Controversial sociologist Ashis Nandy leaves Jaipur lit fest, police seek session video

Sociologist and author Ashis Nandy on Sunday left the Jaipur Literature Festival, a day after he said that those from the SC/ST and OBCs were "the most corrupt".

According to reports, police are seeking the video of Nandy''s session, even as angry reactions continue to be voiced over the controversial comment.

Police have registered a case against him, though Nandy later clarified he had been misquoted.

Dalit leader and Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati demanded his immediate arrest, while Congress leader and chief of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes, P.L. Punia, Lok Janshakti Party leader Ram Vilas Paswan and Independent MP from Dausa, Kirori Meena, also joined the chorus.

Nandy was speaking at the Jaipur Literature Festival when he said: "It is a fact that most of the corrupt come from the OBCs (other backward classes) and scheduled castes and now, increasingly, the scheduled tribes.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and lowest caste thinkers have also objected strongly to Nandy's controversial remark.

Congress Party spokesman Rashid Alvi said without taking Nandy's name: "I don't know who said and what was said. But nobody will approve this statement."

"It is unfortunate," he added.

The BJP is demanding a public apology from Nandy.

"Keeping the sanity of the whole situation, it would be desirable, we would request that he tenders a public apology and retracts his statement. The statement is against the spirit of India, it is against the Constitution and against individual," said BJP spokesperson Rajiv Pratap Rudy.

A Dalit thinker, Chandrabhan Prasad, accused him of misusing his intellectual authority, as his statement lacked empirical evidence.

"If there is no data, if there is no evidence, then Ashis Nandy is misusing his intellectual authority that is unfortunate," said Prasad.

Another Dalit thinker, Tulsi Ram, said: "They suffered through out centuries from scarcity. So their corruption, to some extent, is the product of scarcity. But still I will claim there are few people among the SC, ST community as well as in OBC, who are corrupt. Most of the corruption cases infact belong to the upper castes in India."

... contd.

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