New Delhi, 19 August (H.S.): Congress media department chairman Pawan Khera has condemned remarks made by Delhi University professor Sangeet Ragi about Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, saying that the term “Dalit” is not merely a political expression but a social identity associated with communities that have endured caste-based discrimination, exclusion and oppression for generations.

Khera on Wednesday took exception to Ragi’s remarks during a television debate, criticising the professor for describing “Dalit” merely as a political term. Khera said such a characterisation attempts to erase the social reality that Dalit communities have experienced over a prolonged period.

He said reducing the term “Dalit” to an electoral identity overlooks the history, humiliation, struggles and social resistance associated with the community. According to Khera, such a perspective amounts to an attempt to deny an established social reality.

The Congress leader also targeted the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over the remarks. He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat should apologise for what he described as repeated remarks of this nature against Kharge.

During a television debate, Ragi had reportedly commented on Kharge’s apparent discomfort during the rendition of “Vande Mataram” at the Congress headquarters on Independence Day. Ragi had questioned what had happened to Kharge and referred to it as a reflection of “slavery and Dalit mentality”, further calling it the “real Dalit mentality”. After other participants in the debate disagreed with his remarks, Ragi withdrew the statement.

---------------

Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar