The Untouchables: The Dalit Population

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What is it like to be discriminated against? What would it be like to have almost all equal rights and liberties taken away just because one is born among a certain race, or there is a different way of living within a specific group of people? This feeling of discrimination is one that no individual wants to feel. For the Hindu people, formerly known as “The Untouchables,” this was what they had to live with. The Untouchables, now called the Dalits, are the most oppressed community in India and have been denied civic and human rights throughout the decades.

The Dalit population is located all throughout India. India is a country south of china and Pakistan, west of Thailand., and east of Africa. India first gained its independence in 1947 after being controlled by the British imperial authority. When the British first ruled India, they began to colonize it, starting with Bengal, for the second half of the eighteenth century; they progressively expanded their ruling all throughout India. Beginning in 1858, the British government took over the East India Company, becoming the ultimate ruler of India. When India finally regained its independence, it had been almost two hundred years that they had been under British authority.

The Dalits are a part of the lowest social status group in the Hindu caste system and are born below the caste system; the caste system is a system where the Hindu people are categorized by their occupations. The caste based society is used throughout india and extends farther into other nations; it goes to Pakistan, Siri Lanka, Nepal, and South Asia. When it first was created, the caste system solely depended on one’s job or their work, but it eventually became hereditary, passing on from family to famil...

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...erance, acceptance, and kindness towards all people of this race.

Works Cited

Szczepanski, Kallie. "Learn about India's Dalit or Untouchables." About.com Asian History. About.com, n.d. Web. 29 Apr. 2014.

Barbara, Joshi R. "India's Untouchables | Cultural Survival." India's Untouchables | Cultural Survival. Cultural Survival, n.d. Web. 30 Apr. 2014.

NA. "Who Are Dalits? & What Is Untouchability?" — Portal. NCDHR, n.d. Web. 09 May 2014.

O'Neill, Tom. "Untouchable @ National Geographic Magazine." n.d.: 1-31. Untouchable @ National Geographic Magazine. National Geographic. Web. 06 Nov. 2012.

Hampton, Audria. "The Untouchables." The Untouchables. Csu Chico, n.d. Web. 13 May 2014.

NA. "India's Dalits Still Fighting Untouchability." BBC News. 27 June 2012. Web. 19 May 2014.

NA. "Indian Independence." Indian Independence. British Library. Web. 20 May 2014.

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