Siddaramaiah Says Couldn't Marry The Girl He Loved Because Of Their Castes

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah recalled how his "love story" was cut short by rampant casteism in society. He was speaking at an event in Mysuru last night.

During an event on inter-caste marriage on the occasion of "Buddha Poornima", the full moon night when Gautam Buddha was born, the Chief Minister reminisced about his college days.

“I wanted to have an inter-caste marriage but it did not happen. The girl did not accept it,” he said.

“When I was studying, I fell in love with a girl. Don't mistake me, I was intent on marrying her but her family and she did not agree. Hence, the marriage did not happen.

“A situation emerged where I had to marry a girl from my caste. My marriage happened within my community,” the Chief Minister said. The audience appreciated his candid admission with claps, laughter, and cheers.

Extending his full support and cooperation to inter-caste marriages, Siddaramaiah promised his government will offer all assistance for such marriages.

According to him, efforts to abolish casteism and build equality in society have been happening since the time of Gautama Buddha and 12th Century AD social reformer from Karnataka Lord Basaveshwara.

He rued that the efforts of many social reformers to build an equality-based society did not bear results yet.

There are only two ways to eradicate the social evil of casteism, he said. “One is inter-caste marriages and the second is socio-economic empowerment among all communities. Social equality cannot happen in society without socio-economic upliftment,” Siddaramaiah said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)