‘Hindu’ refers to lowly: Controversial writer KS Bhagwan stokes row

RAICHUR: Controversial writer K S Bhagwan has stoked yet another row by say that the word ‘Hindu’ is itself shameful and refers to a person who has been lowly.

Speaking at the Halumatha Utsav organised at Tinthani bridge near the Kanaka Guru Peetha in Devadurga, Bhagwan said the word Hindu was coined in 1030. “Persian writer Al Barauni, while writing about Bharat, mentioned river Sindhu and Hindu. Later, during the reign of Akbar, this land was called Hindustan. The epics like Ramayana and Mahabharata, the Vedas and Puranas make no mention of the word Hindu. The Kashmiri Shaiva literature refers to Hindu as one who is of low birth or is cursed or abused. Hence, the word is humiliating”, he said.

Further, he said that as per the four divisions, the word Shudra also refers to lowly as per the Manusmrithi. “Ambedkar incorporated ideals like equality and freedom in the Constitution. The people of the country should not allow the Constitution to be replaced by the Manusmrithi. Ambedkar and Periyar had burnt copies of the Manusmrithi and people should fight for the Constitution and reject the Manusmrithi”, he said.