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To state a perfect legal truth – that women belong only to themselves and are not communal, caste or family property – shouldn’t be difficult. And yet, articulations of this truth have been rare enough in the Indian political discourse to warrant notice. While Rahul Gandhi’s recent words in Pune are important and very welcome, whether they translate into or inspire meaningful action will depend on a factor that is deeply embedded in the Indian polity.

In a society where caste and patriarchy are inextricably intertwined, you cannot smash one, without also smashing the other. The question is therefore whether the society he seeks to speak to (and for) is ready to dismantle both.

Caste and patriarchy are intertwined

As historian Uma Chakravarty points out, the policing of female agency and sexuality in the Manusmriti did not evolve in the abstract. The Manusmriti’s abject paranoia about female sexuality and female “wickedness” and its absolute prohibitions on female agency (quoted by Rahul Gandhi in his speech) are inextricably tied to the belief that the social order it sought to promulgate was entirely dependent on guarding and controlling the reproductive power of women.

The caste system could not survive without endogamy. Female agency, especially with respect to marriage or sexual relations was therefore seen as incompatible with the maintenance of that system. While patriarchy everywhere seeks to restrict female autonomy to maintain patrilineal succession, the maintenance of caste purity adds an additional and often insurmountable barrier to reform in India.

The existence of caste honour killings and the prevalence of “love jihad” paranoia in Hindu society today suggest that not much has changed with respect to how society views female agency. A 2021 Pew Research survey found that 80% of Hindus believed it was at least somewhat important to prevent women from marrying outside the caste. 64% believed it to be “very important”.

As per data presented in parliament, there were 221 “honour” killings between 2017 and 2021. Couples that are not physically harmed often report being threatened, forced to leave their hometowns and being ostracised by their families. It is not surprising that endogamy remains one of the most resilient caste based practices.

Piecemeal social reforms or even the reduction of inequality between castes through redistribution do not change this. For example, honour killings are prevalent even in........

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