This book is a focused and systematic documentation of the incidence and extent of the practice of untouchability in India. Based on the results of a large survey during 2001-2002, covering 565 villages in 11 states, it reveals that untouchability continues to be widely prevalent and is practised in one form or another in almost 80 per cent of the villages. Field data is supplemented by information about the forms of discrimination which Dalits face in everyday life, such as: • The ‘unclean’ occupations open to them • The double burden of Dalit women, who suffer both gender and caste discrimination • The upper-caste violence with which any Dalit self-assertion is met The authors also describe Dalit efforts to overcome deeply entrenched caste hierarchies and assert their right to live with dignity. While the evidence presented here suggests that the more blatant and extreme forms of untouchability appear to have declined, discrimination continues and is most prevalent in the religious and personal spheres. The authors show that the notion of untouchability continues to pervade the public sphere, including a host of state institutions and the interactions that occur within them. Recommended reading for all those interested in social and political rights, and particularly students of sociology and social anthropology.
Contents
1 Introduction: Caste, Untouchability and Dalits in Rural India 2 Rural Untouchability Today: Forms and Sites 3 'Unclean' Occupations: Savaged by Tradition 4 Dalit Women and the Practice of Untouchability 5 Violence against Dalits 6 Demanding Rights, Equality and Dignity 7 Conclusion
About the Author / Editor
Ghanshyam Shah is former Professor, Centre of Social Medicine and Community Health, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. He was also the Former Director of the Centre for Social Studies, Surat. Harsh Mander is Chairperson, Centre for Equity Studies, New Delhi; Director, Aman Biradari Trust; and Convenor of Karwan e Mohabbat. Sukhadeo Thorat is the former Chairman, University Grants Commission. He is Professor Emeritus, Centre for the Study of Regional Development, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. Satish Deshpande is former Professor, Department of Sociology, Delhi School of Economics. Amita Baviskar is Professor of Sociology-Anthropology at Ashoka University.
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