Caste untouchables in India: description, history and interesting facts

The untouchable caste in India is a phenomenon that can not be found in any other country in the world. Originating back in ancient times, the caste division of society exists in the country at the present time. The lowest level in the hierarchy is occupied by the untouchable caste, which absorbed 16-17% of the country's population. Its representatives constitute the "bottom" of the society of India. The caste structure is a difficult question, but still we try to shed light on its separate aspects.

The caste structure of Indian society

Despite the complexity of recreating the full structural picture of castes in the distant past, it is still possible to identify historically formed groups in India. There are five.

The highest group (varna) of brahmanas includes civil servants, large and small landowners, priests.

Next comes the varna ksatriyas, which included the castes of military and agriculturalists - Rajaputas, Jats, Marathas, Kunbi, Reddi, Kapu, etc. Some of them form a feudal stratum, whose representatives are later supplemented by the lower and middle links of the feudal class.

The next two groups (vaisyas and sudras) include middle and lower castes of farmers, officials, artisans, servants of the community.

And finally, the fifth group. It includes castes of servants of the community and farmers who are deprived of all rights to own and use the land. They are called untouchables.

"India", "caste untouchables" - concepts that are inextricably linked with each other in the representation of the world community. Meanwhile, in the country with ancient culture, people continue to honor the customs and traditions of their ancestors in dividing people according to their origin and belonging to some caste.

The history of the untouchables

The lowest caste in India - the untouchables - owes its origin to the historical process that took place in the Middle Ages in the region. In those days, India was conquered by stronger and more civilized tribes. Naturally, the invaders came to the country in order to enslave its indigenous population, having prepared for him the role of servants.

To isolate the Indians, they settled in special settlements, built separately by the type of modern ghettos. Civilized outsiders did not allow Aboriginal people to join their community.

It is assumed that it was the descendants of these tribes who later formed the untouchable caste. It included farmers and servants of the community.

True, today the word "untouchables" is replaced by another - "Dalits", which means "oppressed". It is believed that the "untouchables" sound insulting.

Since Indians often use the word "jati" rather than "caste", their number is difficult to determine. But still the Dalits can be divided according to the type of activity and place of residence.

Than live untouchables

The most common castes of Dalits are considered to be chamars (tanners), dhobis (laundresses) and pariahs. If the first two castes have a profession in some way, then the pariahs live only due to unskilled labor - the removal of household waste, cleaning and washing the toilets.

Heavy and dirty work - this is the fate of the untouchables. The lack of any qualification brings them a meager income, allowing only to make ends meet.

However, among the untouchables there are groups that are at the top of the caste, for example, the Hijra.

They are representatives of all kinds of sex minorities who are engaged in prostitution and begging. They are also often invited to all sorts of religious rituals, weddings, birthdays. Of course, this group has much more to life than an untouchable tanner or laundress.

But such an existence could not but arouse protests from the Dalits.

Protest struggle of untouchables

Surprisingly, the untouchables did not resist the tradition of division into castes planted by invaders. However, in the last century the situation changed: untouchables led by Gandhi made their first attempts to destroy the stereotype that had developed over the centuries.

The essence of these speeches was to draw public attention to the caste inequality in India.

It is interesting that the Gandhi case was picked up by a certain Ambedkar of the Brahmin caste. Thanks to him untouchables became Dalits. Ambedkar made sure that they received quotas for all kinds of professional activities. That is, an attempt was made to integrate these people into society.

The current contradictory policy of the Indian authorities often causes conflicts with the untouchables.

However, until the rebellion does not come, because the caste untouchables in India - the most submissive part of the Indian community. The age-old timidity in front of other castes, fouled into the minds of people, blocks all thoughts of rebellion.

Policy of the Government of India and Dalits

The Untouchables ... The life of the most severe caste in India provokes a cautious and even contradictory reaction on the part of the Indian government, since we are talking about the age-old traditions of the Indians.

But still at the state level, caste discrimination is banned in the country. Actions that offend representatives of any varna are considered a crime.

At the same time, the caste hierarchy is legalized by the country's constitution. That is, the untouchable caste in India is recognized by the state, which looks like a serious contradiction in the government's policy. As a result, the modern history of the country has many serious conflicts between individual castes and even within them.

Interesting facts from the life of the Dalits

Untouchables are the most despised estate in India. However, other citizens are still terribly afraid of Dalits.

It is believed that the representative of an untouchable caste in India is able to desecrate a person from another varna with one of his own presence. If Dalit touches the clothes of a brahmana, then the latter will need more than one year to purify his karma from filth.

But the untouchable (the South India caste includes both men and women) may well become the target of sexual violence. And no desecration of karma does not happen at the same time, as the Indian customs do not prohibit it.

An example is the recent case in New Delhi, where a 14-year-old girl, an untouchable offender, was kept as a sex slave for a month. The unfortunate woman died in the hospital, and the detained criminal was released on bail by the court.

At the same time, if the untouchable breaks the traditions of ancestors, for example, dares to use public well publicly, the poor fellow expects an immediate reprisal on the spot.

Dalit is not a sentence of fate

The caste of untouchables in India, despite government policy, still remains the poorest and most disadvantaged part of the population. The average literacy rate among them is a little more than 30.

The situation is explained by the humiliation suffered by the children of this caste in educational institutions. As a result illiterate Dalits are the main part of the unemployed in the country.

However, there are exceptions to the rules: in the country about 30 millionaires are Dalits. Of course, this is a miserable one in comparison with 170 million untouchables. But this fact says that Dalit is not a verdict of fate.

An example can be the life of Ashok Khade, who belonged to the caste of tanners. The guy worked as a docker during the day, and at night he studied the textbooks to become an engineer. Currently, his company makes deals for hundreds of millions of dollars.

And there is an opportunity to exit the Dalit caste - this is a change of religion.

Buddhism, Christianity, Islam - any faith technically removes a person from the untouchables. For the first time this was used at the end of the XIX century, and in 2007, 50 thousand people immediately adopted Buddhism.