New Delhi: Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar
on Monday said when she was Union minister in the first UPA
government she wanted to scrap the SC/ST (Prevention of
Atrocity) Act to affirm her belief that there should be a
classless and casteless society.
"When I was the Social Justice Minister in the previous
UPA government, I wanted to scrap the Prevention of Atrocities
against SCs and ST Act as I believe in my father (Babu
Jagjivan Ram`s) dictum that there should be a classless and
casteless society.
"However, ironically, much against my wishes, I had to
tell my officers to make the Act more stringent as the society
has not been able to transform itself. Laws cannot legislate
attitudes. Therefore these laws continue to exist and we need
to change our mindsets," said Kumar during a function held to
commemorate the 103rd birth anniversary of her late father.
The Speaker said her father often wondered why there was
never a renaissance in India, "and I feel that this was
because we never ever opened windows of our minds towards
change".
Describing class and caste as a hindrance to modern
society, Kumar said that in order to have an inclusive
society, there is a need to have a "revolution within minds".
"There is a need for a revolution within the minds...
Earlier poets and saints tried to change the social mindsets
regarding caste and class but they could not succeed... Today
in a free India we should try again... There is a need for a
revolution within our minds... we need to have an inclusive
society as class and caste are a hindrance to modern
society," she said.
Earlier, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, while
delivering the Babu Jagjivan Ram Memorial lecture on "Economic
Development Beyond Class and Caste", said "India`s dream
should be to ensure that no person is discriminated upon on
the basis of caste and creed."
PTI
