The Freethought Party of India (FPI) celebrated the 137th Birthday of renowned social reformer and atheist leader Periyar EV Ramsamy at a function here.
A seminar entitled “Caste system is the enemy of equality and democracy” was organised. Dr KP Padhy who joined as chief guest stressed that everyone should get himself or herself identified with the profession that one has chosen to take up rather than by caste.
Party general secretary B Ramchandra CST Voltaire observed that a synthetic approach combining the thoughts and action plans of Dr BR Ambedkar, Dr Rammanohar lohia, eminent reformer Raja Ram Mohan Roy and Periyar EV Ramasamy should be formulated to do away with the caste system. He suggested a 7-point plan of action to eliminate the case system and strongly batted for installation of a statue of Periyar alongside the statue of Utkal Gourab Madhusudan in the front of the Raj Bhawan.
Among others, former Director of Higher Education Dr Prafulla Kumar Rath, writer Pabitrananda Mohaty, Campaign for Electoral Reforms in India (CERI) chief Manas Jena, ODAM advisor MS Yadav, Gandhi Smark Nidhi president Prahallad Singh, Prof PK Karbar, Mulanibasi Samata Parisad (Odisha) coordinator Abhiram Mallick, columnist Tusar Kanta, FPI vice president Harish Chandra Kar, joint secretary Gandharb Nayak, scribe Sugyan Choudhury and AMOFOI co-founder Swapna Bijayini spoke.