Slogans like ‘Jai Sri Ram’ are used as pretexts to beat up people: Amartya Sen

New Delhi, 07 July 2019 [Fik/News Sources]: Nobel laureate economist Amartya Sen on Friday said unlike ‘Maa Durga’, the ‘Jai Sri Ram’ slogan is not associated with the Bengali culture and it is used as “a pretext to beat up people”.

It is ‘Maa Durga’ who is omnipresent in the lives of Bengalis, Sen said while speaking at a programme in Jadavpur University in Kolkata.

“I have not heard Jai Shri Ram, before (in this way). It is now used to beat up people. I think it has no association with Bengali culture,” he was quoted as saying by ANI.

“Jai Sri Ram slogan is not associated with the Bengali culture,” he said, adding that even Ram Navami is “gaining popularity” nowadays and he had “never heard of it before” in the state.

“I asked my four-year-old grandchild who is your favourite deity? She replied that it is Maa Durga. Maa Durga is so much omnipresent in our lives,” he said.

“The significance of Maa Durga cannot be compared with Ram Navami,” said Sen.

Speaking on poverty, Sen said only rising income level of the poor people would not reduce their plight.

“Poverty can be reduced by basic healthcare, proper education and social security,” he added. (With inputs from PTI, ANI)