MAHARAJ LIBEL CASE OF 1862
Overview
The infamous case of Maharaja Libel case of 1862 was fought in the Bombay High Court ,in the Bombay presidency of the British India.
The plaintiff was the religious leader named Jadunathji Brajratanji Maharaj.
The case was filed against Nanabhai Rustomji Ranina and Karsandas Mulji about the article published in the magazine Satyaprakash about the exposure of the salacious behavior of the religious leader of the Vaishnav community.
Who was Karsandas Mulji?
Karsandas Mulji was a journalist and social reformer with an acute dislike for orthodox religious institutions.
He was an alumus of Elphinstone College ,established in Mumbai , which is now one of the constituents of the Dr. Homi Bhabha State University.
He was born on 25th- July'1832 in Vadal near Bhavnagar ,Gujarat.
He was English educated Gujarati journalist, staunch feminist aimed at improving the lives of women.
He eloquently advocated for the rights of female education and widow remarriage.He was active member of Gujarati Gnanprasarak Madalli (Gujrati Society for spread of Knowledge) .
SATYAPRAKASH : Magazine launched by Karsandas Mulji
Karsandas Mulji had penchant for Journalism, so he began to contribute for RAST GOFTAR, an Anglo- Indian newspaper founded by Dadabhai Naoroji.
At that year , he penned down an essay advocating for widow remarriage, as soon as the news reached his home, his aunt without any thought ,evicted him from her house ,also he was married at that time(I know, this was not shown in the movie, but in reality he was already married).
Due to his unwavering dedication, he continued to contribute for RAST GOFTAR. But this newspaper only reached to a limited number of audience.
In a quest to make his voice reach many ,he launched a magazine called 'SATYAPRAKASH' which boldly confronted outdated and orthodox religious practices.
(A glimpse of SATYAPRAKASH magazine)
Karsandas was himself a Vaishnav , and he exposed the misdeeds of the Vaishnav priest with regards to their female devotees.
The priest was engaged in sexual activities on the pretext of attaining salvation, in the form of CHARAN SEVA . Priest used to exploit his female devotees in the name of religious activity. He used to fulfill his own desires in the name of the god. This was sensed by the reformers like Karsandas Mulji and he wanted to expose the misdeeds of the religious leader.
Karsandas mulji showcased the deeds of Vaishnavite religious leader in the article published in Satya Prakash which ultimatly led to the trial of the Maharaj Libel Case.
A blow to the Vaishnavite priests
Narmad , who was a poet and also the classmate of Karsandas Mulji, challenged the Vaishnavite priests' immoral and unusual conduct.
It further came to be known that VALLABHACHARYA who founded the Pushtimarg sect of Vaishanism ,also endorsed immorality.
The filing of the infamous Maharaj libel case
The article dated 21st September 1861 published in Satya Prakash titled "Hinduono Asal Dharma ane Haalna Pakhandi Mato" which meant "The primitive religion of Hindus and the present orthodox opinions" accused the priest of the Vaishnav community of immoral religious practices and salacious behaviours of their priests'.
This was the day when the history marked is existence ,with the Maharaj filing the Libel case against Karsandas Mulji, which also came to be known as the "greatest trial of the modern times since the trial of Warren Hastings".
Maharaj filed the case and he demanded the damages of rupees 50, 000 as compensation against Karsandas mulji and paper's publisher Nanabhai Rustomji Ranina.
Maharaj feared that the Bhatia's may testify against him, so he convened the whole Bhatiya community and order that anyone who would testify against him would be exocommunicated.
Before this the Bhatia's were ready to testify and give evidence against the Maharaj but due to the fear of being excommunicated they all took a back step. Upon learning about the decision of the Bhatia's, Karsandas Mulji filed the conspiracy case against the 9 Bhatia community leaders.
The trial of - The Bhatia Conspiracy Case took place before the trial of the Maharaj libel case, where the judgement was ruled in the favour of Karsandas Mulji and 2 Bhatia leaders were fined ₹ 1000 each and other seven people were fined ₹ 500 each.
Karsandas Mulji was awarded ₹1000 as the case cost whereas he had spent a total of ₹4000 on the case.
The beginning of The Maharaj Libel Case
The case began on 25 January 1862 and a large number of people gathered outside the court, there were many followers of Maharaj and few supporters of Karsandas Mulji .
There was so much pressure on the Karsandas Mulji to withdraw the case and apologize to the Maharaj but he remained steadfast.
Jadunath Maharaj was brought to the court, 31 witness from the plaintiff's side and 33 witness from the defence's side were testified.
The case was examined and the judgement deliverd on 22nd April 1862 which ruled in the favour of Karsandas Mulji.
Judge Arnould stated that it is not the question of theology but the question of morality which is before the bench.
The bench noticed that Karsandas and his witnesses brought to the notice that what is morally wrong cannot be theologically correct.
Judge Arnould also appreciated Karsandas Mulji and his allies for determined fight against an immoral public and religious leader and exposing his conduct before the society. It was reaffirmed that nobody can take advantage of anyone on the pretext of salvation and in the name of God.
Karsandas mulji was awarded ₹11,500 as a compensation whereas he incurred a total of ₹14,000.
This case became a crucial precedent in establishing that 'No one is above the law, no religious or political leader is above the law, that the law is Supreme and the law is above everyone.'
People like Karsandas Mulji is an example of how a determined individual can fight against the evil practices of the society, no matter how big or invincible they are. This case also highlighted the importance of the press in making people aware of what is going on in the society.
Not only the Netflix series Maharaj was based on a legal case but there also surrounds a legal battle on the release of the Netflix series Maharaj which I would be telling you in my next article...
Thank you for taking out your precious time for reading this article.
Post a Comment