Untouchables in Manu’s India.

UNTOUCHABLES IN MANU’S INDIA By Shamsul Islam CONTENTS Preface Introduction Guide to Manusmriti 2 3 18 Chapter I On origin of the world, creation of beings etc. 18 Chapter II On sources and grounds of Dharma and its application on persons twice-born; Brahamana, Kastriya and Vaisya. 20 Chapter III On house-holder’s life, marriage, sacrifices etc. 24 Chapter IV On ways of earning livelihood, personal habits and principles of character and conduct. 27 Chapter V On food, death and pollution etc. 29 Chapter VI On life of Brahmanas dwelling in forest for salvation 30 Chapters VII On rulers and their duties. 30 Chapter VIII On rulers and Punishments. 32 Chapter IX On women. 38 Chapter X On people outside Dharma. 40 Chapter XI On kinds of sins and expiations. 46 Chapter XII On kinds of birth; high and low, spiritual goals etc. 48 Endnotes 49 Annexure: Dr. BR Ambedkar’s unpublished essay on Manu and Sudras 50 PREFACE TO THE FOURTH EDITION Dr. BR Ambedkar regarded Manusmriti as the greatest affront to humanity, equality and justice. However, with the political ascendancy of Hindu Right in India, there is being witnessed a flood of low-priced mass editions of Manusmriti, so have increased the horrible incidents of persecution of Dalits or low castes who are Sudras of our society. Untouchables in Manu’s India is an attempt not only to unravel the contents of this ‘holy’ text but also connect its resurgence to the present political-religious scenario. The fact should not be overlooked that through the popularization of ‘holy’ texts like Manusmriti there is a concerted attempt to destroy the democratic, humanistic and tolerant features of Indian society. One is not surprised to see that the defenders of Manu are also working overtime to subvert the democratic-secular fabric of the country. The mounting violence against Dalits in different parts of India while Hindu Right led by RSS/BJP tries to overtake the country politically, too, once again underlines the fact that Untouchables remain the real and most vulnerable targets of persecution by the bands of ‘Hindutva’. The country is witnessing a fast spread of attitudes of intolerance towards both Dalits and minorities for which ‘Hindutva’ has been working ceaselessly since it secured political legitimacy with the enthronement of the NDA Government in Delhi in 1999. It is hoped that this book will help in understanding the philosophy and game plan of the perpetrators of anti-Dalit violence so that a proper response in totality to this fascist onslaught can be offered collectively. The fourth revised edition of Untouchables in Manu’s India is in your hands. The first edition was released during World Conference Against Racism in Durban, South Africa in September 2001. Later it went into two more revised editions and a Hindi edition too. In order to enrich the debate on Manu and ‘Hindutva’ this edition also carries as annexure an important unpublished essay by Dr. B.R. Ambedkar on Manu and Sudras. In this essay, Dr. Ambedkar brilliantly exposed attitudes of high-caste oligarchy towards Dalits/Untouchables, which are determined by open adherence to Manu. I am grateful to Professor I.K. Shukla, a thinker and a great source of strength, for his valuable suggestions, which have helped me immensely in revising this book. I am also greatly indebted to Anand Teltumbde for his inputs which have helped in improving the contents of the book. I am thankful to my wife Neelima Sharma and academician friend J. Mangalam for helping me in collection of materials. - Shamsul Islam Delhi May 2004. To Shirin & Sameer who as life partners are committed to a world devoid of fascism INTRODUCTION We are fond of hearing statements full of wisdom like India being the biggest democracy in this world today. This may be true academically but millions and millions of Sudras or Dalits or Untouchables in India, do not have much to rejoice in this biggest democracy. It is true that Dr.BR Ambedkar, and other Founding fathers of the Indian Constitution crusading for the rights of the Indian Untouchables saw to it that the Indian Constitution through its Preamble commits itself “To secure to all its citizens: Justice, social, economic and political; Liberty of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship; Equality of status and of opportunity; and to promote among them all; Fraternity assuring the dignity of the individual..”. And it is also true that Indian Constitution through Article 17 abolishes Untouchability while declaring, “Untouchability is abolished and its practice in any form is forbidden. The enforcement of any disability arising out of ‘Untouchability’ shall be an offence punishable in accordance with law.” But the bitter reality is that in spite of these pious and sacred declarations, the wretched of the earth in this country; the Untouchables suffer open and blatant discrimination. The year 2001 report of the National Commission for Schedule Castes and Tribes brings out the fact that in comparison to the year 1999 when 27561 cases were filed under the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, in the year 2000 this number increased to 28441. This fact must not be missed here that these figures in no way represent the horrendous ground reality. It is a minuscule minority of the persecuted Dalits, which dares to file complaints against persecution. Many studies and reports are available which clearly show that in very large number of cases either the caste discrimination is tolerated as a fact of life or official machinery in collusion with the high caste tormentor/s is able to hush up the complaints. These are the facelessnameless Untouchable women who in far flung areas of the countryside bear the brunt of caste persecution, which almost remain unreported. How seriously the incidents of atrocities of Untouchables are taken can be known by the disdain the Indian State shows towards the National Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (SC/ST), a statutory body. The yearly reports on the status and treatment of SC/ST, presented by the Commission for years together are not tabled in the Parliament. Recently the National Commission for SC/ST threatened to put its annual reports on the Internet if the government failed to table the same in Parliament. One of the Commission members complained that it was depressing to bring about reports on the status of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes which get tabled only after four years. The eminent parliamentarian, Professor Hiren Mukherjee says that so far as the reports of the SC/ST Commission are concerned, “it has been my experience that neither Parliament nor the country takes much notice”. President of India, KR Narayanan in his Republic Day address of 2001 had to concede, “Untouchability has been abolished by law but shades of it remain in the ingrained attitudes nurtured by the caste system”. The President also lamented the fact that high caste male sadism seemed earmarked for Dalit women who were subjected to most heinous forms of humiliation. An Indian Parliamentary committee admitted in July 1998 that Untouchability was prevalent in 12 prominent states of the Indian Union. The Hindu Right upholding the banner of ‘Hindutva’, which directly ruled India during 1999-2004 and has significant political presence has been totally unconcerned about these mounting atrocities against the Untouchables, who are mainly Hindus. This should surprise nobody that the states where maximum incidents of caste atrocities are taking place (The states of Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Haryana etc.) are the states where either RSS/BJP have substantial social base or being ruled by them or by their allies. In fact, Uttar Pradesh, which for the last several years has been ruled by BJP/RSS, or its allies, stands first in atrocities against the Untouchables. Hindustan Times in its editorial, ‘Murderers Call the Shots’ while describing the depressing scenario in Uttar Pradesh wrote, It has become routine for the landless Dalits to be treated as outsiders, humiliated, beaten and murdered, and their women raped and paraded naked, often as public spectacle to teach the entire community a lesson. The perpetrators almost always belong to the upper castes, who know that the political system is their monopoly that they will get away with almost any outrage. It is hardly a matter of surprise, therefore, that in the course of just one week, two massacres have taken place in Uttar Pradesh, in Jahrana and Hasanpur in Aligarh and Fatehpur districts. A little girl has been raped, women and children have been murdered by the torchbearers of feudal pride. What was till now a free run for Ranvir Sena in Laloo Yadav’s Bihar seems to becoming a predictable pattern in Rajnath Singh’s UP. If the Dalits are complaining that the BJP led government patronizes the upper castes, they are telling the truth. What was Naresh Majhi’s crime that his employers burnt alive his wife and five children in early April? A bonded labourer at a brick klin in Hathras, Majhi had merely demanded his wages. On June 9, a Dalit was savagely beaten and his wife burnt alive in Kusumpur village in Jalaun district in UP in front of the entire village because the family had dared to campaign against the upper caste candidate in the panchayat elections.1 The barbaric lynching of five Dalit youths in Haryana in October 2002 once again exposes the role of ‘Hindutva’ brigade in instigating violence against Untouchables. The Indian Express while reporting this gruesome carnage under the caption: ‘They were skinning a dead cow to sell hide, local VHP and Shiv Sena spread rumour of cow slaughter: five Dalits lynched in Haryana, entire administration watches’ 2 stated, Less than two hours from the capital, this was the scene today outside the Dulena police post in Jhajjar district: patches of blood on the road, a pile of smouldering ashes. This is where five Dalits, all in their 20s, were beaten to death last night, two of them torched. They were doing what they have been doing for years: skinning dead cows to sell the hide. This time, however, ‘someone’ spread the word that the cow was alive. So a mob, returning after the Dussehra fair, dragged them out of the police post where they had taken refuge and lynched them to the cries of Gau mata ki jai. Watched by the City Magistrate, the DSP of Jhajjar and Bahadurgarh, the Municipal Corporator’s husband, the Block Development Officer and at least 50 policemen. One FIR has been registered against ‘unknown people,’ while a second has been filed against the victims under the Cow Slaughter Act. Local office-bearers of the VHP and the Shiv Sena have submitted a memorandum to the local police asking them not to take any action against the guilty.3 The Indian Express correspondent, Sonu Jain spoke to several eyewitnesses and district officials to reconstruct the incident. And what was revealed was that, this was no impulsive act, the frenzy built up over a good three and a half hours-the Dalits were first ‘spotted’ at 6.30 pm, beaten and dragged to the police post and then battered to death between 9 and 10 pm.4 According to The Indian Express report, Five Dalits had bought what they claimed was a dead cow from Farooqnagar and were on their way to sell the hide-something which they traditionally do here to earn a living. They were first seen 500 meters from the police post by a group of men returning from Dusshera festivities. This group reached Jhajjar, 15 minutes away, and informed the local Dharamshala that ‘cow slaughter was going on.’ Within minutes, two vehicles with the District Magistrate, two priests from the temple and some local VHP leaders left for the spot. By then, the five had sought refuge at the police post. The word spread in at least 10 nearby villages, and in an hour, the crowd swelled to 2,000. Local VHP workers and some anti-social elements were spotted at the scene,’ says District Commissioner Mohinder Kumar, who claims he reached late because of a traffic jam. ‘The word spread by telephone, word of mouth and of course a tractor full of people returning from the fair stopped.’ Local VHP office-bearers dare the police to take action. ‘If they can kill our mother then what if we kill our brothers who kill her,’ says Mahendra Parmanand, the priest of the local temple. ‘I will say it in front of the police that what they were doing was wrong and they deserve to be punished,’ says Ramesh Saini, VHP office-bearer. Shishu Pal from the local Shiv Sena unit says that whatever happened was wrong but ‘could not have been helped.5 There have also been reports that factions of Arya Samaj active in this area were, too, involved in this gruesome act. Shockingly, Giriraj Kishore, senior leader of Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), an offshoot of the RSS, showing once again hatred for Dalits declared that life of a cow was more important than any number of people. This kind of justification of lynching of Dalits was so nauseating that a prominent English daily The Hindu, indeed, expressed the anger of the civil society when it editorially commented: The VHP leader’s observation, as has been reported, that the life of a cow is very important, according to the shastras, is only a premise to suggest that the life of five Dalits who were killed were not as important. There cannot be a place for men with such ideas in a modern society and the civil administration at this stage cannot gloss over such remarks as merely another instance of raving and ranting by someone constituting the lunatic fringe of society. The danger in seeking to establish such abhorrent notions as the ‘national sentiment’ is all too apparent.6 Delhi, the capital of democratic, modern and the biggest democracy on this earth does not seem to be different so far as hatred for Dalits is concerned. How grave situation is in the Capital of India, can be known by the following report from correspondent, Sanjay K Singh in The Statesman: The worst of Indian caste prejudices was demonstrated in the heart of Delhi, in a function attended by among others, Mr. LK Advani. Organizers of a function in Vasant Kunj Institutional Area forced 10 families to leave their homes at 5 a.m. on February 1, because the latter’s presence would have ‘polluted’ the atmosphere at a havan. Mr. Advani attended the havan, which was followed by his laying the foundation stone for the Vedic Studies and social services. The organizers, the Sri Rama Vitthal Shikshana Sewa Samiti and the Sudesh Foundation, who had taken out newspaper advertisement announcing the function on February 1, could not be contacted despite repeated efforts by the correspondent…The 10 families who were unceremoniously dragged out of their homes and asked to shift to a forest area 300 meters away, at 5 a.m. on February 1, belong to the Jusadh caste (originally from Mahoba area in Uttar Pradesh). They were told by the organizers that their presence at the venue of havan will be inauspicious. ‘Meri taang tooti hui hai aur mujhe phir bhi jane ko kaha kyonki hum jusadh hain. Bade log to dus baje aaye lekin hamen subah paanch baje hi thhannd mein bhaga diya (I have a broken leg but they told me to leave because I belong to a lower caste. Though the VIPs came at 10 a.m., we were forced to shift at 5 a.m. when it was freezing cold)’ said 55 year old Jamuni Devi.7 Tamil Nadu is witnessing resurgence of ‘Hindutva’ among rulers and with this there has been an eruption of violence against Dalits. According to a report in The Hindu Despite police action against the practice of Untouchability in tea shops of rural Tamil Nadu, several shopkeepers, under pressure from caste Hindus, continue with the discriminatory ‘two-tumbler system’. In the caste-riven state, teashops in several villages do not serve just hot beverages but also trade Untouchability in ‘two-tumblers’-cheap glass ones for the Dalits and shiny stainless steel containers for the caste Hindus. And now, a ‘threetumbler’ system too