Education not a prerogative of the ‘upper caste‘, says Siddaramaiah

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said in H.D. Kote on Tuesday that socio-economic conditions of the poor can be improved only through education which, he said, was not the prerogative of the ‘‘upper caste’‘ alone.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said in H.D. Kote on Tuesday that socio-economic conditions of the poor can be improved only through education which, he said, was not the prerogative of the ‘‘upper caste’‘ alone.

Speaking after inaugurating the Maharishi Valmiki Jayanti celebrations in the town, Mr. Siddaramaiah said that all great epics like Ramayana, Mahabharata or plays like Shakuntala were written by people from ‘‘lower castes’‘ and not the ‘‘upper castes’‘.

‘’Valmiki, who belonged to Beda or hunter community, wrote the epic Ramayana while Vyasa, who came from the Besta or the fishermen community, wrote the Mahabharata,’’ said Mr. Siddaramaiah.

Similarly, the great play Shakuntala was written by Kalidasa, who belonged to the Kuruba community, and they wrote in Sanskrit during an age when education was confined to “upper castes”, said Mr. Siddaramaiah. These great personalities learnt Sanskrit and produced such epics and hence education was important in life and nobody should be deprived of it, he added.

He said the Ramayana enshrined values to be imbibed in life and Maharishi Valmiki in his ashram not only provided education for all but also gave refuge to Sita thus laying the seeds of democracy in those days.

Mr. Siddaramaiah also disputed claims that Valmiki was a dacoit-turned-sage. He said it was a story fabricated by the “upper castes” because they could not digest the fact that a person coming from “lower caste” could write the Ramayana.

Citing his own example that caste should be no barrier for learning, Mr. Siddaramaiah recalled that when he wished to pursue law, his father discouraged him based on a suggestion by a well-wisher that it was a profession confined to the “upper castes”. “But I insisted on studying law and even sought my share of plot of property if denied an opportunity and my father relented. Had I listened to that well-wisher, I would not have become a lawyer nor a Chief Minister. Hence, education is important for all and you are the architects of your own future,” said Mr. Siddaramaiah.