Everything about the Indian castes. Untouchable Dalits and their professions

How did the untouchables come about?

According to the most common version, these are the descendants of representatives of the tribes who lived in India before the Aryan invasion. In the traditional Aryan system of society, consisting of four varnas - brahmanas (priests), kshatriyas (warriors), vaisyas (merchants and artisans) and sudras (hired workers) - the Dalits were at the very bottom, below the sudras, who were also descendants of the pre-Aryan inhabitants of India ... At the same time, in India itself, a version that arose back in the 19th century is widespread, according to which the untouchables are the descendants of children expelled into the forests, born from the connection of a sudra man and a brahmana woman.

The oldest Indian literary monument "Rigveda" (compiled in 1700-1100 BC) says that the brahmanas originated from the mouth of the pre-human Purusha, the kshatriya from the hands, the vaisya from the thighs, and the sudra from the feet. There is no place for untouchables in this picture of the world. The varna system finally took shape in the interval between the 7th century BC. and 2nd century A.D.

It is believed that the untouchable can desecrate people from the higher varnas, so their houses and villages were built on the outskirts. The system of ritual restrictions for the untouchables is no less strict than that of the brahmanas, although the restrictions themselves are completely different. Untouchables were forbidden to enter restaurants and temples, wear umbrellas and shoes, wear shirts and sunglasses, but they were allowed to eat meat - something that strict vegetarian brahmanas could not afford.

Is that what they call in India - "untouchables"?

Now this word is almost out of use, it is considered offensive. The most common name for untouchables is Dalits, "oppressed" or "oppressed". Earlier, there was also the word "Harijans" - "children of God", which Mahatma Gandhi tried to introduce into everyday life. But it did not catch on: the Dalits found it just as offensive as the "untouchables."

How many Dalits are there in India and how many castes do they have?

Approximately 170 million people - 16.6 percent of the total population. The question of the number of castes is very difficult, since the Indians themselves hardly use the word "castes", preferring the more vague concept of "jati", which includes not only castes in the usual sense, but also clans and communities, which are often difficult to classify as one or another varna. Plus, the line between caste and podcast is often very vague. We can only say with certainty that we are talking about hundreds of jati.

Do Dalits still live in poverty? How social status is related to economic?

On the whole, the lower castes are indeed considerably poorer. The bulk of the poor in India are Dalits. The average literacy rate in the country is 75 percent, among Dalits - just over 30. Almost half of Dalit children, according to statistics, drop out of school because of the humiliation they endure there. It is the Dalits who make up the bulk of the unemployed; and those who are employed tend to be paid less than those of the higher castes.

Slums are the usual place of residence of the Dalits

There are exceptions though: there are approximately 30 millionaire Dalits in India. Of course, against the background of 170 million poor people and beggars, this is a drop in the ocean, but they prove with their lives that you can succeed even as a Dalit. As a rule, these are really outstanding people: Ashok Khade from the caste of Chamars (tanners), the son of an illiterate poor shoemaker, worked as a docker during the day, and at night he read textbooks to get an engineering degree, and at the same time slept under the stairs on the street, since he did not there was enough money to rent a room. Now his company is running deals worth hundreds of millions of dollars. This is a typical Dalit success story, a kind of blue dream for millions of disadvantaged people.

Have the untouchables ever tried to revolt?

As far as we know, no. Before the colonization of India, this thought could hardly have arisen in the minds at all: at that time, expulsion from the caste was equated with physical death. After colonization, social boundaries began to gradually erode, and after India gained independence, the rebellion for the Dalits lost its meaning - they were provided with all the conditions in order to achieve their goals politically.

How much obedience has become ingrained in the Dalits' minds can be illustrated by an example given by Russian researchers Felix and Evgenia Yurlov. The Bakhujan Samaj Party, representing the interests of the lower castes, organized special training camps for the Dalits, in which they learned to “overcome age-old fear and fear in the face of high-caste Hindus”. Among the exercises was, for example, the following: a stuffed high-caste Indian with a mustache and a tilak (dot) on his forehead was installed. Dalit had to overcome his shyness, go to the scarecrow, cut off his mustache with scissors and erase the tilak.

Is it possible to escape from the untouchables?

It is possible, although not easy. The easiest way is to change your religion. A person who converts to Buddhism, Islam or Christianity technically falls out of the caste system. Dalits first began converting to Buddhism in significant numbers at the end of the 19th century. Mass conversions are associated with the name of the famous fighter for the rights of Dalits, Dr. Ambedkar, who converted to Buddhism along with half a million untouchables. The last such mass ceremony was held in Mumbai in 2007 - then 50 thousand people became Buddhists at the same time.

