They are people whom are casteless and historically disadvantaged. The word ‘Dalit’ when translated literally means “oppressed” or “broken” and is generally used to refer to people who were once known as “untouchables”, those belonging to castes outside the fourfold Hindu caste system. According to the 2001 census, there are 167 million Dalits in India alone, though there are tens of millions in other South Asian countries such as Nepal and Pakistan. The 4 groups in the caste system are called Varnas, which have their origins in the Aryan society of ancient Northern India. According to their myth, four Varnas are said to have emanated from the Primeval Being. The Creator’s mouth became the Brahman priests, his two arms formed the Rajanya warriors and kings, his two thighs formed the Vaishya landowners and merchants, and from his feet were born the Shudra artisans and servants. Later on, they developed a so-called “fifth” varna: The Untouchables. The caste system became fixed and hereditary with the emergence of Hinduism and its beliefs of pollution and rebirth. Hence, one is born with a caste that their forefathers belong which is unavoidable. The Laws of Manu (Manusmitri)s the most important and earliest metrical work of the Dharmaśāstra( is a genre of Sanskrit)textual tradition of Hinduism, which date roughly to the 3rd century A.D.—and parts of which form the Sanskrit syllabus of graduate studies in Gujarat to preach the sanctity of the varnas and uphold the principles of gradation and rank.These studies learnt mostly by the Brahmin priests, emphasizes on the impurity and servility of the outcastes, while affirming the dominance and total impunity of Brahmins. Those from the “lowest” castes are told that their place in the caste hierarchy is due to their sins in a past life. Vivid punishments of torture and death are assigned for crimes such as gaining literacy or insulting a member of a dominant caste. Among the writings of Hindu religious texts, the Manusmitri is undoubtedly the most authoritative one, legitimizing social exclusion and introducing absolute inequality as the guiding principle of social relations. The Hindu Varna System is still carried out and abided to till today.
They are people whom are casteless and historically disadvantaged. The word ‘Dalit’ when translated literally means “oppressed” or “broken” and is generally used to refer to people who were once known as “untouchables”, those belonging to castes outside the fourfold Hindu caste system. According to the 2001 census, there are 167 million Dalits in India alone, though there are tens of millions in other South Asian countries such as Nepal and Pakistan. The 4 groups in the caste system are called Varnas, which have their origins in the Aryan society of ancient Northern India. According to their myth, four Varnas are said to have emanated from the Primeval Being. The Creator’s mouth became the Brahman priests, his two arms formed the Rajanya warriors and kings, his two thighs formed the Vaishya landowners and merchants, and from his feet were born the Shudra artisans and servants. Later on, they developed a so-called “fifth” varna: The Untouchables. The caste system became fixed and hereditary with the emergence of Hinduism and its beliefs of pollution and rebirth. Hence, one is born with a caste that their forefathers belong which is unavoidable. The Laws of Manu (Manusmitri)s the most important and earliest metrical work of the Dharmaśāstra( is a genre of Sanskrit)textual tradition of Hinduism, which date roughly to the 3rd century A.D.—and parts of which form the Sanskrit syllabus of graduate studies in Gujarat to preach the sanctity of the varnas and uphold the principles of gradation and rank.These studies learnt mostly by the Brahmin priests, emphasizes on the impurity and servility of the outcastes, while affirming the dominance and total impunity of Brahmins. Those from the “lowest” castes are told that their place in the caste hierarchy is due to their sins in a past life. Vivid punishments of torture and death are assigned for crimes such as gaining literacy or insulting a member of a dominant caste. Among the writings of Hindu religious texts, the Manusmitri is undoubtedly the most authoritative one, legitimizing social exclusion and introducing absolute inequality as the guiding principle of social relations. The Hindu Varna System is still carried out and abided to till today.
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The Gujarati people are used to being lead by people of higher caste. According to the people, the higher castes are exposed to basic rights like education so the people are more likely to have education. The people believe that the Dalits are not exposed to education and assume that if they are led by these dalits they will not be benefiting as much as when they are being led by higher caste political leader. The gujarat government has also played its part to ensure that the lower caste people do not always get discriminated and has given them an opportunity to be equal as the rest of the citizens. Despite the actions taken by the government to create a homogenous environment, there is still a long way to go before the people will accept having dalits as their leaders. Although many people have obtained education and are more aware of the dalits, more open-minded and willing to accept the dalits in their community, there are some who still hold on stubbornly to their ancient beliefs and refuse to see or let change take place and let the dalits move forward in society. These people are used to seeing and living by following the caste system for most of their lives and when actions are suddenly taken to bring the lowest caste system up the social ladder, they are not positive towards the change and show criticism and would rather have the old political system back. These are the reasons that are preventing the Gujarati people from accepting Dalits as their ministers.
Dalits do not get to live their lives like any other ordinary caste group. They are being discriminated so much to the extent that it would be considered a sin to even touch them by accident, labelling them as the “untouchables”. They are restricted to do many things they wished to do, or wanted to, They are prohibited from eating with other caste members, marrying other caste members, entering into village temples, using common village path, contesting in elections and exercising their right to vote, hoisting the national flag during Independence or Republic days, riding a bicycle inside the village. What’s even worse is that even after they passed away, they have to be buried in separate burial grounds. These limitations prevent them to have their own rights and since their situation is not well recognised in global level, many people are unaware of the problem they are currently facing to speak up for them. Their issue is simply neglected. Since Dalits do not make up a huge number of India’s population, they cannot fight back as they want as if they do so, they can be easily killed. Aren’t dalits ordinary humans too? They do have feelings like all of us. We don’t want to be put in their situation, so the least we can do is to publicize and tell others about the significance. Dalits would want to be considered as a human too and they wish to climb up the social ladder. However these limitations do not allow them to rise up and thus they are the lowest caste. As seen from the article, they are not allowed to do many things the other castes are allowed to. They are often the victims of discrimination as being the lowest of the low, they do not have the power to fight back. The jobs they have are all work in labour-intensive industries which only gives them a measly salary which are not enough for them to enroll their children into school to receive proper education. The result of this is that due to that fact that they are uneducated and illiterate, they will not be given job opportunities that have better future prospects, however, lack of job opportunities are greatly due to their caste as well. Having low paid jobs and being uneducated causes the dalits to have the lowest social and economic status in the nation which causes them to be the victims of crimes as they do not have the ability to fight back. Discrimination against the dalits cannot end as even if they are to convert their religion from Hinduism to another religion, they will still receive the same discrimination as they still belong to that caste. All in all, dalits are the ones to suffer from discrimination as they are already out casted by the rest and due to inability to fight back, they have no choice but to remain silent.
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