Indian Law: What is Untouchability?

Indian law does not recognize the age-old practice of untouchability. This practice is a form of social discrimination against certain groups of persons, based on their caste.Even today, it is relevant because there are honor killings conducted in the name of inter caste marriages. In real life, untouchability is not talked about much because it is an ugly truth that people are discriminated against based on their caste.

Although the history of untouchability goes back to the period of the Vedas and Puranas, the implementation of it was based on mistaken interpretations of the people of that time. As we all know, beliefs can be dangerous when people misuse it to gain positions of absolute power and prestige in society. These blind beliefs plague the Indian society and get translated into illogical,  cruel and intolerant actions against specific communities such as the Dalits

Indian Law: Discrimination against Dalits is Social, Not Legal

While there are beliefs that are rampantly propagated about Dalits in India being considered as the lowest in the caste system, the Constitution of India provides them with the right to equality. The society considers a person belonging to a Dalit community as being polluted by the society.

The Dalits are supposedly meant to do only jobs that are ‘impure’ such as clear human waste from villages and wash clothes and make shoes. In villages and cities, the herd mentality of following the caste system continues.

The Dalit children face discrimination even in schools. They are made to clean the toilets and eat separately. Offensive names are given to Dalit children such as Kachro (filth), Melo (dirty), Ghelo (stupid) and so on. Though Dalits are considered as social untouchables, the women in their community are not. Since time immemorial, Dalit women have been raped, sexually harassed and perceived as objects to be used and discarded, even by the police.

However, the Constitution of India provides reservation for the Dalits in the sphere of education and government jobs to ensure they are given an equal opportunity to grow and prosper in this country. The country’s highest positions such as that of the former President (K.R. Narayanan) and former Chief Justice of India (K.G. Balakrishnan) have been occupied by highly eminent individuals who happened to be Dalits.

Indian Law: Legal Measures against Untouchability

Indian law does not permit the practice of untouchability. Article 17 of the Constitution of India bans the practice. The government of India has passed the Untouchability Act, 1955, to eliminate any form of caste based discrimination. To eradicate the caste based discrimination, the government introduced the reservation system, meaning that it has reserved seats in educational institutes and government services for Dalits. Political parties in India use this as the bait to get votes from the Dalit community too. However, this is a highly debated issue because many Dalits oppose it, stating that merit should be given preference over caste considerations.

Whether we practice or preach against untouchability, the truth is that it is still practiced in various parts of India. Those who dared to question social discrimination faced physical and mental torment because the social ground reality still remains the same for them.