Today, the untouchables have been termed as Dalits and the evil practice of untouchability has been abolished by the Indian Constitution. But, before its abolishment, it had forced the Dalit community to live a life worse than animals. The origin and causes of untouchability are still in controversial talks. The untouchability has its roots in Hindu Caste System, which is supposed to be more than 1500 years old; it is associated with the times when the Aryans invaded India. The advent of the fifth Varna laid foundation to the untouchability; the community that was categorized as untouchables is now know as Dalit Community. The questions like who were Dalits (Ati-shudras) and how really the evil practice of untouchability was begun are matter of investigation. In this paper, I have tried my best to investigate these questions. I have investigated about meaning of historiography, origin of untouchability and meaning and origin and signification of term Dalit.
(Key words: Historiography, Untouchability, Dalits, Caste System, Varna System)
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Formatted Citation:
Ahirwar, Kunj Bihari. “Dalit Historiography: An Overview.” Indian English Literature: Remonstrations and Vistas, edited by Dr Gayatri, New Man Publication, 2016, pp. 8–20, https://www.ed-intellect.com.
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