Dalit
 

Dalit

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In the Indian caste system, a Dalit, sometimes called an untouchable, or an outcast, is a person who according to traditional Hindu belief does not have any "varnas". Varna refers to the Hindu belief that most humans were supposedly created from different parts of the body of the divinity Purusha. The part from which a varna was supposedly created defines a person's social status with regard to issues such as whom they may marry and which professions they may hold.[1] Dalits fall outside the varnas system and have historically been prevented from doing any but the most menial jobs.[1] (However, a distinction must be made between lower-caste people and Pariahs.) Included are leather-workers (called chamar), carcass handlers (called mahar), poor farmers and landless labourers, night soil scavengers (called bhangi or chura), street handcrafters, folk artists, street cleaners, dhobi, etc. Traditionally, they were treated as pariahs in South Asian society and isolated in their own communities, to the point that even their shadows were avoided by the upper castes. Discrimination against Dalits still exists in all the areas in the private sphere, in ritual matters such as access to eating places and water sources. It has largely disappeared superficially because of anti-caste laws, however, the historical production of poverty among the Dalits has kept them poor and has also resulted in more implicit anti-casteism in urban areas and in the public sphere, in rights of movement and access to schools[2]. The earliest rejection of discrimination, at least in spiritual matters, was made as far back as the Bhagavada Gita, which says that no person, no matter what, is barred from enlightenment. Buddhist philosophy totally bars discrimination based on caste. There are an estimated 160 million Dalits in India.[3]

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