Dalits prefer to convert specifically to Buddhism. Firstly, Indian nationalists treat this religion better than Islam and Christianity, since it is one of the traditional Indian religions. Secondly, among Muslims and Christians, over time, their own caste division was formed, albeit not as clearly expressed as among the Hindus.

Is it possible to change caste while remaining a Hindu?

There are two options here: the first is all kinds of semi-legal or illegal methods. For example, many surnames indicating belonging to a particular caste differ by one or two letters. It is enough to slightly corrupt or charm a clerk in a government office - and, voila, you are already a member of another caste, and sometimes Varna. Better, of course, to do such tricks either in the city, or in combination with moving to another area, where there are no thousands of fellow villagers around who still knew your grandfather.

The second option is the “ghar vapasi” procedure, literally “welcome home”. This program is being implemented by radical Hindu organizations and aims to convert Indians of other religions to Hinduism. In this case, a person becomes, for example, a Christian, then sprinkles ashes on his head, announcing his desire to perform "ghar vapasi" - and that's it, he is again a Hindu. If this trick is done outside the home village, then you can always declare that you belong to a different caste.

Another question is why do all this. The caste certificate will not be asked when applying for a job or when entering a restaurant. In India, over the past century, the caste system has been scrapped under the influence of the processes of modernization and globalization. The attitude towards a stranger is based on his behavior. The only thing that can fail is the surname, which is most often associated with the caste (Gandhi - merchants, Deshpande - brahmanas, Achari - carpenters, Guptas - vaisyas, Singhi - kshatriyas). But now, when anyone can change their surname, everything has become much easier.

And to change varna without changing caste?

There is a chance that your caste will undergo the Sanskritization process. In Russian, this is called "vertical mobility of castes": if one or another caste adopts the traditions and customs of another caste of a higher status, there is a chance that sooner or later it will be recognized as a member of a higher varna. For example, the lower caste begins to practice the vegetarianism characteristic of brahmanas, dress like brahmanas, wear a sacred thread on the wrist and generally position themselves as brahmanas, it is possible that sooner or later they will begin to treat it as brahmanas.

However, vertical mobility is characteristic mainly of the castes of the higher varnas. None of the Dalit castes has yet managed to cross the invisible line separating them from the four varnas and become at least sudras. But times are changing.

In general, as a Hindu, you are not required to declare belonging to any caste. You can be a casteless Hindu - your right.

Why, in principle, change the caste?

It all depends on which direction to change - up or down. Raising your caste status means that other people for whom the caste is significant will treat you with great respect. Downgrading your status, especially to the level of the Dalit caste, will give you a number of real advantages, so many representatives of the higher castes are trying to enroll in the Dalits.

The fact is that in modern India the authorities are waging a merciless struggle against caste discrimination. According to the constitution, all caste-based discrimination is prohibited, and for the question of caste when hiring you will even have to pay a fine.

But the country has a positive discrimination mechanism. A number of castes and tribes are listed as “Registered Tribes and Castes” (SC / ST). Representatives of these castes have certain privileges, which are confirmed by caste certificates. Places in the civil service and in parliament are reserved for Dalits, their children are admitted free of charge (or for half the fee) to schools, and places in institutes are allocated for them. In short, there is a quota system for Dalits.

It's hard to say if this is good or bad. The author of these lines met Dalits who were able to give odds to any Brahman in terms of intelligence and general development - quotas helped them rise from the bottom and get an education. On the other hand, we had to see Dalits floating with the flow (first according to the quotas for the institute, then according to the same quotas for the civil service), not interested in anything and not wanting to work. They cannot be fired, so that their future is secured until old age and a good pension. Many in India criticize the quota system, and many defend it.

So Dalits can be politicians?

As much as they can. For example, Kocheril Raman Narayanan, who was President of India from 1997 to 2002, was a Dalit. Another example is Mayavati Prabhu Das, also known as the Iron Lady Mayavati, who served as Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh for a total of eight years.

Is the number of Dalits the same in all Indian states?

No, it varies, and quite significantly. Most Dalits live in Uttar Pradesh (20.5 percent of all Dalits in India), followed by West Bengal (10.7 percent). At the same time, as a percentage of the total population, Punjab holds the lead with 31.9 percent, followed by Himachal Pradesh with 25.2 percent.

What can Dalits do?

In theory, anyone - from the president to the sorting cleaner. Many Dalits act in films and work as photo models. In cities where caste boundaries are blurred, there are no restrictions at all; in villages where ancient traditions are strong, Dalits are still engaged in "unclean" work: skinning up dead animals, digging graves, prostitution, and so on.

How the social status of a person who marries / will marry an untouchable person will change?

If this person himself is one of the untouchables, then nothing. If he belongs to a higher caste, then this means a violation of custom. Further, it all depends on how much his family adheres to unwritten traditions. The case can come to expulsion from home, a break with family and even "honor killings." If family and friends look at things more progressively, then social status will remain the same.

