Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi lamented the prevalence of caste-based discrimination, describing it as “shameful.” He said, “there is unacceptable social discrimination in our society. We have untouchability. We have social discrimination. A large section of our brothers and sisters are not treated equally. It is painful. It is a social evil and that must be eradicated. Hindu dharma does not accept inequality. There have been attempts since the British era to destroy the Hindu dharma..that is the Bharatiya dharma. They disregard Hindu Gods and denigrate deities with slippers but they must know that they could not succeed because the dharma is embedded in our Constitution”.
Ravi said “Secularism is a European concept that was born out of conflict and war; but was added in the constitution. As far as Bharat is concerned, it is born out of dharma which has no place for discrimination based on religion or race or language. So during the debate at the time of drafting the constitution, the architects decided not to include the word secularism. However for political reasons, for vote bank politics, the word was included in the constitution later”.
He pointed out that instances of caste discrimination were still occurring in the state, even as the government claimed to prioritize social justice and equality. He drew attention to the troubling practice of youth wearing caste-based wristbands to identify their backgrounds. The Governor listed out the various distressing incidents, including members of Scheduled castes being barred from entering temples, contamination of water tanks with human excreta, and discrimination faced by minority community children in schools. He stressed that these harmful practices could only be eliminated through social reform rather than exploiting them for political gains”.
Governor Ravi said ‘Bharatiya Dharma’ had the potential to promote social and spiritual equality among citizens and bring about societal reform. He asserted that the concept of Bharat, founded on the principle of equality, had faced threats in the past, particularly during the British era and later through divisive vote bank politics.
Governor Ravi said ‘Our Constitution is not against dharma’. It is the people who want to break this country, they have given a distorted interpretation of secularism. We have to understand the true meaning of secularism in our constitution….those talking about eradicating Hinduism have a hidden agenda to break this country in collaboration with hostile foreign powers. They will not succeed as Bharat has inherent strength…Unfortunately; there is unacceptable social discrimination in our society. We have untouchability and social discrimination. A large section of our brothers & sisters are not treated with equality. It is not what the Hindu dharma says. It is a social evil and it must be eradicated…In Tamil Nadu, this social discrimination is still a major problem. Every day, I hear stories of our brothers & sisters from Scheduled Castes not being allowed access to temples. In our state, youth are wearing caste bands. A State which taught so much about social justice is exploiting people in the name of caste. We dont hear stories of such discrimination from neighbouring States…”.
He said, “In Rig Veda, our sages revealed the basic principles of ‘Dharma’ which defines Bharat and which created Bharat. These principles created a culture, a civilisation where people followed different sects but still, they believed there is a member of ‘Kutumba’ they were like families in a tree…”.
He even not spared people who sought to “eradicate Sanatana Dharma”. Ravi said that such efforts had persisted across generations but would not succeed, as Sanatana Dharma was not confined to temples but deeply ingrained in the DNA of all Indians.
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