Untouchability is a form of social institution that legitimises and enforces practices that are discriminatory, humiliating, exclusionary and exploitative against people belonging to certain social groups. Although comparable forms of discrimination are found all over the world, untouchability involving the
caste system
Caste is a form of social stratification characterised by endogamy, hereditary transmission of a style of life which often includes an occupation, ritual status in a hierarchy, and customary social interaction and exclusion based on cultura ...
is largely unique to
South Asia
South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The region consists of the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.;;;;;;;; ...
.
The term is most commonly associated with treatment of the
Dalit
Dalit (from sa, दलित, dalita meaning "broken/scattered"), also previously known as untouchable, is the lowest stratum of the Caste system in India, castes in India. Dalits were excluded from the four-fold Varna (Hinduism), varna syste ...
communities in the
Indian subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...
who were considered "polluting". The term has also been used to refer to other groups, including the ''
Burakumin
is a name for a low-status social group in Japan. It is a term for ethnic Japanese people with occupations considered as being associated with , such as executioners, undertakers, slaughterhouse workers, butchers, or tanners.
During Japan's ...
'' of Japan, the
Baekjeong
The ''Baekjeong'' ( ko, 백정) were an untouchable caste in Korea, originating from some minority, nomadic groups of disputed ethnicity. In the early part of the Goryeo period (918–1392), these minorities were largely settled in fixed commun ...
of Korea, and the
Ragyabpa of Tibet, as well as the
Romani people
The Romani (also spelled Romany or Rromani , ), colloquially known as the Roma, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group, traditionally nomadic itinerants. They live in Europe and Anatolia, and have diaspora populations located worldwide, with sig ...
and
Cagot
The ''Cagots'' () were a persecuted minority found in the west of France and northern Spain: the Navarrese Pyrenees, Basque provinces, Béarn, Aragón, Gascony and Brittany. Evidence of the group exists as far back as 1000 CE.
Name
Etymolo ...
in Europe, and the
Al-Akhdam
The Al-Muhamashīn ( ar, المهمشين, link=yes), "the marginalized ones"); previously called The ''Al-Akhdām'', ''Akhdām'' or ''Achdām'' ( ar, الأخدام) ("the servants", singular Khadem, meaning "servant" in Arabic, are an Arabic-spea ...
in
Yemen
Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...
Traditionally, the groups characterized as untouchable were those whose occupations and habits of life involved ritually "polluting" activities, such as fishermen,
manual scavengers, sweepers and washermen.
According to the religious
Hindu
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
text, untouchables were not considered a part of the
varna
Varna may refer to:
Places Europe
*Varna, Bulgaria, a city in Bulgaria
**Varna Province
**Varna Municipality
** Gulf of Varna
**Lake Varna
**Varna Necropolis
*Vahrn, or Varna, a municipality in Italy
*Varniai, a city in Lithuania
* Varna (Šaba ...
system. Therefore, they were not treated like the
savarna
''Savarna'' is a genus of Southeast Asian cellar spiders that was first described by B. A. Huber in 2005.
Species
it contains ten species, found only in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand:
*''Savarna bannang'' – Yao & Li, 2020 – Thailand
* ...
s (
Brahmin
Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests (purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers (guru ...
s,
Kshatriya
Kshatriya ( hi, क्षत्रिय) (from Sanskrit ''kṣatra'', "rule, authority") is one of the four varna (social orders) of Hindu society, associated with warrior aristocracy. The Sanskrit term ''kṣatriyaḥ'' is used in the con ...
s,
Vaishya
Vaishya (Sanskrit: वैश्य, ''vaiśya'') is one of the four Varna (Hinduism), varnas of the Hinduism, Hindu social order in India. Vaishyas are classed third in the order of caste hierarchy.
The occupation of Vaishyas consists mainly ...
s and
Shudra
Shudra or ''Shoodra'' (Sanskrit: ') is one of the four '' varnas'' of the Hindu caste system and social order in ancient India. Various sources translate it into English as a caste, or alternatively as a social class. Theoretically, class ser ...
s).
Due to many caste-based discriminations in
Nepal
Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne,
सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...
, the government of Nepal legally abolished the
caste-system and criminalized any caste-based discrimination, including "untouchability" in 1963.
Untouchability has been outlawed in India, Nepal and Pakistan. However, "untouchability" has not been legally defined. The origin of untouchability and its historicity are still debated.
