The Union Labour Ministry’s draft National Labour and Employment Policy has drawn attention for invoking the Manusmriti, an ancient Hindu text known for its rigid classification of social classes based on caste hierarchy, where the Brahmin community enjoyed uncontested authority, thereby reflecting what many see as an attempt to subtly enforce the RSS’s ideological agenda through the policy framework.
The draft policy, prepared without consulting trade unions, presents labour as a form of rajdharma — a sacred and moral duty that sustains social harmony and economic well-being — a formulation that many believe mirrors the hierarchical ethos of ancient texts rather than the principles of modern labour rights, The Wire reported.
The policy draws from sources such as the Manusmriti, Yajnavalkyasmriti, Naradasmriti, Sukraniti and Arthashastra to justify its philosophical foundation, suggesting that every worker, from artisans and farmers to industrial labourers, is part of a divine order of social creation, thereby linking labour not to entitlement or rights but to spiritual obligation.
However, labour experts and unions have questioned the rationale behind invoking texts that historically denied equality to workers and codified the subservience of lower castes, arguing that such references only seek to sanctify a social order in which dignity and rights were determined by birth rather than labour.
The Communist Party of India-affiliated All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) has strongly opposed the draft, demanding its immediate withdrawal and calling for consultations with central trade unions before it is released for public opinion, as it views the policy as an attempt to legitimise caste-based divisions under the guise of cultural tradition.
Critics from academic circles have pointed out that by glorifying the concept of srama (labour) as propounded in the Hindu scriptures, the policy reinforces the same hierarchical framework that exalted ritualistic occupations over manual or industrial work, positioning Brahmins as the moral arbiters of society while marginalising those engaged in physical labour.
Observers argue that this ideological alignment with the ancient notion of rajdharma transforms labour from a matter of legal rights, fair wages and workplace safety into a moral duty that obliges workers to sustain a supposedly harmonious order, thus diverting attention from the state’s responsibility towards social justice.
The policy’s reliance on religious and moral vocabulary, rather than constitutional and economic principles, has been perceived as a deliberate attempt to reshape the labour discourse along the lines of Hindu nationalist thought, embedding cultural hierarchy within a modern administrative framework.
As debates intensify, the draft policy stands at the intersection of labour reform and ideological reconfiguration, where the invocation of ancient authority is seen not as cultural reverence but as a political move to redefine labour relations through the prism of faith and tradition, effectively aligning governance with the RSS’s vision of a society structured on graded inequality.