Mumbai Controversy: Nurses Reject Prabodhankar Thackeray's Books Citing Religious Concerns

The hospital authorities have initiated an investigation into an incident that occurred on July 29 involving nursing staff and a retiring official.

Mumbai:

Controversy has emerged following the circulation of a video allegedly showing nurses at a civic hospital throwing books authored by Prabodhankar Thackeray and another social reformer at a retiring officer who had distributed them as gifts. The nurses reportedly claimed the books offended their religious sentiments.

Hospital administration confirmed an ongoing investigation into the July 29 incident, which happened approximately one month before the officer's scheduled retirement.

Representatives from Shiv Sena (UBT) and some nurses have denied that any books were thrown, while Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) has condemned the perceived disrespect toward Prabodhankar Thackeray as an insult to the entire state.

Prabodhankar Thackeray (1885-1973), father of Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray, was a respected social reformer.

On September 19, the retiring section officer of BMC-operated Kasturba Hospital filed a police complaint alleging that the video was being circulated with intent to defame him. Based on this complaint, police registered a non-cognizable offense, as confirmed by a police official on Tuesday.

A senior hospital official stated that an investigation into the matter was underway.

The controversy centers around two books distributed by the retiring officer: "Devlancha Dharm ani Dharmachi Devale" (The Religion of Temples and the Temples of Religion) by Prabodhankar Thackeray, and "Deshache Dushman" (Enemies of the Country) by Dinkarrao Javalkar. These were given as goodwill gestures approximately a month before his retirement.

Prabodhankar Thackeray's work critiques blind faith, religious hypocrisy, and commercialization of religion, advocating for separation of true spirituality from exploitative rituals performed in God's name. Javalkar's book argues that India's true enemies are not foreign powers but internal exploiters who use religion, caste, and superstition to divide society.

In the viral video, a nurse can be heard questioning the officer about distributing books that allegedly insulted Hindu religion. The nurses subsequently summoned him to the matron's office for further questioning.

The footage appears to show one nurse throwing a white envelope containing the books at the officer before leaving the room, despite his apologetic gesture with folded hands.

The video initially circulated in a Kasturba Hospital nurses' WhatsApp group before being leaked to wider social media platforms.

Agripada police station's Senior Inspector Sanjay Nale confirmed that the incident occurred on July 29, with the officer filing his complaint on September 19 regarding the defamatory circulation of the video.

Hospital Medical Superintendent Chandrakant Pawar confirmed an ongoing inquiry into the incident.

A delegation of Shiv Sena (UBT) leaders, including local MLA Manoj Jamsutkar and former Mumbai Mayor Kishori Pednekar, visited the hospital on Tuesday to address the situation.

Pednekar claimed the retired official held controversial century-old views and faced numerous complaints. She insisted, "No book was flung at anyone. There is a difference between throwing the book and not accepting it. Two books were distributed in an envelope. When the nurse saw the first book (Deshache Dushman), she refused to accept it. The second book (of Prabhodhankar Thackeray) was not shown to the nurses."

Rutuja Dhadam, a nurse with 32 years of experience, stated that permission was not obtained to distribute the books. "I denied accepting the books, but he kept insisting that I should take them. But he kept persisting for 20 minutes. He again told me to accept the book which will help in my 'prabodhan' (reformation). I told him I don't want to do anything which will create a divide in the society. Yet, he gave three copies of the books in three separate envelopes," she explained.

Dhadam also acknowledged that Bal Thackeray's efforts enabled Marathi women to secure nursing positions with dignity.

MNS leader Sandeep Deshpande strongly condemned the incident, stating that disrespecting Prabodhankar Thackeray constitutes an insult to Maharashtra itself. "Does the person (who made the remarks) know who Prabodhankar was? Has the person read the work by Prabodhankar? He took Maharashtra towards reformists' traditions and fought against ill-practices in the society. I think the poison spread by these people is harmful for the society," Deshpande remarked.