Tough call?

New Delhi, Dec. 8: Want to join the battle for creating a caste-less society? Take the name of the Father.

In other words, be a Gandhi.

That’s the only way to “eradicate” the “division” that lies at the root of India’s “slavery”, thinks C. Velu Gandhi.

The 87-year-old from Tamil Nadu created a stir in the Supreme Court yesterday when he came up with his unusual plea — confer the surname Gandhi on all those who do not believe in the caste system.

This, he said, would go a long way in creating a caste-less society, which M.K. Gandhi, the Father of the Nation, lived and fought for.

To “eradicate this division”, there should be one caste, his short petition said. “That is, first an Indian citizen and then the Gandhi caste.”

In his arguments that lasted over 15 minutes and delivered in chaste Tamil — though the official language code (English) is strictly implemented in the court — the old man made an impassioned plea for giving all those who shunned the caste system an alternative identity.

The bespectacled Gandhian — who wore a mundu or dhoti as worn in south India — said Hindus in the country had several thousand castes while divisions existed in Islam, too.

The worst affected by this system, he added, were Dalits. “They are known by 1,731 names all over India. They still live in separate colonies removed from the mainstream.”

The freedom fighter, who added Gandhi to his name, said the “discriminating seed, that is the caste system, exists in India since time immemorial and more or less is the root cause for the long, long slavery of the country”.

During the freedom struggle, he said, everybody fought together believing that if they got independence, only elected representatives would decide their fate, not Kshatriyas, Rajputs or forward castes.

He suggested that the surname Gandhi be included in the approved list of communities by the government for those who wanted to abolish the caste system, those who inter-married, were orphans and those who wanted to change their religion.

Schools, where the labelling of babies under different castes starts, should teach only of the Gandhi caste and surname, he argued.

Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan and Justice Raveendran, both well-versed in Tamil, gave the Gandhian an indulgent hearing.

The Chief Justice lauded his idealism and zeal but refused to entertain his plea. “We cannot create another caste to deal with the caste system,” he said dismissing the petition.

An hour later, Velu Gandhi left to catch a train for his village in Tamil Nadu. His toothy smile said it all.

“I am happy that the top court heard me out,” he said before leaving.