Madhya Pradesh Higher Education Minister Inder Singh Parmar has triggered a fresh controversy with his remarks about 19th-century social reformer Raja Ram Mohan Roy, whom he called a “British agent”.
Speaking at a Birsa Munda Jayanti event in Agar Malwa, Parmar claimed that the British had created “fake social reformers” to serve their agenda, and named Roy among them.
“Raja Ram Mohan Roy was a British agent. He worked as their broker in the country. There was a vicious cycle of religious conversions that he started,” Parmar said, adding, “If anyone had the courage to stop it and protect tribal society, it was Birsa Munda.”
The minister further claimed that during the British era, missionary schools were the only educational institutions available, and that they used education as a cover for religious conversion. He said Birsa Munda recognised this pattern and left missionary education to fight for his community and against British rule.
“Birsa Munda wanted to pursue education, but only English missionary schools operated at that time. While studying there, he realised that the British were using education as a facade for religious conversion. After that, Birsa Munda left the missionary school and dedicated himself to social service and ending British rule,” Parmar said.
The Congress party reacted sharply to Parmar’s comments, with party spokesperson Bhupendra Gupta condemning the remarks as “shameful” and questioning the minister’s grasp of history.
“Is the abolition of Sati also British brokerage? What kind of brokerage was this? Those who were agents of the British are saying this today,” Gupta said, defending Roy’s legacy as a social reformer.
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The state BJP unit distanced itself from Parmar’s statement. BJP spokesperson Shivam Shukla said, “This is the minister’s personal view. The BJP respects all great leaders who have contributed to the nation. His statements have been misinterpreted by Congress.”
Raja Ram Mohan Roy is widely credited with leading the campaign against the practice of Sati and championing women’s rights, education reform, and religious rationalism in 19th-century India. His efforts culminated in the British government’s banning of Sati in 1829.
This is not Parmar’s first brush with controversy over historical interpretations. Earlier, he had claimed that Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama got to India by following an Indian merchant named Chandan. “We have been taught the wrong history,” he had said.
