceremony was held in an orphanage, and was adorend with several sustainable and environment friendly initiatives. The actor and his wife's peers appreciated the couple for initiatives like plantable (seed paper) invitation card, marriage vows presided by a transgender activist, and the 'Indian Constitution' as return gift to all guests. The actor got married to his long time partner whom he dated for a cosiderable period of time. (With Agency Inputs)
