NIZAMABAD: Newly-elected Nizamabad MP Dharmapuri Arvind has a new idea to end the brazen display of caste affiliations.
This, he believes, is out of sync with the changing times.
Wishing for, at the very least, a veil over such fraternisation, Arvind wants a caste-based organisation to rename themselves in accordance with their professions.
Interestingly, his father D Srinivas, a Rajya Sabha Member, played an important role in the formation of the Munnuru Kapu organisation in Nizamabad, a backward classes caste to which he belongs.
According to Arvind, professions form the basis on which castes have been created and therefore it would be not only decent but also prudent if one identifies himself with his profession rather than caste.
He says the caste system has now been firmly entrenched and is now a hurdle in the amalgamation of people in society.
He recalls how munnuru kapu and padmashali organisations had invited him to felicitate him after his victory in the Lok Sabha elections.
He had advised them to not paint themselves as munnur kapus or padmashalis. As munnuru kapus were originally part of the agrarian class, he wanted the organisation to be named ‘Annadata’.
Those belonging to the padmashali community, he suggested, describe themselves as the ‘Markandeya Association’.
“Every community has its own profession and they have separate gods and goddesses. They should change their names to overcome the caste barrier,” he says.
In recent polls, many caste organisations supported BJP and leaders of some organisation openly issued statements in support of BJP.
In this context, it remains to be seen how the caste organisation that lent him support in the election will react to Arvind’s idea. For them, their caste is more important than anything else in the world.