‘Shudras Take Offence When Caste Called Out for They Are Ignorant’: Pragya Thakur’s Latest Shocker

Pragya Thakur, the BJP’s Lok Sabha MP from Bhopal, on Sunday said that a ‘shudra’ (fourth and lowest of the traditional varnas as per scriptures) “feels bad when called a shudra because they are ignorant and for the lack of understanding.”

Infamous for her frequent controversial remarks, the 2008 Malegaon blast accused was addressing a gathering of the Kshatriya Mahasabha when she said, “A kshatriya doesn’t feel bad if we call them kshatriya. A brahmin doesn’t feel bad if we call them brahmin. A vaishya doesn’t feel bad if we call them vaishya. But a shudra feels bad if we call them shudra, what is the reason? Because they are ignorant, they don’t understand.”

Besides, Thakur asked Kshatriya women “to produce more and more children to induct them into the Armed Forces so that they can fight for the nation and strengthen its security.”

Thakur, who is no stranger to courting controversies, said that reservation should be “on the basis of economic background to benefit the poor, enabling them to live a better life not on caste lines”.

Meanwhile, on the ongoing farmers’ protests, the BJP MP said that the protesters are “not farmers, but Congressmen and Leftists”. “Those who have been protesting in the name of farmers are anti-nationals. They are not farmers, but Congressmen and Leftists in disguise of farmers and raising their voices against the country and spreading misinformation, like they did during the Shaheen Bagh protest against the new Citizenship law,” she said.

In another controversial remark, Thakur demanded that a law should be made for population control for “anti-nationals”. “There has to be a law to control the population growth for those who indulge in anti-national activities…it shouldn’t apply for those who live for the nation,” she said.

Thakur, who defeated former MP chief minister Digvijaya Singh by over 3.64 lakh votes in the 2019 Lok Sabha election, has regularly remained in the news for her provocative statements.

Despite a reprimand in May last year by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Thakur continues make controversial remarks on sensitive topics. Thakur referred to Mahatma Gandhi’s assassin Nathuram Godse as a deshbhakt (patriot) during a debate in Lok Sabha, triggering a protest by opposition members.

PM Modi later remarked that while she may have apologised for her comments, he would personally never be able to forgive her.