Mihir Bhoj statue in UP’s Dadri college: Gurjars, Rajputs blame BJP for row

There is a dispute between the members of the Rajput and Gurjar communities over which caste the ninth-century king Mihir Bhoj belonged to

The dispute between the members of the Rajput and Gurjar communities over a statue of the ninth-century king, Samrat Mihir Bhoj, at a college in Greater Noida’s Dadri continued even after it was unveiled on Wednesday, officials said on Thursday.

The Samrat Mihir Bhoj statue was unveiled at Mihir Bhoj degree college in Greater Noida on Wednesday by Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath. (Sunil Ghosh/HT Photo)

Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath unveiled the statue at Mihir Bhoj degree college in Dadri -- an event organised by Dadri MLA Tejpal Nagar.

In Gautam Budh Nagar, both the communities are protesting the move by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), claiming that the party has presented the facts incorrectly.

“The event was an insult to our community as the word ‘Gurjar’ was deliberately removed from the plaque of the King Mihir Bhoj statue, after being pressurised by the Uttar Pradesh government... We will decide the future course of action soon,” Navin Bhati, president of Akhil Bhartiya Gurjar Front, said on Thursday.

Various organisations from the Gurjar community will also organise a mahapanchayat at PG College in Dadri on Sunday to “brainstorm over the insulting event”. We will intensify the agitation if the state government does not take appropriate action in the matter, they said, adding that Gurjars from other states are also likely to join the mahapanchayat.

On Wednesday, after CM Adityanath unveiled the statue, people from the Gurjar community protested against the MLA Tejpal, and gheraoed his house in Dadri.

“We will stop the agitation if the Uttar Pradesh government officially issues a notification and adds the word ‘Gurjar’ on the statue plaque. We will hold a series of protests if this is not done. There is no doubt that Samrat Mihir Bhoj was a Gurjar king...,” Bhati added.

Members of the Rajput community also said that they want to “teach a lesson” to BJP leaders who ”did not take care of this matter responsibly”.

“We have decided to protest against the BJP during the upcoming 2022 assembly polls because it was irresponsible of the party leaders to unveil the statue in Dadri. Besides, the BJP has also been encouraging such activities in other cities too, and it is an insult to the Rajput community. We will hold several protests if the word ‘Gurjar’ is not added on the statue,” said Prithivi Singh, national secretary of Akhil Bharatiya Kshatriya Mahasabha.

The BJP, meanwhile, said that the dispute is uncalled for, and that the people need to rise above caste, creed, language and regional issues, and stay united.

Uttar Pradesh BJP spokesperson Chander Mohan said, “It is a local issue, and the president of Gautam Budh Nagar BJP, Vijay Bhati, will take care of this issue.”

On this, Bhati said, “First, let me talk to the stakeholders, then we can talk on this.”