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Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday expressed his concern at "educated people increasingly becoming casteists" and said that protectors of caste inequality killed the Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi.
"Due to the caste system, many people were deprived of education. It is a tragedy that educated people are increasingly becoming casteists. Protectors of caste inequality killed Mahatma Gandhi," Siddaramaiah said. He was addressing an international seminar titled 'Mahatma Gandhi for the 21st Century' held at Gandhi Bhavan in Bengaluru in memory of the 75th year of the Gandhi Memorial Fund. The Chief Minister said that Gandhiji's ideas and guidance given to society are not limited to the 20th century. They are relevant even today. Gandhiji celebrated peace, truth, justice and brotherhood throughout his life. Citing Stephen Hawking's statement that humanity should not be forced to seek other planets for survival, the Chief Minister warned that if tolerance is not instilled among people, there will be destruction. He said that if communal sentiments continue to grow, the vision of 'Vishwamanava' (universal brotherhood) by Kuvempu will be difficult to realise. The Chief Minister said Gandhiji believed that nature fulfils our needs but not our greed. Human greed is the reason for environmental disasters like Kerala's Wayanad landslide, he said. Siddaramaiah said that when he became Chief Minister, some public figures made insidious attempts to spread superstition by claiming that his tenure would bring drought to the state. "Karnataka is experiencing abundant rainfall," the Chief Minister said. The Chief Minister said that many educated people still practice superstition, blind faith, and the doctrine of Karma, which is a result of a lack of proper scientific education. He said that 850 years ago, Basavadi Sharana had outrightly rejected the doctrine of karma, but some educated individuals today still believe in it. The Chief Minister also praised India's first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru for "leading the country in a scientific and rational way". He said 85 percent of the country's wealth is owned by the richest 1 percent. Gandhiji's teachings will help address this issue of huge wealth inequality existing in the country, he said. (ANI)
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