MP minister calls Raja Ram Mohan Roy 'British agent', BJP distances itself

Madhya Pradesh's higher education minister Inder Singh Parmar has stirred a fresh political storm by describing 19th-century social reformer Raja Ram Mohan Roy as a "British agent" and accusing him of aiding colonial interests.

Speaking at a Birsa Munda Jayanti event in Agar Malwa, Parmar alleged that the British had “created fake social reformers” to further their own agenda.

“Raja Ram Mohan Roy was a British agent. He worked as their broker in the country. There was a vicious cycle of religious conversions that he started,” he said. Parmar credited tribal icon Birsa Munda with resisting this influence, calling him the only one who “had the courage to protect tribal society”.

Parmar went on to claim that missionary schools in the colonial era used education as a cover for conversion. According to him, Birsa Munda realised this during his schooling and “left missionary education to fight for his community and against British rule”.

In a fierce rebuttal, West Bengal's ruling Trinamool Congress uploaded video statements on social media harshly criticising the remarks, with a spokesperson saying "those whose forefathers served as British agents and issued undertakings of loyalty to the British are calling Bengal's greatest social reformer a British agent".

The remarks drew strong criticism from the Congress, too. Party spokesperson Bhupendra Gupta called the comments “shameful”, questioning Parmar’s historical understanding. “Is the abolition of Sati also British brokerage? What kind of brokerage was this? Those who were agents of the British are making such claims today,” Gupta said, defending Roy as a pioneering social reformer.

The BJP, meanwhile, distanced itself from Parmar’s comments. State spokesperson Shivam Shukla said the remarks reflected the minister’s “personal view”, adding, “The BJP respects all great leaders who contributed to the nation.”

Raja Ram Mohan Roy remains widely acknowledged for his role in abolishing Sati, advocating women’s rights, promoting modern education, and championing rationalist social reform — efforts that led to the 1829 ban on Sati under governor-general Lord William Bentinck.

This is not Parmar’s first controversy involving historical claims. He previously asserted that Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama reached India by following an Indian merchant named Chandan, saying that “we have been taught the wrong history”.