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Casteism & Untouchability

The document discusses casteism and untouchability in India. It describes how untouchables, now called harijans, were considered outside the caste system and greatly discriminated against. The caste system originally consisted of 4 castes, with untouchables falling below the lowest caste. Untouchables faced severe social restrictions and were identified based on their occupations in manual scavenging or unclean work. The 1955 Untouchability Act banned untouchability and discrimination but untouchables challenging the social order still face abuse.

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Nandlal Prasad
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194 views8 pages

Casteism & Untouchability

The document discusses casteism and untouchability in India. It describes how untouchables, now called harijans, were considered outside the caste system and greatly discriminated against. The caste system originally consisted of 4 castes, with untouchables falling below the lowest caste. Untouchables faced severe social restrictions and were identified based on their occupations in manual scavenging or unclean work. The 1955 Untouchability Act banned untouchability and discrimination but untouchables challenging the social order still face abuse.

Uploaded by

Nandlal Prasad
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Casteism & Untouchability

Presented by- Khushi Jaiswal


What is an Untouchable?
• Untouchables are members from a large variety of
Hindu groups.
• An Untouchable, now called harijan, in
traditional Indian society, is a person outside
the caste system.
• These outcasts were greatly discriminated against
until 1949 in India, when the use of the term
Untouchable, and the social disabilities that
were perceived along with the term were declared
illegal.
"Caste System"
• The four Caste
• 1st) Consisted of Brahmans, which are teachers
and priests
• 2nd) Consisted of Kshatriyas, which are rulers
and warriors
• 3rd) Members were merchants and traders, and were
known as Vaishyas
• 4th) The last and lowest caste, which consisted
of a great mass of peasants and workers, were
known as Sudras.
• Definition of Caste System
• The caste system is a many layered social
hierarchy developed several millenniums ago to
which a person belongs by birth
What Went Wrong
• The Untouchables fell below the fourth caste
• As many as three thousand caste exist today,
which is different from the original idea of four
caste.
• The Untouchables were considered the extreme
lowest social class in India. The total number of
Untouchables in India is approximately 60
million, or 13.7 percent of Indias population
What makes an Untouchable
• Occupation
• Manual scavenger
• Remover of human waste, dead animals,
• Leather workers
• Street sweepers, and cobblers
High CastesHigher castes had more social
power,
and were usually richer than lower caste
• High Caste would become polluted if
• Untouchable touched them
• Entered their house
• Sat at a close distance from them
• In stricter parts of India, the site of an
Untouchable, or even the contact with ones
shadow could be considered polluting
Untouchability Act
• 1955
• Banned Untouchability
• Provides penalties for preventing anyone from
enjoying a wide variety of religious,
occupational, and social rights.
• It also provides specific educational and
vocational right to untouchables.
Untouchables who want to change the system What
Happens

• Untouchable who are to challenge the social


order
have been subject to abuse by their higher-caste
neighbors
• Villages are collectively penalized for
individual transgressions through social
boycott including loss of employment, access to
water, grazing land, and ration shops

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