about-a case study on the untouchables of india.?

Answer 1

In short idea of untouchability was taken to extereme by so called idea of Cleanliness among higher cast. The idea of hygene turned psychological peroblem.

The higher casts were more educated and followed more majors of cleanliness in comparison to lower ones. Later on it was grossly abused custom. Brahmans or other higher casts thought themselves to be purer just by being of higher caste.

But it is not a problem of Hindus only.

A true telling of "caste-based" behavior of South Asians would show that it cuts across all religious lines, and can be found in churches as well as in masjids. Thus upper caste Syrian Christians advertise specifically for their own types in matrimony, as do other Christians. Goans and other Indian Christians still refer to themselves as Bamon (Brahmins), Bhandaris, Kolis, Prabhus, etc.

In spite of the fact that around 75% of the Christians are ‘dalits’ who got converted to Christianity to lose their caste or ‘outcaste’ tag, Dalit Christians within the Church were discriminated against and were denied powers within the ecclesiastical structure.

In the churches or places of worship, which were generally laid out in the shape of a cross, the Christians of upper caste have always humiliated their Dalit fellow Christians by occupying the central part of the church, while the Dalits were assigned to the wings. The Dalits were to take communion only after the upper caste people had done so. In some Protestant churches, there were separate cups for the Dalits at the eucharistic celebration. In the Catholic churches, there were separate communion rails, separate cemeteries in Madras dioceses like Trichy and Pondicherry. Such practices were also found in the Protestant churches.

Muslims are also divided according to caste - Sayyads, Ashrafs, Ajlafs, Jolahas, Rajputs, etc. Marriages are disallowed between the high caste Ashrafs, Sayyads, Sheikhs or Pathans and the low caste Ansaris, Kunjras or Qureshis. The founder of the Aligarh Muslim University, Sir Sayyad Ahmad Khan, denied backward Muslims entry into AMU and kept its door open only for the Ashrafs. Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanvi wrote a book in which he said that the Sayyads are the highest caste! Dalit Muslims don't even come into the picture as yet."

Three groups found in Indian Muslims of Bengal:

Ashraf or better class Muslims – The Sainads, Sheikhs, Pathans, Moghul, Mallik, and Mirza.
Ajlaf or lower caste Muslims – Cultivating Sheikhs, and others who were originally Hindus, Darzi, Jolaha, Fakir, Mallah, Kula Kunjara, Kasai, Kalal, Dhunia, Abdal, Bako, Chamba, Dafali, Dhobi, Hajjan, etc.
Arzal or degraded class – include Bhanar, Halalkhor, Hijra, Kasbi, Lalbegi, Maugta, Mehra.


Just sample these familiar insertions in the Sunday matrimonial pages of any newspaper:

* CSI Nadar Christian invites alliance...
* CSI Adi dravida wants ...
* Roman Catholic ants...except SC/ST..
* Protestant Pillai seeks...

Welcome to the 'casteless' egalitarian world of Christianity. Or at least, that is what the board outside Evangelists Inc claims. Then what do the above advertisements that routinely appear in very secular newspapers point to?
true telling of "caste-based" behavior of South Asians would show that it cuts across all religious lines, and can be found in churches as well as in masjids. Thus upper caste Syrian Christians advertise specifically for their own types in matrimony, as do other Christians. Goans and other Indian Christians still refer to themselves as Bamon (Brahmins), Bhandaris, Kolis, Prabhus, etc.

Ali Anwar, a Muslim author, maintains in his book "War of Equality" that it's a myth that Indian Islam is caste-free. "Neither the Muslims' ruling elite nor the religious leaders have so far made any meaningful efforts to remove the disease of inequality that has made Dalit Muslims suffer for centuries," he writes.

The same goes for Christianity, according to a 1992 study by a Dalit Jesuit, the Rev. Antony Raj, showing separate chapels, cemeteries and Communion ceremonies for Dalits in southern Tamil Nadu state, and a bar on their becoming altar boys and lectors. Last Christmas Day, more than 250 Christian Dalits were shut out of a Mass in Manjakuppam, a village about 1,100 miles south of New Delhi where caste has long divided Dalits and Vannia, high-caste Hindu converts to Christianity.

(source: sfgate.com).

For more details go to the the link below :

Answer 2

The untouchablity feature in the caste system is one of the cruelest features of the caste system. It is seen by many as one of the strongest racist phenomenon in the world.

In the Indian society people who worked in ignominious, polluting and unclean occupations were seen as polluting peoples and were therefore considered as untouchables. The untouchables had almost no rights in the society. In different parts of India they were treated in different ways. In some regions the attitude towards the untouchables was harsh and strict. In other regions it was less strict.

In regions where the attitude was less strict the untouchables were seen as polluting people and their dwellings were at a distance from the settlements of the four Varna communities. The untouchables were not allowed to touch people from the four Varnas. They were not allowed to enter houses of the higher Varnas. They were not allowed to enter the temples. They were not allowed to use the same wells used by the Varnas. In public occasions they were compelled to sit at a distance from the four Varnas. In regions where the attitude towards the untouchables were more severe, not only touching them was seen polluting, but also even a contact with their shadow was seen as polluting.

If, because of any reason, there was a contact between an untouchable and a member of the Varnas, the Varna member became defiled and had to immerse or wash himself with water to be purified. In strict societies, especially among the 'Twice Born' (the three top Varnas) the touched 'Twice Born' also had to pass through some religious ceremonies to purify himself from the pollution. If the untouchable entered a house and touched things of a Varna member, the Varna members used to wash or clean the places where the untouchable touched and stepped.

In some incidences the untouchables who associated with the Varna members were beaten and even murdered for that reason. Some higher hierarchy Jats also had servants whose job was to go or walk before the high Jats members and announce their coming to the streets and to see to it that the streets would be clear of untouchable people.

The orthodox Hindus treated anyone who worked in any kind of polluting job as untouchable and did not have any contact with them. According to orthodox rules any one who does not belong to the four Varnas, meaning foreigners, are untouchables.

Answer 3

Remembered Villabe vy M N Srinivas Pub by Oxford University Press

Answer 4

A person below the caste in India. Usually does horrid work such as cleaning toilets and burying dead bodies of humans and animals.

Answer 5

no one in india should be touched