The documentary titled ‘India Untouched’ directed by Stalin K, aimed at all those who deny the existence of untouchability. It collects evidence from people belonging to eight states and four religions following the same practice of untouchability but in different fonts, shapes, sizes and forms. The belief that caste-based discrimination is merely a rural phenomenon has been destroyed in this documentary because, in India, when one thinks of their identity, one associates it with their caste. The mere notion that ‘we’re all equals’ leaves the table when caste consciousness comes into the picture.
The documentary starts with various children unwilling to enter the household of a harijan because they believe it will pollute them. When the kids were asked about whosoever taught them the practice of untouchability, they replied that no one told them about it as they’ve known about it since they were small. This reflects that it has been ingrained in their heads since birth that they must not visit the house of a person belonging to a lower caste because doing so will pollute them and destroy their purity. The kids don’t understand the concept or what it represents. Yet, the term “Untouchability” and its connotation are profoundly ingrained in the minds of these children and is omnipresent whether they are in a hamlet or a city, rich or poor, educated or illiterate, the feeling of untouchability pervades every area of their surrounding.
Law of Manu is a historical text that aims to divide people into four hierarchical groups called castes: Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and Shudras, in that descending order of status and privilege. The text tends to assign duties and obligations to people in these groups based on their birth, which was set in stone and fixed for life. It is the symbol of the caste system and the subjugation of people belonging to the lower castes.
Starting with Madurai, Tamil Nadu, people who belong to the parayars community (dalits) are not allowed to enter the area where the upper castes reside with their slippers on. And if we move onto Bhavnagar, Gujarat, people commute from one place to another by a taxi called chakkadas. People in this village don’t allow bhangis (dalits) to travel in this taxi because it might get polluted or the tiffin boxes carried by men from the upper caste would go to waste. The documentary showcases various other instances from different states wherein casteist beliefs are still very much in place. The most shocking element of this documentary is that people who belong to lower castes likewise believe that they are subordinate to the upper caste and that their place in society is to serve and obey them. The very nature of this emotion illustrates how deeply entrenched the caste system is in India. Many people continue to believe that untouchability does not exist in the modern age, but this only serves to highlight their privilege and how they are unable to acknowledge the fact that people all over the nation are being assaulted, raped, and killed simply because they were born into a family that is deemed to be beneath them.
While talking to the people residing in Patiala, Punjab, it was found that there were divisions within the people working in the Municipal Corporation based on their caste. No person belonging to the upper caste was made to work at the ground level. All the menial tasks such as cleaning, and sweeping are allocated to valimikis (dalits), whereas the post of manager, and supervisors are assigned to upper caste persons. This division of labor, rightfully, should be based on one’s skill and not their designated status in society, but dalits are still,in the 21st century, not given the opportunity to transcend this identity that has been imprinted upon them. One can’t move ahead or beyond this identity. It restricts them to this one place where they must remain all their life no matter how much strength they acquire, people around will somehow find ways to limit their freedom, and you will always stay this one person all your life. This is not just the case for small cities, towns or villages but even in the so-called technologically driven developed cities such as Delhi. The documentary illustrates the example of a doctor who belongs to the scheduled tribes (ST) community being discriminated against by his colleagues, junior-ranked workers and, most shockingly, patients. The doctor calls it ‘Hi-tech discrimination’ that even highly educated and respected Dalits are being subjected to untouchability and discrimination. Many patients refuse to get treated by a doctor who belongs to a lower caste. People in metropolitan cities carry out this discrimination by blaming it on reservations, saying it kills merit.
The notion of reservations was to create a safe space for people belonging to lower castes by providing them a spot in society wherein they are treated as equals, bringing them to par with others. It helps provide Dalits’ rights to education, health, housing, property, freedom of religion, employment, and equal treatment before the law. And to add onto this, the reservation system was not seen as a device to eradicate poverty, nor was it demanded in favor of the economically poor. It was brought in because without reserving a certain number of posts, the selection bodies, monopolized by the so-called upper castes, would not recruit Dalits due to their ingrained class bias. This has also been illustrated in the documentary various times.
Many students in schools and colleges bully their classmates who entered through the reservation granted to them for their upliftment. They believe that the students from the reserved category stole their seats and their right to attend a better university. But they refuse to acknowledge that no one took their seats. They got in through the seat which was designated to them, not through a general category seat. Kids from a privileged, upper-caste background who have never experienced difficulties tend to think that everyone was born and raised in the same socio-economic circumstances as them. However, in reality, it is not the case. Generations of upper caste have discriminated against Dalits and continue to do so. Stalin K talks to various families living in Jamui, Bihar and establishes a pattern that even though Dalit women work as midwives and care for kids born into upper caste families, they will never get invited to their weddings. A woman who has delivered babies, taken care of their mother, thrown away the placenta, massaged the newborn, raised a child as her own, and taught him how to walk and bathe. It gets hard to believe that a person playing such a significant role in the life of a young one would never be allowed to come to his wedding. When the woman was asked the same question, she started laughing. This is the extent to which dalits are treated; the mere thought of being invited to an upper-caste wedding is astonishing to them.
Caste oppression is systemic, and each one of us, the privileged, participates in it through many unearned benefits which have been conferred upon us by birth. It reflects the idea that one can be kind and oppressive simultaneously. Even if we talk about SFI, the labor class comprises students with dalit backgrounds. Dalits do the major ground level work; they are the ones who run all the campaigns, shout slogans, and paste the posters. Unconsciously or consciously, individuals create divisions, and if these students become aware of their rights and get the platform to voice these forms of division, the core of SFI would crumble.
The most horrific part of the documentary was an interview with the chief priest of Tulsi Manas Temple, Varanasi, named Batuprasad Shastri, who outrightly practices untouchability. He believes that the Law of Manu is his constitution. He firmly believes that the Indian Constitution is anti-shastra and, therefore, must have no place in our society. He obediently follows the Veda and considers that an order given by his ancestors. Next, two more Brahmin priests being interviewed were asked their opinions regarding untouchability. With no surprise, both claimed that the caste system is not discriminatory and is ‘purely scientific’.
Further, we get an insight into Kerala, which is preached as the most literate state in our country but discriminates and insults Dalits like it's second nature to it. It is spontaneous as if it comes from within. This proves that education plays no role in this deep-rooted categorical division. The argument that reservations must not be granted to individuals living in an urban setting falls apart because if better economic conditions, better education levels and better standards of living would have enhanced this chain of oppression, then residents of Kerala wouldn’t be denying someone their right to live because they are not a ‘nair’(upper caste).
On the other hand, talking about religion, Christianity follows no caste. When people convert to Christianity, they have high hopes of escaping untouchability and segregation and being treated as equals. Still, yet again, when they convert to Christianity, they come from different castes and along with it comes the mindset they can’t simply unlearn just because they changed their religion. The high hopes fall apart when separate places in churches, or even separate churches, are allocated to Dalits. Moreover, there are different cemeteries for different castes within the religion.
This documentary makes it impossible for anyone to deny that untouchability is still practiced in India. It opens the eyes of the privileged lot and makes them question their beliefs. It makes one want to unlearn the balderdash ingrained inside their head. The movie ends on a positive note, providing a ray of hope when a young Dalit girl is filled with joy after pulling water from her village well for the first time in her life. While celebrating these small victories, we must forge ahead and continue the resistance against caste-based discrimination, a peril for nearly four millennials now.
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