[Assam] From Tehelka---Manu's Memorial

[Rajen & Ajanta Barua]

Is there not a separation of State and Religion in the seculiar Indian Constitution which prohibits such display of Hindu religeous figures in public place? How can the symbol of Manu harmless? 
I think he is the cause of the overall deteriation of the Indian civilization.
RB

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Chan Mahanta" <cmahanta at charter.net>
To: <assam at assamnet.org>
Sent: Thursday, July 05, 2007 2:01 PM
Subject: [Assam] From Tehelka---Manu's Memorial


> **** Is it a simple, harmless symbol of  cultural heritage? Or is 
> there a whole lot more to it?
> 
> cm
> 
> 
> 
> 
> THE WORSHIP OF FALSE GODS
> 
> http://www.tehelka.com/story_main31.asp?filename=Cr070707shadow_lines.asp
> 
> When a new building was constructed in Jaipur for the state High 
> Court, the local Bar Association put forward a proposal for the 
> installation of a statue of Manu to beautify the premises. From 
> proposal to completion, the entire plan was kept a close secret, 
> never made public until the statue was in place. Manu was the creator 
> of the varna system under which Hindu society for centuries denied 
> all basic human rights and dignity to Dalits. For us, a statue of 
> Manu can only symbolise the unjust social structure imposed on us 
> from time immemorial. All the oppression we continue to suffer is 
> because of Manu and his treatise, the Manudharma Sastra.
> 
> 
> We turn to the courts when we are in trouble. Can we ever expect 
> justice from a court which we enter looking at Manu's idol?
> The Constitution has attempted to improve the condition of Dalits 
> through law, but Manu's words have been an unwritten stricture the 
> law cannot touch. Had Manu's statue been installed anywhere else, 
> perhaps we would not have cared to react. But to see such homage paid 
> to a figure who represents all that is unjust in this society, and 
> that too standing proud in the premises of the Rajasthan High Court, 
> is shocking. It is beyond acceptance. We turn to the courts when we 
> are in trouble, which for us is almost perennial. What worse message 
> could we receive? Can we ever expect justice from a court which we 
> enter looking at Manu's idol? It only tells us that even the High 
> Court subscribes to Manu's ideology. On the other hand, the statue of 
> Dr BR Ambedkar, the father of our Constitution, has been shunted to 
> an invisible corner. It says a lot about the mentality of the 
> judiciary and the government in Rajasthan. How is such a system to 
> contribute to the constitutional ideal of a casteless society?
> 
> The statue was installed on June 28, 1989, and we have been fighting 
> it ever since. There were huge protests all over the state soon after 
> it was put up, and a full bench of the High Court ordered that it be 
> removed within 48 hours. We were all happy, but soon after that the 
> Vishwa Hindu Parishad's Acharya Dharmendra filed a writ petition in 
> the court of Justice Mahender Bhushan, who passed a stay order on 
> July 27, 1989 - as a result the statue is there till date. There are 
> many cases dating back to 1989 that have seen their final hearings, 
> but not this one. Each time this case comes to a final hearing, the 
> bench postpones it on the grounds that it is a very sensitive issue. 
> But we will not give up easily - we haven't so far, and we will not 
> in the future. We will continue to file applications asking for a 
> final hearing in this case. We want to see how they will justify 
> their deliberate delays.
> 
> We install statues of Ambedkar because that's our way of reclaiming 
> our lost dignity. But why is the government installing a statue of 
> Manu? The very government which is supposed to have no biases towards 
> any religion or caste. Let there be Manu statues wherever anyone 
> pleases, but the government should not be a party to it.
> 
> Mimroth is a Jaipur-based advocate
> As told to Praveen Donthi
> 
> 
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