________________
Vol. XXII, No. 4
supervened and perpetuated difference between kindred and nonkindred, tribesmen and non-tribesmen in another form; namely, between Touchables and Untouchables. It is this new factor which prevented the amalgamation taking place in the way in which it took place in Ireland and Wales, with the result that the system of separate quarters has become a perpetual and a permanent feature of the Indian village.
It is relevant here to know when nomadic tribes began to settle, when settled communities clashed with the wandering groups and when Broken Men were allowed to live outside the villages in India. Though Ambedkar did not bother about them, we cannot dismiss the questions. It is beyond doubt that the Rgveda belongs to a period when people lived in villages and big cities flourished during the days of Buddha. We will not be ante-dating it if we assign the dato of 1500 B.C. to the Rgveda. So we can safely conclude that the Broken Man had settled outside the villages some time during the period 1500 B. C. to 600 B.C. They were placed in the category of the 'Impure' from that date to 400 A.D. and became untouchables only later according to Ambedkar. But at least 1900 years passed since the days of the Rgveda to 400 A.D. and one thousand years passed since the days of Buddha too. Untouchability had not come about during the period and yet the separate quarters of the Broken Man remained. We wonder what the reason was. There was no untouchability and yet separate quarters remained for a thousand or two thousand years that is a proposition that makes no sense. That is impossible and incredible.
209
There is another problem the theory of Ambedkar creates. He writes, "...a rule similar to that which existed in Ireland and Wales also existed in India. It is referred to by Manu. In Chap. X, verses 64-67, he says that a Shudra can be a Brahmin if he marries for seven generations within the Brahmin Community. The ordinary rule of chaturvarnya was that a Shudra could never become a Brahmin. But this rule of antiquity was so strong that Manu had to apply it to the Shudra. It is obvious that if this rule had continued to operat in India, the Broken Man of India would have been absorbed in the village Community and their separate quarters would have ceased to exist."
The trouble with the above statement is the rule laid down by Manu is meant for the Shudras, it does not refer to the Broken Man. The Shudras lived at the exterior part of the village but not outside the village, while the untouchables had to live outside. How could the promotion of the Shūdras to a higher varpa lead to disappearance of the separate quarters of those who lived outside ? Ambedkar
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
