Results 1 to 3 of 3

Thread: Dalit mass conversion...

  1. #1

    Unhappy Dalit mass conversion...

    Namaste:

    While reading the morning news I saw a post regarding mass conversion of "Dalit" or "untouchables" in India to Christianity and Bhuddism.
    In the 21st century can somebody please explain what "untouchable" means? Is this a term used for those that are contagious with untreatable virulent disease? Or poisonous like a toad? Or burning like fire? (I know that it does not); What does "untouchable" mean in India today?
    Is this a term foisted on a group of people purely from a generational or even worse, a geographic reason? Does someone ever not become untouchable?
    And what difference does being Christian or Bhuddist mean to the "untouchable"?
    As an American I have grown up into a country dealing with bigotry and racism and have never understood why it even exists.
    I am not judging the people of India but merely trying to understand this most fundamental of human conditions. Thank you all in advance for your opinion and responses

  2. #2

    Re: Dalit mass conversion...

    Quote Originally Posted by ThouArt
    Namaste:

    While reading the morning news I saw a post regarding mass conversion of "Dalit" or "untouchables" in India to Christianity and Bhuddism.
    In the 21st century can somebody please explain what "untouchable" means? Is this a term used for those that are contagious with untreatable virulent disease? Or poisonous like a toad? Or burning like fire? (I know that it does not); What does "untouchable" mean in India today?
    Is this a term foisted on a group of people purely from a generational or even worse, a geographic reason? Does someone ever not become untouchable?
    And what difference does being Christian or Bhuddist mean to the "untouchable"?
    As an American I have grown up into a country dealing with bigotry and racism and have never understood why it even exists.
    I am not judging the people of India but merely trying to understand this most fundamental of human conditions. Thank you all in advance for your opinion and responses
    It is basically a form of bigotry, perhaps an elevated one of what you see in America. In the cities, not many people care for these distinctions, but in the rural areas, where centuries of stagnated tradition continues to accumulate and rot, you'll see much more of the discrimination against Dalits. The unfortunate aspect is its percieved reflection on Hinduism. The Christian, Buddhist, Muslim, etc. religious leadlers blame Hinduism for all of India's societal problems and on the part of the Hindu community, there are some 'Brahmins' who still happily co-exist with this facade of superiority while ignoring the tenets of their own religion. But, ironically, the Dalit converts to Christianity and Islam still face the same discrimination from the higher-caste converts: http://concise.britannica.com/ebc/ar...hristian-caste

  3. #3
    Join Date
    August 2006
    Age
    72
    Posts
    3,162
    Rep Power
    1915

    Re: Dalit mass conversion...

    Namaste.

    Who is an untouchable?

    Let's try to understand it from the perspective of those who practice it. Take the case of a scavenger who manually scoops up human excreta from a village home toilet (there are many villages in India without the flush-out facility). Only a person of a very low caste would take up such a menial task. Now the question is, how many of us would relate to such a person in equal social terms? Do I, for example, have the gumption to invite the person to a dinner at my house, say during a wedding or festival time? Honestly, how many of us would do it, and still more daring, sit with the person and take food? Suppose my son and the person's son are classmates in the local government elementary school, would I still welcome to be a mate of their parents?

    Practice of untouchability was supposed to have been originated from the brahmins, specially in Tamilnadu, as preached by the Dravidian political parties. There was some truth in the argument that orthodox brahmins shunned the proximity of the low caste people as they feared that the gross vibrations from such persons would be a disturbance to their soul which was always steeped in spiritual thoughts. This sort of avoidance is no longer practiced in today's brahmin community, even among the orthodox, and brahmin priests including the Shankaracharyas do not desist from giving darshan to such people. The point we should note here is that whether the orthodox brahmin was right or wrong in his beliefs, he was NEVER HOSTILE to the lowly.

    This is not the case with the other upper castes in the rural areas. These people carry the practice of untouchability to the extreme by banning the lowly from taking water from the common village wells or giving them a separate glass in tea stalls. And in states like Bihar the upper castes indulge in violent against the lowly. Such hostility is definitely wrong, must be deplored and the errant people taken to task.

    Ironically, the popular political leaders and parties who shout against practice of untouchability never display the guts to bring the upper castes to task, for that would affect their vote bank. Instead, they turn their empty rhetoric against the minority brahmins (who have long mended their ways) and try to pacify the dalit soul with free goodies like money, rice, electricity and even a color TV these days.

    Every political person of some position does practice some sort of untouchability (not relating equally in social terms) in their home and office. How many of these political VIPs invite the dalits to their family weddings or festivals and dine with them on equal terms? How many of them would even allow a dalit into their palatial homes? This is the situation that exists in India today: untouchability is practiced not by brahmins as the rhetoric goes, but by the upper castes and the politicians who perpetuate it for political and personal gains.

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 3 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 3 guests)

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •