Destroy caste system: Meira Kumar

New Delhi, Oct 10 (IANS) Caste system has caused unimaginable harm to the Indian society and needs to be destroyed, Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar said Thursday.

"Caste system has caused and is continuing to cause unimaginable harm to society. The caste system needs to be destroyed completely and not encouraged to tighten its grip on our electoral system," she said while delivering a lecture on 'Parliamentary Democracy in India' at Britain's University of Cambridge, according to a statement here.

"It is argued that consolidation along caste lines during elections leads to empowerment of Dalits. They get an opportunity to assert themselves. This is a mirage," she said.

Religion is another factor which plays a role in elections, she said adding any communal approach is not beneficial for India's secular fabric.

I could never agree more with the Speaker of the Lok Sabha.

She has hit the nail on the head for India's backwardness.

It is this caste system and religion which is dividing India.

While other countries are thinking of ways on how to improve the lives of their people, we get bogged down in which caste gets what percent of the reservation pie.

This world is of survival of the fittest and when we select sub-standard people to rule the country on the basis of caste, religion or on handicap, we are pushing our country backward.

Yes, if everything else is equal, then we could give preference to the deprived people or the handicapped but giving preference to them when they are below par, just because they are the deprived lot or physically handicapped, is pushing India back.

No wonder, our best people are going abroad and enriching countries like the USA leaving behind people like Mulayam Singh Yadav, Mayawati and Lalu Yadav to carry of their caste/religion games.

I SALUTE THE SPEAKER OF HER OUTSPOKEN STATEMENT.