Civil Service tutor Shubhra Ranjan has sparked controversy after her tutorial video comparing Mughal emperor Akbar to Hindu deity Rama went viral. In the video, Ranjan stated that Ram “does not show unlimited power,” provoking a strong backlash from netizens and raising questions about the portrayal of historical and religious figures in educational content.
On Saturday, Ranjan issued an apology saying that she did not intend to hurt sentiments. “My intention is not to hurt anyone's feelings. If it has happened, then I apologise,” she said.
Notably, only a part of the lecture was being circulated on social media. Flagging the same, Shubhra Ranjan said that the the video in question was only a small part of a broader classroom discussion.
"You can understand from watching the complete video lecture that I intended to convey that Prabhu Sri Ram's Rajya was an ideal state," she said, explaining that the discussion was part of a comparative study and expressing regret for any unintended misinterpretation.
In context to Ram, UPSC CSE coach Shubhra Ranjan said that the Hindu deity's “power is restricted by customs and traditions”.
Ranjan moves onto discuss emperor Akbar and asks her students to point out 'whose power is less tied or limited to tradition?" She answers the question with “Akbar”.
Ranjan further elaborates that Akbar was aiming to establish his own religion and his ‘own morality’. Ranjan points to the syncretic religion or spiritual program propounded by the Mughal emperor Akbar in 1582- ‘Dīn-i Ilāhī’.
Ranjan then says, “Ram is not defining morality” drawing comparison to the Mughal emperor. She says, “Ram is exercising morality”.
Ranjan uses comparisons to illustrate how the institution of monarchy has evolved in its significance across different time periods in India. She says monarchy was not 'absolute' in India.
“King was also under Dharma. King was upholder of Dharma”, says Ranjan in the viral 6 minute video.
According to Valmiki Ramayana, Prince Rama, who returned to Ayodhya in the kingdom of Kosala, after spending 14 years in exile, took over as king.
An X user said that he had filed a complaint on the cyber police portal, accusing Shubhra Ranjan of “blasphemy and blatantly hurting Hindu sentiments.”
Another X user criticised Ranjan, accusing her of corrupting the minds of UPSC aspirants by comparing Lord Ram to Akbar, and called for strong action against her.
Some netizens supported the tutor. One said, “She explained that Akbar used to define his own morality, whereas Shri Ram actually followed morality. What is the problem in analysing Shri Ram as a king?”