B. R. Ambedkar
Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar (14 April 1891 – 6 December 1956) was an Indian jurist, economist, social reformer and political leader who headed the committee drafting the Constitution of India from the Constituent Assembly debates, served a ...
believed that untouchability has existed at least as far back as 400 AD. A recent study of a sample of households in India concludes that "Notwithstanding the likelihood of under-reporting of the practice of untouchability, 70 percent of the population reported not indulging in this practice. This is an encouraging sign."
Origin
B. R. Ambedkar
Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar (14 April 1891 – 6 December 1956) was an Indian jurist, economist, social reformer and political leader who headed the committee drafting the Constitution of India from the Constituent Assembly debates, served a ...
, an Indian social reformer and politician who came from a social group that was considered untouchable, theorized that untouchability originated because of the deliberate policy of the upper-caste
Brahmanas
The Brahmanas (; Sanskrit: , ''Brāhmaṇam'') are Vedic śruti works attached to the Samhitas (hymns and mantras) of the Rig, Sama, Yajur, and Atharva Vedas. They are a secondary layer or classification of Sanskrit texts embedded within ea ...
. According to him, the Brahmanas despised the people who gave up the
Brahmanism
The historical Vedic religion (also known as Vedicism, Vedism or ancient Hinduism and subsequently Brahmanism (also spelled as Brahminism)), constituted the religious ideas and practices among some Indo-Aryan peoples of northwest Indian Subco ...
in favour of
Buddhism
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...
. Later scholars such as Vivekanand Jha have refuted this theory.
Nripendra Kumar Dutt, a professor of history, theorized that the concept of untouchability originated from the "
pariah"-like treatment accorded to the
indigenous people
Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...
of India by the early
Dravidians
The Dravidian peoples, or Dravidians, are an ethnolinguistic and cultural group living in South Asia who predominantly speak any of the Dravidian languages. There are around 250 million native speakers of Dravidian languages. Dravidian spe ...
, and that the concept was borrowed by the
Indo-Aryans
Indo-Aryan peoples are a diverse collection of Indo-European peoples speaking Indo-Aryan languages in the Indian subcontinent. Historically, Aryan were the Indo-European pastoralists who migrated from Central Asia into South Asia and intr ...
from the Dravidians. Scholars such as
R. S. Sharma have rejected this theory, arguing that there is no evidence that Dravidians practised untouchability before coming into contact with the Indo-Aryans.
Austrian ethnologist
Christoph von Fürer-Haimendorf
Christoph von Fürer-Haimendorf or Christopher von Fürer-Haimendorf FRAI (22 June 1909 – 11 June 1995) was an Austrian ethnologist and professor at the School of Oriental and African Studies at London. He spent forty years studying tr ...
theorized that untouchability originated as
class stratification
Class stratification is a form of social stratification in which a society is separated into parties whose members have different access to resources and power. An economic, natural, cultural, religious, interests and ideal rift usually exists be ...
in urban areas of the
Indus Valley civilisation
The Indus Valley Civilisation (IVC), also known as the Indus Civilisation was a Bronze Age civilisation in the northwestern regions of South Asia, lasting from 3300 BCE to 1300 BCE, and in its mature form 2600 BCE to 1900&n ...
. According to this theory, the poorer workers involved in 'unclean' occupations such as
sweeping or
leather work
Leather crafting or simply leathercraft is the practice of making leather into craft objects or works of art, using shaping techniques, coloring techniques or both.
Techniques
Dyeing
The application of pigments carried by solvents or water in ...
were historically segregated and banished outside the city limits. Over time, personal cleanliness came to be identified with "purity", and the concept of untouchability eventually spread to rural areas as well. After the decline of the Indus Valley towns, these untouchables probably spread to other parts of India. Scholars such as
Suvira Jaiswal
Suvira Jaiswal is an Indian historian. She is known for her research into the social history of ancient India, especially the evolution of the caste system and the development and absorption of regional deities into the Hindu pantheon.
Biograp ...
reject this theory, arguing that it lacks evidence, and does not explain why the concept of untouchability is more pronounced in rural areas.
American scholar
George L. Hart
George Luzerne Hart, III (born c. 1942) is Professor Emeritus of Tamil language at the University of California, Berkeley. His work focuses on the classical Tamil language, Tamil literature and on identifying the relationships between the Tamil ...
