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Gandhi was casteist and racist: US-based writer

Jaipur: Mahatma Gandhi was a "casteist and racist" who wanted to preserve the caste system and paid lip service to Dalit upliftment for political gain, Indian American writer Sujatha Gidla said here on Monday.
Gandhi only wished to "prettify" the caste system, the New York based Dalit writer said at the Jaipur Literature Festival.
"How could one say Gandhi was an anti-caste man? He really wanted to preserve the caste system, and why he paid lip service to the upliftment of untouchables is because Hindus needed a majority against Muslims for political representation in the British government.
"That was the only reason Hindu leaders ever took up caste issues," Gidla said.
The author of "Ant Among Elephants: An Untouchable Family and The Making of Modern India" was speaking at a session titled, "Narratives of Power, Songs of Resistance".
To validate her argument, she recalled an episode from the political leader's time in South Africa where he said "black" people were "kafirs" and "losers".
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