Shankaracharya Parishad president Swami Anand Swaroop strongly condemned Samajwadi Party leader Swami Prasad Maurya’s remarks that some verses of Ramcharitmanas promoted social discrimination and demanded that he be booked for sedition. Anand Swaroop said Maurya’s remarks were an “attempt to gain cheap popularity and vote for a particular community”.
Maurya, considered a prominent OBC leader in Uttar Pradesh, on Sunday said some verses of Hindu religious text Ramcharitmanas “insult” a large section of the society on the basis of caste and demanded that these be “banned”. Go
So what is the entire Ramcharitmanas line?
The comments by Maurya, who switched from the BJP to the SP amid the UP elections last year, follow similar comments by Bihar education minister and RJD leader Chandrashekhar.
The minister had said at the Nalanda Open University convocation on Wednesday that Manusmriti, Ramcharitmanas and A Bunch of Thoughts (written by MS Golwalkar) were “divisive texts” and BR Ambedkar was right in opposing Manusmriti.
When asked about his controversial statement, Prof Chandra Shekhar told reporters on Thursday, “I have not said anything about Ramcharitmanas, but there are some verses found in the book in Uttarakhand and Aranyakand.” He said he was willing to debate religious preachers about “discriminatory verses” and wanted them removed from the book.
Ramcharitmanas vs Ramayana
The original text, depicting the life of Lord Rama, was written by sage Valmiki and is known as the Ramayana. Experts believe it was written between the 7th and 4th centuries BCE, say reports, while the Ramcharitmanas was written by the Indian Bhakti poet Tulsidas in the 16th century.
While the Ramcharitmanas was written in the Awadhi dialect of Hindi to make it accessible to all, the Ramayana was written in Sanskrit. There are clear differences in some points of the two texts, such as the introduction of ‘Laxman Rekha’, and the end of the story.
Certain couplets of the Ramcharitmanas have faced scrutiny from anti-caste and feminist scholars and leaders over the years for being ‘discriminatory’ and ‘derogatory’ against the disadvantaged ‘lower’ castes and women. However, religious scholars claim that they have been misinterpreted and are not meant to be divisive.
political meaning of the line
There may be protests against the remarks and demand for action against them. Deep political meaning of Ramcharitmanas debate,
In Bihar, where the RJD minister made the remark, it was interesting to note that Tejashwi Yadav did not completely dismiss Chandrashekhar’s remark.
according to a report by Indian ExpressRJD spokesperson Mrityunjay Tiwari said, ‘There was no question of any dispute over Ram or Ramcharitmanas.’ “The debate is on some verses of the text. It could be the minister’s own interpretation of those verses,” he was quoted as saying.
Is this an issue? The constitution gives us the freedom of speech. Why does no one talk about inflation and unemployment? BJP is trying to divert attention from the real issues. They can do whatever they want, Mahagathbandhan will not break: Bihar Deputy CM on Bihar Minister’s ‘Ramcharitmanas’ remark pic.twitter.com/qhaIyK8SfP– ANI (@ANI) January 15, 2023
As told by an RJD insider Indian ExpressThis is a strategy to widen the political gulf between the party and the BJP.
“Because of the BJP’s Hindutva staunchness, the party will adopt any ideology that can sharpen the backward and forward (caste) divide and provide a counter to BJP’s politics. The Bihar caste survey is also providing a solid political base to the socialist groups who are deprived of any scheme,” he said.
However, while SP leader Maurya endorsed Chandrashekhar’s remarks, the Akhilesh Yadav-led party distanced itself from the statement. Whatever Swami Prasad Maurya has said is his personal view and not that of the Samajwadi Party. In the news channel Bytes, he has clearly mentioned that this was his personal opinion. He is entitled to his views,” said Rajendra Chowdhary, chief spokesperson of the party.
reactions
Meanwhile, the BJP demanded that he apologize and retract his statement, and Ayodhya seers and the saffron brigade across the state were incensed by his controversial remarks. On Monday, a local leader of the Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha announced a reward of Rs 51,000 to anyone who cuts off the SP leader’s tongue.
Shankaracharya Parishad chief Anand Swaroop told media persons on Monday night that one should not “indulge in cheap antics to get cheap popularity and votes of a particular community”. ” They said.
Shankaracharya Parishad is the council of saints.
Such unrestrained statements are being made keeping in mind the general elections to the Lok Sabha in 2024. The Yogi government should take it seriously and initiate effective action to curb it. A case of treason should be registered. Attempts are being made by foreign forces to disturb the peace of the country.”
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