balaji@uscvax.UUCP (Balaji Narasimhan) (01/16/86)
UNTOUCHABILITY in Modern India
Exposure to Western liberal and reformist thought began to make many Hindu
thinkers critical of the oppressive nature of the caste system and the
practice of untouchability. Some individuals and small organizations made
laudable efforts, but these did not have impact on the society at large for
several decades. Only in 1917 the Indian National Congress passed a
resolution urging upon the people the necessity, justice, and righteousness
of removing all practices of untouchability. The interest in the condition
of untouchables increased considerably with the emergence of M.K. (Mahatma)
Gandhi and Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, an untouchable Barrister.
After independence, the constitution directed the Parliament in 1950 to make
laws prescribing punishment for acts contravening the fundamental rights. In
1955 the Untouchability (Offences) Act was passed.
However, a law on paper in a largely rural and illiterate society is one
thing; to enforce it is another. A survey conducted in Tamil Nadu in
mid-1960s revealed that only 27.1 % of those surveyed knew that this law
existed. During the 60s, the total number of cases registered with the
police, under this Act, THROUGHOUT the country was less than 5000, with only
700 resulting in conviction. The population of the Untouchables in India was
65 million in 1961 and 80 million in 1971. The latter number is larger than
the combined populations of several major western european nations.
The reason for the failure of the law is that the accused, the
prosecutor, and the judges are all caste Hindus; and, therefore, no one
dares to come forward and declare that a crime has been committed. Almost
all surveys in the 60s and early 70s indicated the continued plight of the
Untouchables, especially in rural India, where 83 % of the people lived. One
survey in early 70s in 206 villages in Maharashtra indicated 90 % of the
outcaste families lived outside the village boundaries, that 50 % were not
allowed to use public wells to drinking water, and that 25 % were barred
from local restaurants and tea-stalls, and even those who were allowed
inside were made to sit away from the caste Hindus. Another survey of 404
villages in Madhya Pradesh in late 60s showed that only in 200 of these
villages were the untouchables allowed to enter the temples, and that only
182 of the villages could they draw water from public wells, and that in
only 82 of the villages would barbers cut their hair.
An inquiry by a committee appointed by the Central Government brought to
light the following far from exceptional examples.
* In Kurhe, a village which had won a government for 'successfully
eradicating untouchability, the scheduled castes were not served by barbers
and washermen.
* In Pagandai, a village in Tamil Nadu, outcastes had to remove their shoes
or sandals and hold them in hand while passing through caste Hindu streets.
*In Bhojpur, a village in Madhya Pradesh, male outcastes were not allowed to
sport their moustaches upwards (as this signifies self-assertion).
* In Samakha, a village near Delhi, the untouchables were not allowed to
enter the community Center, inaugurated by M.K. Gandhi, the national leader
who was dedicated to the cause of the untouchables.
* The outcaste teachers in primary schools in some villages of Tikamgarh
district, in Madhya Pradesh, were not allowed to sit in chairs along with
their collegues.
* In some government colleges in Uttar Pradesh the outcastes were not
allowed to eat in the common mess.
The list goes on.
Evidently, one should be glad that things are changing at all. The statistics
presented above are 10 to 20 years old. Some states have been more
progressive than the others. Some states have tried to undermine the caste
system by attacking the tradition of hereditary priesthood. Now there are
some 'untouchable' priests in Tamil Nadu.
But changes have not taken place in the machinery to enforce the
untouchability act. This, despite the equitable representation of the
outcastes in the legislative bodies as required by the Constitution.
[Outcastes are known as scheduled castes in India. The names of these
communities were originally listed in a schedule attached to a directive
from a British viceroy.]
Reference: The Untouchables of India, a report published by the Minority
Rights Group in 1975. Sponsors of the group included
Jayaprakash Narayan, Gunnar Myrdal, and Dr. Joseph Needham.
Over the years the group has published reports on the
conditions of minorities in several parts of the world;
Tamils in Sri Lanka, Tibetans, the Irish in U.K.,
sevaral minority communities in USSR, the Ilois of Diego Garcia
are some of the reports.