In Chhatron Ki Goonj Pune, Rahul Gandhi attacks Manusmriti
Indicating a major shift in the Congress Policy, Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi Saturday August 22, 2026 while addressing the Chhatron ki Goonj event in Pune blamed Manusmriti for the woes of women in India and urged students to end patriarchy.
Pune: Indicating a major shift in the Congress Policy, Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi Saturday August 22, 2026 while addressing the Chhatron ki Goonj event in Pune blamed Manusmriti for the woes of women in India and urged students to end patriarchy.
“Manusmriti wants to see Indian woman as “Adarsh Naari”, categorizing her only as a daughter, wife and mother”, Rahul Gandhi said while addressing over 50,000 girl students and their mothers, gathered at Shri Shivaji Preparatory Military School (SSPMS) Ground in Pune for the Congress outreach program Chhatron ki Goonj organized to connect with Gen Z and youth of the country.
“It does not allow an Indian woman to be independent and have a dream of her own”, he said quoting from Manusmriti which said, “In childhood a female must be subject to her father, in youth to her husband, when her lord is dead to her sons… A woman must never be independent.”
"Break the Cage"
Manusmriti, an anonymous composite text compiled by several Brahmin authors over time, is the Sanatan Hindu Code Book.
"Whenever I speak to men, I find that women are often placed in just three boxes: daughter, wife, or mother... There is nothing wrong with any of these identities. But these cannot be your only identities.... Women are professionals, sportspersons, leaders, creators, entrepreneurs, and so much more. Yet too often, their identity is defined only through their relationship with a man", Rahul Gandhi said.
"The Manusmriti says a woman must never be independent... But I believe the biggest strength of this country is the fact that our women should be independent, should stand up for themselves, and should believe in themselves", he added.
"You may have relationships with your father, brother, husband, or son, but you do not belong to them. You belong to yourself. No one can control you", he said.
"The mindset of suppressing women comes from the Manusmriti, and today our fight is against this very mindset... BJP-RSS people want girls/women to remain caged... But we do not want such a country. We want respect for all", Rahul said.
Stressing that 70 crore women of Indians are one of the key stenghts of the country, Rahul Gandhi said each one of these women are unique with a dream of their own urged them to end patriarchy to carry forward India.
“Smash the patriarchy”, Rahul Gandhi concluded his more than an hour live interaction with the girl-students and their parents.
The girls’ exclusive Chhatron ki Goonj program of Rahul Gandhi in Pune was his 4th event. The campaign began on June 17, 2026 with the first program in Kota, Rajasthan followed by Dehradun, Uttarakhand on July 17, 2026 and Prayagraj (Allahabad), Uttar Pradesh on August 08, 2026.
Participants share their experience
Like in the earlier events, Rahul Gandhi invited students and young graduates to share their experiences of anguish in front of the gathered crowd.
Among them were a tribal student, a lawyer and MPSC and UPSC civil services aspirants.
"Women have always been treated as the secondary gender and they are not treated as equal citizens of this country. It’s a patriarchal problem", Dhyaneshwari, who did Master’s in Culture, Media and Governance from Jamia Millia Islamia said.
Suchitra Pagi, while sharing her story related to women's safety with Rahul Gandhi at the "Echo of Students' program in Pune, said, "When I was in eighth grade, some boys harassed me on my way back from school... When the people of my village found out about this, they told my father that your daughter's honor has been lost, stop her education.
Sheikh Aamna, a Graduate in Political Science who is preparing for UPSC Civil Services, said, “Even today in the country, many families are not educating their daughters because they are 'girls'. Many people think that if a girl becomes educated, she will become economically independent, which will end their control over girls.”
Nisah, a Tribal student, shared the harrowing experience of living in a government hostel.
“We are only allowed to stay in the tribal community hostel until the age of 30, and we are protesting against this. We want the age limit for staying in the hostel to be extended to 35 years”, she said adding how painful is for them when they are asked for pregnancy tests.
Sharni Chopra while interacting with Rahul Gandhi said their MPSC paper was leaked but there is an attempt to cover up the matter.
“We study day and night for the exam, so we want a clean and transparent exam to be conducted”, she said.
Neha Singh Rathod, whose Bhojpuri geets critical of the Narendra Modi government are popular among the masses, also addressed the gathering.
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