Mumbai: A high-level delegation of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) on Wednesday called on Mumbai Commissioner of Police Vivek Phansalkar to demand stringent action against two websites for publishing ‘derogatory’ articles on the legendary social reformer and India’s pioneering woman teacher, Savitribai Jyotirao Phule.
The delegation, comprising state NCP President Jayant Patil, Leader of Opposition Ajit Pawar, senior leader Chhagan Bhujbal, MP Sunil Tatkare and others submitted a two-page memorandum to Phansalkar, listing the names of the websites and their offensive remarks.
The memorandum said that a person claiming to be ‘Bharadwaj’ had made objectionable remarks against Savitribai (1831-1897) — considered the pioneer of women’s education from the mid-1850s — who is revered in the state and country.
“The comments are so low that I can’t mention them and feel embarrassed even to talk about it We have requested the police to immediately book the two websites, and the authors and also remove the article from all media platforms,” an irate Pawar said.
Earlier, Bhujbal said he had shot off a letter to Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and the Phansalkar bringing to their notice the derogatory language used against Savitribai in its January 2022 articles, among other things, questioning her credentials as a teacher.
Bhujbal pointed out that the NCP sought action and given enough time to the government and police but no action has been taken yet.
He said that the attempts to malign the legendary educator were “highly condemnable, outrageous and painful”, with the websites seeking to rearrange and destroy Indian history.
The articles have also stirred a raging debate on social media with many slamming the authors for the vituperative references and outrageous insinuations against the iconic social reformer, and questioning her historical contributions as an academic trailblazer.
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