PUNE: Indian democracy has not matured enough to accept a Dalit as head of state unlike in the case of American democracy, which has chosen Barack Obama as the President of United States, Union Power Minister Sushilkumar Shinde said on Tuesday.

He was speaking at the launch of Marathi translation of the book - Dreams from My Father - written by US President Barack Obama. The translated book has been published by Ameya Publications.

“The progress of a Dalit like President Obama is not dependent on his caste. But in India, how much progress a Dalit may make in his lifetime, but the caste card will remain attached to him like a stigma,” Shinde said. He hoped that Indian democracy would mature enough one day to keep aside caste bias and accept meritorious people at high positions without seeing them from the prism of caste.

 “One advantage Indian Dalits have over the Blacks is that they cannot be easily identified by their complexion. This is a huge saving grace for them,” the Union Power Minister said.