Lucknow: Justifying his assertion that some verses of the epic poem Ramcharitmanas have been “anti-backward (caste) and anti-women”, Samajwadi Get together (SP) chief Swami Prasad Maurya has mentioned, in an interplay with ThePrint, that he was speaking in regards to the sentiments of “97 per cent of the inhabitants, together with the Dalits, adivasis, backward castes and ladies”.
He additionally puzzled why the “contractors of faith” and the Bharatiya Janata Get together (BJP) have been pained at his objections.
The Ramcharitmanas, written by Tulsidas, is an epic poem based mostly on the Ramayana and the deeds of Lord Rama. Final week, Maurya sparked a row when he mentioned a few of the poem’s verses have been hurtful to the emotions of the Dalit group and demanded that they be eliminated.
Maurya, an OBC chief who was a minister within the Yogi Adityanath cupboard until January 11, 2022, however joined the SP within the run-up to the Uttar Pradesh meeting elections, is now dealing with an FIR for his feedback and a vociferous assault from the BJP and a number of other mahants and seers – one among whom has even declared a reward on his head.
In line with Maurya, he has critical objections to the verse “dhol, gavaar, shudra, pashu, naari, sakal tadhna ke adhikari”, which he says implies that “dhol (drum), gavaar (illiterate), shudra (backward castes), pashu (animal), nari (lady) are all worthy of a beating”.
The quatrain has lengthy been debated for its obvious casteist and anti-women stance.
Elaborating on why he stands by his phrases, Maurya advised ThePrint: “The chaupayi (verse) mentions that… all the ladies of the nation and shudras, which suggests all adivasis, Dalits and backwards… are worthy of a beating. Is that this sensible? And if one or two individuals make a mistake, how can your complete feminine group be affected? How can all of the individuals within the shudra group be affected? Someplace, this hurts their sentiments and self-respect.”
Stating that the inhabitants of those communities in India was 97 per cent, he defined: “Half of your complete inhabitants is girls and within the remaining fall, Dalits, adivasis and backwards. Which means that the sentiments of 97 per cent of individuals are being harm.”
“The contractors of faith are usually not involved about this,” he added.
“The (higher caste) inhabitants is two-three per cent. They’re harm by my assertion whilst I’m speaking in regards to the respect of Dalits, adivasis, backwards and ladies. If these teams get respect, why are they in ache?” he requested.
The SP, within the wake of the controversy stirred by Maurya, has distanced itself from his remarks and a few celebration leaders have mentioned Maurya made the feedback out of “lack of information”.
Additionally learn: SP distances itself from MLC Maurya’s Ramcharitmanas comment — ‘we observe ideas of Lord Ram’
‘Why is the BJP in ache?’
Maurya has over the past week confronted assaults from a number of UP BJP leaders, a number of of whom focused SP’s nationwide president Akhilesh Yadav and questioned him over “his silence” on the matter.
BJP’s UP president Bhupendra Chaudhary even known as Maurya “mentally sick.”
Requested in regards to the BJP leaders who’ve been concentrating on him, Maurya mentioned these making “reckless statements” had “misplaced their psychological stability” and never understood what he was making an attempt to say. He reiterated his demand for the elimination of the verses talked about above.
“One who’s himself mentally sick and insane thinks the identical for others. Those that have misplaced their psychological stability and are making such reckless statements haven’t understood the that means of my phrases. Why are BJP leaders in ache if girls are getting respect? If I’m speaking about giving respect to the adivasis, Dalits and backwards, then why are BJP individuals in ache?” he requested.
“I solely mentioned that abuse can’t be faith. No faith has the appropriate to insult somebody. If 97 per cent of the inhabitants of the nation, together with girls, Dalits, adivasis and backwards, are being harm by some parts of a chaupayi, then what’s the downside in banning or correcting it,” he asserted.
‘These objecting are from group that tends to abuse’
When requested about senior SP chief Shivpal Singh Yadav’s comment that Maurya’s assertion was his “private view”, Maurya mentioned that Yadav had solely made it clear that the assertion was Maurya’s personal.
“He made it clear that it was Swami Prasad Maurya’s assertion… he made no remark,” Maurya mentioned.
