New order

It is better [to discharge] one's own duty incompletely than completely that of another; for he who lives according to the law of another [caste] is instantly excluded from his own," mandates Manu. "A man of low caste who through covetousness lives by the occupations of a higher one, the king shall deprive of his property and banish [him]," Manu adds. "By [selling] flesh, salt and lac [resin], a Brahmin at once becomes an outcast; by selling milk he becomes [equal to] a Shudra in three days/But, by willingly selling in this world other [forbidden] commodities, a Brahmin assumes after seven nights the character of a Vaishya," Manu warns.

India's caste order is structured on the twin principals of occupational and blood 'purity'. If one were to carry a copy of the Manusmriti, and then to pay a visit to traditional Indian society, one would find the Manusmriti to be the script while the traditional society is the film. Recall 25 December 1927, and decode the importance of Manusmriti Dahan Divas, the day when B R Ambedkar symbolically burnt the Manusmriti, celebrated every year by Dalits. A thorough liberal, Ambedkar listened with respect even to his adversaries; he would ban no thought or idea, even those he might not have liked. Yet while he critiqued, rejected and condemned all Hindu scriptures, he burned the Manusmriti alone – as caste's constitution, which accords divine sanction to occupation and blood purity.