Bengaluru: Complaint against actor Chetan for Brahmin remarks

Bengaluru: A day after a complaint was filed by Brahmin Development Board chairman Sachidananda Murthy with city Police Commissioner Kamal Pant against popular Sandalwood actor Chetan Kumar for alleged derogatory remarks about Brahmins, social media platforms were flooded with messages in supporting of the actor who is also an activist.

The actor in a recent tweet caption his photo with following statement: "Brahminism is negation of the spirit of Liberty, Equality, Fraternity…we must uproot Brahminism— #Ambedkar 'While all are born as equals, to say that Brahmins alone are highest & all others are low as Untouchables is sheer nonsense. It is a big hoax' — #Periyar". This tweet has triggered anger among the Brahmin community with its members accusing Chetan of equating Brahminism with terrorism.

While many appreciated his stand questioning the caste system, some said Chetan has always backed causes related to the rights of the marginalised. They also amplified his speech which stated that their fight is against the practice of Brahminism since it is discriminatory.

Reacting to this, Brahmin Development Board chairman Sachidananda Murthy said that the actor hurt the sentiments of the community and should apologize.

"Such derogatory remarks have caused much pain to the community. The actor should tender uncontional apology to the Brahmin community. Otherwise, we will take legal action against him," Sachidananda Murthy said.

Commenting on the development, Chetan Kumar said he has not received any notice from the police yet. "The statements are factual and I have only spoken facts. We do not want injustice to be prevalent in society, be it socio-economic or gender.

The aim is to use education to make the world a better place. Our goal is to create a society which is non-discriminatory," he said. He added that the works of Ambedkar, Periyar that he quoted are available in the public domain for study.