Untouchable

The Untouchables, or Dalits, how they designate themselves, are, in the context of traditional Hindu society, often been assiociated with occupations regarded as ritually impure, such as any involving leatherwork, butchering, cleaning toilets or removal of rubbish, animal cadavers and waste. As a result, Dalits are commonly segregated, and banned from full participation in Hindu social life. For example, they cannot enter a temple nor a school, and are required to stay outside the village. Though the discrimination based on caste system (not caste system itself) has been abolished under the Indian constitution in 1947, discrimination against Dalits still exists in rural areas in the private sphere, in everyday matters such as access to eating places, schools, temples and water sources. In Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and a few other regions, Dalits have come under the influence of the neo-Buddhist movement initiated by Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar. Ambedkar was the Chairman of the Drafting Committee of Indian Constitution. Born into a poor Untouchable caste family, Ambedkar spent his whole life fighting against social discrimination and the Hindu caste system. He converted to Buddhism and is also credited with providing a spark for the conversion of hundreds of thousands of untouchables to Theravada Buddhism. The Indian monk Bodhi Dhamma, a admirer of Ambedkar, has been travelling all over India to convert thousands of Dalits to Buddhism and founded a Buddhist monastery to educate boys from poor Dalit families. The move is criticized by Hindu groups as "unhelpful" and has been criticized as a "political stunt." Hindu nationalists assert that Dalits should concentrate on illiteracy and poverty rather than looking for new religions. In 2003 and 2006 I travelled with Bodhi Dhamma and his movement through India, attended mass conversations in Bangalore and Gulbarga and visited Dalit families, at home and at work.