77th INDIAN CONSTITUTION DAY
RSS MOURNED WHEN CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY PASSED DEMOCRATIC CONSTITUTION
The Constituent Assembly (CA) of India passed the Constitution on
November 26, 1949, after almost 3 years' deliberations. It was an amazing
contribution in the history of the modern liberal democracies as it was not
only the lengthiest constitution in world history (underlining the fact that
the polity it was to govern was diverse and vast) but also created a polity
based on egalitarian, democratic and non-sectarian ideals never attempted in
the past in the non-Western world. This commitment was explicit in the Preamble of
the Constitution, which read:
"WE, THE PEOPLE OF INDIA, having solemnly resolved to
constitute India into a SOVEREIGN SOCIALIST SECULAR
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC and to secure to all its citizens: JUSTICE, social,
economic and political;
LIBERTY of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship; EQUALITY
of status and of opportunity; and to promote among them all;
FRATERNITY assuring the dignity of the individual and the unity and
integrity of the Nation;
IN OUR CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY this 26th day of November 1949, do
HEREBY ADOPT, ENACT AND GIVE TO OURSELVES THIS CONSTITUTION."
RSS DEMANDED MANUSMRITI AS
CONSTITUTION
The two ideals namely Socialist and Secular added in 1977 only
strengthened the resolve of the CA that India was going to be a non-sectarian
polity with the people of India in thoughts. It is shocking that the RSS which
has complete sway over the Indian politics through its political appendage,
Bhartiya Janata Party and its cadres loaned to the latter (like PM Modi)
mourned the birth of Indian Constitution. The RSS was very angry when Indian
Constituent Assembly adopted a democratic- Secular Constitution under the
supervision of Dr. BR Ambedkar. We know that the Constituent Assembly of India
passed the Constitution on November 26, 1949, the
RSS Organ Organizer came
out with an editorial on November 30, 1949, titled 'Constitution' declaring :
“The worst about the new Constitution of Bharat is that there is
nothing Bhartiya about it…There is no trace of ancient Bhartiya constitutional
laws, institutions, nomenclatures and phraseology in it…Manu's Laws were
written long before Lycurgus of Sparta or Solon of Persia. To this day his laws
as enunciated in the Manusmriti, excite
the admiration of the world and elicit spontaneous obedience and conformity.
But to our constitutional pundits, that means nothing.”
How RSS denigrates the Constitution of India can be known by the
following statement of the most prominent ideologue of the RSS, Golwalkar:
“Our Constitution too is just a cumbersome and heterogeneous
piecing together of various articles from various Constitutions of the Western
countries. It has absolutely nothing which can be called our own. Is there a
single word of reference in its guiding principles as to what our national
mission is and what our keynote in life is? No!”
[MS Golwalkar, Bunch of
Thoughts, Sahitya Sindhu, Bangalore, 1996, p. 238.]
By demanding the Manusmriti as the constitution of India, RSS, in fact, was following the belief of its darling
Hindutva icon, VD Savarkar who had declared long back:
“Manusmriti is that
scripture which is most worship-able after Vedas for our Hindu Nation and which
from ancient times has become the basis of our culture-customs, thought and
practice. This book for centuries has codified the spiritual and divine march
of our nation. Even today the rules which are followed by crores of Hindus in
their lives and practice are based on Manusmriti.
Today Manusmriti is Hindu Law”.
[VD Savarkar, 'Women in Manusmriti'
in Savarkar Samagar (collection of
Savarkar's writings in Hindi), vol. 4, Prabhat, Delhi, p. 416.]
Faith of RSS brass in Manusmriti,
naturally, leads them to believe in Casteism too which gave birth to the
debased practice of Untouchability. For RSS Casteism is the essence of Hindu
Nationalism. Golwalkar did not mince words in declaring that Casteism was
synonymous with the Hindu Nation. According to him, the Hindu people are no one
but,
"The Hindu People, they said, is the Virat Purusha, the
Almighty manifesting Himself. Though they did not use the word „Hindu‟, it is
clear from the following description of the Almighty in Purusha-Sukta [in the
10th book of Rig Ved] wherein it is stated that the sun & the moon are His
eyes, the stars and the skies are created from his nabhi [navel] and Brahmin is the head, Kshatriya the hands,
Vaishya the thighs and Shudra the feet. [Italics as in the original text]
This means that the people who have this fourfold arrangement, i.e., the Hindu People, is [sic] our God. This supreme vision of
Godhead is the very core of our concept of „nation‟ and has permeated our
thinking and given rise to various unique concepts of our cultural
heritage."
[Golwalkar, M. S., Bunch of
Thoughts, collection of writings/speeches of Golwalkar published by RSS,
p.36-37.]
What kind of a Hindutva civilization the RSS wants to build by enforcing the laws of Manu, can be known by having a glimpse of the laws prescribed by Manu for the lower castes, Untouchables and women. Some of these dehumanizing and degenerated laws, which are presented here, are self-explanatory.
A selection of Laws of Manu denigrating Dalits/Untouchables
1. For the sake of the
prosperity of the worlds (the divine one) caused the Brahmana, the Kshatriya,
the Vaisya, and the Sudra to proceed from his mouth, his arm, his thighs and
his feet. (I/31)
2. One occupation only the lord
prescribed to the Sudras, to serve meekly even these (other) three castes.
