Meira Kumar, former Lok Sabha speaker and daughter of former Indian Deputy Prime Minister and Dalit leader Babu Jagjivan Ram, reacted strongly to the death of a 9-year-old in Rajasthan, who died after being beaten badly by his teacher for drinking water from a pot meant for the 'upper castes'.
Taking to Twitter, Kumar said, "100 years ago my father Babu Jagjivan Ram was prohibited from drinking water in school from the pitcher meant for Savarna Hindus. It was a miracle his life was saved.
"Today, a nine year old #Dalit boy has been killed for the same reason. 75 long years after Independence, caste system remains our greatest enemy."
Kumar was speaking about Indra Meghwal, a class three student, who died on 13 August, after he was brutally thrashed by his 'upper-caste' teacher for allegedly drinking water from a pot meant for the teacher.
'Glad he's not there now'
In an interview with NDTV, Kumar went on to say, "I asked my father. 'Why did you fight for freedom? This country did nothing for you. It has given nothing to you or your ancestors'. He said, 'Free India is going to change. We will have a caste-less society'. Glad he's not there now."
Meghwal, a student of a private school in the Jalore district of Rajasthan, was beaten up on July 20 and succumbed to his injuries at a hospital in Ahmedabad on Saturday.
The boy's father said he suffered injuries in his face and ear and almost became unconscious. The boy was taken to the district hospital, from where he was referred to a hospital in Udaipur.
"He remained admitted at the hospital in Udaipur for about a week, but seeing no improvement, we took him to Ahmedabad. But his condition did not improve even there and he finally succumbed on Saturday," the boy's father Devaram Meghwal was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.
