Leader of the Opposition Siddaramaiah on Sunday said that those who were responsible for the caste system under the Chaturvarna system and thus causing inequality in society were now questioning the reservation system provided for the larger population.
“Wasn’t the fact that education, power, and resources could only be enjoyed in the past by Brahmins, Kshatriyas, and Vaishyas itself was like reservation? Was it not injustice that a large population of Shudras were denied literacy and denied the opportunity to enjoy what they produced?” he asked. “The caste system was continued in society to protect the interest of a certain class and this caused political and economic inequality,” he said during the launch of the book Myth and Reality, on reservation authored by retired judge of the High Court of Karnataka H.N. Nagamohan Das, here on Sunday.
The former Chief Minister said: “What prevailed then was an unwritten reservation and who brought this? Who enjoyed the resources? Those who brought in this system are now seeking answers to how long would the reservation be continued? Or why should reservation be there? Those who were responsible for inequality in society are asking now why there is no creamy layer for all.” He said that education, power, and resources did not belong to any particular caste.
