Hyderabadis run for caste-free India

Hyderabad celebrated the 128th birth anniversary of

BR Ambedkar

with an annual

run

to spread awareness about annihilating caste system on Sunday at Necklace Road.

The run which kick-started at People’s Plaza concluded at the Ambedkar Statue at

Liberty

after covering a stretch of two kilometres with hundreds of people from all walks of life participating by wearing red coloured tee-shirts and holding placards. Terming caste as the mother of all evils, an impediment to progress, an inhuman face of Indian society and a multi-storeyed building without steps, the participants urged the country to come out of the caste barriers and let the country progress through a caste-less and discrimination-free society.

Speaking at the event, Uppal MLA Bethi Subhas Reddy who flagged off the run said, "Dalits were subjected to both social exclusion and economic discrimination over the centuries. As a child, I was wondering why they were forced to live away from the village. The division of society into various castes is a global phenomenon. It is not exclusively confined to any particular belief system or religion practised. But the discrimination is particularly deep-rooted in the Hindu religion with Dalits being considered outcasts."

Adding to that, Gaddma Jhansi, a participant and

Dalit

activist said, “Our caste system is more than 300 years old, it is the oldest system in the world. This divides people into various groups based on their karma or work and dharma, duty. Kshatriyas as warriors, Vaishyas as traders, Shudras as labourers and Dalits as outcasts. This is unfair and it must end. We can build

caste free India

. It may take a couple of generations, but it will happen."

The annual run which started in the year 2012 has seen not just Dalits alone participating in it but, people from different religions, castes, and religious beliefs taking part in it.