There are many social evils that are an outcome of the caste system. Untouchability is one of its worst results. Certain people belonging to the Shudra caste were treated as �untouchables'. They were not allowed to come in contact with others and only performed menial tasks to earn their living. They did the work of removing human excreta, cleaning the roads, carrying away dead animals, and handling dead bodies. This section lived in poverty, under miserable conditions.

The �untouchables� were discriminated against in many ways. They had to live separately on the outskirts of the villages. If by chance they happened to touch any high-caste person, was supposed to perform ceremonies to restore his or her religious purity. Some even believed that the sight of an �untouchable� was a bad omen. They were not allowed to enter any temple or other places of worship. Neither could they draw water from a public well, water tank, or river ghat. They had to depend on someone else to give them water when they needed it. They were even barred from entering public eating places, shops, etc.

Our Constitution to remove Untouchability

We can do a lot to remove untouchability from our society. The most important way to prevent the exploitation of Harizans by the upper castes is to take concrete steps to help the Harizans improve their own financial conditions.

� Educating them and providing vocational training and jobs can achieve this purpose.
� Assistance can also be given so that they can set up their own small-scale or cottage industries.
� Awareness can be created amongst the rest of the people with the use of films and theatres, songs, bhajans, talks, and discussions. The evil effects of this practice can be highlighted through these mediums.
� Children need to be made aware of harmful social practices such as untouchability. Much can be achieved by creating feelings of brotherhood and removing caste prejudices from the minds of future generations.

Despite all efforts, it is deeply unfortunate that the practice of untouchability has still not been totally weeded out from our country. Many people still retain these age-old attitudes which prevent the development of our society. We hope that future generations will see the harm this shameful practice has brought to our society and free our country of such social evils.

The government has also set aside large sums of money in the Five-Year Plans for the upliftment of the harijans. Certain states have even given awards to the villages that have worked successfully for the eradication of this social evil. In spite of all these attempts, untouchability has not been successfully uprooted. Although people in cities have become more open-minded, in the villages it is different. In the newspapers, we still read about incidents of caste discrimination and untouchability.

Mahatma Gandhi�s role in the upliftment of Harijans

Many religious and social reformers tried to end this evil practice without effect. But during the national movement, Mahatma Gandhi made the eradication of untouchability one of his goals. He had once said that the way �Untouchability� was spreading in the Hindu society, was against both man and God. It was like a poison eating into the very vitals of the Hindu religion. In his opinion, it did not even have the sanction of the Hindu scriptures.

Living up to this, Mahatma Gandhi declared that the untouchables were �Harizans� meaning �the people of God�. He tried to even go and stayed with them into the Indian National Congress and the freedom movement. He went and stayed with them in their colonies, shared meals, and performed all the tasks of cleaning along with them. In his ashram, all his followers tried to follow his thinking. Public dinners were organized in which people expressed their feelings against the practice of untouchability by eating with people of different communities. Thus, many people rejected this practice and the rigidity of caste rules was given up for the betterment of all.

Read More: Article 17 Of Indian Constitution: Abolition Of Untouchability - Class 8