Impure people, or untouchables. The subject of whether we regard people as impure or untouchable is deep. Moreover, the act of regarding some people as impure seems to be endemic. We all claim to worship God. Hence, we should regard everyone as the same. Yet, we don’t.
This book by B. R. Ambedkar is a follow up of his previous book, “Who Were The Shudras?” In that book, he postulated how the Shudras came to be regarded as the fourth caste. Additionally, he traced their fall, from being kings, to lowly people.
In this book, he tackles the subject of untouchability. He started his book by analyzing primitive societies. As he mentions, we started as hunter-gatherers. Then came settled societies, and people began living in villages. However, some remained on the outside. Initially, they gave protection to the villagers. Subsequently, people regarded them as strange, hence impure. Dr. Ambedkar refers to these outsiders as ‘Broken People’.
Yet, this perception of impurity was not irreversible. For instance, you could wash off the impurity (of the touch) by bathing, or performing certain rituals.
Dr. Ambedkar argues that, in most societies, the concept of impurity gradually receded and vanished. However, when you consider the theories of Aryan or white supremacy, you realize that this is not true.
In fact, I would say that our tendency to discriminate on grounds of race, religion, color, appearance etc., runs deep in our nature.
The concept of untouchability did not exist in India for many centuries. In fact, there was no mention of this in our earlier texts, like “The Laws of Manu”.
Indeed, many Indians ate beef. When did this change, and when did beef eating become associated with ritual impurity?
Dr. Ambedkar postulated that this came about as a reaction to the rise of Buddhism. When you go back to the days of Ashoka, you realize Buddhism became popular, and this threatened the livelihood of the Brahmin priests.
As a result, it appears, they retaliated by claiming the moral high ground. They did this by becoming vegetarians and giving up beef. As a result, they now deemed those who continued to eat beef to be impure, eventually becoming impure people, or untouchables.
There is very little light that anyone can shed on those early days. If so, we can regard Dr. Ambedkar’s hypothesis as a valid one. As always, his research work is meticulous.
His style is direct, with no fluff. He does not entertain ‘prisoners’. If this offends you, then it is your loss. For me, I find his approach, and the alternative theories he proposed, to be absolutely refreshing. ( )