Former Bihar CM at loggerheads with BJP over discrimination faced by Dalits

Manjhi in a tweet expressed his anguish and shared a news report of a Dalit couple from Karnataka facing a penalty after their child, aged two years, inadvertently stepped into a temple.

Former Bihar chief minister and Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) chief Jitan Ram Manjhi on Thursday lashed out at the ‘self-appointed guardians of faith’ for Dalit being forced to live a life deprived of dignity.

Hindustani Awam Morch (HAM) President Jitan Ram Manjhi (PTI)

Manjhi in a tweet expressed his anguish and shared a news report of a Dalit couple from Karnataka facing a penalty after their child, aged two years, inadvertently stepped into a temple.

“What we are trying to express is anguish that has not been expressed in over several centuries. We have not even expressed our anger yet. The self-appointed ‘political’ guardians of our faith go silent when such reports surface. They do not say anything because they themselves do not like when Dalits enter temple or hold an opinion regarding religious texts,” Manjhi said in a tweet sharing news reports of the Dalit couple facing the penalty.

A Dalit family was asked to pay ₹25,000 for "purification" of a Hanuman temple in Miyapur village in Karnataka's Koppal after their child entered the temple. The police arrested five people in connection with the case on Wednesday.

Incidentally, Manjhi’s tweet is directed at the Karnataka government which is ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), who also happens to be a coalition partner of the HAM in Bihar.

His statements also came after few leaders from the BJP criticised Manjhi for calling Lord Ram a fictional character. His remarks were in reference to discussions on demands of including the sacred text Ramayana in school curriculum in Bihar.

Manjhi, who expressed his support to the idea of inclusion of the sacred text, however, also said that Lord Ram was a ‘fictional entity’ and not a real person. “I do not believe Lord Rama was a great man. He is a work of fiction. I believe Valmiki and Goswami Tulsidas were great men who came out with such an inspiring character,” Manjhi was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.

His remarks courted controversy and led to criticism from the BJP. BJP MLA Hari Bhushan Thakur even asked why the former minister was not named ‘Jiten Rakshas (Demon) Manjhi’ instead of Jiten Ram Manjhi.

Manjhi was the chief minister of Bihar for a little less than a year and was chosen to lead the state after the 2014 Lok Sabha elections when Nitish Kumar stepped down following Janata Dal (United)’s poor performance.

Manjhi broke away from the JD(U) and formed HAM in 2015. He joined the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in 2020 after leaving the RJD-led Opposition Grand Alliance. Manjhi belongs to the Musahar caste, which is also known as Mahadalits.