A social science textbook released by the NCERT has attempted to negate the idea that social and gender inequality stem from Hindu scriptures and praised the Manusmriti for promoting the tradition of respecting women.
The chapter “State and Society up to 1000 CE” in the new Class IX textbook Understanding Society: India and Beyond states that the “early Vedic texts do not indicate any fixed social status strictly based on birth”, and that the concept of varna (caste) was based on a system of values in which knowledge was given the highest status.
“India has a long tradition of ethical thought, and these moral principles often guided both state and society. One important principle through which reality is understood is samatva, or the principle of sameness. According to this principle, all bodies are made of the same matter, and all forms of consciousness are manifestations of one supreme consciousness,” reads a passage in the chapter.
It said the Mahabharata included characters from all castes who, despite their differences, “repeatedly uphold the principle of samatva”.
The chapter states the four-tier caste system — brahmanas, kshatriyas, vaishyas and shudras — was flexible.“While this system distinguished individuals and communities from one another, it also connected them through shared social, economic, and cultural relationships. At this stage, occupations remained flexible and mobile, and the idea of strict hereditary occupations had not yet become firmly established,” it said.
The book also praises theManusmriti, a Hindu text that codified the caste system, for “honouring” women.
According to the chapter, women held a respectable position in society during the Vedic period and participated in scholarly learning and performed rituals alongside their male counterparts.
“The tradition of respect for women is evident in texts composed after the Vedic period, too. For instance, Manusmriti mentions: ‘Where women, verily, are honoured, there gods rejoice; where, however, they are not honoured, there all sacred rites prove fruitless’,” it said.
Over time, the position and roles of women fluctuated, even declined, as social and political conditions changed, it added.
However, in trying to cast the caste system in a new light, the NCERT has unwittingly contradicted itself.
According to its old book for Class VI —Our Past-1—shudras were prohibited from performing any rituals, and women were often clubbed with them.
“Often women were grouped with shudras. Both women and shudras were not allowed to study the Vedas. The priests also said that these groups were decided on basis of birth. For example, if one’s father and mother were brahmins one would automatically become a brahmin and so on. Later, they classified some people as untouchable,” a passage from the old book stated.
Several studies have traced the caste system to Hindu scriptures such as the Rig Veda and theManusmriti.One such study titled “The Continuing Practice of Untouchability in India: Patterns and Mitigating Influences” by Amit Thorat from Jawaharlal Nehru University and Omkar Joshi from the University of Maryland found that the“Chaturvarnaya” or the four-tier Hindu caste system originated from the 19th hymn of the tenth Mandala of the Rig Veda called the Purusha Shukta.
The study said theManusmritipreserved the right to education and resources for the upper castes and projectedwomenas family-owned property.
N. Sukumar, a professor of political sciencein Delhi University, said B.R. Ambedkarhad held that “caste was not just a division of labour, it is a division of labourers”.
“But in this book, the NCERT is trying to say that lower-caste people and women in general were getting respect while performing duties assigned to them as per the scripture. Is there any scholarly work on such an interpretation? Avoiding traditionally justified hierarchical norms in caste and gender while picking some selective things from scriptures is problematic,” he said.