Madhya Pradesh Minister's Blunder: Calls Raja Ram Mohan Roy a 'British Agent', Apologises Later

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{ "title": "Madhya Pradesh Minister's Blunder: Calls Raja Ram Mohan Roy a 'British Agent', Apologises Later", "article": "Madhya Pradesh's Higher Education Minister Inder Singh Parmar has sparked outrage after describing social reformer Raja Ram Mohan Roy as a 'British agent'. The statement was made during an event in Agar Malwa district, where Parmar was celebrating the 150th birth anniversary of tribal icon Birsa Munda. While attempting to praise Birsa Munda, Parmar made the contentious remark, suggesting that Raja Ram Mohan Roy's efforts to abolish the 'Sati' system and promote education were part of a 'vicious cycle of religious conversion' orchestrated by the British. However, his statement was met with widespread criticism from various quarters, including the Trinamool Congress and the Samajwadi Party. West Bengal Minister Shashi Panja termed Parmar's statement as an 'insult to Bengal's intelligentsia and people', while Samajwadi Party national spokesman Yash Bhartiya accused the BJP and RSS of acting as 'agents of the British' to date. The National Students Union of India (NSUI) also condemned the remarks, labelling them as a 'shameful and wilful distortion of history'. Raja Ram Mohan Roy, a 19th-century social reformer, is credited with founding the Brahmo Samaj, a movement that aimed to combat social evils like caste discrimination and blind rituals. His efforts to harmonise Western rational thought with India's philosophical heritage paved the way for a just, enlightened, and progressive society. Following the backlash, Parmar apologised, stating that his remark was a 'slip of the tongue'. However, the controversy has highlighted the BJP's apparent attempt to undermine Bengal's cultural icons and values. The incident has also sparked a debate on the need to respect India's historical figures and their contributions to the country's progress."