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 is largely unique to South Asia .
32-448: Advani is a Sindhi Hindu surname. People with this surname include: Sindhi Hindu Sindhi Hindus are Sindhis who follow Hinduism . They are spread across modern-day Sindh , Pakistan and India . After the partition of India in 1947, many Sindhi Hindus were among those who fled from Pakistan to the dominion of India , in what was a wholesale exchange of Hindu and Muslim populations in some areas. Some later emigrated from
64-649: A number that does not include Sindhi Hindus who no longer speak the Sindhi language. The vast majority of Sindhi Hindus living in India belong to the Lohana jāti , which includes the sub-groups of Amil , Bhaiband and Sahiti . Prior to Arab invasions, majority of Sindh 's population practiced Hinduism , although a significant minority adhered to Buddhism as well. During the Arab invasions, majority of Sindhi Hindus were
96-569: A performer of the Vishvajit sacrifice must live with the Nishadas (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 makes no mention of untouchability, and even
128-641: A rural pastoral population, who lived mostly in upper Sindh, a region that was entirely Hindu ; while the Buddhists of Sindh were a mercantile population, who lived entirely in the urban areas of lower Sindh. After many successful raids, collaboration by the local Buddhist population, and resistance by the local Hindu population, the army of the Umayyad Caliphate led by Muhammad Bin Qasim successfully invaded and conquered Sindh in 712CE, against
160-408: 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." B. R. Ambedkar , an Indian social reformer and politician who came from a social group that was considered untouchable, theorized that untouchability originated because of
192-471: 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
224-879: The Burakumin of Japan, the Baekjeong of Korea, and the Ragyabpa of Tibet, as well as the Romani people and Cagot in Europe, and the Al-Akhdam in Yemen . Traditionally, the groups characterized as untouchable were those whose occupations and habits of life involved ritually "polluting" activities, such as pursuing a career based on killing (e.g. fishermen) or engaging in common contact with others' feces or sweat (e.g. manual scavengers , sweepers and washermen). According to
256-413: The 2011 Census of India , there are around 2.8 million Sindhi-language speakers living in India, however, this number does not include ethnic Sindhis who no longer speak Sindhi. Sindhis formed a major-chunk of population of Ulhasnagar Municipality ( Mumbai Metropolitan Region ), Maharashtra. The population of Ulhasnagar city is 500k, out of which 400k of the residents are Sindhis, thus constituting 80% of
288-533: The Dharmashastras which are ancient legal codes from various kingdoms in ancient India, certain peoples grouped either by ethnicity or profession were not considered a part of the varna based society. Therefore, they were not treated like the savarnas ( Brahmins , Kshatriyas , Vaishyas and Shudras ). According to Sarah Pinto , an anthropologist, modern untouchability in India applies to people whose work relates to "meat, and bodily fluids". Based on
320-540: The Indian subcontinent and settled in other parts of the world. According to the 2017 census , there are 4.18 million Sindhi Hindus residing within the Sindh province of Pakistan with major population centers being Mirpur Khas Division and Hyderabad Division that combined account for more than 2 million of them. Meanwhile, the 2011 census listed 2.77 million speakers of Sindhi in India, including speakers of Kutchi ,
352-513: The Paraiyars , 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,
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#1732794169507384-575: 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 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
416-544: The centuries as a minority religion. The consistency of Hinduism in Sindh is credited the dependency of the rural Hindu population on Brahmins . Prior to the partition of India, as per the 1941 census, the Sindhi Hindu population accounted for around 27% of Sindh's population, most of whom moved to India. Today, Sindhi Hindus in Pakistan number around 4.2 million, around 9% of the region's population. Sindhi Hindus are
448-408: The city of Bombay . As per Census of India 2011, there are around 1,741,662 Sindhi speakers living in India (not counting Kutchi speakers, who are sometimes seen as speaking a Sindhi dialect). There are also sizable Sindhi Hindu communities elsewhere in the world, sometimes termed, the ' Sindhi diaspora '. Most Sindhi Hindu family names are a modified form of a patronymic and typically end with
480-404: The city's population as per 2011 census report. Ulhasnagar is also known as India's "Mini Sindh" due to having the highest concentration of Sindhis in one city in India. After the partition of India in 1947, the majority of Sindh's Hindus migrated to India . They settled primarily in the neighbouring Kutch district of Gujarat , which bears linguistic and cultural similarities to Sindh, and
512-770: The concept of higher caste or lower caste, there is no evil of untouchability . During the first half of 1948, approximately 1 million Sindhi Hindus immigrated to India. Various refugee colonies have been set up by Government of India for accommodation of Sindhi refugees across the nation like: Ahmedabad , Gandhidham , kandla and Adipur camps in Gujarat , Sindhi Camp bus stand in Rajasthan 's capital Jaipur , Cox Town camp in Karnataka 's capital Bangalore and Ulhasnagar (Kalyan Camp) in Maharashtra . According to
