UP: FIR registered against 4 Dalits for celebrating Periyar Jayanti in Hamirpur – VHP complained
Uttar Pradesh: An official of Vishwa Hindu Parishad alleged that the accused were “insulting Hindu deities.”
Published : 23 Sep 2023, 4:04 PM IST
The birth anniversary of Erode Venkatappa Ramasamy alias ‘Thanthai’ Periyar was organized on 17 September in Kurara village of Hamirpur district of Uttar Pradesh . Periyar was a distinguished social reformer and writer. On September 19, police registered an FIR against four Dalits for making “anti-Hindu remarks against Hindu deities” during the event.
The names of the four people against whom the case was registered are Amar Singh, Dr. Suresh, Awadhesh and Ashok Vidyarthi. In a video of the event accessed by The Quint, Amar is seen saying, “The one who created God is a fool and the one who preaches God is evil and the one who worships God is an even bigger fool. This is the reality.”
“We have received a complaint from the VHP and the accused have been charged under sections 295 and 153A of the Indian Penal Code,” an official at Kurara police station told The Quint on condition of anonymity.
‘He was only reading Periyar’s lines’- Brother of the accused
Section 295 deals with “destruction of a place of worship/sacred object with intent to insult the religion of any class of person”. Section 153A is “promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, language, etc.”
The complainant has described the accused as a member of BSP or Bhim Army. Whereas Advocate Hardaul Singh, brother of the main accused, says that the accused comes from the Dalit class. He is a social worker and has no affiliation with any party. He is not a member of any party.
Advocate Hardaul Singh told The Quint, “What he said was about Periyar’s work and these lines were from his book. His intention was not to hurt any person or their religious sentiments.”
He said that he was only spreading awareness about Periyar’s work. Periyar’s work was critical of casteism and any religious rituals and idols that turned people into “devotees”. Giving information about the current condition of the accused, Hardaul Singh said that his brother is now under pressure and fear.
What is written in the FIR?
The Quint has a copy of the FIR. Which reads, “He insulted Hindu Gods in a video which has now gone viral. In the video, a man is insulting Hindu Gods and Goddesses with derogatory language in his speech in front of people, including children. .”
Giving information about the entire matter, lawyer Hardaul said that there were about 150 people in the crowd. Everyone was listening carefully to the accused. During the programme, children were given chocolates, diaries and pens.
Complainant Amit Rajawat, a member of Vishwa Hindu Parishad, told The Quint that, “The accused in the said case had spoken against the water given for the nine forts, for the ancestors.”
Rajawat said that some people in the crowd shared that video on social media, after which it went viral. After some time, a huge crowd of 40-50 people gathered at the venue. Everyone was angry with the comments of the accused, so they filed a case against them.
Police engaged in investigation
Amit Rajawat said that a case has been registered against four people. But till now it is not clear whether those four people are accused in the case or not. The Police is investigating. If any of them is found innocent, they will be acquitted.
Referring to the place of incident, complainant Rajawat said that BSP flag and banner were installed there. The district head of the party was also present in the program. Accused Amar Singh was giving speeches against Gods and Goddesses and everyone was just clapping after listening to him.
Vidyarthi, one of the accused in the FIR, told the complainant Rajawat that he was not a member of the party. The people present in the meeting were only celebrating Periyar’s birthday. The student said that Amar Singh was only quoting Periyar in the video.”
On this statement of the student, Rajawat said that if he was not a part of it, then why did he or other people not stop Amit Singh?
The accused was only repeating the lines of Periyar
Rajawat concluded by saying, “There is no religion which instructs to say wrong about another religion.”
It is important to note that Periyar was a staunch critic of Brahminical and non-Brahminical religious rituals in general. As an atheist, his writings included criticism of theistic beliefs and religious norms. Which hindered rational thinking or bound people to fear and inequality.
Periyar’s own lines were: ” He who created God is a fool, he who preaches God is a scoundrel, and he who worships God is a barbarian. ” Amar was talking about these lines. Tamil Nadu celebrates his birthday as ‘Social Justice Day’.
The police officer has said that investigation is going on in this matter.
