Sudha Murty clarifies after being trolled for her video on history of Raksha Bandhan
In her video, Sudha Murty explained that when Rani Karnavati was under threat, she sent a thread to the Mughal ruler Humayun in 16th century, seeking his help
Rajya Sabha MP and Infosys Foundation’s Founder-Chairperson Sudha Murty drew flak after she posted a video on social media platform X in which she linked the origin of Raksha Bandhan to Mughal emperor Humayun.
In her video, Sudha Murty explained that when Rani Karnavati was under threat, she sent a thread to the Mughal ruler Humayun in 16th century, seeking his help. Since then, this tradition of tying the sacred thread on a brother’s wrist has continued.
Dwells on historical backdrop
“Raksha Bandhan or Rakhi is one of the key festivals according to me where a sister ties a thread. It may not be a huge one but a simple thread indicating that in times of difficulties, you should always be there to help me,” said the billionaire philanthropist.
“It goes back to Rani Karnavati when she was in danger; her kingdom was small and attacked by somebody; she did not know what to do, so she sent a thread to King Humayun, a Mughal Emperor, saying that she was in danger, please consider me your sister, and please do come to protect me.”
“Humayun came from a different country; he didn't know about the thread. He asked the local people and came to know it was a call from a sister to a brother. He said okay, if that is the case, I will go and help Rani Karnavati. He left Delhi and went to her kingdom, but he was a little late as she was no more,” she added while dwelling on the tradition’s history.
X users slam her for video
The video went viral on X, evoking mixed reactions and also leading to a heated debate about the historical context and the tradition of Raksha Bandhan.
Reacting to the video, a user commented on X, “What is the source of this story?! I am not sure why you must invent stories like these, which is actually putting in doubt every single practice of Sanathana Dharma!! For some one of your stature, you must provide historical proof for such, you can easily do that with the amount of money you have.”
“At this moment I know u know nothing about Indian festivals and culture if u believe in this nonsense story. I'm sorry to have recommended ur books for kids. They don't need to learn this manufactured story. Please read about Draupadi's Raksha Sutra for Srikrishna and the significance of Shravan Poornima,” posted another user.
Anu Satheesh, a user, commented, “It's a real surprise for me that you as a writer is telling this crap. Raksha Bandhan is related with Krishna & Draupati. Please educate yourself.”
“It never happened, read 100 hours a week to improve your historical knowledge,” said another user.
Clarification from Murty
On Monday evening, Murty took to her X account to clarify that the story which she told was "just one of many tales associated with the festival and certainly not its origin".
"The story I shared on Raksha Bandhan is just one of many tales associated with the festival and certainly not its origin. As I have said in the video clip, this was already a custom of the land. My intention was to highlight one of the many stories I learnt about when growing up, about the beautiful symbolism behind Raksha Bandhan. Raksha Bandhan is a much older tradition that has transcended time and culture of our beloved country, one that I am proud of and look forward to with affection for my own siblings," she wrote.