Poet and lyricist Manoj Muntashir has kicked off a storm on social media through his latest video in which he denounced the Mughal rulers and asked people to chose their heroes and villains wisely. In the video title ‘Whose heir are you? Choose Your Legacy And Your Heroes!’, Muntashir termed Mughal rulers like Akbar and Humayun ‘glorified dacoits’ and claimed that people were brainwashed over the centuries. Opening the video, Muntashir said that people (Hindus) have left their history unclaimed for several centuries.
“For the last several centuries, we have left the land of our history unclaimed. We were brainwashed to such an extent that suddenly in our pre-primary textbook, instead of G for Ganesh, we are taught G for Gadaha (Donkey) and we did not even get a crinkle on our forehead,” he said.
He also said that while roads were renamed after the Mughal rulers, people kept clapping for opportunist politicians. “The roads leading to our house were named after some glorified dacoits like Akbar, Humayun and Jahangir and we kept on clapping, watching the opportunist leaders cutting the ribbons,” he added.
However, much of the storm was caused due to his remarks about Mughal rulers. “In Chittorgarh, one who killed thirty thousand civilians in the name of jihad was ideal king. The one who held Meena Bazar in front of the Agra Fort was jille ilahi. Jille Ilahi means the shadow of God, which God is this whose shadow is so black? Pick your heroes and villains by rising above caste which has been the tradition of this great country. Who was Ravana? A Brahmin. He was in the direct bloodline of Lord Brahma, but have you seen a Brahmin worshipping Ravana?” he said.
The video released on August 24 has now gone viral with many public personalities openly criticising the poet. Director Neeraj Ghaywan termed the video as ‘Bigotry laced with casteism!’
Bigotry laced with casteism! https://t.co/7ok09YCql4
— Neeraj Ghaywan (@ghaywan) August 26, 2021
Writer Vaibhav Vishal asked Manoj to remove Mutashir from his name. “The man who made a career out of Ishq, Khalish, Mehfooz, Fariyaad, Humsafar and Rashqe Kamar questions our Indo-Islamic legacy, and our education, values and choices. Good to see the mask coming off, Manoj. Remove the word “Muntashir” from your name now. Choose your legacy!” said Vishal.
The man who made a career out of Ishq, Khalish, Mehfooz, Fariyaad, Humsafar and Rashqe Kamar questions our Indo-Islamic legacy, and our education, values and choices. Good to see the mask coming off, Manoj. Remove the word “Muntashir” from your name now. Choose your legacy! ???? https://t.co/ExbYYtS6Q2
— Vaibhav Vishal (@ofnosurnamefame) August 25, 2021
Notably, Manoj had met RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat earlier this month and had said that he will soon share his learnings on YouTube.
स्वतंत्रता दिवस की दोपहर, एक ऐसे महान व्यक्तित्व के साथ बीती, जिनकी सोच स्वतंत्र है. जो वर्षों में नहीं सीख पाया, वो आदरणीय श्री @DrMohanBhagwat जी के सत्संग ने कुछ घंटों में सिखा दिया. क्या सीखा, बहुत जल्द अपने #YouTube चैनल पर साझा करूँगा, ताकि कुछ भ्रम दूर हो सकें. pic.twitter.com/mGn3Hf2Fvt
— Manoj Muntashir (@manojmuntashir) August 16, 2021
However, many netizens also supported Muntashir and praised him for the video.
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