Dalit (outcaste)

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In South Asia's caste system, a Dalit (formerly known as untouchable or achuta) is a person outside of the four castes, and considered below them. Untouchables include such people as leather-workers. There are various subcastes or jatis within untouchable, the lowest ranking generally considered to be the Bhangis. At the 1991 census, Dalits constituted more than 16% of India's population, [1] with the greatest numbers living in Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, and Bihar. They are also found in Nepal. In Pakistan, more than 60% of the total Hindu population are Dalits.

Harijan was the polite form for untouchable coined by Mahatma Gandhi which means "Children of God" (Hari is another name for Vishnu, a Hindu God). Untouchables generally consider this term to be condescending and prefer the name dalit (Hindi: दलित), variously translated as "crushed", "stepped on" or "oppressed". The term scheduled castes/scheduled tribes (SC/ST) is also used in the Indian legal system to refer to this group along with other non-caste tribes.

Some of the seats in the national and state parliments are reserved for scheduled caste and tribe candidates, a measure sought by B.R. Ambedkar and other Dalit activists in order to ensure that Dalits would obtain a proportionate political voice.

M.K. Gandhi made it a part of the Indian National Congress's mission to eradicate untouchability. For this reason, untouchability has been officially abolished in India, although social practice on the ground has lagged behind, particularly in rural villages. In a few of these extremely traditional villages, Dalits are still not allowed to allow their shadows fall upon a Brahmin for fear of ritually contaminating him or her; and they are still required to sweep the ground where they walk to remove the 'contamination' of their footfalls. In some of these villages, rural Dalits are forbidden from worshipping in temples or drawing water from the same wells as caste Hindus, and they usually live in segregated neighbourhoods outside of the main village. As a general rule, in urban areas and most villages the old concepts of a rigid caste system and untouchability no longer exist(Though most Indians do voluntarily hold on to their caste tags). The biggest problem facing dalits in India today is poverty and illiteracy. Unfortunately, politicians, dalit and non-dalit alike, exploit the dalits in order to get into power and once installed in office neglect them.

Because of the casteist violence and degradation that was historically imposed on Dalits, some have been drawn to religions such as Buddhism (see Neo-Buddhism), Christianity (see Dalit theology), or Islam, which professed to free them of caste distinctions. Notwithstanding, the bulk of the Dalit population remain broadly speaking within the Hindu fold.

The central government and many state governments have introduced reservation of seats in all educational courses and government jobs in order to further enhance the integration of the Dalits into the mainstream.

1 Famous Dalits
2 See also
3 Further reading
4 External links

Famous Dalits

B.R. Ambedkar, chief architect of the Indian Constitution and founder of Neo-Buddhism
Ayyankali, activist for Harijans' rights
Mayawati, twice Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh
K.R. Narayanan, tenth President of India
Chandra Bhan Prasad, Columnist at The Pioneer and Dalit activist
Kanshi Ram, leader of the Bahujan Samaj Party
Udit Raj, political and religious activist

External links

Categories: Caste

Dalit (outcaste)

Table of contents

Famous Dalits

See also

Further reading

External links