Ramcharitmanas controversy

Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav on Sunday blamed BJP's "conspiracy" for the controversy over alleged insult to the ‘Ramcharitmanas’ by his cabinet colleague, who belongs to the RJD. Yadav was talking to reporters late in the evening upon return from the national capital, where he had gone to console bereaved family members of former Union minister and party colleague Sharad Yadav. "The ‘Mahagathbandhan’ has been formed by its two top leaders (‘sheersh neta’) Lalu Prasad and Nitish Kumar. It is they who enjoy the trust of the people and not the ‘bayanveers’ (motormouths),” said Yadav, refusing to be drawn into the spat between leaders of the chief minister's JD(U) and the RJD founded and headed by his father. Also read | The slugfest has been triggered over a statement of Education Minister Chandra Shekhar, who had alleged that certain verses of the ‘Ramcharitmanas’ promoted social discrimination, and ended up comparing the popular version of Ramayana to ‘Bunch of Thoughts’ penned by RSS ideologue M S Golwalkar. This evoked sharp criticism from many in the JD(U) as well as some in the RJD itself. "The Constitution is, for us, like a holy book which gives everyone the right to express one's opinion. Yet, it is the same Constitution that makes it incumbent upon all to accord respect to all religions,” said the young leader, in a deft bid to extricate himself from the political wrangle. "The 'Mahagathbandhan' is unbreakable (‘tootne wala nahin hai’). We are working ...

The simmering tension between the Janata Dal (United) and the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) has once more emerged in full public view and at the centre of it yet again is state Education Minister Chandra Shekhar. The RJD leader whose remarks on the Ramcharitmanas in January caused friction between the allies of the ruling coalition in Bihar — its reverberations were also felt in neighbouring Uttar Pradesh — arrived in the Assembly on Tuesday carrying copies of Ramcharitmanas and the Ramayana. He later visited the Legislative Council carrying the copies of the Hinduism epics. This did not sit well with the JD(U), with party spokesperson and MLC Neeraj Kumar telling Also Read in Pulse | Kumar said the RJD should discourage the minister from “raking up the irrelevant issue” again and again. “It is not a happy sign … there is no need to debate religious texts written thousands of years ago in different contexts and have different interpretations,” he said. In response, Chandra Shekhar said, “What I had said on the Ramcharitmanas sparked a nationwide debate. I often quote Dr Rammanohar Lohia who said Ramcharitmanas has both jewels and garbage. There is a need to revisit the controversial texts.” RJD national spokesperson Subodh Kumar Mehta defended the minister. “Why is the JD(U) overreacting to Chandra Shekhar’s posers? RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat also talked along similar lines on controversial portions of the Ramayana and the Ramcharitmanas. There is an urgent need to take out cont...

Lucknow: When Samajwadi Party leader Swami Prasad Maurya said last month that certain verses referencing ‘shudras’ in the Ramcharitmanas should be removed, BJP leaders lambasted him for “insulting” the Hindu text, and his own party hurriedly distanced itself from his remarks too. That stance now seems to be shifting, with the SP seeing the controversy as an opportunity to consolidate lower caste votes ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, political analysts say. The BJP, meanwhile, continues to use Hindutva has a tool for consolidation. Amid clamour from the BJP and other Hindutva outfits for action against Maurya, the SP initially took But something has changed. SP chief Akhilesh Yadav What this signals is that a controversy that centred on religion has shifted to caste. The root of this is in how Maurya defined the term ‘shudra’, which in ancient texts refers to the ‘lowest’ of the four varnas or castes. Historically, Dalits have sometimes been classified as being outside this fourfold division or belonging to a fifth (‘panchama’) varna. Maurya, however, has used a more expansive definition, with the ‘shudra’ identity encompassing all the ‘lower’ castes, from the Dalits to the Other Backward Classes (OBCs), and even the Scheduled Tribes (STs). In th-century epic poem Ramcharitmanas were “anti-backward caste” and that his sentiments echoed those of “97 per cent of the population, including the Dalits, adivasis, backward castes and women”. Maurya has made...

Samajwadi Party (S.P.) chief Akhilesh Yadav said that he felt like an untouchable after he was prevented from participating in a religious ceremony last week. Akhilesh was shown black flags when he tried to visit the Pitambara Devi temple in Lucknow. A protester said that he was against Akhilesh Yadav visiting the religious ceremony because his party colleague Swami Prasad Maurya had insulted the ‘ Ramcharitmanas’, a sacred text. Since then a hoarding has been installed outside the Lucknow offices of the S.P. that says ‘ Garv Se Kaho Hum Shudra Hain’ or ‘be proud to say we are untouchables’, also called Dalit. Akhilesh too has rent the air by repeating the same slogan, followed by countless S.P. workers. S.P. leader Maurya has spearheaded a campaign against a few offending lines found in the ‘ Ramcharitmanas’ that refer to Dalits and women in a derogatory manner. Maurya is in fact gearing up his act for impressing the Dalit voter in the next Lok Sabha elections to be held in 2024. Dalits total about 21 percent of U.P’s population of over 200 million people out of which more than half belong to the Jatav community of Schedule Caste people. The Jatavs are traditional supporters of Dalit leader and chief of the Bahujan Samaj Party (B.S.P.) Mayawati. Mayawati shot off a series of tweets in reference to the Ramcharitmanas controversy blaming both the ruling party and the S.P. for being interested only in political gains. “The BJP's political identity of creating new controversi...

