3 hours agoAuthor: Swadhin Patel
Rahul Gandhi has triggered a political debate over the Manusmriti after quoting a verse on women during the ‘Chhatron Ki Goonj’ programme in Pune.
Gandhi said the text states that in childhood a woman belongs to her father, in youth to her husband and after her husband’s death to her sons, adding that “a woman must never be independent”.
Calling the words “a shame”, the former Congress president said such ideas should never have been spoken. His remarks were made in the context of his broader criticism of patriarchy and his call to ‘smash patriarchy ‘.
So let us understand what the Manusmriti 9.3 says and whether Gandhi’s attack could help Congress politically or give the BJP an opportunity to frame it as an attack on Hindu tradition.
What does Manusmriti 9.3 say?
Manusmriti 9.3 states that a woman is protected by her father in childhood, by her husband in youth and by her sons in old age, and describes her as not being fit for independence.
The verse is therefore broadly consistent with the point Gandhi was making about women’s dependence on male family members.
The wider historical question is whether one verse from the Manusmriti can be treated as representative of ancient Indian society as a whole.
Dr Heeraman Tiwari, Professor of Indian Culture and History at JNU, said the Manusmriti contains different prescriptions about society, which people may agree or disagree with, but argued that it was neither a mandatory text nor the sole guide to ancient Hindu society.
He said that picking one instance from the text and making broad pronouncements without considering its context does little for an intellectual debate.
He said there was no single text that governed Hindu society and that the authority of such recommendations depended on interpretation and their relevance to social cohesion and contemporary requirements.
Tiwari also pointed to another well-known passage in the Manusmriti, 3.56, which says that the gods rejoice where women are honoured and respected.
The verse reads:
“Yatra nāryastu pūjyante ramante tatra devatāḥ, Yatraitāstu na pūjyante sarvāstatrāphalāḥ kriyāḥ.”
The passage is commonly translated as saying that where women are respected, the gods are pleased, while actions in places where women are not respected are fruitless.
Now, let’s understand what Rahul Gandhi’s remarks mean politically, and how analysts view their possible impact on Congress and its voter base.
Rahul Gandhi’s Manusmriti attack may help him connect with young women, Dalits
Political commentator Neerja Chawdhary said Rahul Gandhi’s attack on Manusmriti and his call to “smash patriarchy” could help him resonate with younger women and Dalits.
Chawdhary said Gandhi has taken up a “very tough” issue and did not mince his words while talking about patriarchy and quoting Manusmriti.
According to her, the issue is not only about a political narrative but also about social change.
‘India of 2026 is not the India of 20 years ago’
Chawdhary said India has moved on and “India of 2026 is not the India of 20 years ago”. Women, she said, have certainly moved on.
On the possible political impact, Chawdhary said the reaction could differ among younger people and upper-caste voters, as well as between the Hindi heartland in the north and the south. She called it a “very interesting trial balloon” that Gandhi had set up.
Rahul Gandhi’s Manusmriti remarks could consolidate support among liberal voters
Political analyst Nikhil Jain said Rahul Gandhi’s remarks on Manusmriti have opened up a broader conversation about the way women are viewed in Indian society.
He said Gandhi’s comments were not specifically directed against any particular political party or Manusmriti itself, but focused more broadly on the condition of women.
Jain said Gandhi did not suggest that discrimination or patriarchal attitudes affect only Hindu women or women from families that follow Manusmriti. “Muslim women, Sikh women, women from all castes, creeds and religions” also face such issues, he said.
He said many educated, left-leaning or liberal women have a tendency to vote against the BJP but they may not have necessarily had a tendency to vote for the Congress. Gandhi’s outreach, he said, could help consolidate their support for the party.
Attack may not hurt Congress among young voters
Jain said Manusmriti has entered public discourse largely through debates involving the BJP and RSS, with Left and communist parties responding to discussions around “Manuvaad”.
Jain added that attacking Manusmriti could irritate voters who strongly support “Manuvaad”, but argued that such voters were unlikely to vote for the Congress in the first place.
