The Supreme Court Justice DY Chandrachud said that the caste system is still prevalent in our society and it is about time we come face to face with that reality and help those who have been discriminated on basis of their caste.
Justice Chandrachud believed that to get to the root of discrimination,the ground realities have to be known. He added that we need to meet and interact with people who have faced discrimination to get to the main issue.
“We must come face to face with that discrimination that still permeates and pervades in our society and to find justice to those who are discriminated on the ground of caste. I think that is far more important than anything else,” he added.
Justice DY Chandrachud spoke on discrimination while he was delivering the inaugural talk at the Office of Diversity and Inclusion of Indian Institute of technology (IIT) Delhi on the topic ‘Realising Diversity -Making Differences matter in Higher Education’.
The judge was answering to a question by the audience on the way we can put a stop on the caste discrimination which is still prevalent in society.
In his answer the judge said that he doesn’t intend to show disrespect but it looks like that the theme of eliminating caste is very often perceived to be a theme which the upper caste propagates.
He said if we sincerely want to eliminate this problem, we need to talk to people for who the caste defines identity, those who are reminded of their castes by the perpetrators.
Justice Chandrachud said the answer must lie in us as we are aware citizens. In his answer he said it is not to make a casteless society but to empower those who have been subjected to centuries of discrimination.