There are two types of Hindus in this country: Meira Kumar

New Delhi: Former Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar said that the caste system continues even in 21st century India. He said that there are two types of Hindus in the country – one who can go to the temple and the other who cannot. Kumar, who hails from the Dalit community and a former diplomat, said at an event here that many people had asked her father Babu Jagjivan Ram to “quit Hinduism” as he faced discrimination due to caste.

He said that his father said that he would not give up his religion and would fight against the caste system. Kumar said his father used to ask whether “changing religion changes one’s caste”. Kumar said this at an event organized at Rajendra Bhavan. Before him, Rajya Sabha member Jairam Ramesh delivered a lecture on his new book “The Light of Asia: The Poem that Defined Buddha”. The book “Light of Asia” written by Sir Edwin Arnold was first published in 1879. In this book the life of Buddha was presented in the form of a poem.

Ramesh said that his book is based on that poem and is in a way a biography of a person who saw the Buddha’s “side of humanity” and not his “divine side”. He said, “As far as the management of the Mahabodhi Temple at Bodh Gaya in Bihar is concerned, my book also talks about a settlement of the Hindu-Buddhist conflict. One of the reasons I wrote this book was that I wanted to understand the resolution of the conflict between the two religions in the context of Ayodhya. Ramesh said that many Ambedkarite Buddhists, who are not religious leaders but activists, have been saying that “If 100 percent control can be given to Hindus in Ramjanmabhoomi case, then why can’t Buddhists have hundred percent control of Lord Buddha’s Karmabhoomi. “

Kumar thanked Ramesh for writing the book and said that the book had helped “open a closed door” of the social order within which “people were suffocating.” He said, “We live in the 21st century, we have gleaming roads, but many people who walk on them are still affected by the caste system. When will our brain shine? When will we give up our caste based mentality… I tell you that there are two types of Hindus, one who can go to the temple, other like me who cannot go.” Kumar said, “The priest has often asked me about my gotra and I have told him that I have been brought up where caste is not considered. We have to understand that our culture is pluralistic. We all have learned the best things in our lives from different religions and that is our legacy.” The former Speaker of the Lok Sabha said that we all should follow the path of modernity and become global citizens.