Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Nov 8: A senior Congress leader in Karnataka has stoked a controversy over the origin of the word “Hindu” and refused to withdraw even as the party distanced itself from his comments and made it officially clear that the Congress did not share his views.
Giving examples in support of his claim, the Karnataka Congress MLA, who is also the state Congress working president, Satish Jarkiholi said if he was proved wrong, he would not only apologise to the people but would also resign as a member of the state Assembly.
Even as the Congress condemned the remarks unequivocally and senior party leader and Karnataka in-charge Randeep Singh Surjewala said the Congress did not share his views, Jarkiholi on Tuesday hang on to his views and claimed that many books mention the “Persian” roots of the word ‘Hindu’ and offered to resign if anyone can prove him wrong, a day after his remark on the origin of the word stoked a massive controversy.
“There’s nothing wrong in what I said. There are hundreds of records about how this Persian word (Hindu) came. This has been mentioned in Swamy Dayanand Saraswati’s book ‘Satyarth Prakash’, Dr GS Patil’s book ‘Basava Bharatha’ and Bal Gangadhar Tilak’s ‘Kesari’ newspaper as well. These are just 3-4 examples, there are many such articles available on Wikipedia or any website, you should please read it,” he said in a video statement.
Speaking to the media, he said he will step down as a legislator if he is proved wrong. “Let everyone prove I am wrong. If I am wrong, I will resign as MLA, not just apologise for my statement,” he said.
Mr Jarkiholi has also served as forest minister in the previous Janata Dal Secular-Congress government. He made the remark during an event in Belagavi district on Sunday in which he said that the word “Hindu” had its origin in Persian language and the word has a vulgar meaning in the “parent language.”
“The word Hindu, where did it originate from? Is it ours? It’s Persian, from the region of Iran, Iraq, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan. What is the connection of the word Hindu with India? Then how can you accept it? This should be debated,” he said, adding, “You will be ashamed to know the meaning of Hindu” and asked how people can accept the word when it had no connection with India.
The remark stoked a massive row, with the BJP terming it an attempt to appease minority voters and the Congress distancing itself. The Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj S Bommai condemned the remark. “They make statements with half-knowledge to appease voters and dream to get minority votes. This is anti-national and everyone should condemn it. Is Rahul Gandhi and Siddaramaiah’s silence endorsing Satish Jarkiholi’s statements?” the Chief Minister asked.
The MLA’s statement was also strongly criticised by former Chief Minister and BJP veteran BS Yediyurappa. “What Satish Jarkiholi has said should be condemned. The Congress itself has condemned it. But that is not enough. I demand that the Congress and Satish Jarkiholi apologise to the Hindu community,” Mr Yediyurappa said.
Dr. Ashwathnarayan CN, Karnataka’s Minister for Higher Education, said the Congress should respect people’s sentiments. “They should not be creating confusion. Respect the sentiments, respect the culture instead of being critical. Don’t create unnecessary controversies, it is not good in the interest of the societies,” he said.
Condemning his remarks, Surjewala said, “Hinduism is a way of life & a civilisational reality. Congress built our Nation to respect every religion, belief & faith. This is the essence of India.” “The statement attributed to Satish Jarkiholi is deeply unfortunate & deserves to be rejected. We condemn it unequivocally,” he tweeted.
Karnataka Congress president DK Shivakumar said, “Satish Jarkiholi’s statement is his personal opinion and not the Congress party’s opinion, we will ask for his explanation on the same.” He further said that the party did not agree with his statement. Jarkiholi, however, has not budged from his stand so far.
