Untouchability practices persist in over 97 percent of surveyed Gujarat villages
Evidence
In 2009, Ahmedabad-based Navsarjan Trust and the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights, published a joint report, “Understanding Untouchability”. It listed ninety-nine forms of untouchability in 1,589 villages of Gujarat. It looked at the prevalence of untouchability under eight broad heads: 1. Water for Drinking; 2. Food and Beverage; 3. Religion; 4. Caste-based Occupations; 5. Touch; 6. Access to Public Facilities and Institutions; 7. Prohibitions and Social Sanctions; 8. Private Sector Discrimination. The findings were shocking. In 98.4 per cent of villages surveyed, inter-caste marriage was prohibited; in 97.6 per cent of villages, Dalits were forbidden to touch water pots or utensils that belonged to non-Dalits; in 98.1 per cent of villages, a Dalit could not rent a house in a non-Dalit area; in 97.2 per cent of villages, Dalit religious leaders were not allowed to celebrate a religious ceremony in a non-Dalit area; in 67 per cent of villages, Dalit panchayat members were either not offered tea or were served in separate cups called ‘Dalit’ cups. — Ambedkar, B R, Annihilation of Caste_ The Annotated…, 460
Categorization
- XREF: Direct concrete evidence that caste practices Ambedkar attacked in 1936 survived essentially intact into the 2000s, grounding the reader’s questions about why annihilation failed. — connects to: Untouchability is the root cause of Dalit poverty and national backwardness; Caste-based water exclusion persists in post-independence India
- QUESTION: Worth chasing whether any comparable 2010s or 2020s survey re-measures these exact nine forms to gauge whether untouchability is finally declining.
- corroborated: 3 independent passages support this claim — Ambedkar, B R, Annihilation of Caste_ The Annotated…, 460
Broader Connections
- Caste-based water exclusion persists in post-independence India
#exemplifies(0.85) - Untouchability is the root cause of Dalit poverty and national backwardness
#expands(0.60)