Not Gujjar or Rajput, Prithviraj Chauhan is 'Hindu Hriday Samrat'

As controversy gained heat over the caste of legendary king Prithviraj Chauhan in Shamli district, the organisers of an event to install his statue, have opted for a safe route.

A statue of emperor Prithviraj is to be unveiled at Dullakhedi village in Shamli on June 7. BJP leader and former minister Suresh Rana has been invited as chief guest for the event.

Gujjars in the area had raised objections to Chauhan being referred to as a Rajput king. They claimed that he belonged to the Gujjar community.

Situ Rana, who is part of the organising team, said, "We received information about some protests from the Gujjar community, but our intention is not to hurt anyone's feelings. With the consent of all the villagers, old banners for the event have been replaced by new ones. We are now calling Prithviraj Chauhan as 'Hindu Hriday Samrat'. There is no mention of caste in the new banner."

He said that villagers have collected around Rs 5 lakh for the installation of the emperor's statue.

Superintendent of Police (SP) Shamli, Sukriti Madhav said, "Old banners have been taken down. We are monitoring social media and police teams are maintaining vigil on the ground."

The film 'Samrat Prithviraj' was recently granted tax exemption by the Uttar Pradesh government after Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath attended a special pre-release screening of the film in Lucknow.

Terming the film as well-made, he advised people to watch it with their families.