What is it like to live as an untouchable in an Indian village now?
It can be very scary. Some villagers have improved their economic conditions. They own land that they can cultivate and live on. But some are very poor, and they are always vulnerable. And it’s hell if you are very poor in an untouchable family. Just recently, in the month of October, there was a massacre in a village and a whole family was killed. The women were paraded naked before they were murdered. So were two boys in the family. They were all killed by high-class people in the village. Why did they do that? The local government had given the family some land because it has a policy of helping to support untouchables earn a living. This angered high-caste people in the village. So they killed them. That’s horrible. Is it better for untouchable people who are living in the cities? It is a bit better. You can buy a house anywhere you want if you have the money, and you can give your children a better education. But you still experience discrimination. Didn’t India outlaw the caste s
