“Your house is named Ramayana, someone took Lakshmi away,” Kumar Vishwa’s jibe at Shatrughan Sinha

After Mukesh Khanna, poet and former politician Kumar Vishwas took an indirect jibe at actor-turned-politician Shatrughan Sinha and his daughter, Bollywood star Sonakshi Sinha. The comments, made during a poetry event in Meerut, have reignited debates about interfaith marriages and cultural values in India.

During his address, Vishwas urged the audience to teach their children the Ramayana, stating, “Teach your children Ramayana, make them read the Geeta. Otherwise, someone else might take away the Shri Lakshmi of your house even if the house is named ‘Ramayana’.”

This statement was quickly interpreted as a reference to the Sinha family, whose Mumbai residence is named “Ramayana,” and to Sonakshi Sinha’s recent marriage to actor Zaheer Iqbal, who comes from a Muslim background.

Vishwas’s recent comments have drawn sharp criticism from various quarters, particularly from members of the Congress party. Supriya Shrinate, a senior Congress leader, condemned Vishwas’s remarks as “lewd” and “cheap,” questioning whether a woman doesn’t have the right to marry a person of her choice.

She argued that if Vishwas had truly understood the Ramayana, he would have grasped the concept of love portrayed in the epic. The backlash against Vishwas has extended beyond political circles, with many social media users expressing outrage over his comments. Some have pointed out the irony of Vishwas, who has two daughters himself, making such remarks about another person’s daughter.

Sonakshi Sinha’s wedding to Zaheer Iqbal in June 2024 had already stirred discussions, with reports suggesting that not all members of the Sinha family were supportive of the union. The absence of Sonakshi’s brothers, Luv and Kush, from the wedding ceremony fueled speculation about family tensions.

This is not the first time Sonakshi Sinha has found herself at the centre of a controversy related to her religious beliefs. In 2019, she faced criticism after failing to answer a question about the Ramayana on the popular quiz show “Kaun Banega Crorepati.” The incident led to public ridicule and sparked debates about the younger generation’s knowledge of Hindu epics.

The controversy was reignited recently by actor Mukesh Khanna, known for his role in the TV series Mahabharat, who criticized Sonakshi’s lack of knowledge about the Hindu epic. In a recent interview, Khanna commented on Sonakshi’s upbringing, suggesting that it was her father Shatrughan Sinha’s fault for not teaching her about the Ramayana.

“It’s not Sonakshi’s fault; it’s her father’s fault. Why did you not tell your kids? Why did you let them be so modern?” he said.

Sonakshi Sinha responded strongly to Khanna’s comments through a detailed note on Instagram. She pointed out that there were two women on the KBC hot seat that day who didn’t know the answer, but Khanna chose to single her out repeatedly. Sonakshi emphasized that she had simply blanked out on the show and requested Khanna to stop bringing up the incident “to be back in the news.”

Shatrughan Sinha also came to his daughter’s defence, questioning Khanna’s qualifications to be an expert on the Ramayana and his self-appointed role as a guardian of the Hindu religion. Mukesh Khanna later clarified his stance, stating that he had no malicious intention to malign Sonakshi or her father. He explained that his comments were meant to address the broader issue of the younger generation’s reliance on Google and mobile phones for knowledge rather than being aware of their cultural roots.