If a child is born as a result of an inter-caste marriage, to which caste it will be assigned?

Traditionally in India, the child was recorded according to the lowest caste. The child is now considered to inherit the father's caste, with the exception of Kerala, where the mother's caste is inherited by local law. This is theoretically possible in other states, but in each case it is decided through the courts.

The story that happened in 2012 is characteristic: then a kshatriya man married a woman from the Nayak tribe. The boy was registered as a kshatriya, but then his mother, through the courts, made sure that the child was rewritten as nayaki so that he could take advantage of the bonuses provided to the oppressed tribes.

If I, being a tourist in India, touch a Dalit, will I be able to shake hands with a brahmana later?

Foreigners in Hinduism are already considered unclean, because they are outside the caste system, so they can touch anyone and whatever they want, without contaminating themselves in any way. If a practicing brahmana decides to communicate with you, he will still have to perform purification rituals, so whether you shake hands with the Dalit before or not is essentially indifferent.

In principle, the idea of ​​dividing society into estates has its advantages. We still regularly use it, when one part of society runs for beer, another sets up a sports channel, and the third is lying to everyone on the phone that no one is at home. True, now it is called "specialization", but the essence of this does not change.

Almost all the peoples of the world went through a period of strict division of people by profession - in any case, those peoples who have grown to agriculture. All sorts of shepherds and hunters could still graze camels with one hand, and cut the throats of enemies with the other, taking these very camels from them without much harm to the economy. But with the farmers, everything was very difficult. These citizens, tied to specific pieces of land, needed protection, and at the same time a developed trade.

Therefore, the division of people into peasants, merchants, military and priest-officials, we can find anywhere - from China to the Inca state. Painfully, this is a natural thing at a certain stage in the formation of civilization. And the subtleties of the relationship between all the participants in this action were recorded in the sacred books, because there were no labor and civil codes then, and you can always blame God on anything. For it is said from above: "Ham sows wheat, Sim works out a prayer, Japhet has power, the Lord owns everything ..." And those who are dissatisfied can kill themselves against a crocodile.

But time passes, living conditions change, and the sacred books, as we know, are in no hurry to update. Why all sorts of troubles come out. Here in India, according to statistics, there are up to four thousand small and large troubles every week, and all because of "Manu-smrti" - "Laws of Manu".

THUS SAID MANU

The Indians believe that Manu is the first person from whom we all descended. Once upon a time, the god Vishnu saved him from the Flood, which destroyed all the rest of humanity (miserable, dissolute and useless for anything, of course), after which Manu, having dried out, sat down under a banyan tree and quickly threw in the rules that from now on should be guided by people ...

Hindus believe that it was 30 thousand years ago (historians stubbornly date the laws of Manu to the 1st-2nd centuries BC and generally claim that this collection of instructions is a compilation of works by different authors). Like most other religious prescriptions, the laws of Manu are distinguished by exceptional meticulousness and attention to the most insignificant details of human life - from swaddling babies to cooking recipes. But it also contains much more fundamental things. It is according to the laws of Manu that all Indians are divided into four classes - varnas.

Brahmanas

Priests. Appeared from the mouth of Brahma. Today brahmanas are most often employed as officials. The most famous brahmana is Jawaharlal Nehru.

Kshatriyas

Warriors from the hands of Brahma. The brahmanas may be considered the highest caste, but the rajas and maharajas were usually from the kshatriyas. Shakyamuni Buddha, for example, a kshatriya.

Vaisyas

Merchants and farmers arose from the thighs of Brahma. The Gandhi family is of the Vaisyas, and at one time the fact that it became related to the Nehru brahmanas caused a huge scandal.

Shudras

The laborers, servants, artisans are from the feet of Brahma. There are superior and inferior sudras, the latter being untouchable. Mithun Chakraborty from Disco Dancer is a sudra.

And then there are chandals who devour dogs, but it is indecent to mention them, because they are not people at all. And they originated by themselves, from some kind of mud. By the way, these same nonhumans in modern India are about 20% of the population. Mahatma Gandhi, who first began to defend their rights, called them "Harijans" - "God's people." But they prefer to call themselves "Dalits" - "broken".

THE LOWEST OF THE LOWEST

At the end of the 18th century, during the East India campaign, the magical riches of the material and spiritual culture of India caused a tremor of delight among Europeans. The fairy-tale land turned out to be a treasure trove of romance for every taste: here you have temple prostitutes-dancers, and crowds of suicides under the wheels of a Juggernaut, and princes in turbans with rubies, and elephants in gilded blankets, not to mention high-class muslin at six shillings a yard (Mrs. Allen just couldn't believe her ears when she heard about such cheapness). And in general, they have such interesting customs! Take, for example, these poor little pariahs. From 1780 to 1850, more than a hundred novels, short stories and poems were written, the title of which contained this strange word (the most famous is undoubtedly Goethe's poem "The Song of the Pariah").

