There is greater consciousness of caste in Indian society today compared to the decade after independence, Congress MP and autho💎r Shashi Tharoor said here on Saturday.
Speaking during a disc𓆏ussion on “The lost legacy of Ambedkar” at the Tata Literat🧜ure Festival, he said now every caste is conscious of its identity, and this "identity label has become a marker for political mobilization."
Tharoor's book &qu♌ot;Ambedkar: A Life”, ꦏa biography of Dr B R Ambedkar, was launched during the program.
“Ambedkar✅ wanted to completely destroy the caste system and he will probably be horrified to realize that, if anything, the caste system is more and more entrenched in the political part🐽ies,” he said.
To ꧒a question from the audience, Tharoor, the third-term MP from Thiruv💝ananthapuram, noted that the political parties which are against discrimination or untouchability nonetheless seek votes in the name of caste.
The caste system is "far from annihilated", 🔯he added.
Both Ambedkar and Jawaharlal Nehru wanted the caste system to disappear from India and the latter thought that with modernisation i♛🍸t will disappear, Tharoor said.
Ambedkar fought for "annihila⛦tion of caste" because he felt that as long as the consciousness of caste system existed, oppression would also exist, he said. Caste is very much a feature of matrimonial pages, he🌠 pointed out.
Going f🅷orward, "all we can hope is that caste becomes a benign label 𒉰of identity like an old school tie," the Congress leader added.
-With PTI Input
