Bengaluru: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah strongly condemned the branding of a few thinkers as anti-national, while participating in a three-day international conference on Dr B.R. Ambedkar- Quest for Equity here on Friday.
Mr Siddaramaiah said, “I reject these views as they are totally opposed to the letter and spirit of our Constitution. This is completely antithetical to the idea of India. I am reminded of what Babasaheb Ambedkar had once argued, that a nation is not a people synthesised by a common culture derived from common language, common religion or common race. Nationality is a feeling of oneness which makes those who are charged with it feel they are kith and kin. In this light, I condemn the branding of a few thinkers as anti-national and the very use of that terrible term.“
He added that in many parts of India, citizens are no longer equal before the law, and some are more equal than others which poses a grave threat to India’s inclusive concept of polity and citizenship. He charged that hatred and atrocities towards Dalits, Adivasis, and minorities (both religious and ideological) have risen exponentially. “Millions of Indians are being systematically denied access and opportunities to a better life,” he explained. According to him, in the last 70 years, the country has made significant strides as a political and economic democracy. “We have become self sufficient in food production. We have emerged as a global agricultural power. We have undertaken giant strides in atomic and space research. However, there have been significant failures. SCs-STs as well as backward classes continue to face discrimination and hurdles in their path to progress. The recent spate of communal and caste-based attacks has shown that we cannot afford to rest. We have seen Dalits being flogged in Gujarat for skinning a dead cow,” he recalled. He added, “Now we are told that being a good Indian means we have to ignore inequality and exploitation in our midst; that we need to adhere to rigid norms regarding food, clothing, language and free speech.”
‘Fight inequality and casteism’
Nobel laureate Kailash Satyarthi and Dr Ambedkar’s grandson Prakash Ambedkar on Friday gave a clarion call to intellectuals to rise above bias and fight rising inequality and casteism in the country.
Mr Satyarthi asserted that he adopted the name Satyarthi only after his family was ostracized by the priestly class of Vidisha. “Untouchablity is such a great curse on this country and I realized it when I was just 15 years old. I am born a Brahmin but when I decided to invite the Mehtranis of my region-considered untouchables- to cook at my home and eat it as part of my quest for equity, the priestly class ordered ostracization of my family. After my family pleaded guilty, they lifted the ban on my family members but not on me. At my own home, I was ostracized for many years; I was not allowed to talk to my parents or relatives as I refused to wash the feet of 101 Brahmins and drink that water to cleanse myself for having a meal with Mehtranis at my home,” he recalled. Prakash Ambedkar appealed to intellectuals to raise their voice against forces who tirelessly try to push society backwards.