is adopted in some areas-plastic cups for outsiders whose caste identity is not known.8 According to another report in a prominent English fortnightly, Numerous are the ways in which Dalits are tormented. They are murdered and maimed; women are raped; their children are abused and deprived of schooling; they are dispossessed of their property; their houses are torched; they are denied their legitimate rights and their sources of livelihood are destroyed. Adding to the long list of atrocities committed on Dalits were two incidents reported recently in Tamil Nadu, in which three Dalits were forced to consume human waste. On September 5, at Kaundampatti in Dindigul district, Sankan, a Dalit agricultural worker, was forced to drink urine - for having lodged with the police a complaint of trespass against a caste Hindu, following a dispute between them over a piece of land. Sankan had to suffer many atrocities during his five-year-long struggle against his (high) caste-Hindu landlord to get possession of the land. In his complaint, Sankan stated that the landlord had collected nearly Rs. I lakh over a period of 15 years through deductions from his wages, as the price of the land. An equally horrifying incident occurred at Thinniyam village in Tiruchi district on May 22. Two Dalits, Murugesan and Ramasami, were forced ‘to feed each other’ human excreta. The ‘crime’ they committed was that they stood by another Dalit, Karuppiah, who was engaged in a prolonged struggle against a former panchayat president and her husband to recover an amount of money he said he had given them as bribe to get a house allotted for his sister.9 Shockingly, State of Tamil Nadu under the Chief Minister ship of Jayalalitha instead of taking effective remedial actions against these atrocities has gone ahead to promulgate on October 5, 2002, ‘The Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Forcible Conversion of Religion Ordinance’ in order to further appease the ‘Hindutva’ lobby in the country. The RSS/BJP/VHP were quick to welcome this Ordinance and demanded similar law throughout the country. This is the typical ‘Hindutva’ response to mounting atrocities on Dalits. If Dr. Ambedkar was alive today he would have been surely debarred from converting to Buddhism! Andhra Pradesh has been touted as one of the states in India where great strides have taken place in the field of information technology. It is also the state where BJP/RSS alliance has been having fraternal relations for last so many years and ruling the state together. What miserable life Dalits have been forced to live in the state will be clear from the report ‘In Venkaiah’s town, tell us your caste if you want water’ by Nirmala Ganapathy in The Indian Express, April 27, 2004. This report appeared on the eve of voting for 2004 Parliamentary/State Assembly elections in Andhra exposing the gravity of caste persecution in the area of Nellore parliamentary constituency. Interestingly, this is the area from where not only the BJP president Venkaiah Naidu hails but also has been his initial turf for practicing Hindutva politics. The report reads: “As Nellore goes to the polls…many of its citizens know that while their vote counts, it will not grant them water from the well or tea in a steel tumbler. Ask Lakshmi. A day before the election, she stood nervously, begging two girls from the Reddy community to pour some water from the village well into her bucket. They ignored her, chatted among themselves and perhaps secretly enjoyed her discomfiture. After one full hour, bored of their little game, they gave Lakshmi her water. This happens every day and whoever comes to power will not change Lakshmi’s daily routine. She and other Scheduled Caste villagers are not allowed to dip their buckets into the only source of drinking water in the area. Sometimes, she waits all day to get her bucket filled. The rules are clear and the village is divided into two worlds. Dalits can’t wear chappals or ride bicycles in the Other Caste area. In school, children from the two sections sit separately. Dalit children have their own cricket team while Other Castes have theirs, but the two never play together. And the village ‘rachabanda’ or a chaupal is out of bounds for Dalits. Raghura fumes as he speaks about the situation. The 29-year-old teacher is the only Dalit from the village with a college education. His BA and B.Ed. degrees are not enough to let him drink tea in a stainless steel tumbler at the village shop. ‘The steel tumblers are for Other Castes, the glass ones are for us,’ he says. He has tried to get his community to speak out, but no one wants to take the first step. Raghura can see why. ‘All the Dalits in this village are daily wage labourers working for the Other Castes. So if they rebel, their only ource of income is cut off. How do we survive then?’ he asks. The rules are arbitrary and have no logic. A Dalit can drive a bullock cart to the boundary of the village, but he cannot drive it into the village. From that point, the owner takes over. While Raghura seethes, his mother Pinchulamma is sanguine. ‘Things have become better,’ she says. ‘There was a time when we were not allowed to eat out of a plate. It will all change one day.’ If so, politicians may have no role to play in the change. Although Nellore, which happens to be BJP president Venkaiah Naidu’s hometown, is a reserved SC seat, and a quarter of the village’s population is Dalit, coastal Andhra politics is still dominated by Other Castes - the Naidus, Reddys, Kammas and Kapus. The caste divide helps political arithmetic as the Dalits traditionally vote for the Congress while Other Castes tend to support the TDP and the BJP. Politicians have more important things to worry about than a steel tumbler for Raghura, although Pannaba Lakshmi, the Congress candidate, admits: ‘This is shocking news. This is the first time I have heard of it.’ Apart from Depur and Mahimura, politicians say that caste-based humiliations run through Cuddapah, Ananthpur and the entire Rayalseema area. The BJP candidate, former DIG B Balakondaiah, blames it on the backwardnes of the area. ‘Where there is illiteracy among the upper-castes there will be problems,’ he says. If elected, he promises to bridge the divide, but the Dalits have heard such promises before. They have even tried to take matters into their own hands. Around six months ago, the collector and other district-level officers came to the village and told the Reddys and Naidus to stop the segregation. The officials even provided two buckets for the two communities to draw water out of the well. The villagers agreed, but after the officials left, a Dalit boy was beaten up. Other Castes suspected that it was he who had tipped off the authorities. The bucket was thrown away. Most Dalits have accepted the ground realities. But Raghura will stay back to fight. ‘This is my village and I don’t want to leave,’ he says.”1 0 Rajasthan represents the same scenario. With the ascendancy of forces of ‘Hindutva’ there is a simultaneous upsurge in crimes against Dalits. Chakwara, a village near Jaipur, capital of Rajasthan has come to symbolize all that is happening against Dalits in Rajasthan. It is to be remembered here that BJP/RSS is paying special attention to Rajasthan after Gujarat. According to newspaper reports, “The problem started an year ago in Chakwara, a Brahmin Jat dominated village. On 14 December, Mr. Babu Lal, who is from Bairwa community (cobbler by caste), dared to bath in a ghat meant for upper caste people in the village pond. The informal Panchayat of upper caste people fined him Rs. 51000. when Mr. Lal refused to pay, it announced that he and members of his community would be boycotted.1 1 According to another press report Untouchability has again reared its ugly head in a Rajasthan village. Only this time, the victims have decided to fight back for their rights. Hundreds of Dalits are on their way to Chakwara, 60 kilometers from Jaipur, to bath in the village pond and offer prayers at the village temple, something exclusively reserved for the upper castes.1 2 When Dalits decided to take a peaceful march to the ‘forbidden’ pond, around 5000 people from upper castes from neighbouring villages streamed into Phagi town in buses and on foot in what was clearly an organized antiDalit movement. Armed with lathis and stone slings, they stationed themselves on the rooftops and streets here ready to confront the nearly 3000 Dalits (most of them women) who had marched till Madhrajpura, 14 kms away.”1 3 According to the well-known columnist, Praful Bidwai, “The immediate divisive issue in Chakwara goes beyond politics and local power equations. It involves access to the common village pond, where stepped ghats have been built and maintained over the years with state funds and contributions raised by the entire village, including the Dalits. But the Dalits have been barred from using the common ghats for decades. Castebased ‘purity’ demands they be treated lower than the buffaloes, cows and pigs which have virtually unrestrained access to the pond. The only exception are women who too, irrespective of caste, have always been excluded.”1 4 Once Dalits of the village refused to accept such a racist arrangement, a social boycott was declared by the casteist elements. Praful wrote: “The Dalits could no longer buy tea or vegetables in Chakwara or hire farm implements. The local doctor would not treat them. The fair price shop ostracised them. The local mechanic wouldn’t repair their bicycles. Filthy abuse greeted them everywhere. Their men were stalked, women abused, their main basti (locality) besieged. The upper castes publicly threatened a ‘bloodbath’ unless the Bairwas paid a fine of Rs. 51,000 and, worse, signed a ‘compromise’ document promising ‘willingly’ to maintain caste apartheid in the use of the pond. Intimidation, fear and lynch-law ruled Chakwara. This was ‘terrorism in slow motion’ for the Dalits. In the past three years alone, Rajasthan has recorded 15,072 cases of crimes against the SCs/STs, including an annual average of 46 killings, 134 rapes and 93 cases of grievous injury. And yet the POA’s (SC & ST Prevention of Atrocities Act, 1989) strict provisions are applied so mindlessly-or with such deliberate sloppiness-that 60 per cent of the cases result in acquittal/closure/failure. Remarkably, Rajasthan has never prosecuted any public servant under Section 4 of the act for dereliction of duty. Nor has it invoked the cognisable sections of the law the way it should. The issue in Chakwara is not merely access to a pond. It is systemic, systematic, entrenched discrimination against the Dalits. From land maldistribution and denial of basic services-the village barber won¹t ever shave a Dalit-this extends to inequality in access to water, common pastures and wasteland, employment and drought-relief schemes, and unequal wages. A Dalit woman may not wear sandals in the main village. Dalit children may only sit at the back of the classroom and drink water from a separate pot. The bridegroom riding a horse at a wedding baraat risks being roasted alive. Droit de seigneur (the upper-caste landlord’s right to ‘deflower’ a Dalit bride-to-be) is prevalent. This violence has a well-defined purpose: to keep the lowly in their place, the Hindu hierarchy secure, and conditions for rapacious economic and social exploitation intact. Crucial to legitimising the violence is casteist Hinduism and obscurantist myth-making. The force of Hindutva tends to overpower even the Congress, certainly the party’s local MLA, himself a Dalit. It is impossible even to imagine liberty, human agency, development or social progress until Dalit oppression is combated. Chakwara was mentioned by Ambedkar way back in the Thirties. The Bairwas then defied the savarnas by making desi ghee-a ‘privilege’ denied to them. Caste-Hindus retaliated by pouring dirt into the ghee. The Bairwas have asserted themselves again, after decades, with greater resources: most men are literate and no longer submissive. They have the law explicitly on their side. But so long as the law’s guardians, driven by parampara-based obscurantism, continue to make a travesty of it, the Dalits’ struggle for elementary human dignity will face heavy odds.”1 5 Chakwara incident also represents the true Brahmanical face of ‘Hindutva’, which only wants to use Dalits against minorities without bothering to care about their human rights, which are threatened by Hindus themselves. Praful went on to tell about “Painful disillusionment of people like Hari Shankar Bairwa, a politicssavvy village elder, president of the local Ambedkar Janakalyan Parishad, and once-proud member of the VHP, who even went to Ayodhya as a karsevak with two other Dalits from Chakwara. (Bairwa has preserved the receipt for a recent Rs 20 donation to an Ashok Singhal felicitation fund.) He now accuses the VHP-BJP of having cynically ‘used’ the Dalits with the high-sounding slogan of ‘Hindu unity’ only to betray that idea and contemptuously tell them they should observe maryada (prescribed quasisacred norms) and parampara (tradition), that is, defer to rank Casteism. So much for ‘unity’!”1 6 It has also been observed, generally, that with the ascendancy of Hindu Right to power at the national level in India there has been a spurt both in caste and communal related violence. In fact, persecution in the name of caste and communal violence may not be two different things for the Hindu Right. If Untouchables are targeted for the sins of being of low birth so are minorities like Muslims and Christians, which mainly come from Dalit/Untouchable stock. Another important point not to be missed here is that they may be the leading lights in spreading caste-communal hatred in the country but parties like Congress with thoroughly casteist leadership have also been responsible for the present situation. It is interesting to note the response of the Hindu Right led by RSS/BJP to this escalating violence against Untouchables. Their oft-repeated ready-made answer is that Hindu society had no caste antagonism; these were Muslim-Christian rulers who injected caste conflict into the Hindu society. The present book is an attempt to join this debate and put across facts correctly and honestly. We are reproducing verbatim portions related to caste or varna system in Hinduism as explained in Manusmriti or Manavadharmasastra. Interestingly, Manu nowhere uses the terms like Hindus or Hinduism, however, it is believed that this work composed in 1500 BC, presents in totality the system of jurisprudence of Hinduism. The renowned German Indologist Max Muller got this translated as the ‘Laws of Manu’ which was first published in 1886 under the series, The Sacred Books of the East. There have been other international editions in different languages of Europe. It has been translated into almost all languages of India. Manu as a saint and learned Brahmin holds a place of reverence in the high caste Hindu world of thought. There has been a demand to install a magnificent statue of Manu in the Parliament House in Delhi, though one such statue stands outside the High Court of Rajasthan in Jaipur, despite strong protest from the organizations of Dalits and civil rights’ activists. How holy and sacred is Manusmriti for the Hindu Right needs no probe with the following utterances of the philosopher and guide of Hindutva, VD Savarkar and RSS. According to Savarkar, “Manusmriti is that scripture which is most worship-able after Vedas for our Hindu Nation and which from ancient times has become the basis of our culture-customs, thought and practice. This book for centuries has codified the spiritual and divine march of our nation. Even today the rules which are followed by crores of Hindus in their lives and practice are based on Manusmriti. Today Manusmriti is Hindu Law.”1 7 The Constituent Assembly of India finally enacted the Constitution of India on November 26, 1949 and it was ready for promulgation but naturally RSS was not happy. It’s organ Organizer editorially complained on November 30, “The worst about the new constitution of Bharat is that there is nothing Bharatiya about it…there is no trace of ancient Bharatiya constitutional laws, institutions, nomenclature and phraseology in it…in our constitution there is no mention of the unique constitutional development in ancient Bharat. Manu’s Laws were written long before Lycurgus of Sparta or Solon of Persia. To this day his laws as enunciated in the Manusmriti excite the admiration of the world and elicit spontaneous obedience and conformity. But to our constitutional pundits that means nothing.”1 8 India became a Republic on January 26, 1950 with a democratic-secularfederal constitution fully promulgated. The RSS was not convinced. It kept on insisting for promulgation of Manusmriti. On February 6, 1950 a retired High Court judge while arguing the case for promulgating Manusmriti as the constitution of the country wrote in Organizer: “Even though Dr Ambedkar is reported to have recently stated in Bombay, that that the days of Manu are ended it is nevertheless a fact that the daily lives of Hindus are even at the present day affected by principles and injunctions contained in Manu Smrithis and other Smrithis. Even an unorthodox Hindu feels himself bound at least in some matters by the rules contained in the Smrithis and he feels powerless to give up altogether his adherence to them.”1 9 Manusmriti Enforced by BJP/RSS Government in Madhya Pradesh The old RSS dream of promulgating the Manusmriti as fundamental law of the country got impetus recently when Uma Bharti, a seasoned sadhvi of the RSS came to head the state government in Madhya Pradesh. Soon after coming to power Uma Bharti government promulgated an ordinance on January 23, 2004, banning cow slaughter in the state. The crucial aspect of this ordinance was that it referred to Manusmriti for justifying this ban. The ordinance read: “Manusmriti ranks the slaughterer of cow as predator and prescribes hard punishment for him.” It was for the first time in the history of free India that commitment to enforce Manusmriti as part of legal set up was announced by any government. This surely opens the gate for enforcing Manusmriti in relation to Dalits and women too. It is to be noted here that a copy of Manusmriti was burnt in the presence of Dr. Ambedkar during Mahad agitation in December 1927. Of course, there has always been a school of thought, which very cunningly tries to cover-up the de-generated and de-humanised philosophy of Manusmriti by throwing up a debate on the nuances of the terms like varna and jati. An authority on Hinduism, Professor Arvind Sharma goes on to explain that, “the so-called caste system is perhaps the single most misunderstood aspect of Hinduism on which over 6000 books have been written.”2 0 He believes that discussions of the Hindu social order have fallen victim to a stereotype. It is really unfortunate that when a Hindu scripture like Manusmriti preaches for the enforcement of codes, which are barbaric, inhuman, racist and fascist, Professor Sharma instead of commenting on these tries to derail the discussion to an irrelevant issue. Students of Hindu Thought are interested in knowing from him about the holy codes of great Manu. If there is nothing wrong with Casteism in Hinduism then who are Manu’s Sudras? Professor Sharma and his likes must tell us whether Manu’s code is humane if it has the following contents in Chapter 8 only. A once-born man (a Sudra), who insults a twice-born man with gross invective, shall have his tongue cut out; for he is of low origin (Code number 270). If he mentions the names and castes (jati) of the (twice-born) with contumely, an iron nail, ten fingers long, shall be thrustred-hot into his mouth (271). If he arrogantly teaches Brahmanas their duty, the king shall cause hot oil to be poured into his mouth and into his ears (272). With whatever limb a man of a low caste does hurt to (a man of the three) highest (castes), even that limb shall be cut off; that is the teaching of Manu ( 279). He who raises his hand or a stick, shall have his hand cut off; he who in anger kicks with his foot, shall have his foot cut off (280). A low-caste man who tries to place himself on the same seat with a man of a high caste, shall be branded on his hip and be banished, or (the king) shall cause his buttock to be gashed (281). If out of arrogance he spits (on a superior), the king shall cause both his lips to be cut off; if he urines (on him), the penis; if he breaks wind (against him), the anus (282). If he lays hold of the hair (of a superior), let the (king) unhesitatingly cut off his hands, likewise (if he takes him) by the feet, the beard, the neck, or the scrotum (283). A man who is not a Brahmana ought to suffer death for adultery (samgrahana); for the wives of all the four castes even must always be carefully guarded (359). A (man of) low (caste) who makes love to a maiden (of) the highest (caste) shall suffer corporal punishment; he who addresses a maiden (on) equal (caste) shall pay the nuptial fee, if her father desires it (366). A Sudra who has intercourse with a woman of a twice-born caste (varna), guarded or unguarded, (shall be punished in the following manner): if she was unguarded, he loses the part (offending) and all his property; if she was guarded, everything (even his life) (374). Tonsure (of the head) is ordained for a Brahmana (instead of) capital punishment; but (men of) other castes shall suffer capital punishment (379). Let him never slay a Brahmana, though he have committed all (possible) crimes; let him banish such an (offender), leaving all his property (to him) and (his body) unhurt (380). A Brahmana who approaches unguarded females (of the) Kshatriya or Vaisya (castes), or a Sudra female, shall be fined five hundred (panas); but (for intercourse with) a female (of the) lowest (castes), one thousand (385). Wendy Doniger and Brian K Smith, two prominent researchers on Manusmriti, aptly sum up the significance of Manu in Hindu Thought in the following words, No modern study of Hindu family life, psychology, concepts of the body, sex, relationship between humans and animals, attitudes to money and material possessions, politics, law, caste, purification and pollution, ritual, social practice and ideals, and world-renunciation and worldly goals, can ignore Manu. 21 Reproduced parts of Laws of Manu in this book need no further elaboration and commentary, as these are too glaringly venomous, fascist and degenerated against Untouchables who are referred to as Sudras by Manu. Perhaps this was the reason that the German philosopher, Friedrich Nietzsche who contributed immensely to the growth of totalitarian ideas in Europe in the 20th century, fell in love with this work. This book is an attempt to explain and understand the philosophical basis of perpetual persecution of Untouchables not only in India but the whole of the Indian sub-continent. Manu influenced even the Muslim ruling elite of this region historically as we find Casteism percolating into Muslim societies and high caste Muslim rulers using caste divisions to perpetuate their unjust rule. There also have been innumerable instances when Muslim rulers had cordial social specially marital, political and administrative fraternal relations with the sections of high caste Hindus then interacting with lower caste Muslims of the Indian origin. Even in today’s Pakistan lower caste Muslims are referred as kammi (mean) and mussali (a derogatory term for converts from lower castes) by the shurafa or high caste gentry who are believed to be the natural rulers. In the Hindi heartland there is a recent flood of low-priced mass editions of Manusmriti. In one of such editions by one of the biggest publishers of pocket books in Hindi, the back cover has the following illuminating description of Manusmriti. The Manusmriti is the oldest social system of the world which establishes constitution and justice. Largely the social and judicial systems of today’s India are modeled after this book. It is an essential book for each family, organization and society.22 Such publishers are unconcerned about the poison and hatred, which Manusmriti carries and conveys against Untouchables. It has to be investigated whether there is a relationship between mass publication of such books and increasing violence against lower castes in the country. The Hindu Right wants to rectify the wrongs of history. This could be the fittest case to start with unless they decide to come out with the thesis that some Muslim or Christian or Sikh composed Manusmriti in order to give bad name to Hinduism! This book also attempts to underline the fact that Hindu Right’s dream of recreating the “golden past” is fraught with terrible dangers. Whatever it may be saying about Muslims and Christians as dangerous minorities it is indeed, attempting with all its might to deprive Hindu Dalits of all their human rights. Scriptures like Manusmriti only emphasize the fact that real targets are Dalits. The reality is that if we witness occasional carnage of minorities like Sikhs, Muslims and Christians, in the case of Dalits, the carnages are taking place perpetually. Let this also be known that ‘Manusmriti’ is highly derogatory towards women too and requires a separate book to know all the chilling and denigrating antiwomen philosophy contained in it. For a perusal of these women specific laws which Hindutva camp wants to enforce for women (Hindu), visit http://hinduism.about.com/library/weekly/extra/bl-lawsofmanu9.htm to have complete understanding of anti-women philosophy. GUIDE TO MANUSMRITI The Manusmriti or Manvadharmasastra has many translations but the one partly presented here is from the series, The Sacred Books of the East edited by F. Max Muller. G.Buhler translated it as the Laws of Manu. This version is regarded as the most authentic one. We have still compared it with eight other editions, which are available in English and Hindi and found it the most authentic and readable one. In this presentation the serial numbers of the original chapters (in all XII chapters) and codes or laws have been retained. In the case of serial numbers of codes on the left side of the text there is no continuity because we have retained only those which are relevant to our theme. We have mainly chosen those codes of Manu, which have direct bearing on the status of Sudras but for continuity’s sake or for explaining a specific code one or more in the same continuity have been retained. Moreover, in order to compare the status of Sudras with that of the higher castes, the relevant codes have also been reproduced. According to Manusmriti Sudras are regarded as ‘once born’ whereas the Brahmana, the Kshatriyas and the Vaisyas are ‘twice born’. CHAPTER I ON ORIGIN OF THE WORLD, CREATION OF BEINGS ETC. 1. The great sages approached Manu, who was seated with a collected mind, and, having duly worshipped him, spoke as follows: 2. ‘Deign, divine one, to declare to us precisely and in due order the sacred laws of each of the (four chief) castes (varna) and of the intermediate ones. 31. But for the sake of the prosperity of the worlds he caused the Brahmana, the Kshatriya, the Vaisya, and the Sudra to proceed from his mouth, his arms, his thighs, and his feet. 87. But in order to protect this universe He, the most resplendent one, assigned separate (duties and) occupations to those who sprang from his mouth, arms, thighs, and feet. 88. To Brahmanas he assigned teaching and studying (the Veda), sacrificing for their own benefit and for others, giving and accepting (of alms). 89. The Kshatriya he commanded to protect the people, to bestow gifts, to offer sacrifices, to study (the Veda), and to abstain from attaching himself to sensual pleasures; 90. The Vaisya to tend cattle, to bestow gifts, to offer sacrifices, to study (the Veda), to trade, to lend money, and to cultivate land. 91. One occupation only the lord prescribed to the Sudra, to serve meekly even these (other) three castes. 93. As the Brahmana sprang from (Brahman’s) mouth, as he was the first-born, and as he possesses the Veda, he is by right the lord of this whole creation. 98. The very birth of a Brahmana is an eternal incarnation of the sacred law; for he is born to (fulfill) the sacred law, and becomes one with Brahman. 99. A Brahmana, coming into existence, is born as the highest on earth, the lord of all created beings, for the protection of the treasury of the law. 100. Whatever exists in the world is, the property of the Brahmana; on account of the excellence of his origin The Brahmana is, indeed, entitled to all. 101.The Brahmana eats but his own food, wears but his own apparel, bestows but his own in alms; other mortals subsist through the benevolence of the Brahmana. 102. In order to clearly settle his duties those of the other (castes) according to their order, wise Manu sprung from the Self-existent, composed these Institutes (of the sacred Law). 103. A learned Brahmana must carefully study them, and he must duly instruct his pupils in them, but nobody else (shall do it). 104. A Brahmana who studies these Institutes (and) faithfully fulfills the duties (prescribed therein), is never tainted by sins, arising from thoughts, words, or deeds. 105. He sanctifies any company (which he may enter), seven ancestors and seven descendants, and he alone deserves (to possess) this whole earth. 106. (To study) this (work) is the best means of securing welfare, it increases understanding, it procures fame and long life, it (leads to) supreme bliss. 107. In this (work) the sacred law has been fully stated as well as the good and bad qualities of (human) actions and the immemorial rule of conduct, (to be followed) by all the four castes (varna). 108. The rule of conduct is transcendent law, whether it be taught in the revealed texts or in the sacred tradition; hence a twice-born man who possesses regard for himself, should be always careful to (follow) it. 109. A Brahmana who departs from the rule of conduct, does not reap the fruit of the Veda, but he who duly follows it, will obtain the full reward. 110. The sages who saw that the sacred law is thus grounded on the rule of conduct, have taken good conduct to be the most excellent root of all austerity. 111. The creation of the universe, the rule of the sacraments, the ordinances of studentship, and the respectful behaviour (towards Gurus), the most excellent rule of bathing (on return from the teacher’s house), 112. (The law of) marriage and the description of the (various) marriage-rites, the regulations for the great sacrifices and the eternal rule of the funeral sacrifices, 113. The description of the modes of (gaining) subsistence and the duties of a Snataka, (the rules regarding) lawful and forbidden food, the purification of men and of things, 114. The laws concerning women, (the law) of hermits, (the manner of gaining) final emancipation and (of) renouncing the world, the whole duty of a king and the manner of deciding lawsuits, 115. The rules for the examination of witnesses, the laws concerning husband and wife, the law of (inheritance and) division, (the law concerning) gambling and the removal of (men nocuous like) thorns, 116. (The law concerning) the behaviour of Vaisyas and Sudras, the origin of the mixed castes, the law for all castes in times of distress and the law of penances, 118. The primeval laws of countries, of castes (gati), of families, and the rules concerning heretics and companies (of traders and the like)- (all that) Manu has declared in these Institutes. CHAPTER II On sources and grounds of Dharma and its application on persons twice-born; Brahamana, Kastriya and Vaisya and situations 7. Whatever law has been ordained for any (person) by Manu, that has been fully declared in the Veda: for that (sage was) omniscient. 8. But a learned man after fully scrutinising all this with the eye of knowledge, should, in accordance with the authority of the revealed texts, be intent on (the performance of) his duties. 