New Delhi: Delivering a speech at the book launch of "A Hindu in Oxford" written by Rashmi Samant, the first Indian to be elected president of Oxford University Students Union, Union Minister Smriti Irani on Wednesday said she was "not that communal as is projected in media".
"I am not that communal as it is projected in media... When I was given the Minority Affairs Ministry, people looked at me with scepticism by commenting on my religious affiliation. Earlier, there were several curbs on Muslim women that they could not perform Hajj without a male guardian. But Prime Minister Narendra Modi brought up a change in this system and now these Muslim women can perform Hajj without Mehram", Irani said.
Speaking during her book launch, Rashmi Samant alleged that Indian students face a lot of discrimination and hatred which was not discussed openly in public. In her book too, Rashmi has claimed she faced racism at the coveted institution.
"Even despite winning the elections, I was consistently targetted for being a Hindu and I had to withdraw it later but I fought the battle with utmost courage and the faculty at Oxford who launched a campaign against me had to face the consequences later for his targeted actions against me," she said.
It is pertinent to mention that Anvee Bhutani, another former President of the Oxford University Student Union, has denounced Rashmi's book labelling it a distorted account.
Sunil Ambekar, a senior RSS functionary who was the chief guest at the book launch along with Irani spoke extensively about the "Bhartiya Culture" and "decolonisation". "The time has come to shed off the colonial mindset", remarked Ambekar. While talking about the culture of changing names of places which has often invited heavy criticism from opposition, academics and activists, he remarked that "when Bombay can be changed to Mumbai, Madras can be called Chennai and is shown as a secular move then why changing the name of Allahabad to Prayagraj is projected as a communal move."
