Published Jan 20, 2025 | 4:09 PM ⚊ Updated Jan 20, 2025 | 4:09 PM
Veezhinathan Kamakoti, Director of the Indian Institute of Technology Madras
A political maelstrom erupted in Tamil Nadu on 20 January after a clip showed the director of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras, Veezhinathan Kamakoti, making controversial assertions about the medicinal properties of cow urine.
The head of one of India’s premier technical institutes made the contentious statements during a public address, which went viral on social media, drawing widespread criticism as well as staunch defence from various quarters.
“A sanyasi had come but had a high fever. They wanted to call a doctor but the sanyasi apparently said ‘Gomutra pibami’. Someone immediately brought cow urine from the cowshed to him,” Kamakoti can be heard saying in the viral clip.
“He drank it and within 15 minutes, his fever vanished. Hence, it is antibacterial, anti-fungal. It relieves digestive issues and irritable bowel syndrome. We should see it as medicinal value.”
மூளை வலிமை அதிகம் கொண்ட கும்பல் ஆட்சியில் ஐஐடி இயக்குநர் லட்சணத்தை பாருங்கள்.. கோமியம் காய்ச்சல் மருந்தாம்😅 pic.twitter.com/3StltuzStU
— Subathra Devi (@SubathraDevi_) January 18, 2025
In response, former Rajya Sabha member from the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), TKS Elangovan, called for Kamakoti to be “thrown out of the education system.”
“The government must transfer him from IIT and post him at some of the GOI medical colleges. What will he do in IIT? It’s related to engineering and other fields. They should post him in AIIMS as Director. The GOI should immediately throw him out of IIT and appoint him as director of some AIIMS,” he told Times Now.
“Not here. In Uttar Pradesh or anywhere else where they can take the people into their fold, where they can cheat people and tell lies about Gomutra. What nonsense is this. It is real nonsense,” he continued.
“Fortunately Directors are not taking classes to students, I suppose. There are other lecturers and professors to take classes. If he is taking any class, it’s unfortunate for the students. People like Kamakoti should be thrown out of the education system. They should make him perform pujas in temples. He is a misfit. And that he has proved.”
Indian National Congress leader and Sivaganga MP Karti P Chidambaram was equally critical. “Peddling pseudoscience by IIT Madras Director is most unbecoming Indian Medical Association,” he wrote in a post on X.
Adding to the controversy, visuals of Kamakoti singing Margazhi bajans on the streets of his native village near Kumbakonam in Tamil Nadu, reportedly from earlier this month, also went viral.
The clip shows him in traditional attire, accompanied by a harmonium and a group of women and children. Many used this footage to defend Kamakoti’s statements, asserting that his professional responsibilities and personal beliefs do not overlap.
*IIT Madras Director Sri Kamakoti, at his native village Vishnupuram. Margazhi bajan🙏* pic.twitter.com/5ZAv0FNNoS
— Narayanan R (@rnsaai) January 10, 2025
Tamil Nadu BJP State President K Annamalai was among those who came to his defence.
Speaking to reporters, he said, “IIT Madras’s director is India’s leading expert in quantum computer and AI. He has also held responsible positions like National Security Council membership. You should look at it from that perspective. He has love towards his religion. That isn’t wrong.”
“He believes in cow and there is nothing wrong with it. He isn’t going to his classes and asking students to drink it. He is expressing his opinion. If you are politicising this as well, that means you don’t value his other contributions and are singling out one statement. IIT Madras’ director is pride of Tamil Nadu. I know him personally. He is the leading professor in his field. Don’t politicise everything.”
(Edited by Dese Gowda)
