Tharoor's response to 'Muslim coined Bharat Mata Ki Jai slogan'
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor has joined the debate about the origins of the slogan Bharat Mata ki Jai, ignited by Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. At a rally against the Citizenship Amendment Act in Malappuram on Monday, Vijayan claimed that the slogan was coined by Azimullah Khan, a key strategist of the First War of Independence. Reacting to Vijayan's remarks, Tharoor said Subhas Chandra Bose was accompanied by a Muslim Colonel in the fatal plane crash, who coined the term.
Why does this story matter?
The state of Kerala is among the few states that are against the CAA. For the uninitiated, CAA grants citizenship to Hindus, Jains, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, and Parsis who arrived in India on or before December 31, 2014, from Bangladesh, Pakistan, or Afghanistan. Vijayan's comments were directed at the exclusion of Muslims, who, according to him, played a significant role in the country's history and independence movement.
Such distinctions did not matter so much before: Tharoor
"The fact is that we used to be a country where such distinctions did not matter so much, where indeed someone like Netaji Bose had amongst his closest aides people of every faith," Tharoor said. "Earlier, Bharat Mata ki Jai goes back to the Muslim aide of a Hindu Peshwa. So, that's the way our country used to work. We were not always drawing distinction on the basis of religion," the MP from Thiruvananthapuram added.
Tharoor calls for nuanced understanding of India's heritage
Continuing his discourse, the silver-tongued MP argued against reducing historical events to binary divisions based on religion and called for a more nuanced understanding of India's rich and diverse heritage. Tharoor said, "You have to understand that our history is much more complicated than the black-and-white versions that someone in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) or Hindutva movement would like you to believe."
Slogan was was first mentioned in Kiran Bandopadhyay's play: Antony
Vijayan's comments drew backlash
Vijayan's comments invited a massive backlash from the BJP, which accused him of painting the slogan in communal colors. At a press conference, BJP spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi said the Kerala CM had "overlooked" the fact that the slogan was raised by an Indian and instead "perceived the Hindu-Muslim divisiveness." The party also approached the Election Commission of India seeking a ban on Vijayan's campaigning, alleging that he violated the model code of conduct by "campaigning in the name of religion."