The Europeans did not understand at all the idea that some people are born initially amazed in the simplest rights: the right to drink water from a well, go to a temple, talk to other people on the street ... The word "pariah" came into use and acquired romantic flair, becoming, among other things, a designation of an incomprehensible and lonely personality. In India, it caused embarrassment and disgust, for it meant terrible disgusting - a child born of the forbidden love of representatives of different varnas. Marriages not only between representatives of different varnas, but also between different castes are still rare. (The only exceptions were the kshatriyas, whose men were allowed to take wives from the lower varnas. Well, for the military you always have to make all sorts of exceptions. Vaughn and vegetarianism, obligatory for most castes of brahmanas and vaisyas, is not prescribed for kshatriyas.)

But the Europeans then did not quite understand the issue, of course. There were few pariahs in India. And a huge number of people belonged to the defeatists - untouchables, although their parents led quite a modest sex life, without breaking the laws.

Now we will leave humanity for a while and talk about microbes.

HYGIENE AS A MORALITY

Due to its climatic and geopolitical features, India is a paradise for our smallest brothers.

A humid and warm climate, crowded living conditions (in India, the population density has been one of the highest in the world for thousands of years), a completely serene attitude to hygiene issues - all the conditions are there. The institutes of tropical medicine do not have time to register more and more miracles with which this cradle of microbiology pleases us. Any tourist who is still on the plane is bombarded with brochures on how to boil fruits with boiling water, do not put local ice in glasses, and in no case eat anything on the street (which, however, does not save almost anyone from intestinal disorders).

The British, conquering India, suffered from dysentery and cholera much more than from the enemy's sabers, and, having conquered another principality, first of all they tried to teach the local population to wash their hands and only then they were concerned with building fortifications. Although, by the way, the Indians were aware of the danger of infection even when the ancestors of British warriors smeared their faces with blue grease and ate each other. The complexes of medical knowledge, which the Arabs love to boast about, were created here.

And even to China, medical science came precisely from the Aryans, whose surgeons, even a thousand years before the birth of Christ, knew how to vaccinate against smallpox, carry out operations under anesthesia and suppress the spread of infections with bactericidal substances. And therefore in India they deliberately divided the population into "clean" and "unclean". The representatives of the pure varnas washed themselves very diligently, observed the whiteness of their clothes and, most importantly, did not allow anyone who, according to their duty, was supposed to fiddle in the mud, within a throw of a stick. Until recently, it was believed that the untouchable castes have a different ethnic composition than most of the inhabitants of India.

Even now, in textbooks they write that the tribes conquered by the Aryans became untouchable, for they usually differ from the ruling inhabitants both in appearance and in language. But if you understand that for centuries and millennia the Dalit castes have lived apart, practically without contact with anyone except members of their community, and even more so without marrying anyone other than members of their own caste, then you should not be surprised by the latest “discoveries "Geneticists who assert that there is nothing particularly foreign to Indians in Dalits. Except for frequent hereditary diseases caused by centuries of consanguineous marriages.

The untouchables include the lower sudras, as well as castes that are generally outside the varnas and are traditionally scavengers, sewer workers, tanners, flayers, potters, fishermen, wandering actors, prostitutes, laundresses, shoemakers, road workers. That is, all those who come into contact with one of the three dirty things specified in the laws of Manu - filth, corpses and clay - or lead a wandering life on the street.

It's just that when a junk dealer looks into your house and asks for a drink of water, and then the whole family dies out in a week, covered with a strange scab, you very quickly begin to believe that the gods do not like it when people do not observe Manu-smriti.

PRINCES OF MUD

When British journalist of Indian origin Ramita Navai decided to make a revolutionary film that reveals to the world the terrible truth about Dalit life, she endured a lot. She looked courageously at the Dalit teenagers, who were roasting and eating rats. Small children splashing in the gutter and playing with the parts of a dead dog. On a housewife who cut out more interesting pieces from a dead pig carcass. But when the well-groomed journalist was taken with them to the work shift by the ladies from the caste, which traditionally cleaned the outhouses by hand, the poor girl vomited right in front of the camera.

"Why do these people live like this ?!" - the journalist asked us in the last seconds of the documentary "Dalit Means Broken". Because the same reason why the child of brahmanas spent the morning and evening hours in prayer, and the son of a kshatriya at the age of three was put on a horse and taught to swing a saber. For a Dalit, the ability to live in mud is his valor, his skill. Although the ancient Indians did not know anything about the theory of "trained immunity", they knew perfectly well how it works in practice. When you put your newborn baby in the waste basket, you protect him. Modern Indian plumbers, terrifying tourists with their sewage dives, could make their job less sickening. But the Dalits know that the one who is afraid of dirt will die faster than others. Many Dalits are not the poorest people in India, there is always a demand for their labor, and they could well afford not to walk in such dirty clothes and with raven nails. But to engage in their health education is completely useless. Because they know perfectly well what they are doing.

WHAT DALITS CANNOT

The Indian Constitution does not recognize either varnas or castes, and in this it has gone far ahead of its population, 90% of whom respect the instructions of Manu much more than the good wishes of Messrs. Nehru and Gandhi. In the four big cities of the country - Delhi, Bombay, Calcutta and Madras - the untouchables feel more or less at ease, but in smaller cities and in rural areas everything is the same as hundreds of years ago. They are not allowed to use public wells and columns. You cannot walk on the sidewalks so as not to inadvertently come into contact with representatives of the higher caste, because they will have to cleanse themselves after such contact in the temple. (However, there are untouchable castes who can contact the higher castes "on business" - for example, hairdressers.)

In some areas of cities and villages, they are generally prohibited from showing themselves. Banned for Dalits and temple visits; only a few times a year they are allowed to cross the threshold of the sanctuaries, after which the temples are subjected to a thorough ritual cleansing. If the dalit wants to buy something in the store, he must put the money at the entrance and shout from the street what he needs - the purchase will be taken out and left on the doorstep. Dalit is forbidden to start a conversation with a representative of the highest caste, to call him on the phone. After several states in India passed laws to penalize canteen owners for refusing to feed Dalits, most catering establishments have introduced special cupboards for them. True, if the dining room does not have a separate room for Dalits, they have to dine on the street (recall that every fifth Indian is a Dalit - this is at least 200 million people).

For violation of these laws, Dalits are punished, sometimes very harshly. As mentioned above, in India there are about four thousand incidents of violence against Dalits every week. The Madras Social Movement Learning Human Rights reports that two Dalits are killed every hour in the country, three Dalit women are raped and two Dalit houses are burned down. This is not counting all the little things such as beatings and insults.

In 2008, in the town of Mathura, a Dalitka with a six-year-old daughter decided to walk on the sidewalk and ran into a passer-by who, in a rage, grabbed the child and threw him into a fire set by road workers nearby. The girl miraculously survived.

In 2005, six peasants in a village near Jaipur beat a teenager to death with canes for talking to a girl from a "pure" caste.

A year ago, a trial ended in connection with the construction of a three-meter wall in a South Indian village, protecting a Dalit settlement from other houses. The protest was not caused by the wall itself, but by the fact that an electric fence was carefully stretched over the top. By a court decision, the current was turned off, the wall was left.

In June 2008, the Dalit groom, who wished to arrange a magnificent wedding, was going to follow the bride, according to local customs, on a horse. Alas, Dalits are not allowed to mount a horse, and local citizens notified the Dalit community that if the guy tries to implement his plan, then he and his neighbors will be washed in blood. As a result, the rider had to be escorted to the bride by the police and the ambulance, more than 400 escort vehicles were involved in the cortege.

The temptation to evaluate human problems as something simple and understandable is always present among philosophers, and among politicians, and among writers, and among journalists.

In reality, everything is much more multi-layered: for every action there is a reaction, and for every "a" there is a "b" with a club at the ready. Is it possible to say that the Dalits are the most unhappy and humiliated part of the Indian population and that everything possible should be done to eradicate the vileness of their situation? Can. And many of the smartest people did this, starting with the same Mahatma Gandhi and ending, for example, with the fighter for the rights of the untouchables Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar.

Ambedkar, a native of the untouchable caste, at the very beginning of the 20th century, became one of the first Dalit children who, under pressure from the British, received the right to attend school. True, in the classroom he sat behind a special screen and he had to carry water for drinking with him, since he had no right not only to drink from school dishes, but also to desecrate the water tap in the school toilet with his lips (however, in modern India with her compulsory education, those Dalit children who cannot go to school for their castes are often forced to carry bottles of water with them and sit at desks that are pushed to a special corner). Ambedkar left for the USA, received a higher education there and returned to "free his people."

He found enough like-minded people in pre-socialist India, and today the rights of Dalits are legally protected so reliably that excesses happen in places. For example, a certain percentage of untouchable students must be accepted by each educational institution. The same quotas are required for the distribution of budget jobs in government agencies, administration, and even in political and power structures. And since among the Dalits themselves the ideas of higher education and a serene bureaucratic life are not at all as popular as it might seem, all the time a stupid and lazy student sits down on the coveted student bench, displacing more talented and diligent students from the higher castes. But a capable Dalit will be forced to bear the label of a “listed insignificance” all his life: after all, everyone knows that Dalits are hired to study and work simply because they are untouchable.

