This abridged list, derived from the more comprehensive one compiled by the Tamil Nadu Untouchability Eradication Front from a survey of 1,845 villages in the state, appeared in the article Untouchability Declassified (Open).
»Not allowed to speak on the cell phone in the presence of caste Hindus.
»Not allowed to keep male dogs. (Why? They might breed with female dogs from upper caste neighbourhoods.)
»Separate work timings under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme.
»Refusal to rent houses to Dalits in certain neighbourhoods in urban areas. (Reported in Madurai, Tamil Nadu’s second largest city.)
»No door delivery by postmen; postal department prevented from hiring Dalit postmen.
»No access to the common crematorium, burial grounds.
»Prevented from having their clothes washed or ironed, or assigned separate cupboards at the laundry for clothes of Dalits.
»Refusal by barbers to cut their hair, or separate chairs for Dalits.
»Separate ration shops, or queues, or timings for Dalits.
»Offered tea in coconut shells which they can drink only by squatting on the ground.
»Prevented from renting private marriage halls, public address systems.
»Forced to cut out portion of the name that suggests respect (Madaswamy will be called Mada, Muniyaswamy Muniya).
»Attacked if they call any caste Hindu as annan (brother).
»Erecting walls (as was seen in Uthappuram) to deny Dalits access to common places.
»Elderly members of the Dalit community addressed by children of the dominant caste as poda, vada (denoting lack of respect).
»No access to temples, public streets, public taps (separate timings to collect water), public tanks, temples.
»Sapparam (temple car) not driven through areas where Dalits reside.
»Not allowed to participate in pookkuzhi (a ritual of walking on fire) during festivals.
»Two, in some cases four, tumbler system in tea-shops, one set for Dalits and categories within them, another for caste Hindus.
»Separate neighbourhoods for Dalits in villages.
»Preventing the opening of milk dairy near Dalit neighbourhoods.
»Dalit (Arunthathiyar) students compelled to clean bathrooms in schools.
»Opposition to hiring Dalit cooks in mid-day meal school kitchens.
»Engaging Dalits, Arunthathiyars especially, in conservancy work.
»Dalit workers to bring their own food-plates while others need not.
»Boycotting meetings held by Dalit Panchayat presidents.
»Preventing the opening of panchayat office buildings in Dalit areas.
NOT ALLOWED TO...
»Wear shoes or chappals
»Wear polyester dhotis
»Ride bicycles or travel in bullock carts
»Sit under bus shelters at village bus stops
»Wear a cloth headgear or carry a towel over the shoulder (as is the local practice)
»Sport a thin moustache
»Sit on benches in hotels and tea stalls
»Burst crackers during festivals
»Rear cattle
»Sing or speak at village functions or participate in auctions
»Dine with caste Hindus
OBLIGATED TO...
»Offer goats gratis to descendants of past andais (landlords in the feudal age) during festivals
»Carry dead bodies
»Work in crematoriums and at burial grounds
»Sound the parai ( drums)
»Carry message of death to people of the dominant caste (to be paid only bus fare, food only if offered)
ATROCITIES ON DALITS:
»Forced to eat faeces.
»Urinating into the mouth.
»Murdered if elected as Panchayat President against the wishes of the dominant caste.
»Sexual assault on Dalit women.
»Burning alive if a Dalit fights for rights.
»Setting fire to Dalit huts.
»Tied to a tree and beaten up.
»Killing all dogs in a Dalit area if a dog of the Dalit area bites a dog that belongs to an upper caste community.
»Obstructing the common passage (if won through struggle) with mortar, grindstone and washing utensils there.
»Killing by poisoning one who inter-marries.
»Ostracising those Dalits who raise their voice for human rights.
»Attacking Dalits if they insist on using community halls.
»Making Dalits prostrate before members of the dominant caste and imposing fines on them.
»Refusal by the state administration to enforce access to burial grounds.
»Harassment and brutal attacks on Dalits by the police for fighting for their rights.
»Dalits driven away by the police for trying to enter temples
See also anti-caste: RITUALIZED HUMILIATION OF UNTOUCHABLES DOCUMENTED (May 21, 2010)
And see anti-caste: SURVEY OF 1,655 VILLAGES IN GUJARAT FINDS NOT A SINGLE ONE WHERE UNTOUCHABILITY IS NOT PRACTICED (December 07, 2009)
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