The book of Manu is nothing to do with the Vedas and Vedic Religion or Santana Dharma.+

Manu-smriti is traditionally the most authoritative of the books of the Hindu code (Dharma-shastra) in India. Manu-smriti is the popular name of the work, which is officially known as Manava-dharma-shastra. It is attributed to the legendary first man and lawgiver, Manu. The received text dates from circa 100 CE.

The Manu-smriti prescribes to Hindus their dharma—i.e., that set of obligations incumbent on each as a member of one of the four social classes (varnas) and engaged in one of the four stages of life (ashramas). It contains 12 chapters of stanzas, which total 2,694. It deals with cosmogony; the definition of the dharma; the sacraments (samskaras); initiation (upanayana) and the study of the Vedas (the sacred texts of Hinduism); marriage, hospitality, funeral rites, dietary restrictions, pollution, and means of purification; the conduct of women and wives; and the law of kings. The last leads to a consideration of matters of juridical interest, divided under 18 headings, after which the text returns to religious topics such as charity, rites of reparation, the doctrine of karma, the soul, and hell. The text makes no categorical distinction between religious law and practices and secular law. Its influence on all aspects of Hindu thought, particularly the justification of the caste system, has been profound.

Manu, in the mythology of India, was the first man and the legendary author of an important Sanskrit law code, the Manu-smriti (Laws of Manu). The name is cognate with the Indo-European “man” and also has an etymological connection with the Sanskrit verb man-, “to think.” Manu appears in the Vedas, the sacred literature of Hinduism, as the performer of the first sacrifice. He is also known as the first king, and most rulers of medieval India traced their genealogy back to him, either through his son (the solar line) or his daughter (the lunar line).

Manusmruti is an ancient legal text among the many Dharmaśāstras of Hinduism. It was one of the first Sanskrit texts to have been translated into English in 1794, by Sir William Jones, and was used to formulate the Hindu law by the British colonial government.

Over fifty manuscripts of the Manusmriti are now known, but the earliest discovered, most translated, and presumed authentic version since the 18th century has been the "Calcutta manuscript with Kulluka Bhatta commentary". Modern scholarship states that this presumed authenticity is false, and the various manuscripts of Manusmriti discovered in India are inconsistent with each other, and within themselves, raising concerns about its authenticity, insertions, and interpolations made into the text in later times

The term Hinduism came into existence under British rule. Hinduism is the caste-discriminating principle of Varnashrama Dharma based on the Book of Manu.

After 1750 A.D., Europeans captured certain parts of India and started ruling those areas. The capital of then British India was Calcutta, the present-day Kolkata.

The Britishers were duty-bound to administer justice to the people living within their dominion. Thus, they set up courts of justice. They needed laws to administer justice through the courts.

To administer justice to the Christian citizens of India living within their dominion, there was Christian Law, based on Biblical principles.

To administer justice to the Muslim citizens of India living within their dominion, there was Islamic Law, based on Quranic principles. But to administer justice to non-Christian and non-Islamic citizens living in British dominion, there was no law book. This created problems for the Britishers.

As we peep into the annals of the religious history of India, we find that Santana Dharma or Vedic religion was not the religion of the Hindus: ~

Every one of the great religions in the world, except our own, is built upon such historical characters; but ours rests upon principles. No man or woman can claim to have created the Vedas. They are the embodiment of eternal principles; sages discovered them.

Santana Dharma or Vedic Religion was not the religion of the Hindus, nor were the Vedic people Hindus, nor will the Hindus of today approve the replacement of the term ‘Hinduism’ with Santana Dharma or Vedic Religion. One can say exactly when the Aryans became Hindus because neither the name Hindu nor its major beliefs and practices existed in the Vedic times.

To this, one must add the marginal place the Vedic gods occupy in today’s Hindu pantheon. In addition, as we have seen, the Vedas themselves are not attractive to most of today’s Hindus as sacred texts. The Ramayana, Mahabharata, Bhagavad Gita, Puranas, and Manusmriti may have more to do with the Hinduism of today than the Vedas.

Thus, it is clear that there is no direct ancestry of modern Hinduism traceable in the Vedas, though it does have some influence on it “.The Vedic corpus reflects the archetypal religion of those who called themselves Aryas, and which, although it contributed to facets of latter-day Hinduism, was nevertheless distinct”.

