Delhi University has dropped Manusmriti from its curriculum and it won’t be taught in any course within the university, Vice-Chancellor Yogesh Singh said on Thursday.
“We will not teach any part of Manusmriti in any form in the University of Delhi. This direction has been issued even earlier by the vice-chancellor’s office, and departments should adhere to it,” Singh told The Indian Express.
The university also took to its official social media handle on X and posted, “University of Delhi will not teach Manusmriti text in any course of the University. ‘Dharamshastra Studies’, the DSC of the Sanskrit Department, where Manusmriti is mentioned as a ‘recommended reading’ stands deleted.”
Manusmriti is an ancient Hindu legal text attributed to the sage Manu, outlining social, moral, and legal codes for society, especially the discriminatory caste system. It has been widely criticised for its gender and caste-based discriminatory provisions.
The Sanskrit department earlier included the Manusmriti as a key text in the syllabus of a four-credit core course titled Dharmashastra Studies, approving it as a part of the Undergraduate Curriculum Framework under the National Education Policy.
The course also featured other significant Hindu scriptures such as the Ramayana, Mahabharata, Puranas, and Arthashastra in its reading list.
This is not the first time the Manusmriti has sparked controversy at Delhi University. In July 2024, when a proposal was floated by the Faculty of Law to introduce Manusmriti to law students, teachers protested and told the vice-chancellor that the introduction of any section or part of the Manusmriti is against the basic structure and principles of the Constitution, leading to its withdrawal.
On Thursday, Varun Choudhary, national president of the student group National Students’ Union of India, said, “Including Manusmriti in DU’s syllabus is shameful. It laid the foundation of caste discrimination and injustice against Dalits, women, and the underprivileged.”
