Untouchability Chapter Notes | Civics Class 8 ICSE PDF Download

• Originated with the rigid caste system introduced by Aryans around 1500 BC.
• Higher castes considered untouchables impure, prohibiting physical contact with them.
• Untouchables were restricted to occupations deemed unclean, like scavenging or leatherwork.
• References to untouchability found in ancient texts like Kautilya’s Arthashastra and Manusmriti, placing untouchables at the lowest level of the caste hierarchy.
• Today, untouchability results in social, economic, and political disadvantages for affected groups.
• Untouchables face denial of basic human rights, justified by caste hierarchy.
• Occupations like scavenging, leatherwork, or carrion removal label people as untouchables.
• Untouchables, often called Scheduled Castes, make up about 16% of India’s population.
• Historically referred to as harijans (term popularized by Mahatma Gandhi) or depressed classes during British rule.
• Scheduled Castes continue to face discrimination despite legal protections.

Dr. Ambedkar and Untouchability

• Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar experienced untouchability from childhood due to his Mahar caste background.
• At school, he was not allowed to sit with other students and could only drink water poured by others, covering his mouth.
• People from the Mahar caste and others faced social injustices for centuries.
• Dr. Ambedkar is remembered as the leader of the Dalit Liberation Movement.
• He served as the Chairperson of the Constitution Drafting Committee.
• He was the first Law Minister of independent India.

Manual Scavenging

• Involves manually removing human waste from sewers and dry toilets (toilets without flush systems).
• Performed using brooms, buckets, and tin plates, with waste carried in baskets to distant locations.
• Manual scavengers are treated as untouchables and face social discrimination.
• They are exposed to health risks, such as tuberculosis, due to unhygienic conditions.
• Most scavengers live below the poverty line, losing wages when ill and lacking access to affordable healthcare.
• Predominantly women, who often inherit this occupation from family members.
• Finding alternative employment is extremely difficult for manual scavengers.
• They are forced to live on village outskirts, isolated from community facilities.
• Prohibited from using common wells, attending local religious places, or participating in festivals.
• Their children are often segregated in schools, facing further discrimination.

Existence in Urban and Rural Areas

• As per the 2011 Census, 7,94,390 dry latrines exist in India, requiring manual scavenging.
• 73% of dry latrines are in rural areas, and 27% are in urban areas.
• Manual scavenging persists in states like Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan despite legal bans.
• The Indian Railways is the largest violator, employing scavengers to clean waste from tracks due to trains lacking proper waste disposal systems.
• Legislation to stop manual scavenging has been largely ineffective.

Laws and Other Efforts to End Manual Scavenging

• Mahatma Gandhi opposed manual scavenging and founded the Harijan Sevak Sangh to abolish untouchability.
• Various committees recommended abolishing manual scavenging and rehabilitating workers.
• The Employment of Manual Scavengers and Construction of Dry Latrines (Prohibition) Act, 1993, bans employing scavengers or building dry latrines.
• Punishment under the 1993 Act includes up to one year imprisonment and/or a ₹2,000 fine.
• The 2011 Census reported 23 lakh pit latrines still in use, indicating ongoing issues.
• The Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and Their Rehabilitation Bill, 2013, introduced stricter measures.
• Offenses under the 2013 Bill are cognizable and non-bailable, allowing immediate trials.
• Punishments under the 2013 Bill include:
• Up to five years imprisonment for employing manual scavengers.
• First offense: Up to one year imprisonment and/or ₹50,000 fine.
• Subsequent offenses: Up to two years imprisonment and/or ₹1 lakh fine.
• The 2013 Bill provides rehabilitation for scavengers and their families, including alternative jobs and support to remove social stigma.
• Local authorities (municipalities, panchayats, railway authorities, etc.) must survey insanitary latrines within their jurisdiction.
• Authorities must publish a list of insanitary latrines within two months and notify owners to demolish or convert them into sanitary latrines within six months.
• Owners are responsible for converting or demolishing insanitary latrines at their own cost, or the local authority will do so and recover the cost.
• State Governments appoint inspectors to check premises, identify scavengers, and seize relevant records.
• The Maila Mukti Yatra, launched on November 30, 2012, in Bhopal, aimed to eradicate manual scavenging.
• The 65-day Yatra covered 200 districts across 18 states, freeing thousands of women from manual scavenging.

Constitutional Remedies Against Untouchability

• The Constitution guarantees equality, liberty, fraternity, justice, and Fundamental Rights, prohibiting untouchability.
• Article 17 abolishes untouchability and bans its practice in any form.
• The Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955, punishes the preaching or practice of untouchability.
• The Employment of Manual Scavengers and Construction of Dry Latrines (Prohibition) Act, 1993, prohibits manual scavenging.
• Article 15 prohibits discrimination based on religion, race, caste, sex, or place of birth.
• The state cannot discriminate against citizens on these grounds.
• No citizen can be denied access to shops, restaurants, hotels, or public entertainment places based on religion, race, caste, sex, or place of birth.
• No citizen can face restrictions on using wells, tanks, bathing ghats, roads, or public places funded by the state or dedicated to public use.