, based on his interpretation of
Old Tamil
Old Tamil is the period of the Tamil language spanning from 300 BCE to 700 CE. Prior to Old Tamil, the period of Tamil linguistic development is termed as Pre Tamil. After the Old Tamil period, Tamil becomes Middle Tamil. The earliest records i ...
texts such as ''
Purananuru
The ''Purananuru'' (, literally "four hundred oemsin the genre puram"), sometimes called ''Puram'' or ''Purappattu'', is a classical Tamil poetic work and traditionally the last of the Eight Anthologies (''Ettuthokai'') in the Sangam literatu ...
'', traced the origin of untouchability to ancient
Tamil
Tamil may refer to:
* Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia
** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils
**Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia
* Tamil language, nati ...
society. According to him, in this society, certain occupational groups were thought to be involved in controlling the malevolent supernatural forces; as an example, Hart mentions the
Paraiyar
Paraiyar, or Parayar or Maraiyar (formerly anglicised as Pariah and Paree), is a caste group found in the Indian states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala, and Sri Lanka.
Etymology
Robert Caldwell, a nineteenth-century missionary and grammarian who ...
s, who played the drums during battles and solemn events such as births and deaths. People from these occupational groups came to be avoided by others, who believed that they were "dangerous and had the power to pollute the others". Jaiswal dismisses the evidence produced by Hart as "extremely weak" and contradictory. Jaiswal points out that the authors of the ancient Tamil texts included several Brahmanas (a fact accepted by Hart); thus, the society described in these texts was already under
Brahmanical
The historical Vedic religion (also known as Vedicism, Vedism or ancient Hinduism and subsequently Brahmanism (also spelled as Brahminism)), constituted the religious ideas and practices among some Indo-Aryan peoples of northwest Indian Subco ...
influence, and could have borrowed the concept of untouchability from them.
British anthropologist
John Henry Hutton
John Henry Hutton FRAI (27 June 1885 – 23 May 1968) was an English-born anthropologist and an administrator in the Indian Civil Service (ICS) during the period of the British Raj. The period that he spent with the ICS in Assam evoked an intere ...
traced the origin of untouchability to the taboo on accepting food cooked by a person from a different caste. This taboo presumably originated because of cleanliness concerns, and ultimately, led to other prejudices such as the taboo on marrying outside one's caste. Jaiswal argues that this theory cannot explain how various social groups were isolated as untouchable or accorded a social rank. Jaiswal also notes that several passages from the ancient Vedic texts indicate that there was no taboo against accepting food from people belonging to a different
varna
Varna may refer to:
Places Europe
*Varna, Bulgaria, a city in Bulgaria
**Varna Province
**Varna Municipality
** Gulf of Varna
**Lake Varna
**Varna Necropolis
*Vahrn, or Varna, a municipality in Italy
*Varniai, a city in Lithuania
* Varna (Šaba ...
or
tribe
The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English language, English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in p ...
. For example, some
Shrauta Sutras
Kalpa ( sa, कल्प) means "proper, fit" and is one of the six disciplines of the Vedānga, or ancillary science connected with the Vedas – the scriptures of Hinduism. This field of study is focused on the procedures and ceremonies associ ...
mandate that a performer of the Vishvajit
sacrifice
Sacrifice is the offering of material possessions or the lives of animals or humans to a deity as an act of propitiation or worship. Evidence of ritual animal sacrifice has been seen at least since ancient Hebrews and Greeks, and possibly exi ...
must live with the
Nishada
Nishada (') is a tribe mentioned in ancient Indian literature (such as the epic ''Mahabharata''). The ancient texts mention several kingdoms ruled by this tribe. In the Mahabharata, the Nishadas are described as hunters, fishermen, mountaineers o ...
s (a tribe regarded as untouchable in later period) for three days, in their village, and eat their food.
Scholars such as Suvira Jaiswal, R. S. Sharma, and Vivekanand Jha characterize untouchability as a relatively later development after the establishment of the varna and caste system. Jha notes that the earliest Vedic text ''
Rigveda
The ''Rigveda'' or ''Rig Veda'' ( ', from ' "praise" and ' "knowledge") is an ancient Indian collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns (''sūktas''). It is one of the four sacred canonical Hindu texts (''śruti'') known as the Vedas. Only one Sh ...
'' makes no mention of untouchability, and even the later Vedic texts, which revile certain groups such as the
Chandala
Chandala ( sa, चांडाल, caṇḍāla) is a Sanskrit word for someone who deals with disposal of corpses, and is a Hindu lower caste, traditionally considered to be untouchable.
