Rajput Or Gurjar? Kaithal BJP Leaders' Feud Over Naming Of Ninth Century King Statue

There was growing anger within the Haryana Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) camp on Thursday (20 July) as 35 local party leaders from Kaithal threatened to resign in protest.

Their grievance stemmed from the word 'Gurjar' being associated with ninth century king, Mihir Bhoj, during the unveiling of his statue by district party leaders.

Mihira Bhoja, also known as Bhoja I, was a king from the Gurjara-Pratihara Dynasty who reigned from approximately 836 to 885 CE. He took over the throne after his father Ramabhadra.

Bhoja was a devout follower of Vishnu and even used the title of Adivaraha, which can be found on some of his coins.

Throughout his rule, the capital resided in Kannauj, which is now known as Uttar Pradesh. In his era, Kannauj held the name "Panchala."

During the unveiling ceremony of the king's statue, Gurjar community leaders referred to him as "Gurjar Pratihar Samrat Mihir Bhoj."

The local BJP leaders, who primarily belong to the Rajput community, expressed their dissatisfaction with the king being referred to as a "Gurjar" instead of a "Hindu Samrat." They believed that the latter title was more appropriate.

Controversies surrounding the lineage of the king have already arisen in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, leading to tensions between the two communities.

Some BJP leaders claimed that the police had used force and tear-gas against community members who were protesting in Kaithal. According to these leaders, a few protesters were injured during the incident.

In response, a group of community leaders burned the effigy of BJP leaders to express their opposition to the police action.

Around 35 BJP leaders, including Sanjiv Rana, Mahipal Rana, and Dr Sandeep Rana, have offered their resignations. They have demanded the removal of district BJP president Ashok Gujjar from his position.

If their demand is not met, they have threatened to stand by their resignations.

During a speech at a gathering, BJP's Kaithal MLA, Lila Ram Gujjar, stated that Mihir Bhoj was a Gurjar Samrat and ruled over a larger territory which included Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, and Burma. He urged the Rajput community to refrain from distorting history and emphasised the need for restraint in their comments.

In contrast, BJP leader Mahipal Rana, representing the Rajput community, expressed their disagreement with the statue being named as Rajput Samrat. They demanded the removal of the word "Gurjar" from the statue.

Rana accused Gurjar community leaders of going against their agreement to resolve the matter and unveiling the statue early in the morning.

Referring to the use of police force against the agitators on Wednesday (19 July), the district president of BJP Kisan Morcha, Sanjiv Rana, expressed his belief that there was no need for a lathi charge on the protesters.

Rana acknowledged that the administration had already conducted nearly six meetings between the leaders of both communities, in an attempt to resolve the issue.

Another leader from the Rajput community, who was present at the press conference in Kaithal, stated that they did not intend to initiate a confrontation.

They further mentioned that if the statue had been named Rajput-Gurjar Samrat, Hindu Samrat, or Chatrapati Samrat, they would have supported it.