Dalit is the self-chosen term (meaning 'broken' or 'oppressed') for communities historically placed outside, or at the bottom of, the traditional Hindu caste hierarchy and subjected to the practice of untouchability, ritual exclusion from temples, wells, and shared public space with higher castes. India's constitution formally abolished untouchability in 1950 and established a reservation (affirmative action) system for Scheduled Castes in education, government employment and elected office, and B. R. Ambedkar, himself a Dalit and the principal architect of the Indian constitution, remains a central figure in Dalit political and social identity. Documented caste-based discrimination and violence against Dalit communities continue in parts of South Asia despite the legal abolition of untouchability, a well-established and actively monitored human-rights issue rather than a settled historical matter. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
Facts
Group TypeSourced to the subject's own accountCaste category (historically excluded) 1 Typical RegionSourced to the subject's own accountSouth Asia (India, Nepal, Pakistan, Bangladesh) 1 Population EstimateSourced to the subject's own accountestimated 200 million in India alone (roughly 16 to 17 percent of the population), with additional Dalit populations in Nepal, Pakistan and Bangladesh 1 Primary LanguageSourced to the subject's own accountRegional Indian and South Asian languages 1 Subsistence ModeSourced to the subject's own accountHistorically confined by caste custom to occupations considered ritually polluting (sanitation work, leatherworking, manual scavenging and similar labor); the community today works across all sectors, though occupational discrimination is well documented as ongoing. 1 Connections
Associated With
Dalit names communities historically placed outside the four-varna caste hierarchy and subjected to untouchability under the traditional caste system.
Source Wikipedia: Caste System in India
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Dalit
WikipediaIntroductionQuote, Introduction
Dalit, also called Harijans is a term used for untouchables and outcasts, who represent the lowest stratum of the castes in the Indian subcontinent.
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