Did Manu- the Caste Giver- Also Profess Globalisation?

The students of MA Political Science from Banaras Hindu University (BHU), barring a select few for whom the professor dictated the answers, were in for a surprise when in the paper they had to answer if Manu was the first proponent of Globalization. Everyone, even the often-misquoted Nietzsche, thought Manu - the law giver who codified the hierarchical caste system - was responsible for the enslavement of the lower castes and women.

In a report of the IE,  Professor Kaushal Kishore Mishra told his students that, “Nietzsche ... lauds Manu’s economic, political and religious principles.” Scholars have pointed that Nietzsche, in fact, is highly critical of the laws of Manu. Thomas Briber (1998) states that “Nietzsche's discussions of comparable caste-based societies are all critical and the often misquoted passage from The Antichrist only seems laudatory when read out of context.

Speaking on the questions, “Manu is the first Indian thinker of globalisation. Discuss” and, “Write an essay on the nature of GST in Kautilya’s Arthashastra,” Professor N Sukumar, who teaches Indian Political Thought in Dehi University, said that, “It is a self-goal on part of the people who want to refashion Manu and his laws”.  He added, “The people [RSS] who are against the globalisation of cultures saying that the West is corrupting Indian Culture, need to justify how Manu professed globalisation.”

Leaving this controversy aside, one needs to probe the issue of the examination questions being leaked to the students.