Parbhani: Shri. Kumar Ketkar, the editor of daily newspaper ‘Loksatta’ made a deplorable baseless comment that Brahmins used to eat beef in olden days and later they turned vegetarians. He was speaking in the multi-lingual Brahmins conference. Owing to such anti-Hindu statements, enraged members of the audience gave him a thrashing. Further, misrepresented news about the incident was published in the daily ‘Loksatta’. Hence, a resolve was passed in the conference to condemn ‘Loksatta’.
In the second session of the conference, Shri. Ketkar started criticizing Brahmins. The youth in the audience got angry and asked him to stop his speech. Shri. Ketkar told them that his was the main speech and he would have to complete it. He also told them that the youths could leave the conference if they did not agree with his views; and he added that he had a big heart. This statement added fuel to the fire and many youths charged towards the podium and started demanding that Shri Ketkar should be asked to get down and the organizers should apologize for inviting Shri. Ketkar. After the commotion, Shri. Ketkar was taken to Aurangabad under police protection. The furious members of audience pelted stones at the police and the car in which Shri. Ketkar was being taken away.
The conference began in the presence of Jagadguru Shankaracharya of Karveer Peeth, Shri. Prashant Damle, an actor, Shri. Prakash Kharvadkar, an industrialist among others. A procession was also organized on the occasion in which about 2500 people participated. While referring to the incident when Shri. Ravi Shastri, a famous cricketer was attacked for making a statement during his interview on a T.V channel that he liked to eat beef, Shri. Ketkar asked, should we not consider those eating fish curry and rice as Brahmins? Shri. Ketkar said that if Brahmins from Kerala and Karnataka eat mutton, should we not treat them as ‘Brahmins’? When our people go to USA and start eating beef, do we severe relations with them?
Shri. Ketkar also narrated a story about two Indian women living in Pakistan who had to shift to Pakistan after getting married to Indian Muslims due to the harassment meted out to them for marrying Muslims. Shri. Ketkar said that had we not harassed such people, they would have been still citizens of India.
Source: ‘Dainik Sanatan Prabhat’