A female member of this caste is known as a ''Caṇḍ ...
s, do not suggest that untouchability existed in the contemporary society. According to Jha, in the later period, several groups began to be characterized as untouchable, a development which reached its peak during 600–1200 AD. Sharma theorizes that institution of untouchability arose when the aboriginal tribes with "low material culture" and "uncertain means of livelihood" came to be regarded as impure by the privileged classes who despised manual labour, and regarded associated impurity with "certain material objects". According to Jaiswal, when the members of aboriginal groups were assimilated into the Brahmanical society, the privileged among them may have tried to assert their higher status by disassociating themselves from their lower-status counterparts, who were gradually branded as untouchables.
Untouchability is believed to have been first mentioned in ''
Dharmashastra''. According to the religious
Hindu
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
text, untouchables were not considered a part of the
varna
Varna may refer to:
Places Europe
*Varna, Bulgaria, a city in Bulgaria
**Varna Province
**Varna Municipality
** Gulf of Varna
**Lake Varna
**Varna Necropolis
*Vahrn, or Varna, a municipality in Italy
*Varniai, a city in Lithuania
* Varna (Šaba ...
system. Therefore, they were not treated like the
savarna
''Savarna'' is a genus of Southeast Asian cellar spiders that was first described by B. A. Huber in 2005.
Species
it contains ten species, found only in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand:
*''Savarna bannang'' – Yao & Li, 2020 – Thailand
* ...
s (
Brahmin
Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests (purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers (guru ...
s,
Kshatriya
Kshatriya ( hi, क्षत्रिय) (from Sanskrit ''kṣatra'', "rule, authority") is one of the four varna (social orders) of Hindu society, associated with warrior aristocracy. The Sanskrit term ''kṣatriyaḥ'' is used in the con ...
s,
Vaishya
Vaishya (Sanskrit: वैश्य, ''vaiśya'') is one of the four Varna (Hinduism), varnas of the Hinduism, Hindu social order in India. Vaishyas are classed third in the order of caste hierarchy.
The occupation of Vaishyas consists mainly ...
s and
Shudra
Shudra or ''Shoodra'' (Sanskrit: ') is one of the four '' varnas'' of the Hindu caste system and social order in ancient India. Various sources translate it into English as a caste, or alternatively as a social class. Theoretically, class ser ...
s).
Characteristics
According to
Sarah Pinto, an anthropologist, modern untouchability in India applies to people whose work relates to "meat, and bodily fluids". Based on the punishments prescribed in The Untouchability (Offences) Act, 1955 the following practices could be understood to have been associated with Untouchability in India:
*Prohibition from eating with other members
*Provision of separate cups in village tea stalls
*Separate seating arrangements and utensils in restaurants
*Segregation in seating and food arrangements at village functions and festivals
*Prohibition from entering places of public worship
*Prohibition from wearing sandals or holding umbrellas in front of higher caste members
*Prohibition from entering other caste homes
*Prohibition from using common village paths
*Separate burial/cremation grounds
*Prohibition from accessing common/public properties and resources (wells, ponds, temples, etc.)
*Segregation (separate seating area) of children in schools
*
Bonded labour
Debt bondage, also known as debt slavery, bonded labour, or peonage, is the pledge of a person's services as security for the repayment for a debt or other obligation. Where the terms of the repayment are not clearly or reasonably stated, the pe ...
*Social boycotts by other castes for refusing to perform their "duties"
Government action in India
India is home to over 200 million
Dalit
Dalit (from sa, दलित, dalita meaning "broken/scattered"), also previously known as untouchable, is the lowest stratum of the Caste system in India, castes in India. Dalits were excluded from the four-fold Varna (Hinduism), varna syste ...
s. At the time of Indian independence, Dalit activists began calling for
separate electorates for untouchables in India to allow fair representation. Officially labeled the Minorities Act, it would guarantee representation for
Sikhs
Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism (Sikhi), a monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ...
,
Muslims
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abraha ...
,
Christians
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
, and Untouchables in the newly formed Indian government. The Act was supported by British representatives such as
Ramsay MacDonald
James Ramsay MacDonald (; 12 October 18669 November 1937) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, the first who belonged to the Labour Party, leading minority Labour governments for nine months in 1924 ...
. According to the textbook ''Religions in the Modern World'',
B. R. Ambedkar
Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar (14 April 1891 – 6 December 1956) was an Indian jurist, economist, social reformer and political leader who headed the committee drafting the Constitution of India from the Constituent Assembly debates, served a ...
