Bihar ‘Ramcharitmanas’ row: Behind RJD response, a plan to counter BJP, sharpen divide

This episode comes at a time when some sections of the JD(U) are unhappy at the failure of RJD chief Lalu Prasad and Tejashwi to discipline former agriculture minister Sudhakar Singh who has frequently targeted Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. Singh stepped down from the Cabinet in October after Kumar publicly rebuked him over his comments on government policies and a drought-like situation in Bihar. At the time, the RJD, though unhappy with the way the CM handled the matter, got Singh to step down as it did not want to rock the boat of the Mahagathbandhan (Grand Alliance) government 2.0 and give the BJP any political mileage. The RJD had also allowed Kartik Kumar, also known as Kartikeya Singh, to resign from the government in September after his portfolio was changed from Law to Sugarcane Industry. This time, however, it is appearing to be firm.

Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) supporters burn an effigy during a protest against Bihar Education minister Chandra Shekhar over his comments on Ramcharitmanas, in Patna on Friday. (ANI Photo)

JD(U) MLC and spokesperson Neeraj Kumar told reporters, “We believe in Ram-Rahim culture … a composite culture. We follow the ideals of Mahatma Gandhi, who said ‘Hey Ram’ before dying, BR Ambedkar who is among the makers of the Constitution and Dr Rammanohar Lohia who used to hold Ramayana fairs. Maybe he (Chandra Shekhar) knows more than the three people I named.”

RJD spokesperson Mrityunjay Tiwari told The Indian Express that there was no question of any dispute over either Ram or the Ramcharitmanas. “The debate is over some verses of the text. It could be the minister’s own interpretation of those verses,” he said.

The party’s national vice president Shivanand Tiwari suggested that a meeting be convened on the matter and that Tejashwi attend it. RJD state president Jagdanand Singh also said the minister was hinting at verses that talk about social discrimination and “demean women”.

An RJD insider said this was a strategy to sharpen the political divide between the party and the BJP. “With the BJP being Hindutva hardliners, the party will take any line of thought that may sharpen the backward and forward (caste) divide and provide a counter to the BJP’s politics. The Bihar caste survey is also providing a concrete political plank to socialist groups that are bereft of any plank.”

Meanwhile, the former head of Bihar State Religious Trust Council, Acharya Kishore Kunal, has said he is set to organise a seminar next week on the Ramcharitmanas, which he called a text of “peace and social cohesion”. “Let us debate to settle the issue. The first version of the Ramcharitmanas was available in 1810 after it was printed in Kolkata. The Ramcharitmanas did not use ‘shudra pashu naari’ in the oft-quoted verse. In fact, it is ‘chhudra pashu maari’, which means those with little intellect and those who kill animals. The said verse was also used by Samudra when Lord Rama gets angry with it after not being given the way to reach Lanka. Linguistically, ‘naari’ also means sea and not just women.”

Saying he had sent an invitation to the education minister, Kunal said, “I will appreciate it if he or any of his representatives attend the seminar being held next week.”