Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Friday said the government was not in favour of prescribing reading material on Manusmriti to Delhi University (DU) law students but remained silent on its inclusion in courses offered by several other universities.

Pradhan said there was no question of “including any controversial portion of any script” in the syllabus, rejecting a proposal to introduce Manusmriti, the Hindu text that codifies the caste system and perpetuates social inequality, in the DU law course.

“There was some information that Manusmriti will be part of the law course.... We all are committed to our Constitution. We all are committed to our futuristic look and futuristic approach. The government is committed to upholding the true spirit and letter of the Constitution. There is no question of including any controversial portion of any script,” Pradhan told reporters here.

After protests by the Social Democratic Teachers’ Front (SDTF) and prominent academics, Pradhan outrightly rejected the inclusion of the script in DU. Pradhan, however, did not say anything about the content on Manusmriti already introduced in the MA Hindu Studies course in other universities.

According to the syllabus of the MA Hindu Studies introduced by the Central University of Himachal Pradesh, there is a paper on “ancient Hindu knowledge and traditions” where the suggested reading material includes the book Conservation of Biodiversity in Manu Samhita. Over a dozen other universities are offering this course.

Banaras Hindu University (BHU) has already started research on the relevance of Manusmriti. The department of Dharmashastra Mimansa under Sanskrit Vidya Dharma Vigyan at BHU has begun research on “Applicability of Manusmriti in Indian Society”.

N.P. Singh, the working chairman of the Bharatiya Shiksha Board set up by yoga practitioner Baba Ramdev, told The Telegraph that they would include content from Manusmriti in their curriculum.

SDTF secretary professor S.S. Barwal said the government should review the issue in institutions where contents from Manusmriti are a part of the course just like it has done for the DU law curriculum.

“We understand many institutions are teaching Manusmriti without any critical analysis. Some institutions are researching to promote such ideas. The ideas contained in Manusmriti are against the Constitution. The government should review these courses,” Barwal said.

DU academic council member Maya John said the university should have consulted and incorporated varied approaches and critiques such as that of Dalit-Bahujan,
Adivasi, Gandhian, socialist, Marxist, feminist and post-modernist before bringing in the other revisions in the LLB syllabus.

An email was sent to higher education secretary Sanjay Murthy to understand the government’s perspective on the teaching activities promoting Manusmriti in institutions. His response is awaited.