A move to install a statue of King Prithviraj Chauhan in Dullakheri village in district Shamli has triggered a controversy following an objection from the Gurjar community. The Gurjar community objected to describing the king as a Rajput in the publicity material being used for the promotion of the installation ceremony. Later, the organisers decided to replace the word ‘Rajput Samrat’ with ‘Hindu Hriday Samrat’ to end the controversy, a day before the inauguration of the statue on Tuesday.
The Gurjar community has time and again claimed that the 12th-century warrior king Prithviraj Chauhan was a Gurjar and not a Rajput. The Gurjar organisation had previously objected to the just-released Akshay Kumar starrer film on the King for this reason.
However, the decision to replace the words ‘Rajput Samrat’ with ‘Hindu Hriday Samrat’ in publicity material has also drawn sharp reactions from a few villagers who believe that the king was a Rajput and the organisers should not have succumbed to the pressure of the Gurjar community.
BKU leader and a resident of the village Ravindra Rana said that Dullakheri is a Thakur dominated village and its residents decided to install a statue of Prithviraj Chauhan.
“The statue was built with the help of contributions made by the villagers. Former sugarcane minister Suresh Rana is slated to inaugurate the statue on Tuesday. The organising committee depicted the king as a Rajput in its publicity material which triggered a controversy,” Rana said.
A Gurjar leader Kavit Choudhary, tweeted, “A conspiracy has been hatched to hurt the harmony in the society by organising an inauguration ceremony of the statue of King Prithviraj Chauhan in which the word ‘Rajput’ has been used.”
{{/usCountry}}A Gurjar leader Kavit Choudhary, tweeted, “A conspiracy has been hatched to hurt the harmony in the society by organising an inauguration ceremony of the statue of King Prithviraj Chauhan in which the word ‘Rajput’ has been used.”
{{/usCountry}}He asked the police to take cognisance of it.
In its reply to the tweet, Shamli police said that they have taken notice of the matter, and the station house officer (SHO) of Garhi Pukhta police station has been directed to investigate. In another tweet, Shamli police said that the police were on the spot and there was no problem with law and order.
Seetu Rana, a member of the organizing committee, said the issue has been resolved as revised publicity material has been printed in which the king is described as a ‘Hindu Hriday Samrat’. The inauguration will now take place as planned on Tuesday.