The Village - 11

...And should an untouchable desire to dress him well? The heavens would fall. It would be quite contrary to dharmic ways. An untouchable is supposed to talk, walk, wear, eat, sleep and behave his jati. All his acts should be in perfect alignment with his lowest status in the society. It is quite painful and mentally unstabilizing for an upper caste to see an untouchable getting out of this alignment. Perfect geometry of alignment has to be maintained. Harmony is harmony no matter what. The way of living of an untouchable should be in harmony with his insulting status. Otherwise it makes high castes emotional wrecks. It makes them angry with a perfect degree of righteousness. It is sufficient to send them in a maniacal mind set causing destruction to untouchables and their huts. Nobody can ever accuse them of not being geometrical and. they cannot also be accused of not believing in harmony. The upper castes do not see any meaning in seeing a well-dressed untouchable. They think it is purposeless and the particular untouchable is aspiring for too much; getting out of alignment of dharmic social structure. It is an affront to their dignity. Any untouchable ought to be satisfied with getting two square meals a day; filling his belly should be the highest ambition for him. That is the limit imposed on him by Varna dharma. If he is dressing himself well then he is crossing the ethical limits; it is unethical to hurt the dignity of higher castes; no dharma-abiding untouchable should do it. It is demeaning for higher castes to see a polluted man going around the village in decent clothes. By wearing decent clothes he is being indecent to others. The decency incorporates indecency. The honor of untouchables implies dishonor of high castes. And dishonor of untouchables means honor of high castes. Some untouchable has been indecent enough to wear decent clothes. Now he has to be fixed for that. His forefathers never dared to do it. No high caste can bear such social indecency; it is a matter of honor. The untouchables were never in a position to face the wrath of upper castes and they are still not. It is not for him to fill the gap in clothing between him and the upper castes; he is supposed to know his wretched place. He shall not dare to come out of his wretchedness. Otherwise breaking few bones of such a recalcitrant untouchable is quite satisfactory to righteously, morally and ethically superior high castes. Thrashing badly an untouchable is like thrashing the wheat...