Samajwadi Party leader Swami Prasad Maurya, who previously sparked controversy with his statements about Ramcharitmanas, is once more facing criticism for his comments concerning Brahminism and the Hindu faith.
Maurya, who is a member of the UP legislative council, has now labeled Hinduism as “deceitful” and “a hoax”.
Maurya, who posted a video of him on X (formerly Twitter) delivering a speech at an event, is heard saying, "The roots of Brahminism are very deep and the reason for all the disparity is also Brahminism. There is no religion called Hindu, Hinduism is just a hoax. There is a conspiracy to trap the Dalits, tribals and backward people of this country by calling the same Brahmin religion as Hindu religion. If there was Hindu religion then tribals would have been respected, dalits would have been respected, backward people would have been respected but what an irony...”
His remarks triggered a slew of comments on social media criticising him for spreading 'hatred' against one community.
Maurya's Ramcharitmanas comments sparked controversy earlier
Samajwadi Party MLC Swami Prasad Maurya sparked controversy in February when he asserted that specific verses within the Ramcharitmanas "insult" a large portion of society due to their caste implications. He called for these verses to be "banned."
He emphasised that the use of caste-based humiliation in the name of religion should be opposed. Furthermore, he noted that a substantial number of people, possibly in the millions, have not engaged with or do not engage with the Ramcharitmanas. Maurya highlighted that Dalits gained the right to read and write during the British colonial period and that women attained literacy rights under British rule.
Maurya's critique extended to labeling the Hindu religious text as 'all nonsense'. He urged the government to expunge the objectionable portions from the Ramcharitmanas or consider a complete ban on the book.
The Ramcharitmanas, a monumental poem composed in the Awadhi language, draws from the Ramayana and was crafted by the 16th-century Bhakti poet Tulsidas.
