Renowned civil services exam tutor Shubhra Ranjan released a statement on Saturday addressing allegations that she compared Lord Ram to Mughal emperor Akbar, clarifying that her intention was not to hurt anyone's feelings.
"My intention is not to hurt anyone's feelings. If it has happened, then I apologise," she said.
This follows the widespread circulation of a clip from her lecture on social media platforms, in which it was alleged that the UPSC CSE coach claimed Mughal emperor Akbar was more powerful than Lord Ram, allegedly offending the sentiments of Hindus.
An X user stated that he had filed a complaint on the cyber police portal, accusing her of "blasphemy and blatantly hurting Hindu sentiments."
Ms Ranjan clarified that 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.
An X user criticized Ms Ranjan, accusing her of corrupting the minds of UPSC aspirants by comparing Lord Ram to Akbar and calling for strong action against her.
However, some netizens supported the tutor. One user said, "She explained that Akbar defined his own morality, whereas Shri Ram actually followed morality. What is the problem in analyzing Shri Ram as a king?"
"Bhagwan Prabhu Sri Ram signifies the best of India's spiritual heritage, civilizational ethos, and cultural history. We have the highest reverence and faith in Prabhu Sri Ram and the path shown by him. As an institution, we and all our members hold the highest reverence for all religions," the IAS tutor said.
