Agreed! Manusmriti Should Be Implemented—But Would Hindus Accept It?

Unveiling the Contradictions and Challenges of Reviving Manu’s Laws in Modern India

I READ IN the newspaper that some Dalit students in Banaras organized a program to burn the Manusmriti some days ago, and all of them are now in jail. I don’t understand why Dalits engage in such actions. They follow Dr. Ambedkar but forget that the circumstances of his time were different.

Dr. Ambedkar saw the Manusmriti as a symbol of Hindu separatism. How do Dalits view it today? If they consider themselves Hindus, why do they oppose the Manusmriti? Dalits should know that nothing is written in the Manusmriti about Dalit castes, i.e., Untouchables. The restrictions imposed by Manu pertain to Shudras and women—particularly upper-caste women. Why, then, are Dalits so agitated by it?

Dalits should recognize that the Manusmriti is for Hindus, and Hindus include Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas, and Shudras. Manu explicitly stated there is no fifth Varna. Therefore, the untouchables—today identified as Scheduled Castes—are not included within this fold. Why, then, do Dalits react so vehemently to the Manusmriti? The rebellion against it should come from Shudras, who are now classified as OBCs, and ironically, they are some of the staunchest supporters of the Hindu Rashtra today.

Dalits should instead start a movement demanding the implementation of the Manusmriti. Let the Manusmriti be implemented once—which, of course, will never happen, because the RSS knows that Brahmins themselves would reject it.

If the Manusmriti—whose criticism currently offends Hindu sentiments and lands critics in jail—were actually implemented under a Hindu Rashtra, what would happen? Two things are certain. First, both men and women of the upper castes would revolt against it. Second, if such a revolt were suppressed and Manu’s laws were forcibly implemented, Hindu society would spiral into an abyss.

This is why I don’t believe the government of a Hindu Rashtra will ever implement the Manusmriti. Spewing hatred against Muslims is one thing, but dragging Hindus—especially the Dwij castes—back a thousand years is another.

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If the laws of the Manusmriti are implemented, all the characters of Katherine Mayo’s book Slaves of the Gods would come to life. No Hindu woman would be allowed to read again. She would be married at the age of 12 or 13, confined to cooking, washing utensils, and bearing children. If widowed at an early age, she would either have to become a sati or live the rest of her life with a shaved head, wearing white clothes.

This is the destiny prescribed for women in the eternal law of Hinduism. Would upper-caste women in modern India—who are pilots, judges, professors, politicians, diplomats, police officers, artists, and journalists—accept this destiny? The RSS and BJP should attempt to implement the Manusmriti once.

Not just upper-caste Hindus, but Brahmins themselves would be the first to revolt because no Brahmin woman today would want to remain uneducated and shackled by restrictions. Even those upper-caste individuals who champion Sanatan Dharma and chant “Hindu-Hindu” would wake up when Hindu Rashtra replaces democracy with Manusmriti’s laws.

RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat criticizes the Constitution, claiming it is based on foreign ideas and lacks Indian cultural roots. In the guise of promoting Indian culture, he glorifies Hindu culture—specifically Brahmin culture. However, the hundred-year history of the RSS reveals it has never promoted Indian culture; it has consistently upheld Brahmin dominance as Indian culture.

The ideal hero of this culture is Shri Ram, who incarnated to protect Brahmins and establish their rule. By creating division among lower classes and destroying their empires, Shri Ram hoisted the flag of Brahmin rule.

Following in Shri Ram’s footsteps, RSS and BJP leaders today are establishing Brahmin dominance in every field. They achieve this by creating divisions among Dalits, backward castes, and tribal communities, dismantling their education systems, and recruiting unemployed individuals into an army of Ram devotees to serve the Hindu Rashtra agenda. This is their Sanatan Dharma, with the Manusmriti at its core.

Manusmriti is undoubtedly at the heart of Sanatan Dharma, but RSS and BJP leaders use it only to sustain the aura of Sanatan. They will never implement it due to certain laws in Manu’s code that even Brahmins would reject.

For instance, the third chapter of the Manusmriti states, “One should study all three Vedas, or two Vedas, or one Veda for 36 years, 18 years, or 19 years while observing celibacy in the Guru’s ashram. Only after this should one enter household life.” How many Hindus today are prepared to follow this rule?

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Is it realistic for any Hindu, especially from the Dwij Varna, to dedicate 36, 18, or 19 years solely to Vedic study? Would such a person be equipped to contribute to the development of society without studying philosophy, science, politics, economics, law, or English? Which Hindu today would accept such an outdated restriction?

In the ninth chapter, the Manusmriti prescribes, “A 30-year-old man should marry a 12-year-old girl, and a 24-year-old man should marry an 8-year-old girl.” If implemented, how many Hindus would agree to marry off their 8 or 12-year-old daughters? This would revive child marriage, an era when girls were prohibited from education and married off young, often dying prematurely due to health complications. Today, women excel in every field. Would upper-caste women tolerate such oppressive laws?

The fifth chapter of the Manusmriti prohibits widows from remarrying. In Manusmriti, the word “should” serves as a royal edict, compelling the state to enforce such societal norms. If these laws were implemented, Hindu society would regress to the very state it fought to overcome.

(English translation from Hindi by S R Darapuri, National President, All India Peoples Front)

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