In the British Raj, Sir William Jones was appointed as the chief justice of the Supreme Court at Calcutta. Local pundits made Sir William Jones believe that the book of Manu was the law book for the people of India.

Sir William Jones believed pundits and translated the book of Manu from Sanskrit to English. Thus, based on the laws of Manu, a law was formed for administering justice to non-Christian and non-Muslim Indians of the British dominion, and this law was called Hindu law.

The principles of the book of Manu, which was used for drafting the Hindu Law, were called Hinduism. The basic principle of the book of Manu is caste discrimination.

The name coined by Sir William Jones to denote caste-discriminating principles is Hinduism. It is not a religion. It is a way of Life. It is the way of life of the Indus people.

In this, a historical false perception crept in. That is when they called the terms Christian Law, Muslim Law, and Hindu Law; both Christian Law and Muslim Law were associated with the Christian religion and the Islamic religion. But concerning Hindu Law, a false perception of religion was wrongly attributed to it as if it was also associated with a ‘Hindu religion’, which was not there.

This false perception developed a false notion that non-Christian and non-Muslim Indians of the British dominion belonged to the Hindu religion.

The book of Manu has nothing to do with the Vedas and Vedic Religion or the Santana Dharma.

The 

Indian populace wrongly believes that Hinduism is an ancient religion because they are unaware of the fact that Hinduism is not the Santana Dharma or Vedic Religion. The people in India believe in Varnashrama Dharma or caste discrimination.

The people of India have to be liberated from the stranglehold of casteism to realize that their original religion is not Hinduism, which is full of different castes and creeds, but the Santana Dharma or Vedic Religion. The people should be educated about the historical truth of the religion of the Santana Dharma or Vedic Religion.

Out of the five Indian religions, Saivism and Vaishnavism were already enslaved to Varnashrama Dharma, i.e., caste discrimination. The people of India began to use the newly originated common name of ‘Hinduism’ to denote Saivism and Vaishnavism. The context and substance of the term Hinduism, coined by Sir William Jones, are different from the context and substance of the term ‘Hindu religion’, which was substituted erroneously and used by the people to denote Saivism and Vaishnavism.

The term Hinduism came into existence under British rule. Hinduism is the caste-discriminating principle of Varnashrama Dharma based on the Book of Manu.

After 1750 A.D., Europeans captured certain parts of India and started ruling those areas. The capital of British India was Calcutta, he present-day Kolkata.

The Britishers were duty-bound to administer justice to the people living within their dominion. Thus, they set up courts of justice. They needed laws to administer justice through the courts.

To administer justice to the Christian citizens of India living within their dominion, there was Christian Law, based on Biblical principles.

To administer justice to the Muslim citizens of India living within their dominion, there was Islamic Law, based on Quranic principles. But to administer justice to non-Christian and non-Islamic citizens living in British dominion, there was no law book. This created problems for the Britishers.

At this time, Sir William Jones was appointed as the chief justice of the Supreme Court at Calcutta. Local pundits made Sir William Jones believe that the book of Manu was the law book for the people of India.

Sir William Jones believed pundits and translated the book of Manu from Sanskrit to English. Thus, based on the laws of Manu, a law was formed for administering justice to non-Christian and non-Muslim Indians of the British dominion, and this law was called Hindu law.

The principles of the book of Manu, which was used for drafting the Hindu Law, are called Hinduism. The basic principle of the book of Manu is caste discrimination.

The name coined by Sir William Jones to denote caste-discriminating principles is Hinduism. It is not a religion. It is a way of Life. It is the way of life of the Indus people.

In this, a historical false perception crept in. That is when they called the terms Christian Law, Muslim Law, and Hindu Law; both Christian Law and Muslim Law were associated with the Christian religion and the Islamic religion. But with respect to Hindu Law, a false perception of religion was wrongly attributed to it as if it was also associated with a ‘Hindu religion’ which was not there.

The people must realize that Hinduism has nothing to do with Spirituality because Hinduism is based on matter, whereas Vedic Religion or Santana Dharma is based on the Spirit(Atman). :~Santthosh Kumaar