Himanta Biswa says sorry for now-deleted 'Brahmin-Shudra' post, says Assam casteless

The controversial post said serving the Brahmins, Ksatriyas and Vaishyas is the natural duty of the Shudras. The CM said it was an incorrect translation.

Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has apologised for his now-deleted post on X, formerly called Twitter, in which he wrote serving the Brahmins, Ksatriyas and Vaishyas is the natural duty of the Shudras. The post sparked a row as the opposition leaders denounced "BJP's manuvadi ideology". AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi said Hindutva is antithetical to liberty, equality, fraternity and justice. "It's reflected in the unfortunate cruelty that Assam's Muslims have faced in the past few years," Owaisi said.

Himanta Biswa Sarma has apologised for his now-deleted Varna post.(ANI)

After the row, Himanta on Thursday apologised and said it was an incorrect translation of a sloka of Bhagavad Gita. "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 apologize," the Assam chief minister's wrote. He said he has been uploading one sloka of Bhagavad Gita every morning on his social media handles as a routine.

"In a recently deleted post, Assam CM elaborated on his vision of society. '…farming, cow rearing, and commerce are natural duties of the Vaishya and serving the Brahmins, Kshatriyas and Vaishyas is the natural duty of the Shudras.' Holding a constitutional position, your oath is to treat every citizen equally. It’s reflected in the unfortunate cruelty that Assam’s Muslims have faced in the past few years. Hindutva is antithetical to Liberty, Equality, Fraternity and Justice," Owaisi said.

Congress leader Pawan Khera asked whether the PM and the President agreed with Himanta Biswa's castesist comments. "And then if you say something to him, he will send his cops. But such stupid comments cannot be ignored. Do @rashtrapatibhvn and @PMOIndia agree with @himantabiswa’s casteist comments?" he said.