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Origin of Untouchability if
DR. AMBEDKAR ON THE ORIGIN OF UNTOUCHABILITY
Upendranath Roy
The oply elaborate explanation of the origin of untoucha. bility available to us comes from Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, has been stated in the last chapter. This is found in his work The untouchables' published for the first time in October 1948. As we cannot help referring to that work now and then during the course of our inquiry, it would be convenient to present a summary of his views to our readers before we proceed further. Dr. Ambedkar's work is out of print and may not be accessible to them. 1. Dr. Ambedkar says both primitive and ancient societies had their notions of defilement as the notions of sacredness. People became de filed under certain circumstances. The defilement was caused either by certain events (like birth, initiation, puberty. marriage, copabitation and death) or by contact of certain persons or things. These societies had purificatory ceremonies for dispelling impurity. The defilement vanished after a certain period or after the purificatory ceremonies were performed. Such notions were not unknown to Ancient India. That is evident from the rules for the purification of physical, notional and ethical defilement given by Manu.
But the untouchability of the Hindu society if different from the notion of defilement found in the primitive and ancient societies in the following respects :(a) Untouchability does not vanish after a certain period or after
performance of certain purificatory ceremonies. It is permanent
and hereditary. (b) Untouchability is not caused by specified reasons like birth,
death etc. Apparently it is practised for no cause. (c) Defilement let to isolation of individuals affected or at the most
those closely connected with them, while untouchability isolates
an entire class numbering millions. (d) Defilement leads to isolation for a period. The untouchables
on the other hand are segregated and compelled to live in separate quarters. That makes untouchability a unique phenomenon. Nothing like that was ever observed by any other society.
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