After his statement stirred a controversy, Congress MP Karti Chidambaram has doubled down on his stance, asking Indian cricketing authorities to recommend removing the caste surnames of Indian players. The MP told ANI on Tuesday, November 7, “It was in good intention that I asked the BCCI to advise members of the Indian team, particularly since they’re playing for India, not to include their caste names in the official roster.”
Karti had earlier tweeted on November 5 that: “The @BCCI [Board of Control for Cricket in India] must advise players donning the Indian colours to drop their caste names.”
On Tuesday, he further added that he was glad that his statement had become a point of debate. Also, when a X user replied to the minister’s original post demanding to know his caste, Karti replied saying, “I don’t belong to any caste.”
Currently, the Indian line up for the world cup has several cricketers whose last names refer to their caste background, such as Shreyas Iyer, Shubnam Gill, Shardul Thakur, Rohith Sharma, Axar Patel, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardick Pandia, and Kuldeep Yadav.
Last year, Ravindrasingh Jadeja courted controversy by posting “#RAJPUTBOY FOREVER. Jai Hind.” Rajputs, apart from in Karnataka, are categorised as Forward Caste. In Karnataka alone they’re considered as Other Backward Class (OBC). In the same year, Suresh Raina also faced widespread criticism for saying he likes Chennai, because he is “also Brahmin.” Raina’s declaration comes from the inaccurate representation of Tamil Nadu’s culture outside the state, almost entirely through Brahmin traditions. For decades upper caste dominance has been a concern in cricket, as well other sports in India. A report in The Wire in 2018, revealed that out of 290 men who have played Test cricket for India in the previous 86 years, only four players were from either Dalit or Adivasi backgrounds.
It may also be noted that when controversy erupted earlier this year in September after Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) minister Udhayanidhi Stalin called for the eradication of Sanatana Dharma, Karti Chidambaram was among the few Congress leaders, alongside Priyank Kharge, to come out in support. At the time, Congress leaders from the northern states had distanced themselves from Udhayanidhi’s stance, fearing it would impact upcoming state elections.
Also read: Suresh Raina criticised for 'Brahmin identity' comment during TNPL game
Watch: My take on NEET has evolved, NEET is Anti-Federal | Karti Chidambaram | Modi | BJP | MK Stalin