Karsandas Mulji was a journalist who took on the Pushtimarg sect in a legal case, which even earned PM Modi's praise. His biopic Maharaj stars Junaid Khan, son of Aamir Khan
Last Friday, Netflix snuck up the release of Aamir Khan’s son Junaid’s debut film Maharaj. The film was releasing on the platform without any promotion. There was no trailer, no teaser, no interviews, just an announcement poster. But just before the release, the film was blocked by the Gujarat High Court after protests from Hindu outfits. The film’s controversy aside, it is inspired by a real case from over 160 years ago – the Maharaj Libel Case, considered one of the most important in Indian legal history. Junaid plays a character based on Karsandas Mulji, a pioneering activist and journalist.
Who was Karsandas Mulji, a journalist praised by PM Narendra Modi
Born in 1832 in Gujarat, Karsandas Mulji was in a merchant family. As a youngster, he visited London as part of his family’s business before moving to Bombay in the 1850s. There, he began writing for Rast Goftar and Stribodh magazines. But since these were limited to Parsi readers, Mulji founded a Gujarati weekly named Satyaprakash with the help of Mangalbhai Naththubhai. A progressive thinker, Mulji attacked social, religious customs and practices, apart from addressing issues like female education and excessive spending in weddings.
In 2010, Narendra Modi, in his capacity of Gujarat CM then, had praised Mulji. “Social reformist and journalist Karsandas Mulji's newspaper too was titled Satya-Prakash. Gujarat has accepted the path of truth as its weapon to fight all forms of injustice, neglect and against those who try to defame us. Saanch ne ave na Aanch, Satya Chhapre Chadi ne Pokarshe, Satya No Jay (There is no ignominy in speaking the truth. Truth will out. Truth triumphs),” PM Modi had said in his Independence Day address in 2010.
Karsandas Mulji’s fight against the Pushtimarg sect
In 1861, Mulji wrote an article titled Hinduo No Asli Dharam Ane Atyar Na Pakhandi Mato (lit. 'The True/Original Religion of the Hindus and the Present Hypocritical/phoney Opinions'). The article questioned the values of the Pushtimarg sect, also known as the Vallabhacharya Sampradaya. He alleged that the sect’s chief Jadunathji Maharaj coerced followers into offering their wives to him for sexual relations. The sect and the Maharaj filed a libel (defamation) case against Mulji and his newspaper in the Bombay High Court. The case became a national sensation and came to be known as the Maharaj Libel Case. After hearing testimonies of 64 witnesses over six weeks, the court rules in Mulji’s favour, saying that he was only doing his duty as a journalist and had exposed the misdeeds of the religious leader.
Mulji was hailed as a reformer by the press and his fight was praised by liberals as well, with many calling him the ‘Indian Luther’ in reference to the Christian reformer Martin Luther. By 1862, Mulji had left journalism after shutting down Satyaprakash. In 1874, he was appointed as an administrator of a princely state in Kathiawar. He died there the following year at the age of 43.
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