Dalits in India
Topic for the Seminar:Dalits In India
By
K.Hymavathi
Asst.Proffessor Dept.Of AS&H
Vitam College of Engg. Visakhapatnam
My Paper deals with the “Social Status of Dalits during the pre and post Independent
India”
India is a vast country. It is a land of rich culture and heritage. It is also a land of unity in diversity with its people following multi-religion and speaking many languages. India enjoys a democratic form of government. It has become independent 62years ago.
Cast System In India:
Social structure of this country is a complex one. The people are divided into various castes. The caste system dates back to The Vedic Period. The Four major groups are the Brahmins, the Kshatriyas, the Vysyas and the Sudras. Apart from the four basic varnas there also emerged a fifth group which was called “Panchama”. They are the dalits. They were originally considered as Panchama or the fifth group beyond the four fold division of Indian people. They were not allowed to let their shadows fall upon a non-Dalit caste member and they were required to sweep the ground where they walked to remove the 'contamination' of their footfalls. Dalits were forbidden to worship in temples or draw water from the same wells as caste Hindus, and they usually lived in segregated neighborhoods outside the main village. In the Indian countryside, the dalit villages are usually a separate enclave a kilometre or so outside the main village where the other Hindu castes reside.
The Status of Dalits during the pre-Indendent days
The word “Dalit” comes from the Sanskrit language and means, “ground”, “suppressed”, “crushed”, or ‘broken to pieces’ ( Ref; Dalits in India by Mamata Rajawat page27) Dalit in my view is not the caste. He is a man exploited by social and economical traditions of the country . So Dalit is a symbol of change and revolution. Dalit status has often been historically associated with occupations regarded as ritually impure, such as involving in butchering, removal of dead
By
K.Hymavathi
Asst.Proffessor Dept.Of AS&H
Vitam College of Engg. Visakhapatnam
My Paper deals with the “Social Status of Dalits during the pre and post Independent
India”
India is a vast country. It is a land of rich culture and heritage. It is also a land of unity in diversity with its people following multi-religion and speaking many languages. India enjoys a democratic form of government. It has become independent 62years ago.
Cast System In India:
Social structure of this country is a complex one. The people are divided into various castes. The caste system dates back to The Vedic Period. The Four major groups are the Brahmins, the Kshatriyas, the Vysyas and the Sudras. Apart from the four basic varnas there also emerged a fifth group which was called “Panchama”. They are the dalits. They were originally considered as Panchama or the fifth group beyond the four fold division of Indian people. They were not allowed to let their shadows fall upon a non-Dalit caste member and they were required to sweep the ground where they walked to remove the 'contamination' of their footfalls. Dalits were forbidden to worship in temples or draw water from the same wells as caste Hindus, and they usually lived in segregated neighborhoods outside the main village. In the Indian countryside, the dalit villages are usually a separate enclave a kilometre or so outside the main village where the other Hindu castes reside.
The Status of Dalits during the pre-Indendent days
The word “Dalit” comes from the Sanskrit language and means, “ground”, “suppressed”, “crushed”, or ‘broken to pieces’ ( Ref; Dalits in India by Mamata Rajawat page27) Dalit in my view is not the caste. He is a man exploited by social and economical traditions of the country . So Dalit is a symbol of change and revolution. Dalit status has often been historically associated with occupations regarded as ritually impure, such as involving in butchering, removal of dead