publications

Appendix I

Overview of the Forms/Sites in which Untouchability is being Practised in Rural India, by Degree of Prevalence492

More than 50% of Villages

45-50% of Villages

30-40% of Villages

25-30% of Villages

20-25% of Villages

15-20% of Villages

10-15% of Villages

Less than 10% of Villages

Denied entry into non-Dalit houses

Prohibitions against food sharing

Denied entry into places of worship

Ill-treatment of women by other women

Denied access to water facilities

Ban on marriage processions

Not allowed to sell milk to cooperatives

Denied barber services

Denied laundry services

Ill-treatment of women by non-SC [scheduled caste] men

Denied work as agricultural labourer

Cannot sell things in local markets

Denied visits by health workers

Separate seating in ‘hotels’

Denied access to irrigation facilities

Separate utensils in ‘hotels’

Discriminatory treatment in police stations

Separate seating in Self-Help Group

Denied entry into police stations

Denied carpenter’s services

Denied entry into PDS [Public Distribution System] shops

Denied access to restaurants/ hotels

Forced to stand before upper-caste men

Paid lower wage rates for same work

Ban on festival processions on roads

Denied home delivery of letters

Segregated seating in schools

Denied entry into private health clinics

No access to grazing/fishing grounds

Tailor refuses to take measurements

Buying of pots from potter

Separate drinking water in schools

Discriminatory treatment in post offices

Cannot wear new/bright clothes

Shops: No touching in transactions

Denied access to public roads/passage

Denied entry into PHCs [Primary Health Centers]

Not allowed to use umbrellas in public

Schools: SC students and non-SC teacher

Schools: SC teachers and non-SCstudents

Denied entry into panchayat [village council] office

Ban on wearing dark glasses, smoking, etc.

Schools: SC teacher and non-SC student

Public transport: No seats/last entry

Separate lines at polling booth

Denied entry into polling booth

Cannot use chappals [slippers] on public roads

Discriminatory treatment in PHCs [Primary Health Centers]

Denied access/entry to public transport

Separate times at polling booth

Discriminatory treatment in private clinics

Compulsion to seek blessing in marriages

Forced to seek upper caste’s permission for marriages

Cannot use cycles on public roads

Denied entry/seating in cinema halls



492 Reproduced from: Shah, et al., Untouchability in Rural India, p. 65 (Table 2.1). The survey investigated the extent and incidence of untouchability in different spheres of life in contemporary rural India. It examined 565 villages in 11 major states of India, including the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala in south India; Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Rajasthan in central and western India; Punjab and Uttar Pradesh in north India; and Orissa and Bihar in eastern India. The states selected account for 77 percent of India’s total Dalit population and cover a substantial and representative portion of India’s territory and overall population. See Ibid., pp. 48-49.