no-longer-a-slumdog

No Longer a Slumdog
Your caste not only affects your sense of worth, but also the
jobs you can hold, what clothes you can wear, where you can worship,
who you can marry, where you can gather water and what
sort of education you can expect.
This pervasive system of social ostracism and prejudice is the
glue that keeps everyone in their proper place, even in modern India
where caste-based discrimination is officially prohibited by law.
The Bottom of the Bottom
At the very bottom of the system, below all four castes and all
the subcastes, is a group of people called “Untouchables” or “Dalits.”
The word Dalit means “oppressed” or “broken.” They are considered
by other castes to be subhuman, impure from birth and
worthy of nothing but contempt. To be “Untouchable” means
just that—no upper-caste can touch you, and you cannot touch
them either. Anything you contact is declared unclean. If anyone
were to stoop low enough to give you something to eat or drink,
be assured that it will be in a cheap disposable dish. Further, it is
expected that you will throw away what you just “contaminated.”
Often Dalits are denied access to public wells for the same
fear of contamination. In an article published October 25,
2010, I read of three Dalit men who were fined Rs. 15,000 each
(US$330) because they drank from a public water fountain used
by the upper-castes. 3
The majority of these exploited peoples live in rural villages
and communities, slaving away to eke out a living. But there are
also millions of Dalits and OBCs who try to live crammed into
the slums. Those on the outside looking into the slums began to
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