It is also not entirely true to speak about the poverty of the Dalits. Those of them who maintain ties with their caste and are engaged in its profession have a completely guaranteed income, which often exceeds the average income of their "pure" neighbors. And Dalit strikes can instantly paralyze the life of any city, since no one can do their most important work for society. In India, it is easier to meet starving brahmanas or kshatriyas than a family of Dalits, who really have nothing to eat (in fairness, we note that a brahmana will not bring some dishes respected by Dalits to his mouth, even dying of hunger). Moreover, in 1997-2002, Dalit Kocheril Raman Narayanan was the President of India.

And some of the Dalits are quite satisfied with this state of affairs. They live in separate neighborhoods, pray in their home churches, enjoy the protection of the community, and deal exclusively with their brethren, indifferent to the rest of the people and not at all trying to integrate into society. Their psychology is somewhat close to that of hippies, and many tourists note the strange contrast of poverty and squalor of the Dalit neighborhoods with the serene smiles on the faces of their inhabitants. Why should they grieve so much?

The Hindu tradition assumes that each person finds himself in his place according to the merits of a past life and a worthy adherence to his present destiny is considered a guarantee of improvements in the future life. Are you a scavenger? Be an ideal scavenger - and you will be reborn, if not a king, then perhaps a magazine editor. Problems begin when Dalit wants to stop being a Dalit, but wants to live like everyone else: use public transport, wear normal clothes, go to cafes, movies and shops ... The law allows him to do this, but even in big cities with more With a less educated population, the untouchable is very often met with, if not direct violence, then disgust.

Even though not dressed according to the customs of his caste, the untouchable is often outwardly different from the general population (hello to centuries-old intra-caste marriages). And hiding your caste from others is fraught with trouble. What if the deception is revealed? Then it can lead to tragedy if among the Dalit's acquaintances there are adherents of caste purity.

The Dalit poet Nirav Patel wrote about people who were forced to shake his hand, knowing that he was untouchable: “I suffered at such moments no less than themselves, because the feeling of disgust and a passionate desire to hide it literally passed from their palm to mine ... And, believe me, I actually sympathized with them then. "

There are several hundred untouchable castes. Here is some of them.

Chandaly

The most colorful and most Dalit of the Dalits are, of course, the Chandals (as well as the Bhangi, Churkha and other castes) - scavengers and sewers. It was they who dedicated their lives to fighting dirt and growing together with it. If you see a child innocently splashing in a puddle by a public toilet, a woman smeared from head to toe with fish giblets, or a man from whom pieces of something black fall off as you walk, then you have a chandala. Even the beggar castes, who break the backs of their children and blind them for great professional success, treat the chandalas with disdain.

Devadasi

Temple prostitute dancers are made up of girls whom parents from a wide variety of castes, for some reason, do not want to raise on their own. Most often, however, devadasis are Candalas by birth.

Girls live in churches, take part in ritual dances and give themselves to especially religious parishioners, and the money goes not to the girls themselves, but to the priests. Devadasi's untouchability, as we understand it, has never been so absolute. However, sex with them was considered a godly affair, but even the most enamored client would not agree to eat with devadasi from the same plate. Until recently, devadasis were quite common in India, but when Indira Gandhi took up the fight against him, the thousand-year tradition wavered. Today, temple prostitution is illegal, devadasis are found only in the most remote corners of the southern states.

Hijri

The caste of eunuchs, transsexuals and homosexuals has existed in India for centuries. A full hijra is a eunuch with completely removed genitals. But there are also ordinary homosexuals in the caste. Usually hijras travel by families, headed by "mother". They are all dressed and made up like women. Hijras are engaged in prostitution, songs and dances, and also perform various kinds of sacred services. For example, their presence at a wedding is considered important for those newlyweds who want many children. But hijras can not only bless, but also curse, bringing on their victims sterility and impotence. To do this, they just need to raise the hem, show the place where there is nothing, and utter a few witchcraft insults.

CAST SYSTEM EMIGRANTS

The Nadars are a small Tamil caste, whose traditional occupation, moonshine, has reliably kept them untouchable for centuries. Back at the end of the 19th century, the nadars got tired of it. Begging for a piece of land from the British administration, the nadars started farming. On these lands, they erected a temple and a school, abandoned their palm moonshine, became vegetarians and introduced daily ablutions in the morning and evening, very clean starched clothes, impeccable hairstyles and manicure as mandatory caste rules. In addition, the nadars were not too lazy to create their own mini-epic telling about the origin of the nadars from Mahodar - one of the military leaders mentioned in the Ramayana at the court of Ravana. Now the Nadars are considered to be unconditionally "pure" caste, inspiring respect for those around them with their pride, religiosity and noble origin. Those who do not have an extra hundred years in stock have to use other methods.