9. For that man who obeys the law prescribed in the revealed texts and in the sacred tradition, gains fame in this (world) and after death unsurpassable bliss. 10. But by Sruti (revelation) is meant the Veda, and by Smriti (tradition) the Institutes of the sacred law: those two must not be called into question in any matter, since from those two the sacred law shone forth. 11. Every twice-born man, who, relying on the Institutes of dialectics, treats with contempt those two sources (of the law), must be cast out by the virtuous, as an atheist and a scorner of the Veda. 14. But when two sacred texts (Sruti) are conflicting, both are held to be law; for both are pronounced by the wise (to be) valid law. 18. The custom handed down in regular succession (since time immemorial) among the (four chief) castes (varna) and the mixed (races) of that country, is called the conduct of virtuous men. 23. That land where the black antelope naturally roams, one must know to be fit for the performance of sacrifices; (the tract) different from that (is) the country of the Mlechas (barbarians). 24. Let twice-born men seek to dwell in those (above-mentioned countries); but a Sudra, distressed for subsistence, may reside anywhere. 25. Thus has the origin of the sacred law been succinctly described to you and the origin of this universe; learn (now) the duties of the castes (varna). 26. With holy rites, prescribed by the Veda, must the ceremony on conception and other sacraments be performed for twice-born men, which sanctify the body and purify (from sin) in this (life) and after death. 27. By burnt oblations during (the mother’s) pregnancy, by the Gatakarman (the ceremony after birth), the Kauda (tonsure), and the Maungibandhana (the tying of the sacred girdle of Munga grass) is the taint, derived from both parents, removed from twice-born men. 31. Let (the first part of) a Brahmana’s name (denote something) auspicious, a Kshatriya’s be connected with power, and a Vaisya’s with wealth, but a Sudra’s (express something) contemptible. 32. (The second part of) a Brahmana’s (name) shall be (a word) implying happiness, of a Kshatriya’s (a word) implying protection, of a Vaisya’s (a term) expressive of thriving, and of a Sudra’s (an expression) denoting service. 35. According to the teaching of the revealed texts, the Kudakarman (tonsure) must be performed, for the sake of spiritual merit, by all twice-born men in the first or third year. 36. In the eighth year after conception, one should perform the initiation (upanayana) of a Brahmana, in the eleventh after conception (that) of a Kshatriya, but in the twelfth that of a Vaisya. 37. (The initiation) of a Brahmana who desires proficiency in sacred learning should take place in the fifth (year after conception), (that) of a Kshatriya who wishes to become powerful in the sixth, (and that) of a Vaisya who longs for (success in his) business in the eighth. 38. The (time for the) Savitri (initiation) of a Brahmana does not pass until the completion of the sixteenth year (after conception), of a Kshatriya until the completion of the twenty-second, and of a Vaisya until the completion of the twenty-fourth. 39. After those (periods men of) these three (castes) who have not received the sacrament at the proper time, become Vratyas (outcasts), excluded from the Savitri (initiation) and despised by the Aryans. 41. Let students, according to the order (of their castes), wear (as upper dresses) the skins of black antelopes, spotted deer, and he-goats, and (lower garments) made of hemp, flax or wool. 42. The girdle of a Brahmana shall consist of a triple cord of Munga grass, smooth and soft; (that) of a Kshatriya, of a bowstring, made of Murva fibres; (that) of a Vaisya, of hempen threads. 44. The sacrificial string of a Brahmana shall be made of cotton, (shall be) twisted to the right, (and consist) of three threads, that of a Kshatriya of hempen threads, (and) that of a Vaisya of woolen threads. 45. A Brahmana shall (carry), according to the sacred law, a staff of Bilva or Palasa; a Kshatriya, of Vata or Khadira; (and) a Vaisya, of Pilu or Udumbara. 46. The staff of a Brahmana shall be made of such length as to reach the end of his hair; that of a Kshatriya, to reach his forehead; (and) that of a Vaisya, to reach (the tip of his) nose. 53. Let a twice-born man always eat his food with concentrated mind, after performing an ablution; and after he has eaten, let him duly cleanse himself with water and sprinkle the cavities (of his head). 56. Let him not give to any man what he leaves, and beware of eating between (the two meal-times); let him not over-eat himself, nor go anywhere without having purified himself (after his meal). 58. Let a Brahmana always sip water out of the part of the hand (tirtha) sacred to Brahman, or out of that sacred toka (Pragapati), or out of (that) sacred to the gods, never out of that sacred to the manes. 62. A Brahmana is purified by water that reaches his heart, a Kshatriya by water reaching his throat, a Vaisya by water taken into his mouth, (and) a Sudra by water touched with the extremity (of his lips). 65. (The ceremony called) Kesanta (clipping the hair) is ordained for a Brahmana in the sixteenth year (from conception); for a Kshatriya, in the twenty-second; and for a Vaisya, two (years) later than that. 103. But he who does not (worship) standing in the morning, nor sitting in the evening, shall be excluded, just like a Sudra, from all the duties and rights of an Aryan. 110. Unless one be asked, one must not explain (anything) to anybody, nor (must one answer) a person who asks improperly; let a wise man, though he knows (the answer), behave among men as (if he were) an idiot. 111. Of the two persons, him who illegally explains (anything), and him who illegally asks (a question), one (or both) will die or incur (the other’s) enmity. 114. Sacred Learning approached a Brahmana and said to him: ‘I am thy treasure, preserve me, deliver me not to a scorner; so (preserved) I shall become supremely strong.’ 115. ‘But deliver me, as to the keeper of thy treasure, to a Brahmana whom thou shalt know to be pure, of subdued senses, chaste and attentive.’ 116. But he who acquires without permission the Veda from one who recites it, incurs the guilt of stealing the Veda, and shall sink into hell. 126. A Brahmana who does not know the form of returning a salutation, must not be saluted by a learned man; as a Sudra, even so is he. 127. Let him ask a Brahmana, on meeting him, after (his health, with the word) kusala, a Kshatriya (with the word) anamaya, a Vaisya (with the word) kshema, and a Sudra (with the word) anarogya. 135. Know that a Brahmana of ten years and Kshatriya of a hundred years stand to each other in the relation of father and son; but between those two the Brahmana is the father. 137. Whatever man of the three (highest) castes possesses most of those five, both in number and degree, that man is worthy of honour among them; and (so is) also a Sudra who has entered the tenth (decade of his life). 155. The seniority of Brahmanas is from (sacred) knowledge, that of Kshatriyas from valour, that of Vaisyas from wealth in grain (and other goods), but that of Sudras alone from age. 164. A twice-born man who has been sanctified by the (employment of) the means, (described above) in due order, shall gradually and cumulatively perform the various austerities prescribed for (those who) study the Veda. 168. A twice-born man who, not having studied the Veda, applies himself to other (and worldly study), soon falls, even while living, to the condition of a Sudra and his descendants (after him). 172. (He who has not been initiated) should not pronounce (any) Vedic text excepting (those required for) the performance of funeral rites, since he is on a level with a Sudra before his birth from the Veda. 210. The wives of the teacher, who belong to the same caste, must be treated as respectfully as the teacher; but those who belong to a different caste, must be honoured by rising and salutation. 223. If a woman or a man of low caste perform anything (leading to) happiness, let him diligently practise it, as well as (any other permitted act) in which his heart finds pleasure. CHAPTER III On house-holder’s life, marriage, sacrifices etc. 13. It is declared that a Sudra woman alone (can be) the wife of a Sudra, she and one of his own caste (the wives) of a Vaisya, those two and one of his own caste (the wives) of a Kshatriya, those three and one of his own caste (the wives) of a Brahmana. 14. A Sudra woman is not mentioned even in any (ancient) story as the (first) wife of a Brahmana or of a Kshatriya, though they lived in the (greatest) distress. 15. Twice-born men who, in their folly, wed wives of the low (Sudra) caste, soon degrade their families and their children to the state of Sudras. 16. According to Atri and to (Gautama) the son of Utathya, he who weds a Sudra woman becomes an outcast, according to Saunaka on the birth of a son, and according to Bhrigu he who has (male) offspring from a (Sudra female, alone). 17. A Brahmana who takes a Sudra wife to his bed, will (after death) sink into hell; if he begets a child by her, he will lose the rank of a Brahmana. 18. The manes and the gods will not eat the (offerings) of that man who performs the rites in honour of the gods, of the manes, and of guests chiefly with a (Sudra wife’s) assistance, and such (a man) will not go to heaven. 19. For him who drinks the moisture of a Sudra’s lips, who is tainted by her breath, and who begets a son on her, no expiation is prescribed. 20. Now listen to (the) brief (description of) the following eight marriage-rites used by the four castes (varna) which partly secure benefits and partly produce evil both in this life and after death 21. (They are) the rite of Brahman (Brahma), that of the gods (Daiva), that of the Rishis (Arsha), that of Pragapati (Pragapatya), that of the Asuras (Asura), that of the Gandharvas (Gandharva), that of the Rhashasas (Rakshasa), and that of the Pisakas (Paisaka). 22. Which is lawful for each caste (varna) and which are the virtues or faults of each (rite), all this I will declare to you, as well as their good and evil results with respect to the offspring. 23. One may know that the first six according to the order (followed above) are lawful for a Brahmana, the four last for a Kshatriya, and the same four, excepting the Rakshasa rite, for a Vaisya and a Sudra. 24. The sages state that the first four are approved (in the case) of a Brahmana, one, the Rakshasa (rite in the case) of a Kshatriya, and the Asura (marriage in that) of a Vaisya and of a Sudra. 39. From the four marriages, (enumerated) successively, which begin with the Brahma rite spring sons, radiant with knowledge of the Veda and honoured by the Sishtas (good men). 40. Endowed with the qualities of beauty and goodness, possessing wealth and fame, obtaining as many enjoyments as they desire and being most righteous, they will live a hundred years. 41. But from the remaining (four) blamable marriages spring sons who are cruel and speakers of untruth, who hate the Veda and the sacred law. 42. In the blameless marriages blameless children are born to men, in blamable (marriages) blamable (offspring); one should therefore avoid the blamable (forms of marriage). 43. The ceremony of joining the hands is prescribed for (marriages with) women of equal caste (varna); know that the following rule (applies) to weddings with females of a different caste (varna). 44. On marrying a man of a higher caste a Kshatriya bride must take hold of an arrow, a Vaisya bride of a goad, and a Sudra female of the hem of the (bridegroom’s) garment. 64. By (practising) handicrafts, by pecuniary transactions, by (begetting) children on Sudra females only, by (trading in) cows, horses, and carriages, by (the pursuit of) agriculture and by taking service under a king, 92. Let him gently place on the ground (some food) for dogs, outcasts, Kandalas (Svapak), those afflicted with diseases that are punishments of former sins, crows, and insects. 112. Even a Vaisya and a Sudra who have approached his house in the manner of guests, he may allow to eat with his servants, showing (thereby) his compassionate disposition. 150. Manu has declared that those Brahmanas who are thieves, outcasts, eunuchs, or atheists are unworthy (to partake) of oblations to the gods and manes. 155. An actor or singer, one who has broken the vow of studentship, one whose (only or first) wife is a Sudra female, the son of a remarried woman, a oneeyed man, and he in whose house a paramour of his wife (resides); 156. He who teaches for a stipulated fee and he who is taught on that condition, he who instructs Sudra pupils and he whose teacher is a Sudra, he who speaks rudely, the son of an adulteress, and the son of a widow, 157. He who forsakes his mother, his father, or a teacher without a (sufficient) reason, he who has contracted an alliance with outcasts either through the Veda or through a marriage, 161. An epileptic man, who suffers from scrofulous swellings of the glands, one afflicted with white leprosy, an informer, a madman, a blind man, and he who cavils at the Veda must (all) be avoided. 164. A breeder of sporting-dogs, a falconer, one who defiles maidens, he who delights in injuring living creatures, he who gains his subsistence from Sudras, and he who offers sacrifices to the Ganas, 165. He who does not follow the rule of conduct, a (man destitute of energy like a) eunuch, one who constantly asks (for favours), he who lives by agriculture, a club-footed man, and he who is censured by virtuous men, 166. A shepherd, a keeper of buffaloes, the husband of a remarried woman, and a carrier of dead bodies, (all these) must be carefully avoided. 178. The giver (of a Sraddha) loses the reward, due for such a non-sacrificial gift, for as many Brahmanas as a (guest) who sacrifices for Sudras may touch (during the meal) with his limbs. 179. And if a Brahmana, though learned in the Veda, accepts through covetousness a gift from such (a man), he will quickly perish, like a vessel of unburnt clay in water. 191. But he who, being invited to a Sraddha, dallies with a Sudra woman, takes upon himself all the sins which the giver (of the feast) committed. 239. A Kandala, a village pig, a cock, a dog, a menstruating woman, and a eunuch must not look at the Brahmanas while they eat. 241. A boar makes (the rite) useless by inhaling the smell (of the offerings), a cock by the air of his wings, a dog by throwing his eye (on them), a low-caste man by touching (them). 242. If a lame man, a one-eyed man, one deficient in a limb, or on with a redundant limb, be even the servant of the performer (of the Sraddha), he must be removed from that place (where the Sraddha is held). 249. The foolish man who, after having eaten a Sraddha (-dinner), gives the leavings to a Sudra, falls headlong into the Kalasutra hell. 250. If the partaker of a Sraddha (-dinner) enters on the same day the bed of a Sudra female, the manes of his (ancestors) will lie during that month in her ordure. CHAPTER IV On ways of earning livelihood, personal habits and principles of character and conduct 30. Let him not honour, even by a greeting, heretics, men who follow forbidden occupations, men who live like cats, rogues, logicians, (arguing against the Veda,) and those who live like herons. 61. Let him not dwell in a country where the rulers are Sudras, nor in one which is surrounded by unrighteous men, nor in one which has become subject to heretics, nor in one swarming with men of the lowest castes. 79. Let him not stay together with outcasts, nor with Kandalas, nor with Pukkasas, nor with fools, nor with overbearing men, nor with low-caste men, nor with Antyavasayins. 80. Let him not give to a Sudra advice, nor the remnants (of his meal), nor food offered to the gods; nor let him explain the sacred law (to such a man), nor impose (upon him) a penance. 