Back to the future - Manu comes back

"Many sociologists believe that colonial ethnography gave currency to the Laws of Manu, with the British getting the extant text translated into English, and widely circulating it. Indologists consider Manu to be the generic name for a host of persons since the text, compiled over a long period, contains contradictory viewpoints, as, for instance, on Shudras. Though Shudras are denied right to property and study of the Vedas, the high born are exhorted to eat last, even after the servants! A Rig Veda verse indicates that early Aryan society was fluid: “I am a bard; my father is a physician; my mother’s job is to grind the corn…” But, thereafter, division of labour and social biases must have gradually crystallised. The spread of heterodox faiths such as Buddhism and Jainism, and emergence of Gautam Buddha and Mahavira as popular religious leaders and social reformers in the 6th century BC apparently owed to a growing rejection of gender and caste-based iniquities. Caste divisions revived in a virulent form after Manusmriti was given formal shape, and the decline of the heterodox religions. Islamic incursions from the 8th century AD gave impetus to insularity.

However, to assume that Manusmriti is the sole authority on Hindu social and legal mores is wrong. There are other law books, which are less rigid. The text called Gautamsmriti concedes the need for social mobility when required. Hence, if the situation so demands, a Brahmin should adopt the vocation of a Kshatriya or Vaish, or, in a bigger crisis, do as he thinks right. Parasharsmriti considers agriculture the main vocation for Kaliyug, the present age. It is advised even for Brahmins. Scholars often cite Yagyavalkya and Mitakshara as having more relevance to Hindu society and legal transactions than Manu."