Siddaramaiah steals march on BJP with Manusmriti speech

Maqsood Maniyar | NT

Bengaluru: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah appears to have turned the tables on the BJP and the larger Sangh Parivar by claiming that there were “forces who were trying to destroy the constitution and bring Manusmriti back into force”.

Manusmriti is an ancient Sanskrit scripture considered sacred by many. The text prescribes a “law”, which is inclusive of varna, caste and notions of ritual purity and pollution.

The CM made the comments on Friday at the International Day of Democracy event at the Vidhana Soudha where thousands of people read the Preamble of the Constitution.

The remarks come in the backdrop of the Sanatana Dharma row. Tamil Nadu minister and the CM’s son Udhayanidhi Stalin on September 2 attended a progressive writer’s programme entitled “Eradicating Sanatana Dharma From Society”.

On the occasion, the minister likened ‘Sanatana Dharma’ to dengue, malaria and corona, adding that it deserved eradication.

Since then cases have been filed against Udhayanidhi in multiple states and BJP has been calling the comments a call for genocide of Hindus.

Congress, barring a few of its outspoken Dalit leaders from Karnataka has reacted by claiming they “respect all religions” and distanced itself from Stalin’s remarks.

Crafting his words carefully

However, no one in political circles took the trouble to point out that ‘Sanatana Dharma’ is not synonymous with Hinduism, which is an umbrella term for a multitude of animist religions.

Siddaramaiah, shrewd as ever, didn’t react strongly to the controversy. Note that he used language that is much harder to oppose while also taking a sly dig at the ruling BJP at the Centre, its parent body RSS and associated organisations as staunch believers in the caste hierarchy, claiming they were plotting to destroy the constitution.

Oppose anti-constitution forces: CM

Towards the conclusion of his speech, Siddaramaiah called on right-thinking citizens to take up cudgels against “those trying to destroy the constitution”.

“We should be wary of the people who are opposed to the constitution. This is because these people harbour intentions of destroying the constitution and re-implementing the Manusmriti, which is a system under which 95 per cent of the people of this country would live as slaves. Such a system is opposed by democracy and the constitution,” Siddaramaiah said.

“Therefore, we should strive against anti-constitution forces. For this, we need to create awareness. Only then we would be able to save democracy, and the Constitution and establish an egalitarian society. This should become our goal and our responsibility,” he added.

The BJP would be hardpressed to oppose these views because to do so they would have to endorse the controversial Manusmriti and admit that Siddaramaiah was referencing them in his speech.

This would elicit the predictable retort that “if you’re not anti-constitution, then why should you take offence?” putting the saffron party in an uncomfortable situation. The CM buttressed his perspective with the fact that the Constitution defines freedom holistically and grants citizens social, economic, political and legal rights.

He argued that by implementing the five guarantees and putting resources in the hands of marginalized men and women, the State government was fulfilling these constitutional aspirations.

Burning of the scripture

On December 25, 1927, anti-caste icon BR Ambedkar burned the Manusmriti and the day has since then been commemorated as ‘Manusmriti Dahan Diwas’ (Manusmriti Burning Day) by Ambedkarites.

Ambedkar justified the burning of the “book of law” because it contained rules advocating for inhumane treatment towards women and untouchability toward Dalits “in private as well as public.”

The day also came to be known as ‘Stree Mukti Din’ (Women’s Freedom Day).