Bhagavad Gita verse Controversy: Assam CM Himanta Sarma says, 'As soon as I noticed the mistake...'

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday apologized for the incorrect translation of a verse from Bhagavad Gita on his social media handle. The post triggered accusations of promoting caste divisions in the state.

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.”

He acknowledged the mistake and attributed it to an error made by a team member. “Recently one of my team members posted a sloka from Chapter 18 verse 44 with an incorrect translation,” the chief minister said.

“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," Sarma added.

The post which read that serving the Brahmins, Ksatriyas and Vaishyas is the natural duty of the Shudras, has sparked a political row among opposition leaders.

AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi said the chief minister elaborated on his vision of society. “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”," he said.

“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,” Owaisi added.

CPI(M) strongly denounced Assam CM's tweet claiming that "Shudras are to serve Brahmins, Kshatriyas and Vaishyas". “BJPs Manuvadi ideology in full play!” it wrote on the microblogging site.

Congress leader Pawan Khera asked whether the President and Prime Minister Narendra Modi agreed with Sarma's comments on castes. 

"And then if you say something to him, he will send his cops. But such stupid comments cannot be ignored. Do @rashtrapatibhvn and @PMOIndia agree with @himantabiswa’s casteist comments?" he said.