Karnataka Congress working state president Satish Jarkiholi has created a new controversy regarding the word 'Hindu'. Speaking in a program, he said that if you come to know the meaning of the word Hindu then you will be ashamed. He also said that "a word and a religion from elsewhere is being forcefully imposed on people here", and demanded that there should be a proper debate in this regard.
Jarkiholi said, "They speak about Hindu Dharm...this that, where did the Hindu word come from? Is it ours? It is Persian. Persian is from Iran, Iraq, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan. What is Bharat's relationship with it? Then, how did Hindu become yours? There should be a debate on this."
He said, "Look at 'Wikipedia', where this word (Hindu) comes from? It is not yours. Then why are you placing it at such a high position? If you understand its meaning, you will be ashamed. The meaning of the word Hindu, is very dirty. I'm not saying this, Swamiji has said this, it's on websites."
"A religion and a word from somewhere else is being forcefully imposed on us, there should be a debate on this," he further added.
The remarks made by Jarkiholi has attracted severe backlash and criticism from the Congress’s political opponents - the BJP - and social media users.
“It's very unfortunate. The Congress party has always insulted the majority. Earlier, it was Siddaramaiah doing the same. Now, his follower and a former minister, Satish Jarkiholi, is doing the same,” BJP’s S Prakash said.
“This is a baseless argument. He is saying Hindu is a Persian word which is kind of an abusive word. These kinds of humiliation they enjoy. Congress should clarify his statement and tell us if this is a personal stand or an official stand. Even otherwise, the Congress should apologise and take action against Satish Jarkiholi,” Prakash added.