About Untouchable Caste
Caste culture is still widely accepted in Indian society. Although it has officially been abolished, and is largely disregarded in major Indian cities, it is still a very important part of Hindu life in small cities and rural India. In cities such as Jaisalmer, one’s caste determines such things as social status, financial position, and ability to marry. Caste is hereditary and can limit the potential for social ascent. Regardless of the work done by a person, he or she will always belong to the same caste. It is common to find poor people belonging to upper castes, however they will always receive some help from their community. This is often not the case for the lowest caste, Dalits or Untouchables, who have very little support.
The three highest castes are the Brahmins, the Rajputs, and the Vaishyas. These Hindu castes were once determined by one’s employment. In the past, people who were working for the King as advisers, teachers or priests in the temple belonged to the Brahmin caste. People who were working for the military, selected rulers, who then belonged to that caste. They were known as the Rajput or Warrior caste. Business owners and men of commerce belonged to the Vaishya caste. There are more lower-castes and thousands of sub-castes. Wikipedia offers a more comprehensive overview of castes.
These first three castes had money and thus power. The Dalits were the lowest caste. These were the people who were working as butchers, farmers or in maintenance, serving the higher castes. In short, any person employed in the hardest menial labor belonged to the Untouchable caste. They have gone by many names throughout history: from the original Untouchable; to Harijan, a term used by Gandhi meaning Child of God; to the current preferred name of Dalit, which means oppressed. Until recently, Dalits wielded very little influence. Now, with the election of Dalits into political office, more attention is being paid to their plight. However, very little has changed for most Dalits outside of the major cities. In most cases, they are still among the poorest and have limited access to basic necessities like clean water, food, housing, and medical care. Survival becomes their priority and very little attention is given to education. Illiteracy is the norm and many cannot understand the importance of educating their children.
In Jaisalmer, the home of Gurukul Vidhya Mandir Sikshan Sansthan the caste system and a general contempt for Dalits is far from disappearing in spite of government abolition of the caste system. One of these communities lives 1.5 kms from the town. In 2002, two professors from Jaisalmer , Mr. Manoj Vyas and Mr. Satish Singh sensitive to the lack of education within this community, decided to create a NGO to give free education to the low-caste poor.