M.V. Govindan
| Photo Credit: H VIBHU
Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] Kerala secretary M.V. Govindan has strongly defended rapper Vedan against criticism from the RSS, asserting that Vedan’s music challenges caste oppression and resonates with the struggles of the marginalised.
He dismissed the RSS claim that Vedan’s work incites riots, slamming its understanding of art and questioning its “artistic taste.”
“Vedan is a pioneer of modern music. He presents upper caste hegemony through rap with historical awareness. His music reflects the life of a poor farmer or labourer living in slavery and it has immense power,” said Mr. Govindan in Kannur on Monday (May 19, 2025).
He noted that the BJP’s discomfort with Vedan’s popularity stems from the fact that his work attracts masses and challenges caste hierarchy, which the BJP “openly upholds through its endorsement of a chathurvarna system.”
“We know many cannot bear the fact that someone like Vedan draws such a following,” he said.
Responding to the rapper’s past involvement in a ganja seizure case, Mr. Govindan said Vedan had already admitted to the mistake and that “the matter should have ended there.”
His remarks come amid criticism from RSS leader N.R. Madhu, who had accused Vedan’s songs of “poisoning young minds with caste extremism and separatist ideology.”
“There are powerful forces behind Vedan aiming to divide the country. Such cultural trends must be resisted from entering sacred spaces like our temples,” Madhu had said, adding that playing Vedan’s songs in temple grounds was “akin to allowing cabaret shows.”
Mr. Govindan countered such views, asserting that Vedan’s work is rooted in social reality and artistic truth.
“What kind of art do they (RSS) even understand? This is not just music, it is resistance,” he observed.
Published – May 19, 2025 04:05 pm IST
