An Indian parliamentarian may table a bill in the country’s parliament seeking to outlaw surnames in order to create a casteless society.
Dalit scholar Narendra Jadhav, who was nominated to Indian parliament’s upper house-Rajya Sabha- by the incumbent government of India says he is seriously contemplating a bill to this end.
"I am seriously contemplating bringing a private member's bill in Rajya Sabha in the near future. It will be effective. Unlike in case of Blacks and Whites, you cannot physically distinguish castes. So, the name becomes important. It should be made obligatory to drop family name," Jadhav told The Times Of India.
Mr Jadhav is the author of several books on icon of India’s lowest castes, B.R.. Ambedkar. He said dropping family names would be a giant step in creating a casteless, merit-based society.
His comments about this came amid reports of alleged atrocities against Dalits (India’s lowest castes) in the country, including the flogging of four men from their community by cow vigilantes in Gujarat-the home state of prime minister Modi, which has sparked outrage all across the country.
Over the weekend, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also spoke out against cow vigilantes and persecution of Dalits.
"I would like to tell these people that if you have any problem, if you have to attack, attack me. Stop attacking my Dalit brethren. If you have to shoot, shoot me, but not my Dalit brothers. This game should stop,” Mr. Modi had said.
The former speaker of Lok Sabha-the lower house of parliament, Meira Kumar had also suggested that Indians should give up their surnames if they wanted caste equality.
"Please give up your surnames. Would you be able to do that? That shows your caste. That shows you still carry caste in your mind," she said.
