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Untouchability is a form of social institution that legitimises and enforces practices that are discriminatory, humiliating, exclusionary and exploitative against people belonging to certain social groups. Although comparable forms of discrimination are found all over the world, untouchability involving the caste system is largely unique to South Asia.[1][2][3]
The term is most commonly associated with treatment of the Dalit communities in the Indian subcontinent who were considered "polluting". The term has also been used to refer to other groups, including the Burakumin of Japan, the Baekjeong of Korea, and the Ragyabpa of Tibet, as well as the Romani people and Cagot in Europe, and the Al-Akhdam in Yemen.[4][5] Traditionally, the groups characterized as untouchable were those whose occupations and habits of life involved ritually "polluting" activities, such as pursuing a career based on killing (e.g. fishermen) or engaging in common contact with others' feces or sweat (e.g. manual scavengers, sweepers and washermen).[6]
According to the religious Hindu text, untouchables were not considered a part of the varna system. Therefore, they were not treated like the savarnas (Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and Shudras).[7]
Due to many caste-based discriminations in Nepal, the government of Nepal legally abolished the caste-system and criminalized any caste-based discrimination, including "untouchability," in 1963.[8]
Untouchability has been outlawed in India, Nepal and Pakistan. However, "untouchability" has not been legally defined.[citation needed] The origin of untouchability and its historicity are still debated. A 2020 study of a sample of households in India concludes that "Notwithstanding the likelihood of under-reporting of the practice of untouchability, 70 percent of the population reported not indulging in this practice. This is an encouraging sign."[9]
- ^ "Definition of untouchability | Dictionary.com". www.dictionary.com. Archived from the original on 28 November 2020. Retrieved 28 February 2021.
- ^ Shah, Ghanshyam; Mander, Harsh; Thorat, Sukhadeo; Deshpande, Satish; Baviskar, Amita (7 August 2006). Untouchability in Rural India. SAGE Publishing India. p. 19. ISBN 978-93-5280-564-8.
- ^ Teltumbde, Anand (2022). MAHAD the making of the first dalit revolt. [S.l.]: Routledge. p. 15. ISBN 978-1-000-78061-1. OCLC 1334333041.
- ^ Passin, Herbert (1955). "Untouchability in the Far East". Monumenta Nipponica: 247–267. JSTOR 2382914.
- ^ Thomas, Sean (28 July 2008). "The Last Untouchable in Europe". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 12 January 2021. Retrieved 28 July 2008.
- ^ "Untouchable – Encyclopaedia Britannica".
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
:3was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Kathmandu, Lekhanath Pandey (16 June 2020). "Nepal: Deadly caste-based attacks spur outcry over social discrimination". Deutsche Welle. Archived from the original on 30 April 2023. Retrieved 28 February 2021.
- ^ "The Continuing Practice of Untouchability in India: Patterns and Mitigating Influences" (PDF). Economic & Political Weekly. 55 (2): 37. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 June 2024.