MP minister calls Raja Ram Mohan Roy a 'British agent', apologises amid flak

Madhya Pradesh Minister and BJP leader Inder Singh Parmar has sparked controversy by saying that social reformer Raja Ram Mohan Roy was a "British agent" who started a "vicious cycle of religious conversion", prompting the TMC to call the remarks an insult to Bengal.

After facing widespread flak, the MP Higher Education Minister apologised on Sunday, claiming his remark was a "slip of the tongue".

The row erupted at a time when the BJP, after winning the Bihar elections, has set its eyes on TMC-ruled West Bengal, where assembly polls are due next year.

Recently, a political confrontation erupted between the Trinamool Congress and the BJP over two of Bengal's most revered cultural icons, Rabindranath Tagore and Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay.

In Kolkata, West Bengal Minister Shashi Panja said Parmar's statement showed that the BJP was trying to demean Bengal's intelligentsia and the people in a bid to subdue the pride and the soul of the eastern state.

Parmar made the controversial remark during an event held in Agar Malwa district on the 150th birth anniversary of tribal icon Birsa Munda.

"Raja Ram Mohan Roy was a British agent. He worked in the country as their 'dalal' and started a vicious cycle of religious conversion," he said.

The minister claimed the British had projected several people as "fake social reformers" and promoted those who encouraged conversions.

"If anyone had the courage to stop this and protect the tribal community, it was Birsa Munda," he said, adding that missionary schools were the only educational institutions during British rule, and education was used as a cover for religious conversion.

Parmar said Munda recognised this trend, left missionary education, and fought for his community and against British rule.

Hitting out at the BJP, Panja said the women of the country know that the 'Sati' system was abolished due to Roy's efforts.

"If the BJP wants to axe its own foot, it is free to do so; but it cannot insult Bengal," the senior TMC leader said, claiming that the people of the state are watching the "attack on the pride of Bengal."

Reacting to the remarks, Samajwadi Party national spokesman Yash Bhartiya alleged the BJP and RSS have been acting as "agents of the British" to date, which makes them find faults with every social reformer.

"Promoting evil practices and superstition is the main objective of the BJP government, which is why fraudulent godmen are flourishing in Madhya Pradesh," he alleged.

He alleged that even though Parmar has displayed "low and inferior thinking", the BJP won't take action and referred to the controversial remarks made by Parmar's colleague and minister Vijay Shah on a woman Army officer.

"Earlier, MP Minister Vijay Shah made objectionable remarks against the woman Army officer who briefed the media during Operation Sindoor, but no action was taken against him. The Bhind MLA was seen beating and forcing the Collector to vacate his house, yet no action was taken. This shows the BJP supports all these views," the SP leader alleged.

He was referring to a huge row triggered by Vijay Shah after he made controversial remarks on Colonel Sophiya Qureshi, a prominent face of the armed forces, along with Wing Commander Vyomika Singh, during media briefings on Operation Sindoor.

National Students Union of India's (NSUI) national spokesman Viraj Yadav dubbed remarks made by Parmar “shameful and wilful distortion of history”.

"Raja Ram Roy was a visionary reformer whose monumental contributions shaped modern India. He bravely championed the abolition of the barbaric practice of Sati, advocated for women's rights and education, and founded the Brahmo Samaj to combat social evils like caste discrimination and blind rituals," he added.

His efforts to harmonise Western rational thought with India's philosophical heritage paved the way for a just, enlightened, and progressive society, Yadav said.

"This wilful distortion of history by the minister exposes the dangerous ideological agenda of the BJP and RSS, seeking to undermine the very heroes who laid the foundation of our nation's values.

"Such irresponsible statements from an education minister are unacceptable and must be condemned in the strongest terms," the NSUI leader said, adding that Raja Ram Mohan Roy's legacy belongs to every Indian who believes in liberty, equality, and social justice.

Following widespread criticism, Parmar, in a video statement, said the remark "came out by mistake".

"Raja Ram Mohan Roy was a social reformer, and he should be respected. The sentence slipped out of my mouth by mistake, and I am very sad about it. I apologise for it," he said.

The minister said he did not intend to insult any historical figure.

Raja Ram Mohan Roy was a reformer and one of the founders of the Brahmo Sabha in 1828, the precursor of the Brahmo Samaj- a socio-religious reform movement. He has been dubbed the “Father of Indian Renaissance”.