Dalits : The Rise of the Untouchables
WHo are Dalits?
Dalit is a self-designation for a South Asian group of people traditionally regarded as untouchables (outcastes) or of low caste.
In the context of traditional Hindu society, Dalit status has often been historically associated with occupations regarded as ritually impure, such as any occupation involving butchering, removal of dead animals, removal of night soil (human feces) and leatherwork. One million Dalits work as manual scavengers, cleaning latrines and sewers by hand and clearing away dead animals. Engaging in these activities was considered to be polluting to the individual who performed them, and this pollution was considered to be 'contagious'. As a result, Dalits were commonly banned and segregated from full participation in Hindu social life (they could not enter the premises of a temple or a school and stayed outside the village), while elaborate precautions were sometimes observed to prevent incidental contact between Dalits and other castes.Discrimination against Dalits still exists in rural areas (where two-thirds of India's people live) in the private sphere, in everyday matters such as access to eating places, schools, temples and water sources. It has largely disappeared in urban areas and in the public sphere.
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Dalit Christians and Islams?
In the late 1880's the Marathi word 'Dalit' was used by Mahatma Jotiba Phule for the outcasts and Untouchables who were oppressed and broken by Hindu society.The term Dalit Christian (sometimes Christian Dalit) is used to describe those low-caste Hindus who have converted to Christianity from Hinduism and are still categorized as Dalits in Hindu, Christian and Islamic societies in India and Pakistan. Hindu Dalits are referred to as "Harijans" while the Islamic Dalits are categorised as "Muhajir." or "Arzal". After conversion, people in India lose any privileges they had in their former caste, while those in lower castes often gain more opportunities.Since Christianity is theoretically without castes, this is a controversial issue in India. READ MORE
The Rise Of the Untouchables
Mayawati (Hindi: मायावती) (born January 15, 1956) is an Indian politician and the current Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh. She has been the Chief Minister during three other short tenures but her party holds the absolute majority in the state as of date. She is the highest income-tax payer among all politicians in India paying Rs. 26 crore for year 2007-08.
Mayawati Kumari is a Dalit and an influential figure in India at the moment. Has the caste system been abolished?
Dalit is a self-designation for a South Asian group of people traditionally regarded as untouchables (outcastes) or of low caste.
In the context of traditional Hindu society, Dalit status has often been historically associated with occupations regarded as ritually impure, such as any occupation involving butchering, removal of dead animals, removal of night soil (human feces) and leatherwork. One million Dalits work as manual scavengers, cleaning latrines and sewers by hand and clearing away dead animals. Engaging in these activities was considered to be polluting to the individual who performed them, and this pollution was considered to be 'contagious'. As a result, Dalits were commonly banned and segregated from full participation in Hindu social life (they could not enter the premises of a temple or a school and stayed outside the village), while elaborate precautions were sometimes observed to prevent incidental contact between Dalits and other castes.Discrimination against Dalits still exists in rural areas (where two-thirds of India's people live) in the private sphere, in everyday matters such as access to eating places, schools, temples and water sources. It has largely disappeared in urban areas and in the public sphere.
READ MORE
Dalit Christians and Islams?
In the late 1880's the Marathi word 'Dalit' was used by Mahatma Jotiba Phule for the outcasts and Untouchables who were oppressed and broken by Hindu society.The term Dalit Christian (sometimes Christian Dalit) is used to describe those low-caste Hindus who have converted to Christianity from Hinduism and are still categorized as Dalits in Hindu, Christian and Islamic societies in India and Pakistan. Hindu Dalits are referred to as "Harijans" while the Islamic Dalits are categorised as "Muhajir." or "Arzal". After conversion, people in India lose any privileges they had in their former caste, while those in lower castes often gain more opportunities.Since Christianity is theoretically without castes, this is a controversial issue in India. READ MORE
The Rise Of the Untouchables
Mayawati (Hindi: मायावती) (born January 15, 1956) is an Indian politician and the current Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh. She has been the Chief Minister during three other short tenures but her party holds the absolute majority in the state as of date. She is the highest income-tax payer among all politicians in India paying Rs. 26 crore for year 2007-08.
Mayawati Kumari is a Dalit and an influential figure in India at the moment. Has the caste system been abolished?
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