Change in public mindset must for Dalits' social progress

Governor inaugurates Dalit Progress Conclave in T'Puram, organised as part of 15th anniv fete of Chennithala's 'Gandhigramam' project

- EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @T'Puram

THE country's biggest failure even after eight decades of independence is that no one has taken the progress of Dalits and backward communities seriously, Governor Rajendra Arlekar said on Sunday.

He was inaugurating the one-day Dalit Progress Conclave in Thiruvananthapuram, organised as part of the 15th anniversary celebrations of Ramesh Chennithala's 'Gandhigramam' project.

"Social progress can only be achieved if the mindset of the people changes. It is because this change has not occurred that the social progress of Dalit communities in the country still remains distant. B R Ambedkar was one of the greatest visionaries the country has ever seen. However, his birth anniversary is celebrated only by Dalit communities in India. This needs to change. Every Indian should celebrate it," Arlekar said.