2016-12-30 Fri

"My fight against untouchability is a fight against the impure in humanity."
- Mahatma Gandhi

Untouchability, a term which every child was acquainted with in the earlier days, is the worst form of discrimination and also resulted in a violation of Human rights. It was practiced for a long time in India and its consequences are still felt today!

Untouchability and its eradication is one of the most critical social issues that lay in front of the social reformers of the 19th century. Many social leaders stood up against such discrimination, but Dr. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar was the harbinger in this struggle!

He founded ‘Bahishkrit Hitakarini Sabha’ with the slogan of ‘Educate, Agitate and organize’. His main objective was to annihilate the caste system and reconstruct Indian society based on equality. Unlike today it had a prominent place in Indian society. But its scars can still be seen in the rural India today.

Being a man with a futurist vision, Dr. Ambedekar, the drafter of our Indian Constitution, abolished untouchability by the law in our Country. The Article 17th of the Constitution abolishes untouchability and makes its practices a punishable offense.

Furthermore, to eradicate it, an act “Untouchability Offences Act” was passed by the Government of India in 1955 and later in 1976 it was renamed as “Protection of Civil Rights” Act. To remember his fight against this social evil India post issued a commemorative stamp in 1991. This stamp shows the Mahad march at Chawdar tank in Colaba near Bombay to establish the right of the untouchables to take water from the public tank in 1927.

Dr. Ambedkar enshrined the constitution with the Fundamental rights and Directive principles of state policy providing the right for freedom, equality, and the abolition of untouchability with the distribution of wealth and better living condition equally.

The birth of a child does not define his caste, let his deed (karma) be his identification.