In a controversial remark, Yoga guru Baba Ramdev has said that if it wasn’t for the law of the land, he would “behead” those who refuse to chant “Bharat Mata ki Jai”.
Chanting “Bharat Mata ki Jai” is an affirmation of citizens’ faith in their country, their motherland and if a religion preached otherwise, it was against national interest, he said.
We respect this country’s law and Constitution, otherwise if anybody disrespects Bharat Mata, we have the capability of beheading not one, but thousands and lakhs.Baba Ramdev
“Kehte hain Bharat Mata ki Jai bolna hamare dharm ke khilaaf hai....aur agar koi mazhab yeh kehta ho ki apni matrabhoomi ko gaurav mat do, woh mazhab bhi desh ke hit mein nahi ( If any religion prohibits chanting of ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’, it is against national interest),” Ramdev said addressing a ‘Sadbhavna Sammelan’ on 3 April.
Ramdev’s comment was a thinly veiled attack on AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi who had recently said he will not chant Bharat Mata ki Jai even if a knife is put to his throat. He, however, did not directly name Owaisi.
Some person wearing a cap stands up and says that he will not say ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’ even if you decapitate him. Look, there is a rule of law in this country, otherwise, forget one, we can behead lakhs.Baba Ramdev
Ramdev went on say that chanting the slogan has nothing to do with religion. It is a matter of national honour, pride, prestige. We may be Hindu, Sikh, Muslim, Christians, but we are Indians first, he said.
The speakers at the ‘Sadbhavana Sammelan’ included the Himachal Pradesh Governor, Acharya Dev Vrat, Jain Muni Tarun Sagar, chess player Anuradha Beniwal, Bollywood actor Randeep Hooda, sportsperson Yogeshwar Dutt, Haryana’s child prodigy Kautilya Pandit, among others.
The event was organised under the aegis of ‘Samajik Samrasta Manch’ in Rohtak, which had been the epicentre of the recent incidents of violence during the Jat stir for caste-based quota.
Congress’ Sanjay Jha tweeted in response to Ramdev’s comment:
Ramdev’s comment closely follows a fatwa issued against the chanting of ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’ by the Islamic seminary Darul Uloom Deoband. One of the most important seminaries of India, Darul Uloom says, “‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’ is not in consonance with Islam and we will not say it. But we love our country immensely and we can raise slogans like ‘Hindustan Zindabad’ and ‘Madre Vatan (motherland).”
Kanhaiya Kumar, JNUSU President, who was arrested on charges of sedition in March, tweeted in response to Baba Ramdev’s comment.
(If all Indians unanimously chant ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’, would you bring both black money and the Prime Minister back to the country, Mr Ramdev?)
Devendra Fadnavis’s comment earlier this week on chanting “Bharat Mata ki Jai” had further fanned the controversy.
We absolutely have no problem if somebody says Jai Hind or Jai Bharat or Jai Hindustan, but all we object about is when someone says, I won’t say ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’. There is a limit to appeasement too. There are crores of people in this country who feel one must say ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’ and those who can’t praise Bharat Mata don’t have the right to live in this country.Devendra Fadnavis
(With inputs from PTI.)
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