After 'dalit', Lord Hanuman gets 'tribal' tag

Days after Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's claim that Lord Hanuman (the monkey God) was a ''Dalit'', the latter got another claimant.

The Chairman of National Commission for Scheduled Tribes Nand Kumar Sai on Thursday claimed that Lord Hanuman was, in fact, a ''tribal''.

''Hanumanji was not a dalit...he was a tribal,'' Sai said in an informal chat with reporters here.

Elaborating, Sai said that 'Hanuman' was also a 'gotra' (clan) in some tribes. ''Some scheduled tribes have Tigga as their gotra...tigga means monkey...some other tribes have giddha gotra...similarly some have Hanuman gotra,'' he said.

Sai said that Lord Rama had fought the demons in the forests of 'Dandakaranya', where tribes lived. ''So it is clear that Hanuman was a tribal not a Dalit,'' he remarked.

Adityanath had, while addressing an election meeting at Alwar in Rajasthan, said that Lord Hanuman was a ''Dalit''. Adityanath's remarks triggered a controversy and a 'Brahmin' outfit in Rajasthan has sent a legal notice to the chief minister for his remarks.

Oppn slams BJP

The Opposition parties have also sharply criticised Adityanath for ''dividing gods by caste'' for electoral mileage. ''Adityanath should declare Bajarang Dal, an affiliate of the BJP, a Dalit organisation,'' a senior UP Congress leader here said on Thursday.

The Samajwadi Party (SP) also slammed Adityanath for his remarks and sought an apology. ''BJP can go to any extent for votes,'' said SP leader Sunil Singh.