From the Board of Directors, Hindus for Human Rights

Martin Macwan, co-founder of Navsarjan Trust and Dalit Shakti Kendra near Ahmedabad, recently wrote an Open Letter to the Congress High Command demanding that they order the removal of the statue of Manu, considered to be the author of the Manusmṛiti, from the premises of the Rajasthan High Court.

The Manusmṛiti is unarguably one of the vilest treatises among the body of Hindu scriptures. Many commentaries have been written about it and we will not repeat them here. Suffice it to say that it lays out detailed varna/caste rules and specifies consequences and penalties for trespassing them, including the misfortunes that may befall in one’s next birth(s). It also contains the most horrific and graphic descriptions of the prescribed treatment of the forebears of today’s Dalits. 

When Martin, who is also a member of the HfHR Advisory Board, approached us with his Manu Statue initiative, designed to raise national and international awareness of continued treatment of Dalits in India, we readily agreed to extend our fullest support. This support is in keeping with our Vision to do our bit in dismantling the caste system (see our FAQs) and to show solidarity with our Dalit brothers and sisters. 

Unlike some Hindu groups and commentators who opportunistically distance themselves from the Manusmṛiti, or attempt to rationalize it, we reject this text, and indeed any Hindu text that prescribes inequality among people. Hinduism offers plenty of texts and teachings to inspire justice and equality in society, and we choose to follow these rather than the Manusmṛiti. In our view, the “diversity of high and low, true and false, good and cruel has long been the tapestry of Hinduism — and we own it all and work from here.” HfHR is the voice of practicing Hindus who believe that it is our dharma to speak out against, and outright reject,  the caste system.

In America, a major effort is underway to recognize that Confederate monuments aren’t merely historical in their intent, but serve as continuing reminders to Black America of the daily discrimination that they still face. The George Floyd protests and the resonance of the Black Lives Matter among all Americans has energized calls for the removal of all such monuments. But the protests have also reached the portals of the corporate world, who are today re-visiting and removing numerous product names and images that are daily reminders of the racism that still flourishes.

It is our sincere hope that the Dalit initiatives calling for the removal of the Manu statue and other peaceful forms of protests will be a wake-up call to Indian society about our own entrenched forms of bigotry. It is high time that each one of us do our bit to end the caste system and its cruel vestiges, without being defensive of our own roots. 

It is also time for all of us to stop passing the buck on the issue of anti-Dalit atrocities: e.g. “Other lower-castes (OBCs) are to blame,” “It’s a backlash against the reservation policies,” “It is for the governments, politicians, and the police to take action,” “It will take time. Our future generations will erase the caste problem,” etc. Many of these excuses are the prerogatives of the privileged, when the dire situation calls for each one of us to do what we can Here and Now!

Please join the Missed Call Campaign that is underway and show your support for the initiative by calling  98231-57779.

Dear Friends and Collegues

Thanks for signing the letter to Mrs. Gandhi for removing the statue of Manu. A total of 609 people signed the letter. We are updating the list as more than 150 signatories have just joined in.

 To ensure that this movement becomes widespread and reaches to many more especially the rural communities, we have launched the MISSED CALL campaign. A missed call on   9823157779   will help us to see how many people support the campaign. Last time we had done this and we had got more than 20,00,000 people supporting this.

Please spread the message even with your personal appeal, message, video to appeal people to give a missed call.

thank you so much for your cooperation

In solidarity

Martin Macwan