Guwahati: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has tendered an apology on his social media handle for posting a Bhagavad Gita sloka, which dealt with the occupation based on birth caste. The CM said it was his team member who had uploaded the sloka and that he had immediately deleted it, as soon as he saw it.
"As a routine I upload one sloka of Bhagavad Gita every morning on my social media handles. Till date, I have posted 668 slokas. Recently one of my team members posted a sloka from Chapter 18 verse 44 with an incorrect translation," Himanta wrote in a post in X.
As soon as I noticed the mistake, I promptly deleted the post. The state of Assam reflects a perfect picture of a casteless society, thanks to the reform movement led by Mahapurush Srimanta Sankardeva. If the deleted post has offended anyone, I sincerely apologise, he added.
The now deleted post shared by Himanta was an image read: "Agriculture, cow rearing, commerce - these are the natural act of vaishyas and it is the natural act of the Shudra to serve the three varnas of Brahmins, Kshatriyas and Vaishyas."
Himanta who is known for his sharp attacks on the opposition was at the receiving end, with CPI(M) accusing of having his caste acrimony in full display in the social media post.
“Chapter 18 verse 41 translation says The duties of the Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas, and Shudras—are distributed according to their qualities, in accordance with their guṇas (and not by birth),” a user wrote in support of Himanta, adding more muscle to the Assam CM's argument.
Another supporter wrote the CM of having a pressed schedule beyond posting and uploading on social media. “It's natural to enlist a support team.HCM,upon detecting a team member's incorrect translation of a Sloka,promptly deleted it & openly apologised-a commendable display of humility(sic),” the user wrote.
Opposition held it as a Freudian slip and that the agenda was clear to keep the society divided.
“No matter Sanghis will start implementing Manusmriti this way. (हौले हौले). Continue to make confusion and continue to apologise till purpose is solved i.e. the society is divided clearly into FOUR VARNA TOTALLY(sic),” wrote an X user in reply to Himanta's post.
Another user wanted to know whether it is true. “Is this true? Bhagavad Gita says those born in each Varna will inherently have certain characteristics. Hence they are assigned jobs based on those characteristics. It says those born in Sudra varna will only have the character to serve others(sic),” the post read.
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