Indian culture is multifaceted and diverse. A person with a European mentality will never fully understand India. Songs, dances, ceremonies, custom, castes - much of this remains an unsolved mystery for the common man. And some features of culture, for example, the caste division of society, are generally beyond the grasp of civilized man.
Since ancient times, in India, it is customary to divide society into separate groups - castes. In fact, such a division exists in any country, but only in India is it too pronounced. From a higher caste, a person can easily descend to a lower caste, but on the contrary, almost never. There are four castes in total: brahmanas or priests, kshatriyas or wars, vaisyas - artisans and merchants, sudras - attendants, but there is another last fifth caste that is not part of the four varnas - untouchables.
The caste of brahmanas is the elite of Indian society, the untouchables are the lowest and most disrespectful. People of a lower caste do not have the right to drink water from one source with people of higher castes. They cannot use public transport services, hospitals and clinics, go to shops, government offices and churches.
Touching people from the lowest caste is strictly prohibited, because it is believed that in this way a person can defile himself. Previously, it was believed that you can go to the untouchable caste with one touch. This is where their name comes from.
The untouchables themselves are divided into several separate groups, mainly by occupation, although there are some exceptions. The Chamaras are a group of tanners, leather takers, and shoemakers. Another group of untouchables is called dhobi, they include laundresses - people who do laundry. Mata or barbers (hairdressers) are engaged in cutting or shaving beards. There are also garbage cleaners and wipers. All these groups of people are more or less respectful, although they are untouchables. Indeed, without these people, the existence of society would have been impossible.
The criminal component of an “untouchable” society is Sansi, thieves. They are treated not just without respect, but with contempt and even hatred. The strangest and least studied group of Indian outcasts is the Hijra. In fact, they include homosexual men and women and transvestites. True hijra eunuchs. They engage in begging, prostitution, extortion, and sometimes theft.
The last group of untouchables is the Dalits, they are also called pariahs. They generally do not belong to any of the castes, pariahs are born from "mixed" marriages. Those. these are people whose parents belonged to different castes.
At the beginning of the 20th century, the untouchable caste began the struggle for equality. According to the constitution, caste division is unlawful; at present, caste-based prosecution is considered a criminal offense. But this is only on paper, but in reality everything is different. The untouchables are not allowed into cafes and restaurants, and if they are allowed, then “separate dishes” are reserved for them. As before, they are not allowed to go to hospitals for ordinary people, they are not given a good job. And although the untouchables are constantly fighting for their rights, Indian society has not yet come far from the "caste" relic of the past.
