In a recent TV interview, Ramdev described followers of Ambedkar, Lenin, and Periyar as 'intellectual terrorists'

Twitter users on Sunday protested against remarks allegedly made by Patanjali Ayurved co-founder Ramdev against followers of social activist Periyar and Dr B. R. Ambedkar, resulting in hashtag #arrestRamdev trending on the micro-blogging site.

In an interview on Monday, November 11, 2019, to Republic, Ramdev called that followers of anti-caste leaders B.R. Ambedkar and Periyar E.V. Ramaswami are indulging in vyacharik aatankwaad (intellectual terrorism), a term he claimed to have coined himself.

Initially, Ramdev’s interview generated various memes, especially using the image of the yoga guru lifiting Republic editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami up in the air.



However, on Sunday, November 17, responses became relatively serious with people demanding his arrest for his alleged remarks. Trending hashtags also called for a boycott of Patanjali products.



Journalism professor Dilip Mandal, who has used his Twitter page to raise awareness on Dalit issues, shared several tweets on the issue. Political activist Hansraj Meena shared a video clip of the interview, saying that abusive statements on Periyar and Ambedkar, and calling 'us intellectual terrorists' cannot be tolerated.