One of the most common is the transition from Hinduism to another religion - Buddhism, Islam or Christianity, which do not recognize caste systems. These religious communities often support such refugees by looking for places of work and residence and protecting them from possible violence. However, Indian Christians and Muslims, alas, are not too foreign to the idea of ​​castes. Local customs often prevail over religious precepts, and in Muslim Rajasthan, for example, there are as many attacks on former Dalits as in traditional Hindu states.

And you can by hook or by crook run away to London or, say, Los Angeles and forget your homeland like a bad dream. Which is what many are doing. For this very reason, some venerable brahmanas and kshatriyas disdain to travel to Western countries, because there are teeming with untouchables, while stupid Europeans do not even know what horror they live in.

The history of the XX and XXI centuries is full of equality “to the brim”. Modern society has successfully fought for the rights of women, children and even pets. We proudly accept the achievements of civilization, believing that it has reached the most extreme limits of the Earth. In fact, everything is completely different ...

The most ancient cultures still cultivate traditions inherited from their ancestors, dividing people not by their qualities - but only by their birthright. This is the case, for example, in India, where the untouchable caste makes up as much as 20% of the whole society and has almost no rights. We will tell you about the history and life of the untouchables.

1. Varna system

There is still a caste system in India. The whole society is divided into four varnas: scholars-brahmanas, warriors-kshatriyas, farmers-vaisyas and sudras, servants.

Apparently, such a division was born as a result of the contact of the already existing tribal structure with the cultural customs of assimilated communities, whose members were distinguished by a different skin color.

Representatives of these four varnas can interact with each other - only contacts with sudras are considered undesirable.

2. Shudras

The closest to the untouchables is the Shudra caste. These people from time immemorial have been forced to do hard and dirty work. Actually, the Sudras can be called some kind of peasants in India who own large tracts of land.

People from this caste work in socially acceptable positions. Such a person can be a blacksmith, carpenter, distiller, bricklayer and even a musician.

3. Untouchable

The untouchable caste is outside the social divisions of India. They work in the dirtiest places, cleaning up dead animals, cleaning toilets, and leather dressing.

The doors of the temples are closed for the untouchables. People can do nothing with their position, which is determined only by birthright.

Entry into the courtyards of the houses of any member of the higher castes is strictly forbidden for untouchables, and anyone who dares to defile a public well with his bucket will face a quick and brutal reprisal right on the street.

4. Desecration

The untouchables are despised and, at the same time, feared by all the other castes. The fact is that a person from the lower strata of society can defile anyone else with his presence.

The brahmanas are especially strict about their surroundings: as soon as an untouchable touches at least the hem of a brahmana's clothing, the latter will have to spend many years trying to purify stained karma.

5. Where did the untouchables come from?

The existence of a whole class of pariahs was determined by history itself.

In ancient times, India was conquered by the civilized Aryans, who did not integrate the representatives of the conquered tribes into their society. The Aryans preferred to use the indigenous population as maintenance personnel. They immediately began to build separate settlements outside the walls of the main settlements.

This practice gradually widened the gap between the conquerors and the oppressed, not giving the latter a single chance to be integrated into society.

6. Occupation

Worst of all, the untouchables themselves fully accepted the existing Aryan tradition of caste division. These people themselves were divided into several sub-castes, according to the type of activity.

At the moment, the most common representatives of the chamars-tanners, dhobi-laundresses and pariahs, who are engaged in very dirty work - taking out garbage and cleaning toilets.

Society of modern India is 20% untouchable, although the struggle for integration into ordinary society has been going on for more than a dozen years.

7. Struggle for equality

The first shoots of resistance appeared already in the twentieth century. The main activist was Gandhi, who tried to destroy the stereotype cultivated in society by renaming the caste into Harijans, the people of God.

Gandhi's case was continued by a representative of the brahmana caste, Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar. The untouchables, in his interpretation, became Dalits, oppressed. Ambedkar made sure that the Dalits were allocated certain quotas in each area of ​​activity. That is, representatives of the untouchables now have, in theory, the opportunity to join Indian society.

But there is still a long way to go to a practical solution to the problem. Only in 2008 did one of the Dalit castes decide to marry a Kshatriya girl. The arrogant groom was guarded by a detachment of 500 carabinieri - and yet, the new family was simply kicked out of the city.

The history of the 20th and 21st centuries is full of equality to the brim. Modern society has successfully fought for the rights of women, children and even pets. We proudly accept the achievements of civilization, believing that it has reached the most extreme limits of the Earth.

In fact, this is not the case at all. The most ancient cultures still cultivate traditions inherited from their ancestors, dividing people not by their qualities - but only by their birthright. This is the case, for example, in India, where the untouchable caste makes up as much as 20% of the whole society and has almost no rights. The Untouchables are perhaps the most severe caste in India.