(I/91)
3. Once-born man (a Sudra), who
insults a twice-born man with gross invective, shall have his tongue cut out;
for he is of low origin. (VIII/270)
4. If he mentions the names and
castes (jati) of the (twice-born) with contumely, an iron nail, ten fingers
long, shall be thrust red-hot into his mouth. (VIII/271)
5. If he arrogantly teaches
Brahmanas their duty, the king shall cause hot oil to be poured into his mouth
and into his ears. (VIII/272)
6. He who raises his hand or a
stick, shall have his hand cut off; he who in anger kicks with his foot, shall
have his foot cut off. (VIII/280)
8. A low-caste man who tries to place himself on the same seat with
a man of a high caste, shall be branded on his hip and be banished, or (the
king) shall cause his buttock to be gashed. (VIII/281)
As per the Manu Code if Sudras are to be given most stringent
punishments for even petty violations/actions, the same Code of Manu is very
lenient towards Brahmins. Shloka 380 in Chapter VIII bestowing profound love on
Brahmins decrees:
“Let him never slay a Brahmana, though he have committed all
(possible) crimes; let him banish such an (offender), leaving all his property
(to him) and (his body) unhurt.”
A selection of Laws of Manu demeaning Hindu women
1. Day and night woman must be
kept in dependence by the males (of) their (families), and, if they attach
themselves to sensual enjoyments, they must be kept under one‟s control. (IX/2)
2. Her father protects (her) in
childhood, her husband protects (her) in youth, and her sons protect (her) in
old age; a woman is never fit for independence. (IX/3)
3. Women do not care for beauty, nor is their attention fixed on age;
(thinking),
„(It is enough that) he is a man,‟ they give themselves to the
handsome and to
the ugly. (IX/14)
4. Through their passion for
men, through their mutable temper, through their natural heartlessness, they
become disloyal towards their husbands, however carefully they may be guarded
in this (world). (IX/15)
5. (When creating them) Manu allotted to women (a love of their) bed,
(of their) seat and (of) ornament, impure desires, wrath, dishonesty, malice,
and bad conduct. (IX/17)
[The above selection of Manu‟s Codes is from F. Max Muller, Laws of Manu, LP Publications, Delhi,
1996; first published in 1886. The bracket after each code incorporates number
of chapter/number of code according to the above edition.]
The reproduced parts of the Manu Code above need no further
elaboration and commentary. They are too glaringly venomous, Fascist and
degenerated against Untouchables who are referred to as Sudras by Manu. Perhaps
this was the reason that the German philosopher, Friedrich Nietzsche who
contributed immensely to the growth of totalitarian ideas in Europe in the 20th
century, fell in love with this work.
It is to be noted here that a copy of Manusmriti was burnt as a protest in the presence of Dr. BR
Ambedkar during the historic Mahad agitation on December 25, 1927. Dr Ambedkar
called upon Dalits to commemorate each December 25 as the Manusmriti Dehen Diwas (Manusmriti
burning day) in future. In fact, Brahmanism as basis of the RSS world-view
is the original Fascism in the history of human civilization.
[https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/andhra-pradesh/manusmriti-dahan-divas-protest-staged-
at-collectorate/article30396588.ece]
RSS HATRED FOR DEMOCRACY
It is true that when RSS faced the wrath of the Indian State when
Sardar Patel was the home minister of India it criticized the detention laws
without trial. In an editorial in Organizer it wrote:
"Section 21 and 22 providing for detention without trial
reduce all the wordy assurances about liberty, equality and fraternity to just
near meaningless verbiage."
[Organizer, November 30, 1949]
But once in power, the RSS-BJP rulers led by PM Modi have returned
to Hindutva's Fascist and Nazi heritage. They have converted the Indian
democratic-secular polity into a totalitarian Hindutva oligarchy where any kind
of dissent is treated as anti-national and anti-Hindu. It is the continuation
of hatred for democracy as decreed by Golwalkar as early as 1940. Golwalkar, while addressing the 1350 top level cadres of the RSS, declared:
"RSS inspired by one flag, one leader and one ideology is
lighting the flame of Hindutva in each and every corner of this great
land."
[Golwalkar, M.S., Shri Guruji
Samagar Darshan (collected works of Golwalkar in Hindi), Bhartiya Vichar
Sadhna, Nagpur, nd., volume 1, p. 11.]
Shamsul Islam
November 26, 2025
(Professor Shamsul Islam is a distinguished Indian academic, author, and social thinker who taught political science at Delhi University from 1973 to 2013 and offered a critical perspective on contemporary Indian politics. He is a respected columnist for Hastakshep. From Teacher to Critic: From 1973 to 2013, he taught political science at Delhi University, offering outspoken criticism of Hindutva, rewriting of history, religious intolerance, and the oppression of Dalits and minorities in the country. Shamsul Islam was not only an academic but also an active street playwright. He founded Nishant, the oldest street theatre group, and has performed over 6,000 stage plays in several countries, focusing on social issues such as caste, gender, and religious intolerance. Notable: His outspoken stance against Hindutva, religious fanaticism, and the oppression of women, Dalits, and minorities. He has written numerous books and articles on these subjects. You can find a list of his notable literary works in the referenced documents. He wrote numerous books and articles, the main titles of which include: Religious Dimensions of Indian Nationalism: A Study of RSS. Savarkar Myths and Facts. Know the RSS, Cultural Nationalism, Hindutva and Fascism. Indian Freedom Movement and RSS, Democracy versus Communalism and RSS and Modi: An Untold Story, etc.
The views expressed in this article are the personal views of the author.)
