Parmar Calls Ram Mohan Roy ‘British Agent’, Sparks Row

• Inder Singh Parmar labels Raja Ram Mohan Roy a “British agent”, triggering controversy.
• Congress terms the remarks “shameful”, questions minister’s understanding of history.
• Minister has previously made contentious claims on Vasco da Gama and “distorted history”.
• Earlier directive on RSS-linked books in college libraries had also drawn scrutiny.

GG News Bureau
Bhopal, 15th Nov: Madhya Pradesh’s Higher Education Minister Inder Singh Parmar has triggered a heated political row after calling 19th-century social reformer Raja Ram Mohan Roy a “British agent”.

Speaking at a Birsa Munda Jayanti event in Agar Malwa, Parmar alleged that Roy aided British interests by dividing Indian society along caste lines and enabling a “vicious cycle” of religious conversions through English education. He claimed several reformers of the era were “enslaved” by British influence, adding that Birsa Munda “broke this cycle” and safeguarded tribal identity.

The Congress condemned the statement sharply. Party spokesperson Bhupendra Gupta termed the remark “shameful” and questioned Parmar’s understanding of history. “Was the abolition of Sati also British brokerage? What kind of brokerage was this? Those who were agents of the British are saying this today,” he said.

Parmar has previously made similar contentious assertions. He earlier claimed India was not discovered by Vasco da Gama but by a merchant named Chandan, arguing that the country had been taught “wrong history” for decades. The statement was made during a university convocation.

His department had also drawn criticism after directing colleges to mandatorily include 88 books—many authored by individuals linked to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh—in their libraries, including three books by former senior RSS leader Suresh Soni.

During his tenure as School Education minister, Parmar had accused historians of portraying foreign explorers as heroes and teaching “only lies”, asserting that “agents were placed in India” before and after independence to shape historical narratives.