Chennai: Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar on Sunday
said changing the old mindset and discarding the baggage of
"untouchability" and "caste discrimination" was needed to
build a truly egalitarian society.
Noting that laws on land reforms, abolition of
untouchability, prevention of atrocities and child labour were
not enough to transform the society, she said a change in the
mindset of people was a must to create social equality.
"People admire our country for our democracy and
particularly on how the economy has integrated..Despite the
global meltdown, we have maintained our growth. We have the
ability to perform but what should be changed is the mental
block," Kumar on her first visit to the State as Speaker said.
Pointing out that people had long been carrying the
baggage of an "unchanged mind", she said, "We are in the 21st
century and we should dump and bury the baggage. We should
start the new century with a new mindset."
She also pointed out that many developed nations also
had a mental block. "America had a mental block. But they have
got Obama and got over of it", she said.
PTI
