Caste System of India and the Untouchables
Another issue Gandhi fought for was the Indians living in poverty. For thousands of years in India there has been a caste system, governed by religious and moral laws. Each caste has assigned duties, responsibilities and privileges. The top caste, the Brahmins, was educated. The Kshatriyas were warriors, Vaishyas were traders, and Sudras were the lowest, the workers. Outside of the caste system, below even the Sudras in society, are the Untouchables. They are called this because people believed that even to touch one would ruin their entire life. A part of the Hindu religion is karma, so it was believed that the Untouchables lived impurely in their previous lives. In the 1500s, untouchables were not allowed in the capitol city gates between 3pm and 9am so that their bodies would not cast shadows and pollute the citizens. They had to wear objects around their neck such as a pot or black thread for identification. Gandhi was born into the third caste and he supported the caste system, however, he believed that untouchability was bad for Hinduism. He called them Harijans, or “Children of God.” Today they are known as Dalits, “broken people.”