1. Varna system
There is still a caste system in India. The whole society is divided into four varnas: scholars-brahmanas, warriors-kshatriyas, farmers-vaisyas and sudras, servants. Apparently, such a division was born as a result of the contact of the already existing tribal structure with the cultural customs of assimilated communities, whose members were distinguished by a different skin color. Representatives of these four varnas can interact with each other - only contacts with sudras are considered undesirable.

2. Shudras
The closest to the untouchables is the Shudra caste. These people from time immemorial have been forced to do hard and dirty work. Actually, the Sudras can be called some kind of peasants in India who own large tracts of land. People from this caste work in socially acceptable positions. Such a person can be a blacksmith, carpenter, distiller, bricklayer and even a musician.

3. Untouchable

The untouchable caste is outside the social divisions of India. They work in the dirtiest places, cleaning up dead animals, cleaning toilets, and leather dressing. The doors of the temples are closed for the untouchables. People can do nothing with their position, which is determined only by birthright. Entry into the courtyards of the houses of any member of the higher castes is strictly forbidden for untouchables, and anyone who dares to defile a public well with his bucket will face a quick and brutal reprisal right on the street.

4. Desecration

The untouchables are despised and, at the same time, feared by all the other castes. The fact is that a person from the lower strata of society can defile anyone else with his presence. The brahmanas are especially strict about their surroundings: as soon as an untouchable touches at least the hem of a brahmana's clothing, the latter will have to spend many years trying to purify stained karma.

5. Where did the untouchables come from?
The existence of a whole class of pariahs was determined by history itself. In ancient times, India was conquered by the civilized Aryans, who did not integrate the representatives of the conquered tribes into their society. The Aryans preferred to use the indigenous population as maintenance personnel. They immediately began to build separate settlements outside the walls of the main settlements. This practice gradually widened the gap between the conquerors and the oppressed, not giving the latter a single chance to be integrated into society.

6. Occupation
Worst of all, the untouchables themselves fully accepted the existing Aryan tradition of caste division. These people themselves were divided into several sub-castes, according to the type of activity. At the moment, the most common are representatives of the chamars-tanners, dhobi-laundresses and pariahs, who are engaged in very dirty work - taking out garbage and cleaning toilets. Society of modern India is 20% untouchable, although the struggle for integration into ordinary society has been going on for more than a dozen years.

7. Struggle for equality

The first shoots of resistance appeared already in the twentieth century. The main activist was Gandhi, who tried to destroy the stereotype cultivated in society by renaming the caste into Harijans, the people of God. Gandhi's case was continued by a representative of the brahmana caste, Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar. The untouchables, in his interpretation, became Dalits, oppressed. Ambedkar made sure that the Dalits were allocated certain quotas in each area of ​​activity. That is, representatives of the untouchables now have, in theory, the opportunity to join Indian society.

But there is still a long way to go to a practical solution to the problem. Only in 2008 did one of the Dalit castes decide to marry a Kshatriya girl. The arrogant groom was guarded by a detachment of 500 carabinieri - and yet, the new family was simply kicked out of the city.

History

A group of untouchable castes arose in ancient times from local tribes that were not included in the society of the Aryans who conquered India. The untouchables were prescribed such activities as cleaning garbage, working with leather or clay. Members of such castes lived in separate quarters or villages on the sidelines of the settlements of "pure" castes, did not have their own land, and for the most part were dependent workers on other people's farms.

The untouchables were formally considered Hindus, but they were forbidden to enter Hindu temples, participate in Hindu rituals, in connection with which they had their own gods, their own priests and rituals.

In the 20th century, the struggle of the untouchables for equality began. Gandhi actively fought against untouchability. He began to call them Harijans (people of God). The struggle for the rights of the untouchables in the 1930s and 1940s was led by Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar. He called the untouchables Dalits(oppressed). He succeeded in securing a system even in the laws of colonial India, and then in the constitution of independent India in 1950, according to which the members of castes included in a special list ("list castes") were assigned quotas of vacancies in the civil service, seats in legislative bodies and in higher educational institutions. The practice of untouchability is constitutionally prohibited and caste discrimination is a criminal offense.

However, in rural areas, Dalits are often victims of harassment, violence and brutality. According to the Madras-based non-governmental organization Movement for Human Rights Education, on average every hour two Dalits are attacked, three Dalit women are victims of violence, two Dalits are killed and two Dalit houses are burned. For example, in June 2008, a mob of armed rioters attacked lower caste people in the town of Miapur, Bihar State, and shot and killed 35 people, eight of whom were Dalits. The most insignificant claims of Dalits to rights - a Dalit registered as a candidate for the local council, a Dalit boy caring for a girl from an upper caste, a Dalit using water from a well belonging to a higher caste - can provoke violence.

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