The Untouchables: Who Were They? and Why They Became Untouchables

The Untouchables, first published in 1948, is a sequel to Who Were the Shudras?: How they came to be the Fourth Varna in the Indo-Aryan Society (1946). It represents an early and path-breaking effort to explore a subject that had long remained neglected. The book examines not only the central question of the origin of untouchability but also engages with a wide range of related issues, many of which have been little understood or insufficiently addressed. Among the questions it investigates are: Why did the Untouchables live outside the village? How did beef-eating come to be associated with untouchability? Did Hindus always abstain from beef? Why did non-Brahmins abandon beef-eating? What led Brahmins to adopt vegetarianism? While the answers offered may not claim to be exhaustive, the work opens up new perspectives and invites readers to reconsider familiar assumptions, presenting a fresh and thought-provoking approach to longstanding social and historical questions.