Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma apologises for Bhagavad Gita post, says ‘incorrect translation by team member’

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday apologized for the incorrect translation of a verse from Bhagavad Gita on his social media post. Opposition parties including Congress , CPI(M) and AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi attacked the post. Congress party questioned if the government of India subscribed to Sarma’s view to the post which read that serving the Brahmins, Ksatriyas and Vaishyas is the natural duty of the Shudras.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Sarma wrote, “As a routine I upload one sloka of Bhagavad Gita every morning on my social media handles. Till date, I have posted 668 slokas. Recently one of my team members posted a sloka from Chapter 18 verse 44 with an incorrect translation. As soon as I noticed the mistake, I promptly deleted the post. The state of Assam reflects a perfect picture of a casteless society, thanks to the reform movement led by Mahapurush Srimanta Sankardeva. If the deleted post has offended anyone, I sincerely apologize.”

AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi said, “In a recently deleted post, Assam CM elaborated on his vision of society. ‘…farming, cow rearing, and commerce are natural duties of the Vaishya and serving the Brahmins, Kshatriyas and Vaishyas is the natural duty of the Shudras.’ Holding a constitutional position, your oath is to treat every citizen equally. It’s reflected in the unfortunate cruelty that Assam’s Muslims have faced in the past few years. Hindutva is antithetical to Liberty, Equality, Fraternity and Justice”.

CPI(M) strongly denounced Assam CM’s tweet.

Congress leader Pawan Khera questioned,”whether the President and Prime Minister Narendra Modi agreed with Sarma’s comments on castes.”