Gandhi refers to Manusmriti, calling to 'smash patriarchy'. Here's how he 'supported' hijab, kept mum on Islamic patriarchy

NewsBharati    26-Aug-2026 15:57:36 PM
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New Delhi, August 26 : BJP leaders slammed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his recent remarks on the Manusmriti, accusing him of selectively targeting Hindu traditions and raising questions over his stand on issues concerning women.

Gandhi refers to Manusmriti NB 
 
 
Gandhi, in his recent ‘Chhatro ki Goonj’ event in Pune, Maharashtra, criticised the ancient text Manusmriti, calling its rules concerning women “shameful.” He indicated that Manusmriti restricted women from being on their own and living lives dependent on their fathers, husbands and sons.
 
 
 
Following this, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said Rahul Gandhi was “no champion of women’s rights” and described him as a “Hindu baiter.” Sarma alleged that Gandhi was using women’s empowerment as a “convenient smokescreen” to discredit Hindu Dharma.
 
BJP leader Rohan Gupta questioned Gandhi’s decision to invoke the Manusmriti while speaking about women’s rights. Gupta asked why Gandhi had never commented on Triple Talaq, despite the law being aimed at protecting Muslim women.
 
He accused Gandhi of following “double standards” and alleged that his remarks were intended to insult Sanatan Dharma. Gupta also questioned whether Gandhi had “the courage to talk about the Quran and Bible.”
 
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Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath accused Rahul Gandhi of denigrating India’s traditions and heritage. He advised Gandhi to read the Atharvaveda, Shatapatha Brahmana and Matsya Purana if he wanted to understand the historical references associated with Manu.
 
Yogi further questioned Gandhi’s approach towards India’s cultural heritage and asked why he wanted to “ruin the future of India’s present generation at the hands of urban Naxals” and “destroy India’s heritage.”
 
BJP leader Ashok Bajpai alleged that Rahul Gandhi had “never had any concern for women or for a large section of Indian society.” He further claimed that Gandhi’s politics had been “atheistic and anti-Hindu” from the beginning.
 
Shiv Sena spokesperson Shaina NC also criticised Gandhi, accusing him of engaging in “appeasement politics.” She questioned why Gandhi repeatedly brings up the Manusmriti whenever a woman raises her voice.
 
What did Rahul Gandhi recently say on Manusmriti?
 
Rahul Gandhi criticised the ancient text Manusmriti during the ‘Chhatron Ki Goonj’ event in Pune, calling its rules concerning women “shameful.”
 
 
Gandhi specifically criticised the text’s prescription that a woman should never be independent and should remain under the authority of male relatives, including her father, husband or son, at different stages of her life.
 
He argued that the Manusmriti frames the ideal Indian woman ("Adarsh Naari") only as a daughter, wife, and mother, denying her independence or the right to her own dreams. He referenced a well-known passage from the text describing a woman as bound first to her father, then her husband, then her sons, never independent, and called this framing a "shame." He added that a woman has relationships with her father, husband, and son, but does not belong to them; she belongs only to herself, a line that drew a strong reaction from the crowd.
 
He directly linked this mindset of suppressing women to the "BJP-RSS," accusing them of wanting to keep girls and women "caged," and said Congress rejects that vision of the country.
 
Gandhi exposed as kept mum on Muslim clothing, supported hijab
 
In the aftermath, the BJP Gujarat on August 25 shared an old video of 2024 in which a Muslim woman could be seen complaining about Hijab.
 
"Why does what women want to wear a problem?" she asked, to which Gandhi stated that women should have the right to wear whatever they want.
 
"Burqa is something I don't prefer to wear all the time, everywhere," she further said, attracting a biased response from the leader, exposing his favouritism to the Islamist community. "See, that's something I shouldn't comment on. Interfering with or commenting on your religious beliefs wouldn't be right," he said.
 
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The video seemed to be from 2024, from the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra.
 
It is important to note that the hypocritical, two-faced attitude of the leader got exposed here, as on one hand he stated that women have the right to be on their own. At an event in Pune, he specifically targeted Hindu women and fed them, saying the ancient script Manusmriti contained their identities and that they were allegedly taught by their ancestors to be allegedly dependent upon their fathers, husbands, and sons. In a bid to 'motivate' them, he said that they actually belonged to no one but themselves. "You don't belong to your father, your husband or your son. You belong to yourself," he said.

However, when it came to Muslim women in 2024, he refused to comment, exposing his selective attitude.
Notably, this is not the first time Gandhi indirectly supported the hijab.
 
During his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, in February 2024, Gandhi told female students at Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) that women's clothing choices, including the hijab, should be respected and that no one should dictate what a person wears. When asked about the 2022 Karnataka hijab controversy, he said, "What a woman wants to wear is her business... What you wear is your responsibility. What to wear is your decision. I don't think anyone else should decide what you wear." This showcased his silent support for the hijab controversy in Karnataka.
 
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In January 2022, Gandhi backed Muslim girl students barred from Karnataka institutions for wearing hijabs, invoking the goddess Saraswati as someone who "does not differentiate and gives knowledge to all." This was tied to the original Udupi controversy, where six students at a government pre-university college were barred from classrooms for wearing headscarves in violation of the dress code.
 
In September 2022, OpIndia accused Gandhi of using a minor hijab-wearing girl for optics during his Yatra, framing his defense of the hijab as support for a "repressive" practice.
 
Gandhi has also privately cautioned Congress state leaders in Karnataka to avoid commenting on the hijab row, warning them not to fall into what he called a "BJP trap," while instead urging them to focus on protecting minority interests and democratic values.
Chhatro ki Goonj Manusmriti Rahul Gandhi women Triple Talaq