Some tales of untouchability

I am a Dalit. Mathematics teacher by profession. Once I had to visit my students home on the scheme of vidyagama where we have to go houses of every student to observe whether they are studying or not. Like that one day I had to go for a visit to one of my students home. As I had not have the knowledge of address of students home I took along with me a student, incidentally who is also a Dalit.

Like that I went to visit one of my girl students home. As I went there mother of that student came with a smile and wished me. As usual I also wished her and begin to ask "how her daughter is studying at home.. and other things. While I was asking her in a usual curiosity the boy student who had accompanied me came a little forward to listen the conversation. suddenly that mother rushed in hurry that she removed all cloths that were hanging from a wire in front of her house so that the boy might touch. I noticed the incident but pretended as unnoticed as I don't want to make know that I got hurt to other people who were surrounding me, especially to my student who was her daughter. Also I went there with a pre preparation that these kind of things might happen and I need not scare such things.

One more thing, the cloths that were hanging that mother removed off were not of quality of more than a gunny bag and personally i use such kind of cloths in my home just to clean the floor. So I felt nothing from that. But my innocent girl student who was observing all these things and her mom's nonsense felt shame about her mother's behaviour and called me to take coffee with a light note. I politely rejected her offer of coffee and concluded my duty of asking about her study and other things.

While coming back, the boy begin to tell me that "those people are belongs to that caste sir, therefore they behaved like that sir...". I told that boy " Lo, get good education. Study well. I neglected that incident and their behaviour of untouchability. Because I am a well educated, well dressed, well speaking, having good health, good wealth... everything. Moreover I have studied what is untouchability and how to overcome it..".

While I was telling him this, the picture of that lady rushing in such a hurry, removing off the cloths came to my eyes again and again of which I couldn't avoid. Untouchability is the worst kind of insult that we are experiencing even today. Tragic is the people who are observing it are not understanding it and will not understand too.

-Raghothama Hoba

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Why did Dr Ambedkar converted to Buddhism? -Raghothama Hoba

Yesterday, someone asked me why did Dr.Ambedkar converted to "Buddhism", But next series of questions he forget to ask me is “Why untouchability is still practiced against some caste in society? Why some caste people were kept away from temples? Why some caste and people belonging to those caste were being denied opportunities in every field of life such as business, trade, commerce, private companies, hotels, markets etc,. Why some caste people were meant to do menial jobs, scavenging and other things? To continue, why some caste people still being denied or avoided to get higher education? Why some caste people are unnecessarily tortured in working areas whether it is government or private. Answer to all this is untouchability. Let we call those people who are being subjected to untouchability as untouchables or Dalits or scheduled caste people. Now one has to think himself, what could happen if someone kept away from temples or made to stand outside the temple? Won’t it h...

ಜಾತಿ ಮತ್ತು ಅಸಮಾನತೆಯನ್ನು ಬುದ್ಧರು ಹೇಗೆ ಪ್ರಶ್ನಿಸುತ್ತಾರೆಂದರೆ...

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1947 ಜನವರಿ ತಿಂಗಳ ಒಂದು ದಿನ "ಸಂವಿಧಾನ ಸಭೆ" (Constituent assembly) ಸಭೆ ಸೇರುತ್ತದೆ. ಅಂದು ಆ ಸಭೆ ಸೇರುವ ಉದ್ದೇಶ ಅರಿತಿದ್ದ ಬಾಬಾಸಾಹೇಬ್ ಅಂಬೇಡ್ಕರರು ಸಭೆಯ ಸದಸ್ಯರಾಗಿದ್ದರು ಕೂಡ ಸಭೆಯಿಂದ ದೂರ ಉಳಿದಿದ್ದರು. ಯಥಾಪ್ರಕಾರ ಸಂವಿಧಾನ ಸಭೆಯ "ಅಲ್ಪಸಂಖ್ಯಾತರ ಉಪಸಮಿತಿ"ಯ ಅಧ್ಯಕ್ಷರಾದ ಸರ್ದಾರ್ ವಲ್ಲಭಭಾಯ್ ಪಟೇಲ್ ಆ ದಿನ ಒಂದು ತಂತ್ರಗೈದು ಸಮಿತಿಯ ಅಧ್ಯಕ್ಷರಾದ ತಾವೇ ಹಾಜರಿದ್ದರೂ ಆಚಾರ್ಯ ಕೃಪಲಾನಿಯವರನ್ನು ಅಂದು ಸಭೆಯ ಅಧ್ಯಕ್ಷತೆ ವಹಿಸಿಕೊಳ್ಳುವಂತೆ ತಿಳಿಸುತ್ತಾರೆ. ಅಲ್ಲದೇ ಸರ್ದಾರ್ ವಲ್ಲಭಭಾಯ್ ಪಟೇಲರು ಅಂದು ಮಂಡಿಸುವ ನಿಲುವನ್ನು ಬೆಂಬಲಿಸುವ ಸಮಿತಿಯ ಸದಸ್ಯರುಗಳಿಗೆ ರಾಜ್ಯಪಾಲ, ಮುಖ್ಯಮಂತ್ರಿ.. ಹೀಗೆ ವಿವಿಧ ಹುದ್ದೆಗಳನ್ನು ನೀಡುವ ಆಮಿಷ ಒಡ್ಡಲಾಗಿರುತ್ತದೆ ! ಈ ಹಿನ್ನೆಲೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಅಂದು ಸಭೆ ಸೇರಿದ ಸಂವಿಧಾನ ಸಭೆಯ ಆ "ಅಲ್ಪಸಂಖ್ಯಾತರ ಉಪಸಮಿತಿ" ಕೈಗೊಂಡ ನಿರ್ಣಯವೆಂದರೆ ಎಸ್ಸಿ, ಎಸ್ಟಿಗಳು ಸೇರಿದಂತೆ ಎಲ್ಲಾ ವರ್ಗಗಳ ಜನರಿಗೂ ಮೀಸಲಾತಿ ರದ್ದುಗೊಳಿಸುವ ನಿರ್ಧಾರ!! ಅಂದಹಾಗೆ ಹೀಗೆ ಎಸ್ಸಿ, ಎಸ್ಟಿಗಳಿಗೆ ಮೀಸಲಾತಿ ರದ್ದುಗೊಳಿಸುವ ನಿರ್ಧಾರ ಪ್ರಕಟಗೊಳ್ಳುತ್ತಿದ್ದಂತೆ ಮಾರನೇ ದಿನದ "ಹಿಂದೂಸ್ತಾನ್ ಟೈಮ್ಸ್" ಮತ್ತು "ಸ್ಟೇಟ್ಸ್ ಮನ್" ನಂತಹ ಇಂಗ್ಲಿಷ್ ಪತ್ರಿಕೆಗಳು ಈ ಸುದ್ದಿಗೆ ನೀಡಿದ ಹೆಡ್ ಲೈನ್ಸ್ ಏನು ಗೊತ್ತೇ? ಇಂದು Red letter day (ಇತಿಹಾಸದಲ್ಲಿ...

Raghothama hoba

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