Yudhishthira had Ashoka's mind, image: Romila Thapar's startling video trends on Twitter, netizens mock

In the video, Thapar, a professor emeriti at the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), is heard saying, ".. when Yudhishthira was asked to take over the kingship and he says no I won't.. he says I want to be a renouncer. I am going away. He is then persuaded slowly and gradually.

And the whole discourse is on kingship and renunciation which is of course a fundamental discourse in Buddhism... And there are some historians who are today saying that may be Yudhishthira had a (in) mind the image of Ashoka when he said I don't want to be king...." (sic)

Author Shefali Vaidya tweeted the video saying, " I want the stuff Romila Thapar is smoking!! According to her Yudhishthir from #Mahabharat had the image of King Ashoka in his mind while renouncing the kingdom. Yes, she ACTUALLY says that, and she calls herself a ‘historian’!!"

Netizens react:

As the video started trending, several Twitter users taunted the historian over her faux paus.

One user in the name Rational Babu said, "She knows she will be called fool, hence she says 'some historians' to safely sneak in her point."

Seema Choudhary mocked her saying, "She is 87 & in some cases dementia increases dramatically with age."

One Dan said, " Arrest such people who try to distort history!"
 

Adarsh Hegde commented, "So Wats her next statement....Lord Rama renounced Ayodhya because he had Moses in Mind....!!! So Silly and a dumb she is....!!!"

Historian and author Devdutt Pattanaik said, "She is referring to Yudhisthira as a ‘character in an epic’ composed 2000 years ago who is traumatised by war. With a historical figure Ashoka who ‘wrote edicts’ 2300 years ago proclaiming his remorse. Chill"

Standoff between Thapar and JNU

Striking controversy, 87-year old Romila Thapar was recently asked to submit her CV by the Jawaharlal Nehru University.

Thapar, who remained a JNU professor for decades, was given the prestigious position of emeriti professor in the university.

The JNU administration had received flak from the Left-wing students.