Politicisation of Ramcharitmanas The politicisation of Ramcharitmanas began with controversial statements by Bihar's education minister Chandrashekhar who said that the religious text as well as 'Manusmriti' and M.S. Golwalkar's book 'Bunch of Thoughts' spread hate and promote illiteracy among lower castes. The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader faced severe backlash for his statements and Congress leader Acharya Pramod Krishnam even demanded an FIR against him. RJD supremo and Bihar's Deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav defended his minister saying this is an attempt by the BJP to distract from 'real issues'. This was followed by the Samajwadi Party's Swami Prasad Maurya who said that certain verses of the Ramcharitmanas insult lower caste people as well as women and must be changed. "In Tulsidas Ji's Ramcharitmanas, there are some parts wherein objectionable comments have been made on certain class of people," Maurya Republic TV. "I object to the insulting comments." Maurya also said that Tulsidas insulted the entire female community by mentioning them in the same sentence containing the word 'animals' and that he was against educating women.

Ramcharitmanas controversy: "Would continue to protest disrespect in religion's...", says Swami Prasad Maurya Ramcharitmanas controversy: Earlier this month, the SP leader sparked a major controversy after he demanded the deletion of "insulting comments and sarcasm" targeted at particular castes and sects in Ramcharitmanas, a poem based on the epic Ramayana. Image Source : SWAMI PRASAD MAURYA (TWITTER). Ramcharitmanas controversy: "Would continue to protest disrespect in religion's name", says Swami Prasad Maurya. Ramcharitmanas controversy: Samajwadi Party (SP) MLC Swami Prasad Maurya on Sunday (January 29) tweeted that he will continue to protest against the conspiracy of insulting the Adivasis, women and Dalits in the name of religion. In his tweet, the SP leader stated, "I will continue to oppose the conspiracy to humiliate tribals, Dalits-backwards and women in the name of religion, just as an elephant does not change its gait due to barking of dogs, in the same way, I will not change my point until they are given their duly respected." Know more about Ramcharitmanas controversy: Earlier this month, the SP leader sparked a major controversy after he demanded the deletion of "insulting comments and sarcasm" targeted at particular castes and sects in Ramcharitmanas, a poem based on the epic Ramayana. Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav was received with black flags, when he participated in the Maa Pitambara 108 Mahayagya on the banks of the Gomti in Daliganj on Sat...

Ramcharitmanas controversy Kasganj (UP): Several Hindu organizations are protesting against Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Swami Prasad Maurya for making objectionable statements over 'Ramcharitmanas' penned by the great sage Goswami Tulsidas by alleging that certain portions of the epic poem insult a large section of society on the basis of caste and that it should be banned. In this regard, Aryavart Nirman Sangh's national president Bhupesh Sharma and the National Spokesperson of the organization Umesh Pathak reached the Kasganj SP office on Monday and lodged an FIR against Swami Prasad Maurya. During the protest, they demanded to SP expel the leader from the party. The protestors raised slogans against the SP leader and burnt his effigy in the process. Also read: Ramcharitmanas row: SP's Swami Prasad Maurya seeks deletion of 'casteist insults' Speaking to the media, Sharma lashed out at the SP leader announcing a reward of Rs 5100 for anyone who hits Maurya with shoes five times. "A reward of Rs 5,100 will be given to anyone who hits Swami Prasad Maurya with shoes five times. He has insulted our religious book, and this will not be tolerated in any way." At the same time, a Hindu organization in Agra announced a reward of Rs 51,000 to anyone who cut Maurya's tongue. In a controversial statement, the SP leader said there exist several crores of people who have not or do not read the relic Ramcharitmanas. He said it was the British era that gave Dalits the right to read and ...

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Tuesday sought to downplay the Ramcharitmanas controversy saying in Bihar, every religion is respected and advocates the freedom for all to follow any religion. The state government does not interfere in the religious practices of anyone. Everyone should respect each other's religion. Patna: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Tuesday sought to downplay the controversy over Education Minister Chandra Shekhar's disparaging remarks about the Ramcharitmanas', stating that his government does not interfere in the religious practices of anyone. Terming the controversy as "non-sense", Kumar said every person has the right to follow his or her faith. Interacting with reporters during his Sadbhawana Yatra' in Arwal district, the CM said, In Bihar, we respect all religions and advocate the freedom for all to follow any religion. We do not interfere in the religious practices of anyone. Everyone should respect each other's religion. The JD(U) leader's comment comes two days after one of his party colleagues lashed out at Chandra Shekhar, a leader of the RJD, the largest constituent in the ruling 'Mahagathbandhan', and asked the state minister to apologise for remarks. The controversy is all non-sense. Let us not talk about this. I had already spoken to him. (Chandra Shekhar). Even the deputy chief minister has also made it clear that we believe in respecting all religions, Kumar said. The state education minister had ruffled many feathers when h...

June 16, 2023 Patna. The politics of Bihar is very hot after a controversial statement made by Bihar Education Minister Chandrashekhar regarding Ramcharitmanas. Many discussions are happening in the political corridors of Bihar regarding the relation between JDU and RJD regarding this issue. Along with this, their own arguments are being given by the leaders of political parties regarding Ramcharitmanas. Debates are going on at political and social level regarding what is right and what is wrong in Ramcharitmanas. But, in the midst of this controversy, a big initiative is being taken by the Hanuman temple of Patna, which is being discussed a lot. In fact, the famous Mahavir Mandir of Patna has taken initiative to remove misconceptions about some lines of Ramcharitmanas. In this, a conference of scholars from all over the country has been called. It has been organized at Vidyapati Bhavan on 22nd January. All the speakers who are willing to attend this conference, proposals have been sought from the speakers till January 20 and all the speakers who will participate. He will get an opportunity to speak for and against Ramcharitmanas with his facts. Acharya Kishore Kunal of Patna Hanuman Mandir told that the meeting will start with the setting up of parties and discussions will be held on it. At the same time, he told that Ramcharitmanas composed by Goswami Tulsidas is an inspirational epic of social harmony which gives importance to the great faith of the people. Goswamiji co...