> >I believe he is not one person, but many. There has >been many manu's who contributed to the manu shastra.
I can believe that. But what I get more curious about, is how they decided what this Manu looked like to make a statue of his? Perhaps it was an abstraction? Like a body without a face ? Or a piece of stone with a nameplate at the bottom identifying it as Manu :-)? At 8:41 AM -0400 7/6/07, Mohan R. Palleti wrote: >You are right! A government office should not be putting up a idol >pertaining to a particular religion. > >As regards to Manu. I believe he is not one person, but many. There has >been many manu's who contributed to the manu shastra. > >A manu is a person who is supposed to be casteless. He is supposed to be a >offspring of a manov and danov. In today's parlance he is the product of a >intercaste or inter-state/community marriage. He was vested with the job >of writing the hindu laws, because he was thought to be impartial, not >belonging to any particular caste or creed. > >But like any humane person, he too was falible. If a Manu was to rewrite >the manu smriti, he would definitely have written it differently..... -:) > >Mohan R. Palleti > > > > > >> 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" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >> To: <[email protected]> >> 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 >>> >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> assam mailing list >>> [email protected] >>> http://assamnet.org/mailman/listinfo/assam_assamnet.org >>> > > > >_______________________________________________ >assam mailing list >[email protected] >http://assamnet.org/mailman/listinfo/assam_assamnet.org _______________________________________________ assam mailing list [email protected] http://assamnet.org/mailman/listinfo/assam_assamnet.org
