True Story Of 1862 Maharaj Libel Case That Inspired Film 'Maharaj'

Karsandas Mulji is the face of the Netflix film, Maharaj. The film depicts the famous Maharaj Libel Case of 1862 and Mulji's fearless efforts as a journalist to expose the corruption and immoral actions of a religious leader. It plays with the themes of religion versus morality as well as justice and journalistic integrity. Maharaj marks the debut of Junaid Khan, Aamir Khan's son, as Karsandas Mulji alongside Jaideep Ahlawat, Sharvari Wagh and Shalini Pandey in the Siddharth Malhotra-directed Yash Raj Films production.

Who Was Karsandas Mulji?

Mulji was a Gujarati journalist and social reformer who made remarkable contributions to society during the 19th century. He began his career as a journalist in 1851 with his contributions to Rast Goftar, Dadabhai Naoroji's newspaper founded in the same year.

Mulji remained determined in his quest for social reform even in the face of familial disapproval and backlash. 
He established his own Gujarati weekly, Satyaprakash, in 1855. The magazine addressed societal problems boldly and called out outdated practices.

Karsandas is possibly most well-known for confronting the misdeeds and immoral acts of Vaishnav priests, who often saw allegations of sexual abuse and corruption. Being a Vaishnav himself, he belonged to the Pushtimarg sect of western India, which had amassed a great following at the time. The 'Maharajas' or leaders of the Pushtimarg sect were considered spiritual guides and intermediaries to Krishna.

The 1862 Maharaj Libel Case

There was a rift between these traditionalists and the contemporary thinkers of the time, such as Karsandas himself, that eventually resulted in the Maharaj Libel Case of 1862, popularly dubbed as the ''greatest trial of modern times since the trial of Warren Hastings''.

The trial started in January 1862 when Jadunath Maharaj, a young 'maharaja' from Surat filed a defamation case of Rs 50,000 at the Bombay High Court. It is believed that an article published in Satyaprakash by Mulji in September 1961 prompted the case, as its controversial contents regarding the immoral conduct of the priests had angered many of them. The article was titled 'Hinduono Asal Dharma ane Haalna Pakhadi Mato' (The Primitive Religion of the Hindus and the Present Heterodox Opinions). 

At the end of the highly sensational case, the court ruled in favour of Karsandas. According to FirstPost, Justice Joseph Arnould, the presiding judge of the case, wrote in his judgment, ''It is not a question of theology that has been before us. It is a question of morality. The principle for which the defendant and his witnesses have been contending is simply this: that what is morally wrong cannot be theologically right.''

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The controversy around the film

The film, acquired by Netflix, was ready to be released on 14th June on the platform. However, a group of petitioners belonging to the Pustimargi sect stated that the film showed the Vaishnavas in a bad light and approached the Gujarat High Court with this statement, as reported by The Hindustan Times.

Though the film has been given all permits by the Central Board of Film Certification, the petition stated that the ''film may hurt public sentiments at large with its reportedly controversial depiction of certain characters and practices.'' The release was deferred to June 21 and is now streaming on Netflix.