, who was also a supporter of the Act, was considered to be the “untouchable leader” who made great efforts to eliminate caste system privileges that included participation in public festivals, access to temples, and wedding rituals. In 1932, Ambedkar proposed that the untouchables create a separate electorate that ultimately led
Gandhi
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...
to fast until it was rejected.
A separation within
Hindu
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
society was opposed by national leaders at the time such as Gandhi, although he took no exception to the demands of the other minorities. He began a
hunger strike
A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance in which participants fast as an act of political protest, or to provoke a feeling of guilt in others, usually with the objective to achieve a specific goal, such as a policy change. Most ...
, citing that such a separation would create an unhealthy divide within the religion. At the
Round Table Conferences
The three Round Table Conferences of 1930–1932 were a series of peace conferences organized by the British Government and Indian political personalities to discuss constitutional reforms in India. These started in November 1930 and ended in Dec ...
, he provided this explanation for his reasoning:
I don't mind untouchables if they so desire, being converted to Islam or Christianity. I should tolerate that, but I cannot possibly tolerate what is in store for Hinduism if there are two divisions set forth in the villages. Those who speak of the political rights of the untouchables don't know their India, don't know how Indian society is today constituted and therefore I want to say with all the emphasis that I can command that if I was the only person to resist this thing that I would resist it with my life.
Gandhi achieved some success through his hunger strike however Dalit activists faced pressure from the Hindu population at large to end his protest at the risk of his ailing health. The two sides eventually came to a compromise where the number of guaranteed seats for Untouchables would be increased at both central and provincial levels, but there would be a common electorate.
The 1950 national
constitution of India
The Constitution of India (IAST: ) is the supreme law of India. The document lays down the framework that demarcates fundamental political code, structure, procedures, powers, and duties of government institutions and sets out fundamental ri ...
legally abolished the practice of untouchability and provided measures for
affirmative action in both educational institutions and public services for Dalits and other social groups who lie within the caste system. These are supplemented by official bodies such as the
National Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
Despite this, instances of prejudice against Dalits still occur in some rural areas, as evidenced by events such as the
Kherlanji massacre
The Kherlanji massacre (or Khairlanji massacre) refers to the murders of four Scheduled Caste citizens by villagers of Khairlanji on 29 September 2006. The killings took place in a small village in India named Kherlanji, located in the Bhanda ...
.
Elsewhere
* China:
Tanka people
The Tankas or boat people are a sinicised ethnic group in Southern China who have traditionally lived on junks in coastal parts of Guangdong, Guangxi, Fujian, Hainan, Shanghai, Zhejiang and along the Yangtze river, as well as Hong Kong, and ...
* Europe:
Romani people
The Romani (also spelled Romany or Rromani , ), colloquially known as the Roma, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group, traditionally nomadic itinerants. They live in Europe and Anatolia, and have diaspora populations located worldwide, with sig ...
* France:
Cagot
The ''Cagots'' () were a persecuted minority found in the west of France and northern Spain: the Navarrese Pyrenees, Basque provinces, Béarn, Aragón, Gascony and Brittany. Evidence of the group exists as far back as 1000 CE.
Name
Etymolo ...
s were historically untouchable groups of
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
.
* India:
Dalit
Dalit (from sa, दलित, dalita meaning "broken/scattered"), also previously known as untouchable, is the lowest stratum of the Caste system in India, castes in India. Dalits were excluded from the four-fold Varna (Hinduism), varna syste ...
* Japan:
Burakumin
is a name for a low-status social group in Japan. It is a term for ethnic Japanese people with occupations considered as being associated with , such as executioners, undertakers, slaughterhouse workers, butchers, or tanners.
During Japan's ...
* Korea:
Baekjeong
The ''Baekjeong'' ( ko, 백정) were an untouchable caste in Korea, originating from some minority, nomadic groups of disputed ethnicity. In the early part of the Goryeo period (918–1392), these minorities were largely settled in fixed commun ...
in Korea were an "untouchable" group of Korea who traditionally performed jobs of executioner and butcher.
* Nigeria:
Ohuhu
The Ohuhu clan of Umuahia north in Abia State Nigeria Igbo people, also referred to as ''Ohonhaw'', form a unique community of people in Umuahia, Abia state, Nigeria, consisting of several Autonomous Communities including Umukabia, Ohiya, Isingw ...
and
Osu
* Somalia:
lower class Somali clans
* Tibet:
Ragyabpa
* Yemen:
Al-Akhdam
The Al-Muhamashīn ( ar, المهمشين, link=yes), "the marginalized ones"); previously called The ''Al-Akhdām'', ''Akhdām'' or ''Achdām'' ( ar, الأخدام) ("the servants", singular Khadem, meaning "servant" in Arabic, are an Arabic-spea ...
