By TwoCircles.net Staff Reporter,
New Delhi: Days after the police action against FORWARD Press following the complaint by saffron organisations regarding a painting of Goddess Durga published by the magazine, its consulting editor Pramod Ranjan has said the controversy possibly has roots in the Bahujan rendition of the narrative of a mythical character called Mahishashur.
Forward Press, the magazine devoted to dalit issues, had alleged that Delhi police had rampaged and vandalized its Nehru Place office on October 9 and allegedly detained four staff members. It had also claimed that the police had confiscated copies of its magazine which had the controversial depiction.
The October 2014 issue of Forward Press was a special number devoted to Bahujan Shraman tradition and carried well researched articles of leading writers and professors of prestigious universities. It contained a Bahujan rendition of the story of Mahishasur and Durga presented in words, sketches and paintings.
“This controversy has its roots in the re-rendition or you may say, the Bahujan rendition, of the narrative of a mythical character called ‘Mahishasur’. It is possible that you might not be aware of the contours of this concept. As far as I know, the material posted on social networking sites and published in newspapers regarding the issue is incomplete and in some cases, misleading and contrary to the facts. For instance, it has been said that this is an anti-feminist view or an attempt to establish another ‘God’,” Ranjan said in a statement.
“The fact of the matter is that this movement is not intended to hurt the ‘sentiments’ of anyone and is an attempt to build a more inclusive and humanistic society. No civilised society should celebrate murders of display idols smeared with blood,” he said.
In order to put forth his point further, Ranjan referred to his book titled ‘Mahishasur’, the second edition of which was published by Dusadh Publications, Lucknow (book attached as PDF below). “This booklet is an important document for understanding the issue,” he added.
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Forward Press claims police confiscating copies