UNTOUCHABILITY AND UNTOUCHABLES IN THE PAST AND PRESENT TAMIL NADU

Abstract

In the words of K.R. Hanumanthan, 'Untouchability is a unique phenomenon in the Hindu Society. It is indeed an Indian Concept whose true import can be understood only in the Indian Context' The English word 'untouchability' gives local expression like 'asparsya' in Sanskrit, 'tittu' in Tamil, and 'pula' in Canarese and Malayalam. B.R.Ambedkar views, 'Untouchability is the notion of defilement, pollution and contamination'.The British Administrators coined the word , 'Untouchables' to denote the bottomline people of the Indian Society. J.H.Hutton calls them, 'Exterior Castes' since they were outside the regular cadre of castes.The British records refer them as 'Depressed Classes'. As per the Government of India Act, they are being called,'Scheduled Castes'. The untouchables of Tamil Nadu coined the word, 'Adi- Dravida' for themselves, meaning, 'Original Dravidas'. They even started in 1857 an association called 'Adi-Dravida Mahajana Sabha'. M.K.Gandhi named them, 'Harijans'.Untouchability varied from caste to caste only in degree and not in kind. There was a tremendous change in the position of position from the past to present. Their leaders created much awakening since the beginning of the Twentieth Century. The Popular Governments in both Centre and Tamil Nadu State through legislative measures attempted to remove the practice of untouchability and avert attacks on the Untouchables in the name of the caste.The paper attempts to highlight the practice of untouchability and position of untouchables from the past to pre-Independence period.