On a query about leaders from his personal celebration concentrating on him over his phrases, Maurya mentioned: “All those that have objected to my assertion belong to the identical group… that tends to abuse. All of them belong to a selected class however the public of the nation is standing with us.”
SP MLA from Lucknow Central seat, Ravidas Mehrotra, and former Ayodhya MLA Pawan Pandey – each former ministers – are amongst the SP leaders who’ve hit out at Maurya.
Mehrotra had remarked that Maurya made the assertion in opposition to the Ramcharitmanas “out of lack of information” and that politicians ought to discuss inflation, unemployment, corruption, improvement and problems with the general public and chorus from talking a few spiritual e-book.
“The that means of tadhna within the chaupayi talked about by Maurya is ‘to evaluate or determine’. He made the assertion out of lack of information. Earlier than making an announcement, there ought to be full information,” Mehrotra had remarked.
Pandey had slammed Maurya by asking why he didn’t make such feedback when he was “having fun with ministership whereas he was within the BJP”.
“Why didn’t he say all of this when he was within the BJP? Did he not have this information earlier than? It is a stunt to get low-cost publicity. He’s neither an mental nor any (nice) thinker that he ought to be debated with. What he has mentioned reveals his lack of expertise and information. He ought to learn the historical past of the Brahmins on this nation,” he advised a information channel.
Requested particularly in regards to the feedback of Mehrotra and Pandey, Maurya advised ThePrint that “all of them belonged to at least one class”.
“I gained’t take any names however all these whose names you took belong to at least one class. All have been born locally that resorts to abuse and thinks that abusing is its proper. And I don’t contemplate abuse as faith. I’ve not attacked any faith,” he mentioned.
Requested about SP chief Roli Tiwari’s remark that “he (Maurya) could also be working as an agent of the Bahujan Samaj Get together (BSP) and will depart the SP earlier than 2024 (Lok Sabha polls)”, Maurya mentioned “these resorting to ‘chota muh, badi baat’ (small mouth, large discuss) ought to know that if the celebration doesn’t give them area, they’ll’t stand wherever”.
‘Hypocrites, impostors’
Maurya additional focused seers like ‘Jagadguru’ Paramhans who has declared Rs 500 reward for anybody “who brings Maurya’s head”.
Ayodhya mahant Satyendra Das – the chief priest of the make-shift Ram temple – had requested Akhilesh Yadav to take away Maurya from his celebration, claiming that Maurya had joined the SP after being thrown out of the BJP and that he had been rejected by the general public.
Requested in regards to the stand of a few of the seers, Maurya mentioned that if seers, mahants and dharmacharyas have been speaking about chopping off his head, tongue or nostril, then they may not be dharmacharyas or mahants.
“The voice of seers, mahants and dharmacharyas doesn’t have violence. Their language is just not of legal nature. If somebody from one other faith had mentioned the identical factor, then these contractors of faith would have known as him a terrorist. In the event that they (seers) are indulging in the identical type of behaviour, aren’t they terrorists themselves?” he requested.
If a dharmacharya resorts to “such low-cost language”, Maurya added, “it means he isn’t following saintly behaviour and he’s a hypocrite and impostor whose legal language is coming to the fore”.
Maurya, when requested if the BJP had been given the possibility to assault the SP within the run-up to the 2024 normal elections as a result of his remarks, mentioned that 2024 was far as of now.
“Politics has totally different points and problems with social justice are totally different,” he mentioned.
Maurya meets Akhilesh Yadav
Amid the controversy sparked by his feedback, Maurya Saturday met SP chief Akhilesh Yadav on the celebration workplace.
Requested about Yadav’s stand, he advised ThePrint that the assembly was held “in absolute concord” and that he had apprised the SP chief of what had transpired.
“The BJP has attacked the Structure by ending reservation for backward (castes), and the respect of Dalits and backwards has been put to the bottom. We’ll struggle for them and take to the streets to demand a caste census,” he mentioned.
Chatting with reporters in Lucknow, Akhilesh mentioned he had advised Maurya to work for the caste census in Uttar Pradesh.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
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