Manusmriti, a Sanskrit text dating back to 200 CE, and deemed by feminist anti-caste crusaders to be a regressive piece of writing, is back in a political row.
Despite the father of the Indian Constitution Dr BR Ambedkar himself burning this text in 1927 as a symbolic rejection, Manusmriti keeps coming back to contemporary political discourse. And this time as Tamil Nadu is gearing up for the state Assembly elections of 2021, Manusmriti is in the eye of a political storm between the BJP and Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi or the VCK.
The row has to do with VCK's Dalit founder and Chidambaram MP Thol Thirumavalavan's comments on the book. A small clip of Mr Thirumavalavan's speech from a web conference organised last month by the European Union Periyar Ambedkar Comrades’ Federation went viral on social media.