After the slave trader Edward Colston was rolled into the harbour in Bristol, the United Kingdom, at the beginning of the June, there has appeared a few articles about the long-lasting demand that statue of Manu should be removed from the premises of Rajasthan High Court. Since Colston‘s dip in to harbour, statues of various other racists “icons”  have been either removed by public or by local authorities. In India, Dalit activists even wrote to Sonia Gandhi demanding the removal of Manu’s statue, in an attempt to make Congress accountable as at present Congress is ruling in the state but nothing changed.

There is a long history of Dalits protesting against the statue of Manu. From Kanshi Ram to Ramdas Athawale, many Dalit leaders have participated in protests against the Manu’s statue at Rajasthan High Court but Brahmin lobby inside the court has always succeeded in keeping that statue – as a reminder to Dalits and women for their position in the society! In 2018, two Dalit women had travelled from Aurangabad in Maharashtra to Jaipur and had smeared black paint on the statue of Manu. There is no doubt that Manu must fall but who should strike the first hammer to it? I believe a Brahmin, to be precise, a Brahmin woman should.

Dalit women smearing black paint on the Manu statue

For the one reason that it is not only the Dalit who have suffered because of the laws given by Manu through writing Manusmriti. Brahmin women were equally suppressed but why do not they use their social capital and step out to protest is a million-dollar question.

From the first sip of water to the first bite to Upanayana (Janeu wearing ceremony) of children, Brahminical supremacy flows from un/conscious mind to spine from a very young age and becomes very difficult to break down. To destroy Brahminism, the root of most of the evils in India, the first blow should be struck at the roots of the spine and that blow should and can come only from Brahmin women, not Dalit women. Destroying the institution of caste is in the hands of Brahmins, who not only continue to be dominant in society but control also. First nails in the coffin of the Manu or caste should come from Brahmins. I know it is too much to ask. You do not have to be a Dalit to be outraged against the injustice done on Dalits or atrocities those are inflicted on Dalits every single day. All that you have to do is use your power, become human and break your silence. How difficult is that? 

“The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist,” wrote prominent French literary figure Charles Baudelaire in 1864. Caste is one such devil, controlled and maintained by Brahmin through women’s bodies, and Brahmins have successfully managed to pull the trick that caste distinction does not exist in Brahminical scriptures. Who can unmask those tricks, if not Brahmin women? Use your insider status to dismantle Brahminism that continues to enslave you.

During Black Lives Matter protests, we have seen images circulating on social media in which white communities have stood in front of black protestors, making a wall from their white privileges to protect blacks from police brutalities. Whites around the world have not only participated in the protests but helped toppled statues of various slave traders’ and racists “icons”.

Where are Indian counterparts, Brahmins? Why don’t they use their privileges to lead, as usual, to topple statues of Manu from the Rajasthan High Court? Where are all those who want to become an ally and work as a messiah for the Dalits? So-called upper castes must recognize your privilege that they do not have to worry about the unnecessary arrests (remembers most of the prisons are disproportionately filled with Dalits and minority communities) and that their surnames and social capital would protect them. The best thing that Brahmins could do is the start a movement “Brahmins Against Manu” and tear down statues of Manu, no matter where those are installed. I am sure they will have the full support of Dalit-Bahujans but will they show such courage? Will they use your privileges to protect the rights of underprivileged and stand by the principles of equality?

Manu’s statue must fall but more importantly, it must fall from the hearts and minds of people. From the minds and hearts of those in power, those who are arguing and delivering judgements in the courts. Only bringing down the statue of Manu would not change the casteist mindset of those sitting inside the courts and practising Manusmriti.

How can anyone deny that Indian courts are not Brahminical courts? Time and again, Indian courts have gone back Manusmriti for inspiration.

How can one forget that when Bollywood actor Shiney Ahuja was accused of rape, Ahuja’s lawyer, Shivde, had given following argument in the court and the court even allowed such argument, “She (victim) belongs to a lower caste, which is aggressive by nature, and she wouldn’t have submitted herself so easily. They are known for being aggressive.” Or how can one forget how while delivering judgement in the case of Yakub Menon,  a senior judge of the bench Justice Anil R Dave dismissed Memon’s plea, citing a Sanskrit couplet from ‘Manusmriti’ on raj-dharma that “If the king does not act firmly in punishing an offender, then he is equally guilty of the sin. The king should not be carried away by the emotions while dealing with the offenders.” In the case of Afzal Guru, Supreme Court of India had said the following in the judgement, “as is the case with most conspiracies, there is and could be no direct evidence amounting to criminal conspiracy.” But then it goes on to say: “The incident, which resulted in heavy casualties had shaken the entire nation, and the collective conscience of society will only be satisfied if capital punishment is awarded to the offender.” How can a court which should work based on the facts and proofs go down the line of fulfilling “collective conscience” of the society and more importantly at what cost?

If your head does not bow down and the heart does not break down with shame after hearing rapes, murders and atrocities committed on Dalits, you are a casteist. Caste atrocities are not individual acts, there is a hell lot of institutional, religious and societal norms which perpetuate those crimes and until we will not accept these background factors leading to caste atrocities, we will not understand how casteism kills and how to kill caste.

Bring down the Manu’s statue and keep it in some museums such as House of Terror that contains exhibits related to the fascist and communist regimes or as a Momento Park of Budapest, an open-air museum that hosts monumental statues and sculpted plaques from Hungary’s communist period as a reminder of brutality and crimes of that period. Similarly, as a reminder of the caste order brought into Indian society, Manu as a piece of evidence should be kept for the future generations to better understand the realities of caste.

Finally, all those who are telling us ‘it is just a statue’ or ‘the statue should not be removed’, all these people have no idea what damage Manu or his statue has done and how Manusmriti rules are being implemented on marginalized. The idea of India being a Brahminical nation is as old as the nation itself and when Dalits protest against the Brahminical hegemony in India, no wonder dominant castes take it as a protest against the nation and are labelled as anti-nationals. Dalits will continue to protest till there is justice for all but the question remains will Brahmins play their part as an ally?