Origin of Untouchability

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During the course of its search for the origin of untouchability, this work studies the origin and development of Hinduism and caste system as well. It also studies various other theories regarding the origin of untouchability. It comes to the conclusion that just as Hinduism and caste system have no founders, mundane or divine, so has untouchability no founder. It was a self-evolutionary phenomenon; a spontaneous social reaction to the circumstances, through which the society was passing at the time when the untouchability actually emerged.

Dr. T.L. Sharma M.A. (Hist. & Pol. Sc.); Ph.D. (History) had been teaching History and Political Science in S.D.B. College Shimla and the Punjab University Evening College Shimla, for a number of years.

Remained Head Dept. of History in the H.P. University Centre for Evening Studies, Shimla for more than two decades and retired from there as Associate Professor of History.

Taught Modern History at H.P. University Post. Graduate Centre Shimla for a number of years.

Taught Modern Indian History to Post Graduate and M.Phil Classes for a number of years during Contact Programmes of H.P.University Shimla's International Centre of Distance Education and learning.

The present work has been greatly inspired by the scholarly book of Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, entitled, "The Untouchables, Who Were They? And Why They Became Untouchables?" (Amrit Book Co. New Delhi, Oct. 1948). Dr. Ambedkar's contribution to the cause of finding the origin of untouchability and procuring valuable material from various sources, for the purpose, is laudable. In the course of his research Dr. Ambedkar, however, comes across many missing links as does every other student of ancient Indian history, and solves the problem arbitrarily, by using his imagination and intuition. But such a method, as adopted by Dr. Ambedkar, is neither rational nor in accordance with the principle of objectivity in historical research, and as such unfair. But Dr. Ambedkar, not only uses this method but also justifies it. He writes;

in the course of my investigations into the origin of untouchability and other inter-connected problems I have been confronted with many missing links. It is true that I am not the only one who has been confronted with them. All students of ancient Indian history have had to face them... the question is: "What is a student of history to do? Is he to cry halt and stop his work until the link is discovered? "I think not. I believe that in such cases it is permissible for him to use his imagination and intuition to bridge the gaps left in the chain of facts by links not yet discovered and to propound a working hypothesis suggesting how facts might have been inter-connected. I must admit that rather than hold up to work, I have preferred to resort to this means to get over the difficulty created by the missing links which have come in my way.'

**Contents and Sample Pages**