81. For he who explains the sacred law (to a Sudra) or dictates to him a penance, will sink together with that (man) into the hell (called) Asamvrita. 99. Let him not recite (the texts) indistinctly, nor in the presence of Sudras; nor let him, if in the latter part of the night he is tired with reciting the Veda, go again to sleep. 108. In a village where a corpse lies, in the presence of a (man who lives as unrighteously as a) Sudra, while (the sound of) weeping (is heard), and in a crowd of men the (recitation of the Veda must be) stopped. 127. Let a twice-born man always carefully interrupt the Veda-study on two (occasions, viz.) when the place where he recites is impure, and when he himself is unpurified. 140. Let him not journey too early in the morning, nor too late in the evening, nor just during the midday (heat), nor with an unknown (companion), nor alone, nor with Sudras. 141. Let him not insult those who have redundant limbs or are deficient in limbs, nor those destitute of knowledge, nor very aged men, nor those who have no beauty or wealth, nor those who are of low birth. 205. A Brahmana must never eat (a dinner given) at a sacrifice that is offered by one who is not a Srotriya, by one who sacrifices for a multitude of men, by a woman, or by a eunuch. 206. When those persons offer sacrificial viands in the fire, it is unlucky for holy (men) it displeases the gods; let him therefore avoid it. 213. Nor (food) given without due respect, nor (that which contains) meat eaten for no sacred purpose, nor (that given) by a female who has no male (relatives), nor the food of an enemy, nor that (given) by the lord of a town, nor that (given) by outcasts, nor that on which anybody has sneezed; 218. The food of a king impairs his vigour, the food of a Sudra his excellence in sacred learning, the food of a goldsmith his longevity, that of a leather-cutter his fame; 219. The food of an artisan destroys his offspring, that of a washer man his (bodily) strength; the food of a multitude and of harlots excludes him from (the higher) worlds. 223. A Brahmana who knows (the law) must not eat cooked food (given) by a Sudra who performs no Sraddhas; but, on failure of (other) means of subsistence, he may accept raw (grain), sufficient for one night (and day). 244. Let him, who desires to raise his race, ever form connections with the most excellent (men), and shun all low ones. 245. A Brahmana who always connects himself with the most excellent (ones), and shuns all inferior ones, (himself) becomes most distinguished; by an opposite conduct he becomes a Sudra. CHAPTER V On food, death and pollution etc. 19. A twice-born man who knowingly eats mushrooms, a village-pig, garlic, a village-cock, onions, or leeks, will become an outcast. 31. ‘The consumption of meat (is befitting) for sacrifices,’ that is declared to be a rule made by the gods; but to persist (in using it) on other (occasions) is said to be a proceeding worthy of Rakshasas. 32. He who eats meat, when he honours the gods and manes, commits no sin, whether he has bought it, or himself has killed (the animal), or has received it as a present from others. 33. A twice-born man who knows the law, must not eat meat except in conformity with the law; for if he has eaten it unlawfully, he will, unable to save himself, be eaten after death by his (victims). 34. After death the guilt of one who slays deer for gain is not as (great) as that of him who eats meat for no (sacred) purpose. 35. But a man who, being duly engaged (to officiate or to dine at a sacred rite), refuses to eat meat, becomes after death an animal during twenty-one existences. 36. A Brahmana must never eat (the flesh of animals unhallowed by Mantras; but, obedient to the primeval law, he may eat it, consecrated with Vedic texts. 42. A twice-born man who, knowing the true meaning of the Veda, slays an animal for these purposes, causes both himself and the animal to enter a most blessed state. 57. I will now in due order explain the purification for the dead and the purification of things as they are prescribed for the four castes (varna). 83. A Brahmana shall be pure after ten days, a Kshatriya after twelve, a Vaisya after fifteen, and a Sudra is purified after a month. 85. When he (Brahmana)has touched a Kandala, a menstruating woman, an outcast, a woman in childbed, a corpse, or one who has touched a (corpse), he becomes pure by bathing. 89. Libations of water shall not be offered to those who (neglect the prescribed rites and may be said to) have been born in vain, to those born in consequence of an illegal mixture of the castes, to those who are ascetics (of heretical sects), and to those who have committed suicide, 92. Let him carry out a dead Sudra by the southern gate of the town, but (the corpses of) twice-born men, as is proper, by the western, northern, or eastern (gates). 99. (At the end of the period of impurity) a Brahmana who has performed the necessary rites, becomes pure by touching water, a Kshatriya by touching the animal on which he rides, and his weapons, a Vaisya by touching his goad or the nose-string (of his oxen), a Sudra by touching his staff. 104. Let him not allow a dead Brahmana to be carried out by a Sudra, while men of the same caste are at hand; for that burnt-offering which is defiled by a Sudra’s touch is detrimental to (the deceased’s passage to) heaven. 131. Manu has declared that the flesh (of an animal) killed by dogs is pure, likewise (that) of a (beast) slain by carnivorous (animals) or by men of low caste (Dasyu), such as Kandalas. 139. Let him who desires bodily purity first sip water three times, and then twice wipe his mouth; but a woman and a Sudra (shall perform each act) once (only). 140. Sudras who live according to the law, shall each month shave (their heads); their mode of purification (shall be) the same as that of Vaisyas, and their food the fragments of an Aryan’s meal. 163. She who cohabits with a man of higher caste, forsaking her own husband who belongs to a lower one, will become contemptible in this world, and is called a remarried woman (parapurva). CHAPTER VI (Chapter VI in Manusmriti has no venom against Sudras as it deals with the life of Brahmanas, twice born men, dwelling in forest for salvation which no Sudra is allowed to do) . CHAPTER VII On rulers and their duties 1. 2. 3. I will declare the duties of kings, (and) show how a king should conduct himself, how he was created, and how (he obtain) highest success. A Kshatriya, who has received according to the rule the sacrament prescribed by the Veda, must duly protect this whole (world). For, when these creatures, being without a king, through fear dispersed in all 8. 9. 14. 18. 20. 21. 22. 24. 32. 35. 37. 54. 58. directions, the Lord created a king for the protection of this whole (creation), Even an infant king must not be despised, (from an idea) that he is a (mere) mortal; for he is a great deity in human form. Fire burns one man only, if he carelessly approaches it, the fire of a king’s (anger) consumes the (whole) family, together with its cattle and its hoard of property. For the (king’s) sake the Lord formerly created his own son, Punishment, the protector of all creatures, (an incarnation of) the law, formed of Brahman’s glory. Punishment alone governs all created beings, punishment alone protects them, punishment watches over them while they sleep; the wise declare punishment (to be identical with) the law. If the king did not, without tiring, inflict punishment on those worthy to be punished, the stronger would roast the weaker, like fish on a spit; The crow would eat the sacrificial cake and the dog would lick the sacrificial viands, and ownership would not remain with any one, the lower ones would (usurp the place of) the higher ones. The whole world is kept in order by punishment, for a guiltless man is hard to find; through fear of punishment the whole world yields the enjoyments (which it owes). All castes (varna) would be corrupted (by intermixture), all barriers would be broken through, and all men would rage (against each other) in consequence of mistakes with respect to punishment. Let him act with justice in his own domain, with rigour chastise his enemies, behave without duplicity towards his friends, and be lenient towards Brahmanas. The king has been created (to be) the protector of the castes (varna) and orders, who, all according to their rank, discharge their several duties. Let the king, after rising early in the morning, worship Brahmanas who are well versed in the threefold sacred science and learned (in polity), and follow their advice. Let him appoint seven or eight ministers whose ancestors have been royal servants, who are versed in the sciences, heroes skilled in the use of weapons and descended from (noble) families and who have been tried. But with the most distinguished among them all, a learned Brahmana, let the king deliberate on the most important affairs which relate to the six measures of royal policy. 62. Among them let him employ the brave, the skillful, the high-born, and the honest in (offices for the collection of) revenue, (e.g.) in mines, manufactures, and storehouses, (but) the timid in the interior of his palace. 69. Let him settle in a country which is open and has a dry climate, where grain is abundant, which is chiefly (inhabited) by Aryans, not subject to epidemic diseases (or similar troubles), and pleasant, where the vassals are obedient and his own (people easily) find their livelihood. 77. Inhabiting that, let him wed a consort of equal caste (varna), who possesses auspicious marks (on her body), and is born in a great family, who is charming and possesses beauty and excellent qualities. 133. Though dying (with want), a king must not levy a tax on Srotriyas (priests), and no Srotriya, residing in his kingdom, must perish from hunger. 134. The kingdom of that king, in whose dominions a Srotriya pines with hunger, will even, ere long, be afflicted by famine. 135. Having ascertained his learning in the Veda and (the purity of) his conduct, the king shall provide for him means of subsistence in accordance with the sacred law, and shall protect him in every way, as a father (protects) the lawful son of his body. 136. Whatever meritorious acts (such a Brahmana) performs under the full protection of the king, thereby the king’s length of life, wealth, and kingdom increase. 138. Mechanics and artisans, as well as Sudras who subsist by manual labour, he may cause to work (for himself i.e. the ruler) one (day) in each month. CHAPTER VIII On rulers and Punishments 1. A king, desirous of investigating law cases, must enter his court of justice, preserving a dignified demeanour, together with Brahmanas and with experienced councilors. 11. Where three Brahmanas versed in the Vedas and the learned (judge) appointed by the king sit down, they call that the court of (four-faced) Brahman. 16. For divine justice (is said to be) a bull (vrisha); that (man) who violates it (kurute ‘lam) the gods consider to be (a man despicable like) a Sudra (vrishala); let him, therefore, beware of violating justice. 20. A Brahmana who subsists only by the name of his caste (gati) or one who merely calls himself a Brahmana (though his origin be uncertain), may, at the king’s pleasure, interpret the law to him, but never a Sudra. 21. The kingdom of that monarch, who looks on while a Sudra settles the law, will sink (low), like a cow in a morass. 22. That kingdom where Sudras are very numerous, which is infested by atheists and destitute of twice-born (inhabitants), soon entirely perishes, afflicted by famine and disease. 37. When a learned Brahmana has found treasure, deposited in former (times), he may take even the whole (of it); for he is master of everything. 38. When the king finds treasure of old concealed in the ground let him give one half to Brahmanas and place the (other) half in his treasury. 41. (A king) who knows the sacred law, must inquire into the laws of castes (gati), of districts, of guilds, and of families, and (thus) settle the peculiar law of each. 88. Let him examine a Brahmana (beginning with) ‘Speak,’ a Kshatriya (beginning with) ‘Speak the truth,’ a Vaisya (admonishing him) by (mentioning) his kine, grain, and gold, a Sudra (threatening him) with (the guilt of) every crime that causes loss of caste; 102. Brahmanas who tend cattle, who trade, who are mechanics, actors (or singers), menial servants or usurers, the (judge) shall treat like Sudras. 112. No crime, causing loss of caste, is committed by swearing (falsely) to women, the objects of one’s desire, at marriages, for the sake of fodder for a cow, or of fuel, and in (order to show) favour to a Brahmana. 113. Let the (judge) cause a Brahmana to swear by his veracity, a Kshatriya by his chariot or the animal he rides on and by his weapons, a Vaisya by his kine, grain, and gold, and a Sudra by (imprecating on his own head the guilt) of all grievous offences (pataka). 114. Or the (judge) may cause the (party) to carry fire or to dive under water, or severally to touch the heads of his wives and children. 115. He whom the blazing fire burns not, whom the water forces not to come (quickly) up, who meets with no speedy misfortune, must be held innocent on (the strength of) his oath. 123. But a just king shall fine and banish (men of) the three (lower) castes (varna) who have given false evidence, but a Brahmana he shall (only) banish. 124. Manu, the son of the Self-existent (Svayambhu), has named ten places on which punishment may be (made to fall) in the cases of the three (lower) castes (varna); but a Brahmana shall depart unhurt (from the country). 125. (These are) the organ, the belly, the tongue, the two hands, and fifthly the two feet, the eye, the nose, the two ears, likewise the (whole) body. 126. Let the (king), having fully ascertained the motive, the time and place (of the offence), and having considered the ability (of the criminal to suffer) and the (nature of the) crime, cause punishment to fall on those who deserve it. 266. Thus the law for deciding boundary (disputes) has been fully declared, I will next propound the (manner of) deciding (cases of) defamation 267. A Kshatriya, having defamed a Brahmana, shall be fined one hundred (panas); a Vaisya one hundred and fifty or two hundred; a Sudra shall suffer corporal punishment. 268. A Brahmana shall be fined fifty (panas) for defaming a Kshatriya; in (the case of) a Vaisya the fine shall be twenty-five (panas); in (the case of) a Sudra twelve. 269. For offences of twice-born men against those of equal caste (varna, the fine shall be) also twelve (panas); for speeches which ought not to be uttered, that (and every fine shall be) double. 270. A once-born man (a Sudra), who insults a twice-born man with gross invective, shall have his tongue cut out; for he is of low origin. 271. If he mentions the names and castes (gati) of the (twice-born) with contumely, an iron nail, ten fingers long, shall be thrust red-hot into his mouth. 272. If he arrogantly teaches Brahmanas their duty, the king shall cause hot oil to be poured into his mouth and into his ears. 273. He who through arrogance makes false statements regarding the learning (of a caste-fellow), his country, his caste (gati), or the rites by which his body was sanctified, shall be compelled to pay a fine of two hundred (panas). 276. (For mutual abuse) by a Brahmana and a Kshatriya a fine must be imposed by a discerning (king), on the Brahmana the lowest fine, but on the Kshatriya the middlemost. 277. A Vaisya and a Sudra must be punished exactly in the same manner according to their respective castes, but the tongue (of the Sudra) shall not be cut out; that is the decision. 278. Thus the rules for punishments (applicable to cases) of defamation have been truly declared; I will next propound the decision (of cases) of assault. 