Untouchability is one of the horrible practices which is still practiced in some parts of India. This evil practice was so common and ingrained in people's minds that it not only became an integral part of Hinduism but also got imported into other religions that are practiced in India. These religions like Christianity or Islam don't have a system of upper caste or lower caste in other parts of the world, but in India, they inherited this local practice as they found it very difficult to break this ancient custom so they just adapted it. I saw this being practiced on many occasions as a child and always wondered why some people are treated like this? This practice raised many questions in my mind, why it is not proper to touch people belonging to a particular caste? What will happen if we drink or eat with the same utensils? I asked many people about why some people are treated in such an inhuman way, but very few offered me any rational explanation apart from giving the standard answer that these people belong to some lower caste that's why they are treated like this or it is their bad karma or it's their fate. These pathetic explanations never satisfied my curiosity, I continued to do my research on this and discussed it with many people who had anything to share related to this subject. My guess is that originally it was some precautionary practice that was started during the pre-sanitation era to avoid the spreading of germs and infections from people who do work where there is a high chance of spreading germs, for example, jobs like cleaning and animal slaughtering. This made sense to control the spread of germs when there was no other way to sanitize things, but only till these people cleaned themselves after finishing their jobs. However, some people in power decided to abuse this by making these people untouchables so that they could force these sections of society into the same professions for generations.
It is possible that many years ago people doing certain types of jobs like waste removal, dead body and animal disposal, haircutting and shaving, butchery, and meat selling, were quarantined because of the nature of their jobs. Basically, people doing all such types of work were at a very high risk of infection or high chances of contamination of some really bad smell or germs and they were treated with special precaution while doing that job so that others around them don't get affected by these things. This was supposed to be a precautionary method to avoid a health risk. Even today we still practice these things in medical science, people use gloves, masks, or special protective clothing to avoid infections or contamination, they don't shake hands while working, and only interact with others outside their professional group after using proper methods of sanitization and cleaning. People with serious infectious diseases like tuberculosis, SARS, or Ebola are quarantined so that infection doesn't spread and becomes a public health crisis. Whenever we go to see a newborn baby we take all precautions so that we don't infect it with germs. But this all is part of a precautionary hygienic lifestyle to avoid health risks. We don't treat a doctor like an untouchable outside the operation theater, we shake hands with janitors or meat factory workers when they are not working and are not required to wear gloves and other protective equipment. In a way, Hinduism is a very tolerant religion so it is strange that such a horrible practice became part of it. One of the biggest failures of Hinduism is its inability to stop such traditions. Discriminatory systems such as the caste system and untouchability are integral parts of Hinduism and even after knowing this, such systems still exist. Things like casteism and untouchability have no place in modern society but still, some people try to keep them alive for their own selfish gains.
We as a society collectively need to fight against such discriminatory practices, no matter what the original intention behind these practices or traditions was, these are social evils and we need to eliminate them. The way these things were practiced in the past and are practiced today is shameful and I hope people stop practicing these things.
It is possible that many years ago people doing certain types of jobs like waste removal, dead body and animal disposal, haircutting and shaving, butchery, and meat selling, were quarantined because of the nature of their jobs. Basically, people doing all such types of work were at a very high risk of infection or high chances of contamination of some really bad smell or germs and they were treated with special precaution while doing that job so that others around them don't get affected by these things. This was supposed to be a precautionary method to avoid a health risk. Even today we still practice these things in medical science, people use gloves, masks, or special protective clothing to avoid infections or contamination, they don't shake hands while working, and only interact with others outside their professional group after using proper methods of sanitization and cleaning. People with serious infectious diseases like tuberculosis, SARS, or Ebola are quarantined so that infection doesn't spread and becomes a public health crisis. Whenever we go to see a newborn baby we take all precautions so that we don't infect it with germs. But this all is part of a precautionary hygienic lifestyle to avoid health risks. We don't treat a doctor like an untouchable outside the operation theater, we shake hands with janitors or meat factory workers when they are not working and are not required to wear gloves and other protective equipment. In a way, Hinduism is a very tolerant religion so it is strange that such a horrible practice became part of it. One of the biggest failures of Hinduism is its inability to stop such traditions. Discriminatory systems such as the caste system and untouchability are integral parts of Hinduism and even after knowing this, such systems still exist. Things like casteism and untouchability have no place in modern society but still, some people try to keep them alive for their own selfish gains.
We as a society collectively need to fight against such discriminatory practices, no matter what the original intention behind these practices or traditions was, these are social evils and we need to eliminate them. The way these things were practiced in the past and are practiced today is shameful and I hope people stop practicing these things.
Thanks for reading and please share your views on this topic.
[Copyright: Vinay Thakur. Please contact the author for re-posting or publishing]
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