FIR Filed Against Urdu Poet Munawwar Rana For Comparing Taliban With Maharishi Valmiki

PL Bharti lodged a complaint claiming that Munawwar has hurt Dalits after comparing the Taliban with Maharishi and insulting them and at the same time it has hurt the Hindu faith.

File Photo Munawwar Rana

Lucknow: An FIR has been registered against the famous poet, Munawwar Rana in the Hazratganj Kotwali Police in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh for allegedly inciting religious feelings. Apparently, Rana compared the Taliban to Maharishi Valmiki, the author of Ramayana, after which the FIR was registered against him.

"FIR has been registered against Rana on a complaint of one PL Bharti, who alleged that he hurt religious feelings by comparing Valmiki with Taliban," a senior official said according to PTI.

Shyam Shukla, the in-charge of Hazratganj Kotwali, said that a case has been registered against Munawwar Rana for inciting religious sentiments along with other sections after a complaint by Valmiki Samaj leader PL Bharti. He said that PL Bharti lodged a complaint claiming that Munawwar has hurt Dalits after comparing Taliban with Maharishi and insulting them and at the same time it has hurt the Hindu faith.

The FIR was registered at Hazratganj police station under Sections 153A (Promoting enmity between different groups on ground of religion, race, place of birth etc.), 295 A (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings of any class), 505(1)(B) (with intent to cause, or which is likely to cause, fear or alarm to the public) and the SC/ST atrocities prevention act.

Along with PL Bharti, the General Secretary of Ambedkar Mahasabha, Amarnath Prajapati, has also filed a complaint against Munawwar Rana and demanded action. Rana appeared on a discussion on a TV channel where made the comparison between the Taliban to Maharishi Valmiki. 

Rana while talking to a channel according to PTI said, "Valmiki became a God after he wrote the Ramayana, before that he was a dacoit. A person's character can change. Similarly, the Taliban, for now, are terrorists but people and characters change."

When you talk about Valmiki, you will have to talk about his past. In your religion, you make anyone god. But he was a writer and he wrote the Ramayana, but we are not in competition here, Rana had said.