Deprived communities will find it hard to grow without unity, organisation, says CM

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah emphasizes the importance of unity and organization for deprived communities to grow and develop.

Deprived communities will suffer greatly if they lack unity and if they remain unorganised, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said in Davangere on Sunday.

“I feel that it is not wrong for exploited communities to hold caste conferences. But it is socially wrong for advanced castes to hold conferences in the name of caste. Backward classes and other oppressed communities will find it hard to grow and develop without organisation or unity,” he said.

Speaking at a Kanakadasa Jayanti function, he said, “It is the responsibility of the Kuruba community to stay organised and fight for its rights.”

He said that the State government is committed to implementing the Kantharaj Committee report. “We will try to discuss this in the next Cabinet meeting. I am also in favour of caste census,” he said.

“I think all of us have the responsibility of continuing our work until human religion is established. I do not have animosity to any caste or group. I love all castes. I do not like people who may have casteist tendencies. I may oppose them, but I do not hate them,” he said.

“Thinkers like Basavanna, Kanakadasa and B.R. Ambedkar have influenced me greatly. I am trying to walk on the path shown by them. I have made my path clear,” he said.

“Kanakadasa was a visionary saint with secular values. He dreamt of a casteless society and fought for it. His ideology can inspire the whole world for generations to come. It is accidental that he was born in the Kuruba caste. Scholars and saints like him have proved that such accidental birth does not decide their destiny or that no one is born intelligent or dull. We have several examples like Veda Vyasa and Valmiki. While Basavanna is the most important in the Sharana movement, Kanakadasa is important in the Dasa literature tradition. Several of our scholars and saints like Buddha, Narayana Guru, Kanakadasa and others have worked towards a casteless society. Most of them suffered because of their caste or Varna. We should learn from them,” he said.