From time immemorial, human beings have been framing laws and rules to govern themselves so that the fundamental rights of each individual are secured and all the members of society can live peacefully. Such laws have been framed from time to time by the ruling class. On examining these laws it is evident that the ruling class framed them, keeping their own interest as the uppermost consideration in their mind. For instance, in Manusmrti, the text of laws framed by Manu⁽¹⁾, it is stipulated that if a Brahman boy marries a Shúdra girl, he is punished by shaving his head and taking him around the town seated on the back of a donkey. The punishment of a Shúdra boy marrying a Brahman girl is death. The laws were accepted only as long as the Brahman supremacy remained, and were questioned the moment the Brahman supremacy was removed. After the Brahman supremacy, there have been numerous law-givers who have all framed laws and rules to suit their own convenience.

Footnotes

(1) Manu was the author of the Manusmrti, an authoritative collection of social rules, customs and etiquette for Hindus. He lived about two thousand years ago. –Trans.