Sudha Murty clears Raksha Bandhan post on ‘Karnavati-Humayun’, netizens unsatisfied, say ‘cover-up, not what you said…’

Rajya Sabha MP and Chairperson of the Infosys Foundation, Sudha Murty has clarified her Raksha Bandhan post on the ‘Karnavati-Humayun’ story after being heavily trolled by netizens for her “origin story” of the Rakhi tradition. But it seems that not many are satisfied by her explanation.

In a post on social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter), Murty clarified that she shared one version of the origin story of the Raksha Bandhan tradition with the intention to highlight the symbolism behind the festival

“The story I shared on Raksha Bandhan is just one of many tales associated with the festival and certainly not its origin. As I have said in the video clip, this was already a custom of the land,” she wrote.

“My intention was to highlight one of the many stories I learnt about when growing up, about the beautiful symbolism behind Raksha Bandhan. Raksha Bandhan is a much older tradition that has transcended time and culture of our beloved country, one that I am proud of and look forward to with affection for my own siblings,” she added.

Netizens React, Not Satisfied

It however seemed that Murty was unable to calm down netizens' ire and not many were satisfied with the explanation.

“Cover-up again! In earlier post you said, Raksha Bandhan started when Rani Karnavati sent a thread to Humayun & now you're saying that the story you shared earlier is just one of many tales associated with the Raksha Bandhan and certainly not its origin,” said one user.

Another said, “With all due respect , you are a thinker writer and you know for a single tradition there will be no two “ the tradition of thread began”, tradition starts only once. You did not share one of the many stories, you shared a specific story!”

One user was sarcastic, “When your own tribe trolls you!”

And some were happy with the clarity, saying, "Ma'am, since you tweeted "this is where the tradition of the thread began," our inference was not based on ambiguity but direct assertion. But thank you for this clarification."

Others were not so forgiving, "Such disingenuity. You unequivocally claimed that "this is where the tradition of the thread began" - no part of this statement implies this is "just one of the many tales" as you now assert. And why hide the replies which enumerated the authentic story?"

Another users claimed “distortion of history” and said Murty's posts were contradictory.

“Distorting the history of Raksha Bandhan is the disrespect you showed on Raksha Bandhan. Now you are giving it the color of telling a 'beautiful' story, to cover up.”

“Sorry. It is just not what you said earlier. You said it began when Rani Karnavati sent a thread to Humayun.”

The Trolled Post

In a post on the occasion of Raksha Bandhan, Murty posted a video to X, with the caption: “Raksha Bandhan has a rich history. When Rani Karnavati was in danger, she sent a thread to King Humayun as a symbol of sibling-hood, asking for his help. This is where the tradition of the thread began and it continues to this day.”

The post was met with much trolling and backlash, as many users disagreed with the origin story.