279. With whatever limb a man of a low caste does hurt to (a man of the three) highest (castes), even that limb shall be cut off; that is the teaching of Manu. 280. He who raises his hand or a stick, shall have his hand cut off; he who in anger kicks with his foot, shall have his foot cut off. 281. A low-caste man who tries to place himself on the same seat with a man of a high caste, shall be branded on his hip and be banished, or (the king) shall cause his buttock to be gashed. 282. If out of arrogance he spits (on a superior), the king shall cause both his lips to be cut off; if he urines (on him), the penis; if he breaks wind (against him), the anus. 283. If he lays hold of the hair (of a superior), let the (king) unhesitatingly cut off his hands, likewise (if he takes him) by the feet, the beard, the neck, or the scrotum. 337. In (a case of) theft the guilt of a Sudra shall be eightfold, that of a Vaisya sixteen fold, that of a Kshatriya two-and-thirtyfold, 338. That of a Brahmana sixty-fourfold, or quite a hundredfold, or (even) twice four-and-sixtyfold; (each of them) knowing the nature of the offence. 341. A twice-born man, who is travelling and whose provisions are exhausted, shall not be fined, if he takes two stalks of sugar-cane or two (esculent) roots from the field of another man. 348. Twice-born men may take up arms when (they are) hindered (in the fulfilment of their duties, when destruction (threatens) the twice-born castes (varna) in (evil) times, 349. In their own defence, in a strife for the fees of officiating priests, and in order to protect women and Brahmanas; he who (under such circumstances) kills in the cause of right, commits no sin. 352. Men who commit adultery with the wives of others, the king shall cause to be marked by punishments which cause terror, and afterwards banish. 353. For by (adultery) is caused a mixture of the castes (varna) among men; thence (follows) sin, which cuts up even the roots and causes the destruction of everything. 359. A man who is not a Brahmana ought to suffer death for adultery (samgrahana); for the wives of all the four castes even must always be carefully guarded. 361. Let no man converse with the wives of others after he has been forbidden (to do so); but he who converses (with them), in spite of a prohibition, shall be fined one suvarna. 362. This rule does not apply to the wives of actors and singers, nor (of) those who live on (the intrigues of) their own (wives); for such men send their wives (to others) or, concealing themselves, allow them to hold criminal intercourse. 363. Yet he who secretly converses with such women, or with female slaves kept by one (master), and with female ascetics, shall be compelled to pay a small fine. 364. He who violates an unwilling maiden shall instantly suffer corporal punishment; but a man who enjoys a willing maiden shall not suffer corporal punishment, if (his caste be) the same (as hers). 365. From a maiden who makes advances to a (man of) high (caste), he shall not take any fine; but her, who courts a (man of) low (caste), let him force to live confined in her house. 366. A (man of) low (caste) who makes love to a maiden (of) the highest (caste) shall suffer corporal punishment; he who addresses a maiden (on) equal (caste) shall pay the nuptial fee, if her father desires it. 368. A man (of) equal (caste) who defiles a willing maiden shall not suffer the amputation of his fingers, but shall pay a fine of two hundred (panas) in order to deter him from a repetition (of the offence). 374. A Sudra who has intercourse with a woman of a twice-born caste (varna), guarded or unguarded, (shall be punished in the following manner): if she was unguarded, he loses the part (offending) and all his property; if she was guarded, everything (even his life). 375. (For intercourse with a guarded Brahmana a Vaisya shall forfeit all his property after imprisonment for a year; a Kshatriya shall be fined one thousand (panas) and be shaved with the urine (of an ass). 376. If a Vaisya or a Kshatriya has connection with an unguarded Brahmana, let him fine the Vaisya five hundred (panas) and the Kshatriya one thousand. 377. But even these two, if they offend with a Brahmani (not only) guarded (but the wife of an eminent man), shall be punished like a Sudra or be burnt in a fire of dry grass. 378. A Brahmana who carnally knows a guarded Brahmani against her will, shall be fined one thousand (panas); but he shall be made to pay five hundred, if he had connection with a willing one. 379. Tonsure (of the head) is ordained for a Brahmana (instead of) capital punishment; but (men of) other castes shall suffer capital punishment. 380. Let him never slay a Brahmana, though he have committed all (possible) crimes; let him banish such an (offender), leaving all his property (to him) and (his body) unhurt. 381. No greater crime is known on earth than slaying a Brahmana; a king, therefore, must not even conceive in his mind the thought of killing a Brahmana. 382. If a Vaisya approaches a guarded female of the Kshatriya caste, or a Kshatriya a (guarded) Vaisya woman, they both deserve the same punishment as in the case of an unguarded Brahmana female. 383. A Brahmana shall be compelled to pay a fine of one thousand (panas) if he has intercourse with guarded (females of) those two (castes); for (offending with) a (guarded) Sudra female a fine of one thousand (panas shall be inflicted) on a Kshatriya or a Vaisya. 384. For (intercourse with) an unguarded Kshatriya a fine of five hundred (panas shall fall) on a Vaisya; but (for the same offence) a Kshatriya shall be shaved with the urine (of a donkey) or (pay) the same fine. 385. A Brahmana who approaches unguarded females (of the) Kshatriya or Vaisya (castes), or a Sudra female, shall be fined five hundred (panas); but (for intercourse with) a female (of the) lowest (castes), one thousand. 410. (The king) should order a Vaisya to trade, to lend money, to cultivate the land, or to tend cattle, and a Sudra to serve the twice-born castes 411. (Some wealthy) Brahmana shall compassionately support both a Kshatriya and a Vaisya, if they are distressed for a livelihood, employing them on work (which is suitable for) their (castes). 412. But a Brahmana who, because he is powerful, out of greed makes initiated (men of the) twice-born (castes) against their will do the work of slaves, shall be fined by the king six hundred (panas). 413. But a Sudra, whether bought or unbought, he may compel to do servile work; for he was created by the Self-existent (Svayambhu) to be the slave of a Brahmana. 414. A Sudra, though emancipated by his master, is not released from servitude; since that is innate in him, who can set him free from it? 415. There are slaves of seven kinds, (viz.) he who is made a captive under a standard, he who serves for his daily food, he who is born in the house, he who is bought and he who is given, he who is inherited from ancestors, and he who is enslaved by way of punishment. 416. A wife, a son, and a slave, these three are declared to have no property; the wealth which they earn is (acquired) for him to whom they belong. 417. A Brahmana may confidently seize the goods of (his) Sudra (slave); for, as that (slave) can have no property, his master may take his possessions. 418. (The king) should carefully compel Vaisyas and Sudra to perform the work (prescribed) for them; for if these two (castes) swerved from their duties, they would throw this (whole) world into confusion. CHAPTER IX On women related matters 1. I will now propound the eternal laws for a husband and his wife who keep to the path of duty, whether they be united or separated. 23. Akshamala, a woman of the lowest birth, being united to Vasishtha and Sarangi, (being united) to Mandapala, became worthy of honour. 24. These and other females of low birth have attained eminence in this world by the respective good qualities of their husbands. 85. If twice-born men wed women of their own and of other (lower castes), the seniority, honour, and habitation of those (wives) must be (settled) according to the order of the castes (varna). 86. Among all (twice-born men) the wife of equal caste alone, not a wife of a different caste by any means, shall personally attend her husband and assist him in his daily sacred rites. 87. But he who foolishly causes that (duty) to be performed by another, while his wife of equal caste is alive, is declared by the ancients (to be) as (despicable) as a Kandala (sprung from the) Brahmana (caste). 149. If there be four wives of a Brahmana in the direct order of the castes, the rule for the division (of the estate) among the sons born of them is as follows: 150. The (slave) who tills (the field), the bull kept for impregnating cows, the vehicle, the ornaments, and the house shall be given as an additional portion to the Brahmana (son), and one most excellent share. 151. Let the son of the Brahmana (wife) take three shares of the (remainder of the) estate, the son of the Kshatriya two, the son of the Vaisya a share and a half, and the son of the Sudra may take one share. 152. Or let him who knows the law make ten shares of the whole estate, and justly distribute them according to the following rule: 153. The Brahmana (son) shall take four shares, son of the Kshatriya (wife) three, the son of the Vaisya shall have two parts, the son of the Sudra may take one share. 154. Whether (a Brahmana) have sons or have no sons (by wives of the twice-born castes), the (heir) must, according to the law, give to the son of a Sudra (wife) no more than a tenth (part of his estate). 155. The son of a Brahmana, a Kshatriya, and a Vaisya by a Sudra (wife) receives no share of the inheritance; whatever his father may give to him, that shall be his property. 156. All the sons of twice-born men, born of wives of the same caste, shall equally divide the estate, after the others have given to the eldest an additional share. 157. For a Sudra is ordained a wife of his own caste only (and) no other; those born of her shall have equal shares, even if there be a hundred sons. 189. The property of a Brahmana must never be taken by the king, that is a settled rule; but (the property of men) of other castes the king may take on failure of all (heirs). 224. Let the king corporally punish all those (persons) who either gamble and bet or afford (an opportunity for it), likewise Sudras who assume the distinctive marks of twice-born (men). 229. But a Kshatriya, a Vaisya, and a Sudra who are unable to pay a fine, shall discharge the debt by labour; a Brahmana shall pay it by installments. 235. The slayer of a Brahmana, (A twice-born man) who drinks (the spirituous liquor called) Sura, he who steals (the gold of a Brahmana), and he who violates a Guru’s bed, must each and all be considered as men who committed mortal sins (mahapataka). 236. On those four even, if they do not perform a penance, let him inflict corporal punishment and fines in accordance with the law. 237. For violating a Guru’s bed, (the mark of) a female part shall be (impressed on the forehead with a hot iron); for drinking (the spirituous liquor called) Sura, the sign of a tavern; for stealing (the gold of a Brahmana), a dog’s foot; for murdering a Brahmana, a headless corpse. 238. Excluded from all fellowship at meals, excluded from all sacrifices, excluded from instruction and from matrimonial alliances, abject and excluded from all religious duties, let them wander over (this) earth. 239. Such (persons) who have been branded with (indelible) marks must be cast off by their paternal and maternal relations, and receive neither compassion nor a salutation; that is the teaching of Manu. 241. For (such) offences the middlemost amercement shall be inflicted on a Brahmana, or he may be banished from the realm, keeping his money and his chattels. 242. But (men of) other (castes), who have unintentionally committed such crimes, ought to be deprived of their whole property; if (they committed them) intentionally, they shall be banished. 248. But the king shall inflict on a base-born (Sudra), who intentionally gives pain to Brahmanas, various (kinds of) corporal punishment which cause terror. 317. A Brahmana, be he ignorant or learned, is a great divinity, just as the fire, whether carried forth (for the performance of a burnt-oblation) or not carried forth, is a great divinity. 319. Thus, though Brahmanas employ themselves in all (sorts of) mean occupations, they must be honoured in every way; for (each of) them is a very great deity. 320. When the Kshatriyas become in any way overbearing towards the Brahmanas, the Brahmanas themselves shall duly restrain them; for the Kshatriyas sprang from the Brahmanas. 321. Fire sprang from water, Kshatriyas from Brahmanas, iron from stone; the allpenetrating force of those (three) has no effect on that whence they were produced. 322. Kshatriyas prosper not without Brahmanas, Brahmanas prosper not without Kshatriyas; Brahmanas and Kshatriyas, being closely united, prosper in this (world) and in the next. 334. But to serve Brahmanas (who are) learned in the Vedas, householders, and famous (for virtue) is the highest duty of a Sudra, which leads to beatitude. 335. (A Sudra who is) pure, the servant of his betters, gentle in his speech, and free from pride, and always seeks a refuge with Brahmanas, attains (in his next life) a higher caste. CHAPTER X On people outside Dharma 1. 3. Let the three twice-born castes (varna), discharging their (prescribed) duties, study (the Veda); but among them the Brahmana (alone) shall teach it, not the other two; that is an established rule. On account of his pre-eminence, on account of the superiority of his origin, on 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. account of his observance of (particular) restrictive rules, and on account of his particular sanctification the Brahmana is the lord of (all) castes (varna). Brahmana, the Kshatriya, and the Vaisya castes (varna) are the twice-born ones, but the fourth, the Sudra, has one birth only; there is no fifth (caste). In all castes (varna) those (children) only which are begotten in the direct order on wedded wives, equal (in caste and married as) virgins, are to be considered as belonging to the same caste (as their fathers) Sons, begotten by twice-born man on wives of the next lower castes, they declare to be similar (to their fathers, but) blamed on account of the fault (inherent) in their mothers. Such is the eternal law concerning (children) born of wives one degree lower (than their husbands); know (that) the following rule (is applicable) to those born of women two or three degrees lower. From a Brahmana a with the daughter of a Vaisya is born (a son) called an Ambashtha, with the daughter of a sudra a Nishada, who is also called Parasava. From a Kshatriya and the daughter of a Sudra springs a being, called Ugra, resembling both a Kshatriya and a Sudra, ferocious in his manners, and delighting in cruelty. Children of a Brahmana by (women of) the three (lower) castes, of a Kshatriya by (wives of) the two (lower) castes, and of a Vaisya by (a wife of) the one caste (below him) are all six called base-born (apasada). From a Kshatriya by the daughter of a Brahmana is born (a son called) according to his caste (gati) a Suta; from a Vaisya by females of the royal and the Brahmana (castes) spring a Magadha and a Vaideha. From a Sudra are born an Ayogava, a Kshatriya, and a Kandala, the lowest of men, by Vaisya, Kshatriya, and Brahmana) females, (sons who owe their origin to) a confusion of the castes. As an Ambashtha and an Ugra, (begotten) in the direct order on (women) one degree lower (than their husbands) are declared (to be), even so are a Kshatriya and a Vaideha, though they were born in the inverse order of the castes (from mothers one degree higher than the fathers). Those sons of the twice-born, begotten on wives of the next lower castes, who have been enumerated in due order, they call by the name Anantaras (belonging to the next lower caste), on account of the blemish (inherent) in their mothers. A Brahmana begets on the daughter of an Ugra an Avrita, on the daughter of 16. 17. 18. 24. 30. 31. