By Syed Ali Mujtaba
A fervent appeal is made by a rationalist advocate to stop the release of the Hindutva’s religious text “Manusmriti” in Telugu at the Telugu University Hyderabad on February 11, 2023.
A press release by Dr. B Karthik Navayan, Advocate at Telangana High Court says “the Veda Dharma Prachara Trust has translated and published Manusmriti from Hindi to Telugu and this will be inaugurated in Hyderabad on February 11.
The advocate has made a request to the authorities to stop the inauguration of Manusmriti at the Telugu University. “The inauguration of Manusmriti, cannot be called an ancient Constitution of India, It is illegal to do such kind of propaganda. This is a violation of the constitutional spirit and must be stopped,” the press release said.
He has made an appeal to likeminded people to raise their voices of protest against such anti-national activity by signing the petition here; https://chng.it/pdYdFVc2rH
The advocate has asked the organizers not to call the ‘Manusmriti’ the ancient Constitution of India. He said India has only one Constitution, which the people of India adopted on 26th January 1950.
“As everybody knows that this Country has only one Constitution, that is, the Constitution of India that has been in pursuance of the solemn resolution of the people of India to constitute India into a ‘Sovereign Socialist Secular Democratic Republic and to secure well-defined objects set forth in the preamble.” So, “It is illegal to call Manusmriti, the ancient Constitution of India”, the press release notes.
“The Manusmriti is an anti-constitutional and regressive text which reinforces every form of inequality – social, economic, and gender. Therefore the Manusmriti goes precisely against the Constitution of India. The Manusmriti stands for inequality while the Constitution stands for equality. Therefore, “Manusmriti is anti-constitutional and reinforces every form of inequality” the press release adds.
It is pertinent to mention here that the father of the Indian Constitution, Dr. B R Ambedkar, burnt the Manusmriti on December 25, 1927, in the Mahad satyagraha, which was organized for the right to drinking water for the untouchables from the Mahad (Chavadar) water tank.
This is something that is not a new happening in India. There are several such instances happening now and then in India under the BJP rule. The Haridwar Dharm Sansad, the release of the Hindutva constitution in Varanasi. Now the inauguration of the Telugu version of Manusmriti in Hyderabad is all a chain of events that points India is making a journey towards Hindu Rashtra.
There is no “Waiting for Godot,” and the writing on the wall is large and clear. The days are not far when Dr. B R Ambedkar’s drafted constitution will be burnt in the broad daylight. An announcement of the birth of the ‘Second Republic’, will be made. And that will be the death of contemporary India and the beginning of a New India.
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Syed Ali Mujtaba is a journalist based in Chennai. He can be contacted at syedalimujtaba2007@gmail.com
