Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday apologised for a social media put up about reinforcing the caste hierarchy.
The now-deleted tweet, posted on Tuesday, had quoted a verse from the Bhagavad Gita that referred to the “pure duties” of the Vaishyas and Shudras. Sarma stated that the verse had been translated incorrectly.
A Hindi translation of the verse stated: “Agriculture, cow-rearing and commerce are the pure duties of Vaishyas, whereas serving Brahmins, Kshatriyas and Vaishyas is the pure obligation of a Shudra”.
The tweet had been criticised by Opposition leaders, together with these from the Communist Celebration of India (Marxist), the Rashtriya Janata Dal and the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen.
On Thursday, Sarma stated that he deleted the tweet as quickly as he seen that the quote was not translated correctly.
“Lately certainly one of my staff members posted a sloka from Chapter 18 verse 44 with an incorrect translation,” Sarma stated in a tweet. “As quickly as I seen the error, I promptly deleted the put up. The state of Assam displays an ideal image of a casteless society, due to the reform motion led by Mahapurush Srimanta Sankardeva. If the deleted put up has offended anybody, I sincerely apologize.”
As a routine I add one sloka of Bhagavad Gita each morning on my social media handles. Until date, I’ve posted 668 slokas.
Lately certainly one of my staff members posted a sloka from Chapter 18 verse 44 with an incorrect translation.
As quickly as I seen the error, I promptly…
— Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) December 28, 2023
Quickly after Sarma had posted the tweet on Tuesday, the Communist Celebration of India (Marxist) had accused the Bharatiya Janata Celebration chief of encouraging casteism.
“We strongly denounce Assam CM Himanta Biswas’ tweet claiming that ‘Shudras are to serve Brahmins, Kshatriyas and Vaishyas’,” the Communist Celebration of India (Marxist) stated in a tweet. “BJPs Manuvadi ideology in full play.”
We strongly denounce Assam CM Himanta Biswas’ tweet claiming that “Shudras are to serve Brahmins, Kshatriyas and Vaishyas”
BJPs Manuvadi ideology in full play! pic.twitter.com/TLLK7gLEQf
— CPI (M) (@cpimspeak) December 26, 2023
All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen’s Lok Sabha MP Asaduddin Owaisi had stated that Sarma was not fulfilling his oath of treating each Indian citizen equally.
“Holding a constitutional place, your oath is to deal with each citizen equally,” Owaisi stated in a tweet. “It’s mirrored within the unlucky cruelty that Assam’s Muslims have confronted prior to now few years. Hindutva is antithetical to Liberty, Equality, Fraternity and Justice.”
In a lately deleted put up, Assam CM elaborated on his imaginative and prescient of society. “…farming, cow rearing, and commerce are pure duties of the Vaishya and serving the Brahmins, Kshatriyas and Vaishyas is the pure obligation of the Shudras.”
Holding a constitutional place, your oath…
— Asaduddin Owaisi (@asadowaisi) December 28, 2023