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40. an Ambashtha an Abhira, but on a female of the Ayogava (caste) a Dhigvana. From a Sudra spring in the inverse order (by females of the higher castes) three base-born (sons, apasada), an Ayogava, a Kshattri, and a Kandala, the lowest of men; From a Vaisya are born in the inverse order of the castes a Magadha and a Vaideha, but from a Kshatriya a Suta only; these are three other base-born ones (apasada). The son of a Nishada by a Sudra female becomes a Pukkasa by caste (gati), but the son of a Sudra by a Nishada female is declared to be a Kukkutaka. By adultery (committed by persons) of (different) castes, by marriages with women who ought not to be married, and by the neglect of the duties and occupations (prescribed) to each, are produced (sons who owe their origin) to a confusion the castes. Just as a Sudra begets on a Brahmana female a being excluded (from the Aryan community), even so (a person himself) excluded pro creates with (females of) the four castes (varna, sons) more (worthy of being) excluded (than he himself). But men excluded (by the Aryans, vahya), who approach females of higher rank, beget races (varna) still more worthy to be excluded, low men (hina) still lower races, even fifteen (in number). A Nishada begets (on the same) a Margava (or) Dasa, who subsists by working as a boatman, (and) whom the inhabitants of Aryavarta call a Kaivarta. Those three base-born ones are severally begot on Ayogava women, who wear the clothes of the dead, are wicked, and eat reprehensible food. From a Nishada springs (by a woman of the Vaideha caste) a Karavara, who works in leather; and from a Vaidehaka (by women of the Karavara and Nishada castes), an Andhra and a Meda, who dwell outside the village. From a Kandala by a Vaideha woman is born a Pandusopaka, who deals in cane; from a Nishada (by the same) an Ahindika. But from a Kandala by a Pukkasa woman is born the sinful Sopaka, who lives by the occupations of his sire, and is ever despised by good men. A Nishada woman bears to a Kandala a son (called) Antyavasayin, employed in burial-grounds, and despised even by those excluded (from the Aryan community). These races, (which originate) in a confusion (of the castes and) have been 41. 43. 44. 45. 46. 51. 52. 53. 54. 55. 56. 57. described according to their fathers and mothers, may be known by their occupations, whether they conceal or openly show themselves. Six sons, begotten (by Aryans) on women of equal and the next lower castes (Anantara), have the duties of twice-born men; but all those born in consequence of a violation (of the law) are, as regards their duties, equal to Sudras. But in consequence of the omission of the sacred rites, and of their not consulting Brahmanas, the following tribes of Kshatriyas have gradually sunk in this world to the condition of Sudras; (Viz.) the Paundrakas, the Kodas, the Dravidas, the Kambogas, the Yavanas, the Sakas, the Paradas, the Pahlavas, the Kinas, the Kiratas, and the Daradas. All those tribes in this world, which are excluded from (the community of) those born from the mouth, the arms, the thighs, and the feet (of Brahman), are called Dasyus, whether they speak the language of the Mlechas (barbarians) or that of the Aryans. Those who have been mentioned as the base-born (offspring, apasada) of Aryans, or as produced in consequence of a violation (of the law, apadhvamsaga), shall subsist by occupations reprehended by the twice-born. But the dwellings of Kandalas and Svapakas shall be outside the village, they must be made Apapatras, and their wealth (shall be) dogs and donkeys. Their dress (shall be) the garments of the dead, (they shall eat) their food from broken dishes, black iron (shall be) their ornaments, and they must always wander from place to place. A man who fulfills a religious duty, shall not seek intercourse with them; their transactions (shall be) among themselves, and their marriages with their equals. Their food shall be given to them by others (than an Aryan giver) in a broken dish; at night they shall not walk about in villages and in towns. By day they may go about for the purpose of their work, distinguished by marks at the king’s command, and they shall carry out the corpses (of persons) who have no relatives; that is a settled rule. By the king’s order they shall always execute the criminals, in accordance with the law, and they shall take for themselves the clothes, the beds, and the ornaments of (such) criminals. A man of impure origin, who belongs not to any caste, (varna, but whose character is) not known, who, (though) not an Aryan, has the appearance of an Aryan, one may discover by his acts. 58. Behaviour unworthy of an Aryan, harshness, cruelty, and habitual neglect of the prescribed duties betray in this world a man of impure origin. 59. A base-born man either resembles in character his father, or his mother, or both; he can never conceal his real nature. 60. Even if a man, born in a great family, sprang from criminal intercourse, he will certainly possess the faults of his (father), be they small or great. 61. But that kingdom in which such bastards, sullying (the purity of) the castes, are born, perishes quickly together with its inhabitants. 62. Dying, without the expectation of a reward, for the sake of Brahmanas and of cows, or in the defence of women and children, secures beatitude to those excluded (from the Aryan community, vahya.) 63. Abstention from injuring (creatures), veracity, abstention from unlawfully appropriating (the goods of others), purity, and control of the organs, Manu has declared to be the summary of the law for the four castes. 64. If (a female of the caste), sprung from a Brahmana and a Sudra female, bear (children) to one of the highest caste, the inferior (tribe) attains the highest caste within the seventh generation. 65. (Thus) a Sudra attains the rank of a Brahmana, and (in a similar manner) a Brahmana sinks to the level of a Sudra; but know that it is the same with the offspring of a Kshatriya or of a Vaisya. 66. If (a doubt) should arise, with whom the preeminence (is, whether) with him whom an Aryan by chance begot on a non-Aryan female, or (with the son) of a Brahmana woman by a non-Aryan, 67. The decision is as follows: ‘He who was begotten by an Aryan on a nonAryan female, may become (like to) an Aryan by his virtues; he whom an Aryan (mother) bore to a non-Aryan father (is and remains) unlike to an Aryan.’ 68. The law prescribes that neither of the two shall receive the sacraments, the first (being excluded) on account of the lowness of his origin, the second (because the union of his parents was) against the order of the castes. 69. As good seed, springing up in good soil, turns out perfectly well, even so the son of an Aryan by an Aryan woman is worthy of all the sacraments. 70. Some sages declare the seed to be more important, and others the field; again others (assert that) the seed and the field (are equally important); but the legal decision on this point is as follows: 71. Seed, sown on barren ground, perishes in it; a (fertile) field also, in which no (good) seed (is sown), will remain barren. 72. As through the power of the seed (sons) born of animals became sages who are honoured and praised, hence the seed is declared to be more important. 73. Having considered (the case of) a non-Aryan who acts like an Aryan, and (that of) an Aryan who acts like a non-Aryan, the creator declared, ‘Those two are neither equal nor unequal.’ 92. By (selling) flesh, salt, and lac a Brahmana at once becomes an outcast; by selling milk he becomes (equal to) a Sudra in three days. 96. A man of low caste who through covetousness lives by the occupations of a higher one, the king shall deprive of his property and banish. 97. It is better (to discharge) one’s own (appointed) duty incompletely than to perform completely that of another; for he who lives according to the law of another (caste) is instantly excluded from his own. 98. A Vaisya who is unable to subsist by his own duties, may even maintain himself by a Sudra’s mode of life, avoiding (however) acts forbidden (to him), and he should give it up, when he is able (to do so). 99. But a Sudra, being unable to find service with the twice-born and threatened with the loss of his sons and wife (through hunger), may maintain himself by handicrafts. 100. (Let him follow) those mechanical occupations and those various practical arts by following which the twice-born are (best) served. 109. On (comparing) the acceptance (of gifts from low men), sacrificing (for them), and teaching (them), the acceptance of gifts is the meanest (of those acts) and (most) reprehensible for a Brahmana (on account of its results) in the next life. 110. (For) assisting in sacrifices and teaching are (two acts) always performed for men who have received the sacraments; but the acceptance of gifts takes place even in (case the giver is) a Sudra of the lowest class. 121. If a Sudra, (unable to subsist by serving Brahmanas,) seeks a livelihood, he may serve Kshatriyas, or he may also seek to maintain himself by attending on a wealthy Vaisya. 122. But let a (Sudra) serve Brahmanas, either for the sake of heaven, or with a view to both (this life and the next); for he who is called the servant of a Brahmana thereby gains all his ends. 123. The service of Brahmanas alone is declared (to be) an excellent occupation for a Sudra; for whatever else besides this he may perform will bear him no fruit. 124. They must allot to him out of their own family (-property) a suitable maintenance, after considering his ability, his industry, and the number of those whom he is bound to support. 125. The remnants of their food must be given to him, as well as their old clothes, the refuse of their grain, and their old household furniture. 126. A Sudra cannot commit an offence, causing loss of caste (pataka), and he is not worthy to receive the sacraments; he has no right to (fulfill) the sacred law (of the Aryans, yet) there is no prohibition against (his fulfilling certain portions of) the law. 127. (Sudras) who are desirous to gain merit, and know (their) duty, commit no sin, but gain praise, if they imitate the practice of virtuous men without reciting sacred texts. 128. The more a (Sudra), keeping himself free from envy, imitates the behaviour of the virtuous, the more he gains, without being censured, (exaltation in) this world and the next. 129. No collection of wealth must be made by a Sudra, even though he be able (to do it); for a Sudra who has acquired wealth, gives pain to Brahmanas. 130. The duties of the four castes (varna) in times of distress have thus been declared, and if they perform them well, they will reach the most blessed state. 131. Thus all the legal rules for the four castes have been proclaimed; I next will promulgate the auspicious rules for penances. CHAPTER XI On kinds of sins and expiations 24. A Brahmana shall never beg from a Sudra property for a sacrifice; for a sacrificer, having begged (it from such a man), after death is born (again) as a Kandala. 26. That sinful man, who, through covetousness, seizes the property of the gods, or the property of Brahmanas, feeds in another world on the leavings of vultures. 35. The Brahmana is declared (to be) the creator (of the world), the punisher, the teacher, (and hence) a benefactor (of all created beings); to him let no man say anything unpropitious, nor use any harsh words. 42. Those who, obtaining wealth from Sudras, (and using that) offer an Agnihotra, are priests officiating for Sudras, (and hence) censured among those who recite the Veda. 43. Treading with his foot on the heads of those fools who worship a fire (kindled at the expense) of a Sudra, the giver (of the wealth) shall always pass over his miseries (in the next world). 70. Accepting presents from blamed men, trading, serving Sudras, and speaking a falsehood, make (the offender) unworthy to receive gifts (Apatra). 84. The Brahmana is declared (to be) the root of the sacred law and the Kshatriya its top; hence he who has confessed his sin before an assembly of such men, becomes pure. 127. One fourth (of the penance) for the murder of a Brahmana is prescribed (as expiation) for (intentionally) killing a Kshatriya, one-eighth for killing a Vaisya; know that it is one-sixteenth for killing a virtuous Sudra. 128. But if a Brahmana unintentionally kills a Kshatriya, he shall give, in order to purify himself, one thousand cows and a bull; 129. Or he may perform the penance prescribed for the murderer of a Brahmana during three years, controlling himself, wearing his hair in braids, staying far away from the village, and dwelling at the root of a tree. 130. A Brahmana who has slain a virtuous Vaisya, shall perform the same penance during one year, or he may give one hundred cows and one (bull). 131. He who has slain a Sudra, shall perform that whole penance during six months, or he may also give ten white cows and one bull to a Brahmana. 132. Having killed a cat, an ichneumon, a blue jay, a frog, a dog, an iguana, an owl, or a crow, he shall perform the penance for the murder of a Sudra; 133. Or he may drink milk during three days, or walk one hundred yoganas, or bathe in a river, or mutter the hymn addressed to the Waters. 176. A Brahmana who unintentionally approaches a woman of the Kandala or of (any other) very low caste, who eats (the food of such persons) and accepts (presents from them) becomes an outcast; but (if he does it) intentionally, he becomes their equal. 181. He who associates with an outcast, himself becomes an outcast after a year, not by sacrificing for him, teaching him, or forming a matrimonial alliance with him, but by using the same carriage or seat, or by eating with him. 205. He who has said ‘Hum’ to a Brahmana, or has addressed one of his betters with ‘Thou,’ shall bathe, fast during the remaining part of the day, and appease (the person offended) by a reverential salutation. 206. He who has struck (a Brahmana) even with a blade of grass, tied him by the neck with a cloth, or conquered him in an altercation, shall appease him by a prostration. 207. But he who, intending to hurt a Brahmana, has threatened (him with a stick and the like) shall remain in hell during a hundred years; he who (actually) struck him, during one thousand years. 208. As many particles of dust as the blood of a Brahmana causes to coagulate, for so many thousand years shall the shedder of that (blood) remain in hell. 236. (The pursuit of sacred) knowledge is the austerity of a Brahmana, protecting (the people) is the austerity of a Kshatriya, (the pursuit of) his daily business is the austerity of a Vaisya, and service the austerity of a Sudra. CHAPTER XII On kinds of birth; high and low, spiritual goals etc. 1. 41. 42. 43. 44. 45. 46. 47. 55. ‘O sinless One, the whole sacred law, (applicable) to the four castes, has been declared by thee; communicate to us (now), according to the truth, the ultimate retribution for (their) deeds.’ But know this threefold course of transmigrations that depends on the (three) qualities (to be again) threefold, low, middling, and high, according to the particular nature of the acts and of the knowledge (of each man). Immovable (beings), insects, both small and great, fishes, snakes, and tortoises, cattle and wild animals, are the lowest conditions to which (the quality of) Darkness leads. Elephants, horses, Sudras, and despicable barbarians, lions, tigers, and boars (are) the middling states, caused by (the quality of) Darkness. Karanas, Suparnas and hypocrites, Rakshasas and Pisakas (belong to) the highest (rank of) conditions among those produced by Darkness. Ghallas, Mallas, Natas, men who subsist by despicable occupations and those addicted to gambling and drinking (form) the lowest (order of) conditions caused by Activity. Kings and Kshatriyas, the domestic priests of kings, and those who delight in the warfare of disputations (constitute) the middling (rank of the) states caused by Activity. The Gandharvas, the Guhyakas, and the servants of the gods, likewise the Aspires, (belong all to) the highest (rank of) conditions produced by Activity. The slayer of a Brahmana enters the womb of a dog, a pig, an ass, a camel, a cow, a goat, a sheep, a deer, a bird, a Kandala, and a Pukkasa. 