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Only scheduled castes can compete for the jobs reserved for them. They have reservations because of being socially, educationally and economically backward. However, the real reason would their historical deprivation in all the three spheres not the backwardness. It is actually compensation to them for being paralyzed by the dharmic society. Their paralyzed state made it easy for the atrocities to be committed upon them by dharmic people. They were excluded from the main functioning of the society for thousands of years. The educated untouchables got the education with the help of the state but without the help of society. Their presence in education, government jobs and middle class is resented by the society. In short in every area which is dominated by the upper castes. It tends to compromise the relative superiority of everybody else, which is in fact a matter of utmost concern to all. The social structure feels threatened by it. However, when the untouchables enter into any educational institute or any non-slum area then they tend to hide their caste. The reason is that they are in minority and can be easily isolated and made to feel inferior and even ignored with smugness and a grand element of non-cooperation. There they are the easy targets of sophisticated taunting by the upper castes which is designed to remind them of their low origin. However, the rouse of hiding caste does not work. If the caste of one man is known then the caste of all his relatives is known. The social networking reveals their true caste sooner or later. It may work occasionally in the areas where the people of his village have not reached and neither their relatives. In case of government employees it never works since it is given in their office records. And of course no one is going to marry anybody without knowing his or her caste.

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The untouchables who got some education were drafted into government jobs through a system of reservations. Under this system a certain percentage is reserved for them where only they can apply. This is a provision made for them in the Indian Constitution for the welfare of historically deprived people. The jatis of such people are included in 25th schedule of the Constitution so they are also known as Scheduled Castes. Or bloody scheddus, as they are known in premier knowledge and academic institutes dominated by the upper castes. The honorable members of these institutes who take pride in calling themselves members of modern civil society do not call them untouchable and thus do them a great favor. The derogatory bloody scheddus seems to be a very civil way to address these people. It must be civil because it is coming from civil and intelligent people. These people are highly responsible people of the society. The untouchable students dare not raise their voice because the faculty belongs to upper castes and they dare not displease them. In internal examinations these honorable members of faculty have the power to make their education duration an unduly long one. And they are supposed to favor their high caste students. If not then what is the use of kinship? Though untouchability is long prohibited by the law but it is still unofficial system of India. The upper castes find a lot of ways to humiliate the lower castes and show their real feelings. There have been many instances where the room has been cleaned and purified because earlier an untouchable officer occupied it. However this anti-untouchability law is not enforceable beyond two kilometers of any city limits in India. It is buried in the dust there.

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Another movement of the untouchables to cities was those who acquired education against all odds, got government jobs, and moved to cities as these became their workplace.


The unskilled and uneducated untouchables moved to cities and started living in slums. It started with one man moving to city to escape from innocent village. There he settled in a slum and got the job of casual laborer on the construction sites. The cities were developing and construction of building and small factories needed unskilled labor. It was a lowly paid job and that was all they could do. There this man occupied a piece of land and made a small temporary room to dwell. Or otherwise he took a single small room on rent. After he got settled in the city his brother followed and joined him. After sometime the brother also got the lowly paid job and rented another small room or constructed one for him. These dwellings were very small so a newcomer had to move out invariably. Then other relatives followed, the chain was repeated and the slums grew larger and larger; the one who came to city brought many more migrants. This increase in slums is highly objected to by the middle class society which comprises mostly of the high castes. They abhor them due to their unhygienic conditions and unacceptable social behavior according to their high standard. The slums do not have any civic amenities. There is no water, no electricity and no sewer system. The sewer system is open.


No water lines force people to get water from a common tap. The absence of proper sewer system forces people to defecate in the open. Thus the situation is very common where one is defecating in the open and the other person is going to fetch the water from common tap. They cross each other’s path invariably. The roads are narrow. The unending dingy lanes and by lanes which move on their own have their own way of turning around the corners and sometimes stopping suddenly. The slum people are normally despised by the middle class people for their uncleanliness, rude behavior and all the other similar things. Nobody can get admission in English medium schools if he happens to be the one from the slums or their equivalent areas.