We cannot be touched under any circumstance,
Even our shadows will cost them a bath,
The food we touch will prove to be poisonous,
Their children who play with ours will become impure, they say.
Entering Temples would corrupt their faith,
The same God who created us all.
And here I wonder how we both are made of the same blood and bones.
Are not our tears and sweat the same as theirs?
The irrational reasons behind their blind belief have made us inhuman.
Government schemes come and go.
We are now used as a tool for vote bank politics.
Deprivation is nothing new to us.
We had Gandhi call us harijans,
We have had Ambedkar,
We have had Mandal,
We are in the constitution,
But we still belong to that crowd.
And we still remain untouchables.
About the Author:
Ramya Katti
A ferocious dreamer, a confident speaker, a propagandist of rational thought, a determined debater, an incandescent poet and a voracious reader; she is a student of Symbiosis Law School, Pune. She takes keen interest in International Law and Human Rights and wishes to pursue the same in the future. She hopes that her intricate eye for detail and innate ability to analyse will enable her in getting more out of new experiences in life. She also enjoys sarcasm, political humor, convoluted characters in novels, good music and a cup of hot black coffee during rains.