544-410: The concept of untouchability is more pronounced in rural areas. American scholar George L. Hart , based on his interpretation of Old Tamil texts such as Purananuru , traced the origin of untouchability to ancient Tamil 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
576-688: The concept was borrowed by the Indo-Aryans 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 theorized that untouchability originated as class stratification in urban areas of the Indus Valley civilisation . According to this theory,
608-601: The deliberate policy of the Brahmins . According to him, the Brahmanas despised the people who gave up the Brahmanism in favour of Buddhism . 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 of India by the early Dravidians , and that
640-1036: The largest ethnolinguistic Hindu group in Pakistan. Majority of Sindhi hindus belong to Lohana community who are historically traders, merchants and government officials, The Sindhi Lohanas are divided into different sub-groups for example Amils, Bhaibands, Hyderabadi Bhaiband ( Sindhi Varki ), Sahitis, Shikarpuris, Hatvaniya/Hatwara, Thattai, Bhagnari etc, these sub-groups have their own hundreds of surnames/castes. Other communities are Bhatia (Larai) and Arora (Riasti) all of them are called as Wāniya and Deewan in Sindh and belong to Waishya Varna of Hinduism. There are also few Sindhi Brahmins for example Pokarno and Sarsat or Sarsudh . Hindu Rajputs are mainly found in Thar region. The tribal groups like Dhed , Bhils , Meghwars , Kolhis etc form second largest group among Sindhi Hindus and are mostly found in Southeast of Sindh. The Sindhi hindus do not have caste based division nor
672-493: The last Hindu king of Sindh, Raja Dahir . Sindh, under the control of Qasim, saw a decline of Buddhism, as most Buddhists started converting to Islam. The later reign of the Delhi Sultanate, led to further decline, with both Hinduism and Buddhism becoming minority religions in Sindh. Buddhism later collapsed and ceased to exist in Sindh, while Hinduism remained persistent, managing to survive and flourish throughout
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#1732794169507704-538: The later Vedic texts, which revile certain groups such as the Chandalas , 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
736-463: The name of his or her native village, followed by 'ja'. The Sindhi Hindus generally add the suffix ‘-ani’ to the name of a great-grandfather and adopt the name as a family name. Untouchability The term is most commonly associated with treatment of the Dalit communities in the Indian subcontinent who were considered "polluting". The term has also been used to refer to other groups, including
768-563: The newly formed Indian government. The Act was supported by British representatives such as Ramsay MacDonald . According to the textbook Religions in the Modern World , B. R. Ambedkar , 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
800-579: The poorer workers involved in 'unclean' occupations such as sweeping or leather work 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 reject this theory, arguing that it lacks evidence, and does not explain why
832-482: 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. According to
864-688: The punishments prescribed in The Untouchability (Offences) Act, 1955 the following practices could be understood to have been associated with Untouchability in India: India is home to over 200 million Dalits . 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 , Muslims , Christians , and Untouchables in
896-658: The religious Hindu text, untouchables were not considered a part of the varna system. Therefore, they were not treated like the savarnas ( Brahmins , Kshatriyas , Vaishyas and Shudras ). Due to many caste-based discriminations in Nepal , 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. A 2020 study of
928-414: The society described in these texts was already under Brahmanical influence, and could have borrowed the concept of untouchability from them. British anthropologist John Henry Hutton 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
960-518: The suffix "-ani" , which is used to denote descent from a common male ancestor. One explanation states that the -ani suffix is a Sindhi variant of 'anshi', derived from the Sanskrit word 'ansh', which means 'descended from' (see: Devanshi ). The first part of a Sindhi Hindu surname is usually derived from the name or location of an ancestor. In northern Sindh, surnames ending in 'ja' (meaning 'of') are also common. A person's surname would consist of
992-403: 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 or tribe . For example, some Shrauta Sutras mandate that
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1024-743: The untouchables create a separate electorate that ultimately led Gandhi to fast until it was rejected. A separation within Hindu 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 , citing that such a separation would create an unhealthy divide within the religion. At the Round Table Conferences , 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
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