See also
*
Affirmative action
*
Discrimination
Discrimination is the act of making unjustified distinctions between people based on the groups, classes, or other categories to which they belong or are perceived to belong. People may be discriminated on the basis of race, gender, age, relig ...
*
Caste system in India
The caste system in India is the paradigmatic ethnographic example of classification of castes. It has its origins in Outline of ancient India, ancient India, and was transformed by various ruling elites in medieval, early-modern, and modern ...
* ''
Homo sacer''
*
Outcast (person)
An outcast is someone who is rejected or cast out, as from home or society or in some way excluded, looked down upon, or ignored. In common English speech, an outcast may be anyone who does not fit in with normal society, which can contribute to ...
*
Prejudice
Prejudice can be an affective feeling towards a person based on their perceived group membership. The word is often used to refer to a preconceived (usually unfavourable) evaluation or classification of another person based on that person's per ...
*
Slavery
Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
*
Shudra
Shudra or ''Shoodra'' (Sanskrit: ') is one of the four '' varnas'' of the Hindu caste system and social order in ancient India. Various sources translate it into English as a caste, or alternatively as a social class. Theoretically, class ser ...
*
Underclass
The underclass is the segment of the population that occupies the lowest possible position in a class hierarchy, below the core body of the working class.
The general idea that a class system includes a population ''under'' the working class has ...
*
Varna (Hinduism)
''Varṇa'' ( sa, वर्ण, varṇa), in the context of Hinduism, refers to a social class within a hierarchical caste system in India, caste system. The ideology is epitomized in texts like ''Manusmriti'', which describes and ranks four v ...
Social reformers of Kerala
*
Ayya Vaikundar
Ayya Vaikundar (c.1833 –c.1851) ( ta, அய்யா வைகுண்டர், sa, अय्या वैघुण्ढर्) also known as Vaikunda Swami is the first and the foremost Purna avatar of Eka-Paran born to Lord ...
*
Ayyankali
Ayyankali (28 August 1863 – 18 June 1941) was an Indian politician, prominent social reformer, educator, economist, lawmaker, and a revolutionary leader. He worked for the advancement of the oppressed people in the princely state of Travancor ...
*
Brahmananda Swami Sivayogi
Karatt Govinda Menon (26 August 1852 – 10 September 1929), better known as Brahmananda Swami Sivayogi, was an Indian ''sanyasi'' from present-day Kerala who founded the Ananda Maha Sabha in 1918. He proposed Anandadarsam or Anandamadham ...
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Dr. Palpu
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Kumaranasan
Mahakavi Kumaran Asan (Malayalam: എൻ. കുമാരൻ ആശാൻ) (12 April 1873 – 16 January 1924) was a poet of Malayalam literature, Indian social reformer and a philosopher. He is known to have initiated a revolution in Malayalam ...
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Mithavaadi Krishnan
Changaramkumarath Krishnan Vakkeel was a community leader, banker, social reformer, and journalist from Kerala, India. He was a champion of implementing the revolutionary socialist reforms proposed by Sree Narayana Guru for the upliftment of th ...
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Moorkoth Kumaran
Moorkoth Kumaran (1874–1941) was a social reformer, a teacher and a short story writer in Malayalam.
Kumaran came from a Thiyya family of Thalassery, Kannur. He was a disciple of Narayana Guru and wrote the first biography of Guru. He initiated ...
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V.T. Bhattathiripad
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Pandit Karuppan
Pandit Karuppan was a poet, dramatist, and reform movement, social reformer who lived in Kerala, India.
Pandit Karuppan emerged from Ernakulam of Cochin State as a relentless crusader against untouchability and social evils. He was called ...
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Rao Sahib Dr. Ayyathan Gopalan
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Sree Narayana Guru
Narayana Guru, , (20 August 1856 – 20 September 1928) was a philosopher, spiritual leader and social reformer in India. He led a reform movement against the injustice in the caste-ridden society of Kerala in order to promote spiritual ...
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Vaghbhatananda
References
Bibliography
* Paik, Shailaja. "The rise of new Dalit women in Indian historiography." ''History Compass'' 16.10 (2018): e12491
online*
{{Discrimination
Persecution
Discrimination
Caste
Caste system in India