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Higher Education Minister for Madhya Pradesh And BJP leader Inder Singh Parmar has sparked controversy after he described social reformer Raja Ram Mohan Roy as an “agent of the British” who started a “vicious cycle of religious conversion”.
Following a public outcry over his remarks, the Minister of State issued an apology on Sunday, claiming that the remarks were merely a “slip of the tongue”.
In a video statement, Parmar said the comment “appeared by mistake”.
He said, “Raja Ram Mohan Roy was a social reformer and should be respected. This sentence came out of my mouth by mistake and I am very sorry for it. I apologize for it.”
Parmar made the controversial statement during an event organized to mark the 150th birth anniversary of the tribal icon in MP’s Agar Malwa district. Birsa Munda,
He commented, “Raja Ram Mohan Roy was a British agent. He acted as their ‘middleman’ in the country and started the vicious cycle of religious conversion.”
He claimed that the British had introduced many people as “fake social reformers” and promoted those who encouraged conversion.
“If anyone had the courage to stop this and protect the tribal community, it was Birsa Munda,” he said. He said missionary schools were the only educational institutions during British rule and education was used for religious conversion.
The minister stressed that Munda had recognized this trend, given up his missionary education and subsequently protected the interests of his community and fought against British rule. The minister also stressed that his intention was not to insult any historical figure.
Raja Ram Mohan Roy, born in an orthodox Brahmin family in Radhanagar, Bengal on 22 May 1772, is widely known as the Father of the Indian Renaissance. He is credited with ushering in the era of enlightenment and liberal, reformist modernization throughout India.
Opposition parties criticize
Taking aim at BJP, Shashi Panja, A west bengal The minister and TMC leader on Sunday said Parmar’s remarks on Raja Ram Mohan Roy clearly demonstrated the party’s efforts to degrade the intellectuals of Bengal.
“If the BJP wants to hit its own foot, it is free to do so, but it cannot insult Bengal,” he said. He claimed that the people of the state were witnessing an “attack on the pride of Bengal”.
During this time, Congress Spokesman Bhupendra Gupta said Parmar’s comments were not only factually incorrect but also “an insult to India’s reformist heritage”. He said the minister’s comments reflected a dangerous political trend of rewriting history to fit certain “ideological narratives”.
He said, “Was the abolition of Sati also some kind of British brokerage? People who were actually close to the British are today calling our reformers agents.”
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