60. He who has associated with outcasts, he who has approached the wives of other men, and he who has stolen the property of a Brahmana become Brahmarakshasas. 70. But (men of the four) castes who have relinquished without the pressure of necessity their proper occupations, will become the servants of Dasyus, after migrating into despicable bodies. 71. A Brahmana who has fallen off from his duty (becomes) an Ulkamukha Preta, who feeds on what has been vomited; and a Kshatriya, a Kataputana (Preta), who eats impure substances and corpses. 72. A Vaisya who has fallen off from his duty becomes a Maitrakshagyotika Preta, who feeds on pus; and a Sudra, a Kailasaka (Preta, who feeds on moths). 95. All those traditions (smriti) and those despicable systems of philosophy, which are not based on the Veda, produce no reward after death; for they are declared to be founded on Darkness. 96. All those (doctrines), differing from the (Veda), which spring up and (soon) perish, are worthless and false, because they are of modern date. 97. The four castes, the three worlds, the four orders, the past, the present, and the future are all severally known by means of the Veda. Endnotes 1 Hinduastan Times, Delhi, June 20, 2001. 2 The Indian Express, Delhi, October 17, 2002. 3 Ibid. 4 Ibid. 5 Ibid. 6 The Hindu, Delhi, October 21, 2002. 7 The Statesman, Delhi, February 5, 2002. 8 S. Annamalai and S. Vijay Kumar, ‘The Dalit cup of woe in Tamil Nadu’, The Hindu, Delhi, July 29, 2002. 9 S. Vishwanathan, ‘Preying on Dalits’, Frontline, Chennai, October 25, 2002, p. 39. 10 The IndianExpress, Delhi, April 27, 2004. 11 The Statesman, Delhi, September 22, 2002. 12 Hindustan Times, Delhi, September 21, 2002. 13 The Indian Express, Delhi, September 22, 2002. 14 Praful Bidwai, ‘Dalits under siege’, Hindustan Times, October 4, 2002. 15 Ibid. 16 Ibid. 17 V. D. Savarkar, ‘Women in Manusmriti’, in Savarkar Samagr (collection of Savarkar’s writings in Hindi) Vol. 4, Prabhat, Delhi, 2000, p. 416. 18 Organizer, ‘The constitution’, Delhi, November 30, 1949. 19 Sankar Subba Aiyar, ‘Manu rules our hearts’, Organizer, February 6, 1950, p. 7. 20 Arvind Sharma, Classical Hindu Thought: An Introduction, Oxford, Delhi, 2000, p. viii. 21 Wendy Dongier and Brian K. Smith, The Laws of Manu, Penguin, Calcutta, 1991, p. xvii. 22 Manusmriti, Sadhna, Delhi, 1999. ANNEXURE Ambedkar on Manu and the Sudras* [This is the re-production of 31-page hand written manuscript of Dr. Ambedkar. The chapter has no title. It is also left incomplete.] I The reader is now aware that in the Scheme of Manu there were two principal social divisions : those outside the Chaturvarna and those inside the Chaturvarna. The reader also knows that the present day Untouchables are the counterpart of those outside the Chaturvarna and that those inside the Chaturvarna were contrasted with those outside. They were a composite body made up of four different classes, the Brahmins, the Kshatriyas, the Vaishyas and the Shudras. The Hindu social system is not only a system in which the idea of classes is more dominant than the idea of community but it is a system which is based on inequality between classes and therefore between individuals. To put it concretely, the classes i.e. the Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas, Shudras and Antyajas (Untouchables) are not horizontal, all on the same level. They are vertical i.e. one above the other. No Hindu will controvert this statement. Every Indian knows it. If there is any person who would have any doubt about it he can only be a foreigner. But any doubt which a foreigner might have will be dissolved if he is referred to the law of Manu who is the chief architect of the Hindu society and whose law has formed the foundations on which it is built. For his benefit I reproduce such texts from the Manu Smriti as go to prove that Hindu society is based on the principle of inequality. II It might be argued that the inequality prescribed by Manu in his Smriti is after all of historical importance. It is past history and cannot be supposed to have any bearing on the present conduct of the Hindu. I am sure nothing can be greater error than this. Manu is not a matter of the past. It is even more than a part of the present. It is a ‘living past’ and therefore as really present as any present can be. That the inequality laid down by Manu was the law of the land under the preBritish days may not be known to many foreigners. Only a few instances will show that such was the case. Under the rule of the Marathas and the Peshwas the Untouchables were not allowed within the gates of Poona city, the capital of the Peshwas between 3 p. m. and 9 a. m. because, before nine and after three, their bodies cast too long a shadow; and whenever their shadow fell upon a Brahmin it polluted him, so that he dare not taste food or water until he had bathed and washed the impurity away. So also no Untouchable was allowed to live in a walled town ; cattle and dogs could freely enter but not the Untouchables.1 Under the rule of the Marathas and the Peshwas the Untouchables might not spit on the ground lest a Hindu should be polluted by touching it with his foot, but had to hang an earthen pot round his neck to hold his spittle. He was made to drag a thorny branch of a tree with him to brush out his footsteps and when a Brahman came by, had to lie at a distance on his face lest his shadow might fall on the Brahman.2 In Maharashtra an Untouchable was required to wear a black thread either in his neck or on his wrist for the purpose of ready identification. In Gujarat the Untouchables were compelled to wear a horn as their distinguishing mark.3 In the Punjab a sweeper was required while walking through streets in towns to carry a broom in his hand or under his armpit as a mark of his being a scavenger.4 In Bombay the Untouchables were not permitted to wear clean or untorn clothes. In fact the shopkeepers took the precaution to see that before cloth was sold to the Untouchable it was torn & soiled. In Malabar the Untouchables were not allowed to build houses above one storey in height5 and not allowed to cremate their dead.6 In Malabar the Untouchables were not permitted to carry umbrellas, to wear shoes or golden ornaments, to milk cows or even to use the ordinary language of the country.7 In South India Untouchables were expressly forbidden to cover the upper part of their body above the waist and in the case of women of the Untouchables they were compelled to go with the upper part of their bodies quite bare.8 In the Bombay Presidency so high a caste as that of Sonars (gold- smiths) was forbidden to wear their Dhoties with folds9 and prohibited to use Namaskar as the word of salutation#. # The following letter will be interesting to the reader as it throws a flood of light as to whether the Dhamia prescribed by Manu was or was not the law of the land“ To Damulsett Trimbucksett Head of the Caste of Goldsmiths. “ The Hon‘ble the President in Council having thought proper to prohibit the Caste of Goldsmiths from making use of the form of salutation termed Namaskar, you are hereby pre-emptorily enjoined to make known this order and resolution to the whole caste and to take care that the same be strictly observed. By order Secretary to Government sig. W. Page Bombay 9th August 1779. Resolution of Government Dated 28th July 1779 “ Frequent disputes having arisen for some time between the Brahmins and Goldsmiths respecting a mode of salutation termed “ Namaskar “ made use of by the latter, and which the Brahmins allege they have no right to perform, and that the exercise of such ceremony by the Goldsmiths is a great breach and profanation of the rights of the Gentoo {Hindu] Religion, and repeated complaints having been made to us by the Brahmins, and the Peshwas also having several times written to the President, requesting the use of the Namaskar might be prohibited to the Goldsmiths-Resolved as it is necessary. This matter should be decided by us in order that the dispute between the two castes may be put an end to, and the Brahmins appear to have reason for their complaint, that the Goldsmiths be forbidden the use of the Namaskar, and this being a matter wherein the Company’s interest is not concerned, our Resolution may be put on the footing of a compliment to the Peshwas whom the President is desired to make acquainted with our determination.” Under the Maratha rule anyone other than a Brahmin uttering a Veda Mantra was liable to have his tongue cut off and as a matter of fact the tongues of several Sonars (goldsmiths) were actually cut off by the order of the Peshwa for their daring to utter the Vedas contrary to law. All over India Brahmin was exempt from capital punishment. He could not be hanged even if he committed murder. Under the Peshwas distinction was observed in the punishment of the criminals according to the caste. Hard labour and death were punishments mostly visited on the Untouchables.10 Under the Peshwas Brahmin clerks had the privilege of their goods being exempted from certain duties and their imported corn being carried to them without any ferry charges; and Brahmin landlords had their lands assessed at distinctly lower rates than those levied from other classes. In Bengal the amount of rent for land varied with the caste of the occupant and if the tenant was an Untouchable he had to pay the highest rent. These facts will show that Manu though born some time before B. C. or sometime after A. D. is not dead and while the Hindu Kings reigned, justice between Hindu and Hindu, touchable and untouchable was rendered according to the Law of Manu and that law was avowedly based on inequality. Ill This is the dharma laid down by Manu. It is called Manav Dharma i.e. e. Dharma which by its inherent goodness can be applied to all men in all times and in all places. Whether the fact that it has not had any force outside India is a blessing or a curse I do not stop to inquire. It is important to note that this Manav Dharma is based upon the theory that the Brahman is to have all the privileges and the Shudra is not to have even the rights of a human being, that the Brahman is to be above everybody in all things merely by reason of his high birth and the Shudra is to be below everybody and is to have none of the things no matter how great may be his worth. Nothing can show the shamelessness and absurdity of this Manava Dharma better than turning it upside down. I know of no better attempt in this behalf than that of Dr. R. P. Pranjape a great Educationist, Politician and Social reformer and I make no apology for reproducing it in full. Peep Into the Future.11 This piece Was written against the Non-Brahmin Parties which were then in power in the Bombay and Madras Presidency and in the Central Provinces. The Non-Brahmin parties were founded with the express object of not allowing a single community to have a monopoly in State Service. The Brahmins have a more or less complete monopoly in the State services in all provinces in India and in all departments of State. The Non-Brahmin parties had therefore laid down the principle, known as the principle of communal ratio, that given minimum qualifications candidates belonging to non-Brahmin communities should be given preference over Brahmin candidates when making appointments in the public services. In my view there was nothing wrong in this principle. It was undoubtedly wrong that the administration of the country should be in the hands of a single community however clever such a community might be. The Non-Brahmin Party held the view that good Government was better than efficient Government was not a principle to be confined only to the composition of the Legislature & the Executive. But that it must also be made applicable to the field of administration. It was through administration that the State came directly in contact with the masses. No administration could do any good unless it was sympathetic. No administration could be sympathetic if it was manned by the Brahmins alone. How can the Brahmin who holds himself superior to the masses, despises the rest as low caste and Shudras, is opposed to their aspiration, is instinctively led to be partial to his community and being uninterested in the masses is open to corruption be a good administrator ? He is as much an alien to the Indian masses as any foreigner can be. As against this the Brahmins have been taking their stand on efficiency pure & simple. They know that this is the only card they can play successfully by reason of their advanced position in education. But they forget that if efficiency was the only criterion then in all probability there would be very little chance for them to monopolise State service in the way and to the extent they have done. For if efficiency was made the only criterion there would be nothing wrong in employing Englishmen, Frenchmen, Germans & Turks instead of the Brahmins of India. Be that as it may, the Non-Brahmin Parties refused to make a fetish to efficiency and insisted that there must be introduced the principle of communal ratio in the public services in order to introduce into the administration an admixture of all castes & creeds and thereby make it a good administration. In carrying out this principle the Non-Brahmin Parties in their eagerness to cleanse the administration of Brahmindom while they were in power, did often forget the principle that in redressing the balance between the Brahmins and non-Brahmins in the public services they were limited by the rule of minimum efficiency. But that does not mean that the principle they adopted for their guidance was not commendable in the interests of the masses. This policy no doubt set the teeth of many Brahmins on edge. They were vehement in their anger. This piece by Dr. Paranjpe is the finest satire on the policy of the non-Brahmin Party. It caricatures the principle of the non-Brahman party in a manner which is inimitable and at the time when it came out, I know many nonBrahmin leaders were not only furious but also speechless. My complaint against Dr. Paranjpe is that he did not see the humour of it. The non-Brahmin Party was doing nothing new. It was merely turning Manu Smriti upside down. It was turning the tables. It was putting the Brahmin in the position in which Manu had placed the Shudra. Did not Manu give privileges to Brahmin merely because he was a Brahmin ? Did not Manu deny any right to the Shudra even though he deserved it ? Can there be much complaint if now the Shudra is given some privileges because he is a Shudra ? It may sound absurd but the rule is not without precedent and that precedent is the Manu Smriti itself. And who can throw stones at the non-Brahmin Party ? The Brahmins may if they are without sin. But can the authors and worshippers, upholders of Manu Smriti claim that they are without sin? Dr. Paranjpe’s piece is the finest condemnation of the inquity that underlies this Manav Dharma. It shows as nothing else does what a Brahmin feels when he is placed in the position of a Shudra. IV Inequality is not confined to Hindus. It prevailed elsewhere also and was responsible for dividing society into higher and lower free and servile classes. (The manuscript left incomplete.) Endnotes of Dr. Ambedkar’s Manuscript 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Dr. Murray Milchell-Great Religions of India, p. 63 Bombay Gazetteer. Vol. XII. p. 175. Ency R.&. E. Vol. IX p. 636 (b). Punjab Census Report 1911 p. 413 Bhattacharya-p. 259. Madras Census 1891 .p. 299 Bhatacharya-Hindu Castes-p. 259. Madras Census 1891 p. 224 This mode of wearing dhoties was referred for Brahmins only. The Shudras were to wear it without folds. 10 G. B. Vom &.Off’icial Wrling sof Mot Hstuart Elphinst OM. 1884.pp.310-ll. 11 Reproduced from Gujarati Punch, May 1921 (Not quoted in the Ms.—ed.)