The person operating the Twitter account Bharadwaj Speaks, who has earlier faced allegations of spreading disinformation, has offered “unconditional apology” for his derogatory remarks against social reformer Savitribai Phule. The apology comes after furore over his offensive comments, which led to the Maharashtra government filing a case against the anonymous account and right-wing propaganda websites IndicTales and Hindu Post, which republished their views.
The person running Bharadwaj Speaks earlier ran another Twitter account called True Indology, which was popular with the Hindu right-wing and others, especially among the trad (a ‘purist’ RW group who consider other RW people too liberal) intelligentsia. In his apology written on Sunday, July 30, Bharadwaj Speaks (whose true identity is yet to be established), seeking mercy wrote that views presented on Twitter were “misquoted”, “misrepresented” and “misread.” The account claimed that disrespect against Savitribai Phule was never his stand. “I hope that people see that I don’t deserve to be lynched for a misunderstanding,” Bharadwaj Speaks said in a long statement shared as multiple tweets.
On May 31, the Mumbai police registered a case against Bharadwaj Speaks, Indic Tales and Hindu Post, following a complaint filed by a delegation of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leaders led by Ajit Pawar. In a series of tweets, Bharadwaj, who is known to make provoking and misleading claims, insinuated that Savitribai – a revolutionary anti-caste icon who provided education to girls and women – was sponsored by British missionaries and also questioned the British motives for supporting her project. It claimed that the British used Indian women to fulfill the sexual needs of their soldiers stationed in military cantonments, terming it “surgical rape.”
I offer unconditional apology and request for clemency (1/n) @Dev_Fadnavis @narendramodi pic.twitter.com/twuqUS1n3l
— Bharadwaj (@BharadwajSpeaks) July 30, 2023
Claiming that views expressed through the Twitter handle were misinterpreted, Bharadwaj Speaks wrote, “It has been argued that my thread implied Savitribai Phule supplied girls to the British. That is a complete misreading and misrepresentation of my argument. The point of my thread was that British colonialists of the 1850s were much worse than British Colonialists of 1930. In the thread, I posted scholarly citations to show that British soldiers of the 1850s indulged in large scale sexual exploitation of hapless Indian Girls. This was known to and approved by top echelons of the British Government.”
He added, “I raised a question as to why the British would honour an Indian woman like Savitribai Phule when they had no concern for Indian women in the first place? Why would they be interested in the education of Indian women if they were more than willing to sexually exploit Indian women?”
Bharadwaj Speaks claimed that they did not say anything explicitly against Savitribai in the thread. “This was misinterpreted to mean that I implied Savitribai Phule supplied girls to the British. Such could only be the reading of a dirty mind. My point was very far from it. The bad intentions were only in the mind of the British and I very clearly said it,” the apology letter said.
Bharadwaj Speaks was booked under section 505 (2) (statements conducing to public mischief) of the Indian Penal Code. The FIR said that through social media posts, the accused insulted the Other Backward Classes community, to which Savitribai belongs.
Responding to the accusation, they said, “I wish to state that I never talked about any caste or community in my original thread. I have deep respect for the Maharashtra OBC community, and I spoke very highly of many revered figures of that community several times in the past.” He said that he was nobody to judge historical figures of the past and wrote, “I also withdraw my comments against Phules. I render an apology to the Phule family as well.”
The apology note by Bharadwaj Speaks said “I’m not a criminal” while seeking clemency. The letter also spoke about death threats the handle received for expressing these views and threatened to die by suicide if the issue escalated any further. “This is my personal request to Devendra Fadnavis, Narendra Modi and BJP. This is my personal request to Congress, NCP and all Maharashtra politicians. Please offer some clemency and give me back my life. I apologise once again for unintentionally causing any hurt. It was never my intention,” the statement read.
The apology by Bharadwaj Speaks comes in the wake of BJP leader and Maharashtra’s Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis suggesting that the miscreant who made derogatory remarks against Savitribai Phule should be “publicly hanged.”
क्रांतिज्योती सावित्रीबाई फुले यांच्याबाबत आक्षेपार्ह लेखन करणाऱ्या आरोपींवर कारवाई करण्यासाठी ट्विटरकडून माहिती मागण्यात आली आहे. तीन वेळा आतापर्यंत पत्र लिहिण्यात आली आहेत. हे आरोपी शोधून कोणत्याही परिस्थितीत त्यांच्यावर कठोर कारवाई करण्यात येईल.
— Devendra Fadnavis (@Dev_Fadnavis) July 27, 2023
विरोधी पक्ष अशा विषयात राजकारण… pic.twitter.com/baXM9BTNYs
On June 27, responding to the question of delayed police action in the issue, Fadnavis said that the police were in touch with Twitter India to identify the culprit. “The police are awaiting a reply from Twitter India and action will be taken after the identity of those behind the handle is established,” he said. Right-wingers who were offended by Fadnavis’ response against Bharadwaj Speaks trolled him on Twitter and came in support of the handle with #isupportBharadwajspeaks.
Nupur had to apologise for quoting from a book; now True Indology has had to apologise for doing the same.
— Anand Ranganathan (@ARanganathan72) July 30, 2023
Do not read books. You need never apologise.
Make no mistake #TrueIndology #Bharadwajspeaks is a legend that comes only once in an era. I respectfully differ with some of the positions, but the indepth commitment for #Dharma is unparalleled. Dear @Dev_Fadnavis ji, pls modify your position. pic.twitter.com/3uZIsP6JZk
— Rahul Easwar (@RahulEaswar) July 28, 2023
This party has become the biggest threat to the existence of Hindus.
— Ā ॐ (@SriHariBhakt) July 27, 2023
BJP wants to h@ng a renowned acc like TI, imagine what they can do to commoners like me & you for political gains.
I regret that I was a supporter of this party.#ISupportBharadwajspeaks https://t.co/Yts796qrhB
As CM #Fadnavis spend 40 crore of tax payer money to purchase a property in London and got it converted into museum
— Kumar Svetak #EqualRightsForHindus (@KumarSvetak) July 28, 2023
No wonder he hates #TrueIndology who rips apart the dubious caste victimhood narrative created by Christo-Islamic and peddled by #RSS#isupportBharadwajspeaks pic.twitter.com/uVbvkzoAmx
#isupportBharadwajspeaks #ISupportTrueIndology
— Trunicle ट्रूनिकल (@trunicle) July 28, 2023
Protect those who stand for dharma.. pic.twitter.com/IpYEaAiMGF
Will Devendra Fadnavis, who himself offers chadar over Mazars, have any face to object the music being played in Dhanvantri (Vishnu) Temple, Kotakkal during Rahul Gandhi's darshan?
— Raman (@SaffronDelhite) July 28, 2023
Or only on True Indology for Votebank? This doesn't hurt Maharashtrians?#isupportBharadwajspeaks pic.twitter.com/UCS7o1m8vC
Propaganda website IndicTales also apologised for republishing the views of Bharadwaj Speaks on their platform. Withdrawing the derogatory article, IndicTales said, “It is never our intention to defame any person, living or deceased, or to promote enmity, hatred, or ill will between classes, nor do we aim to hurt public sentiments while publishing or re-publishing any such articles, stories, tweets, and other such content. IndicTales firmly believes in fostering academic discourse and promoting understanding, harmony, and unity in society. Our platform is built on the principles of inclusivity, respect, and intellectual engagement.”