Untouchability

Adivasis and the Indian State: From Lohra tribals to Rautias, in Jharkhand, vulnerable groups bear burden of identity

During one Census, the administration erroneously entered Lohra, as Lohar in the records, and in the process stripped the community of its Adivasi identity, and along with reservations on jobs, education and several other social welfare benefits

Protection of Civil Rights Act does little to combat untouchability, crimes against Dalits

A report of India Human Development Survey (IHDS)-2 shows how practices like social exclusion and untouchability are still deeply entrenched.

Discourse around Zomato controversy fails to acknowledge role of caste in dictating our experiences with food

The Zomato controversy turns weary if it is reduced to yet another story brimming with stale clichés of communal cleavage or pious exemplars of communal harmony

Article 15 movie review: Ayushmann Khurrana's restraint fits this overwhelming, gutsy take on Dalit abuse

Article 15 is the best that Indian cinema can be in these troubled times if it chooses to hold a mirror up to our society.

By linking cleanliness to spirituality, Gandhi, symbol of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, valorised inhuman practice of manual scavenging

If we consider manual scavenging as an inhuman occupation, then it's important to ask why Gandhi supported the system instead of adopting water closet

Devdutt Pattanaik on his new book Faith: 'Myths are a necessary part of the human condition, not just ancient times'

In his latest book Faith, Devdutt Pattanaik attempts to meticulously explain the various aspects of Hinduism that might baffle the modern practitioner, even the most seemingly irrelevant ones

The Valmiki community's protest against empty political gestures — and an oppressive occupation

For many centuries, the Valmiki community has suffered oppression and been deprived of opportunities because of a caste-ordained occupation — cleaning sewers and human waste

'Purification' ritual at Sabarimala appears to violate ban on untouchability, undermines DY Chandrachud's observations in 28 Sept SC verdict

By performing the "purification" process at Sabarimala, the temple priests reduced the two women to the abolished status of "untouchables", implying that they had contaminated the shrine in some way.

Khanderav Parit's battle against caste: How a former mill worker is fighting oppression through his writings

An award-winning rural author, mill worker, and now a farmer, Khanderav Parit’s writings reflect the everyday life of the oppressed.

In MP's Panna, a village grapples with the lack of potable water, against the pre-existing twist of untouchability

India has more people in rural areas – 63.4 million – living without access to clean water, than any other country, according to a report by WaterAid, a global advocacy group on water and sanitation. Arsenic or iron contamination, pollution of groundwater, the lack of piped water, and depleting aquifers are just some of the causes of this shortage of potable water in villages.