Untouchability is a black mark on our society. It is a curse for hindu society. It is a curse not from God; it is a curse from humans themselves. Untouchables are called by many names e.g. dalits, Pariahs, depressed class, outcast, downtrodden class, harijans etc. Untouchability is such a heinous infliction by superior cast people upon the people of inferior cast that the sufferer is degraded to the lowest level that is even below to animal level. These people are not considered even as human beings and, thus, this dehumanizing is a black mark and shame on our brahaminic social system. This heinous crime upon dalits has been done in our hindu society since ancient time and, unfortunately, it persists even today in our so called civilized society. This paper will attempt to analyse the predicament of depressed class people, the Pariahs – their dehumanised status- reflected in Raja Rao’s novel, Kanthapura.
Assistant Professor, Government College for Women, Pali
