Campaign against Manu’s Statue in Rajasthan High Court – Ritansh

It came as a shock to many including us to know that there has been quite a big statue of Manu, the person who wrote Manusmriti inside the premises of the Rajasthan high court . On the other hand,  the leading architect of the Indian constitution Dr Ambedkar’s statue is placed outside the high court ! Instead of going into the long history of how this happened, what needs to be understood is the essence of this situation and what it really means. We know that the statue was put their by lkk brahmanical lawyers disrupt every court proceeding on the issue and do not  let the opposing lawyers who represent the Ambedkarite and human rights organization speak in court. Both Congress and BJP governments have been quiet on kthis matter and  have not taken any stand against the statue. Though the Rajasthan government is now party in the case, it has been opportunistically silent on the matter.

So we from CPI(ML) Red Star and RYFI along with many Ambedkarite and left organizations in Rajasthan have started a campaign against the statue which will culminate with a protest on 25 December in Jaipur ( on this date Dr Ambedkar burnt the Manusmriti in 1927). The campaign demands the removal of the Statue of Manu from the Rajasthan High court .

Under the campaign we are going to basties of Jaipur and explaining Dalit masses and women how Manuvad (the ideology of manu) is responsible for caste based atrocities and exploitation of women and why this statue should be removed.

The question which is often raised is why should Marxists and other progressive forces take up this issue? Many say this is just about a statue so why bother? But for us, this issue is not just about a statue in a high court.

Our party has started this campaign against Manusmriti because it is the ideological core of RSS as it has itself claimed in the past  and it has also been the essence of ruling class ideology in India since Manusmriti was written around 2000 years ago . Manusmriti says the shudras (today’s SC,ST,OBC and Muslims) do not have the right to read or have any property rights , the fruits of their labor is for their masters who are the so called upper castes . Manusmriti has specific punishment for so called shudras if they want to sit next to a so called upper caste or if they have married  an upper caste or even if a so called shudras speak in a challenging way in front of a so called upper caste . These punishments include putting a hot nail in the person’s mouth , cutting their back side and putting hot oil in his mouth and ears ! Such inhuman acts are prescribed for the shudras! Same goes for the women. Women are not allowed to have any freedom according to Manusmriti. She has to be under the male members throughout their lives . She cannot be given any property rights or  right to education . Even if the husband beats her up or is a drunkard, she is not allowed to even think of leaving him. It even prescribes second marriage for the husband ! So basically the Manu’s code has been responsible for the constant misery of women and shudra castes in India since it’s inception. It has been providing religious sanction for extracting surplus value from the labor of women and the working people of India and the means of production remained with so called upper castes who have been in power since then .

There has been a long history of people who have challenged these brahamincal laws. They include Kabir , Nanak , Sant Ravidas , the Sufi saint , Basava etc . Then the new age social reformers like Savitri bai Phule , Jyotiba Phule , Ayanlkali , Periyar and Dr. Ambedkar took the torch forward . The constitution even though liberal bourgeois in nature, provided rights for women to get educated, have a share in fathers property , banned untouchability , gave voting rights to all , reservation for socially backward castes etc . It provided an opportunity to break the old shackles of brahamincal society though in a limited way . But even 70 years after implementation of the constitution, things have not changed fundamentally. On the other hand,  it seems the RSS wants to take us back in the classical Manuist times since it has come into power.

If we see Forbes magazine’s list of India’s biggest billionaries most come from the Bania caste which is a so called upper caste. On the other hand, if you see the list of people who control the biggest temples , their trusts , religious institutions and so called Religious preachers /gurus you will find that most of them are Brahmins by caste ! According to a Oxfam and newslaundry report 90% top leadership positions in news media are occupied by upper castes ! Most Vice chancellors of government run universities are from upper castes, most supreme court judges have been upper castes andthe same goes for government secretaries .

We can go on and on in this regard, but for the sake of keeping the article short,  just a brief point is stressed here . The point is that the means of production, the institutions of power and the realm of ideas are still mainly controlled by people coming from the upper caste and the workers, farmers and the toiling masses of this country are still mainly comprised by SC/ST,OBC , women and minorities . So fundamentally their hasn’t been any change in the structure of the ruling and the oppressed classes in India even under the capitalist mode of production. This is because Brahmanism is the ideology of Indian ruling classes and it helps it to extract surplus from the common masses by planting in their minds ideas like the karma, rebirth , caste roles , gender roles, written fate(naseeb), etc. and claiming that these ideas have a divine sanctity . It has always been used by the ruling class parties like congress , and what BJP/RSS is doing it taking is even further .

Since RSS has come to power it is moving  more brutally in this  Brahmanical direction and they are trying to snatch away all that was gained by the oppressed through their struggle for a better life and the rights given by the  constitution. With steps like dilution the SC/ST act , the farmers bill , the 4 labor codes , privatization of government sector , CAA/NRC and giving 10 % reservation to the upper castes, RSS is clearly moving towards the Manuwaadi Raj which is their dream project.

In this context the campaign against Manu’s statue actually becomes a campaign against Manuism which is the ideological core of the fasicist RSS and the Indian state itself. Our campaign against Manu’s statue should be seen in this context. So comrades let’s together join our hands together and make it a success !