Abolition of untouchability

Also called: Article 17 · Topic: Framing the Indian Constitution · NCERT: Class 12, Ch 4 "Framing the Constitution"

Meaning

The abolition of untouchability means that the old caste practice of treating some people as "untouchable" is ended by law. Article 17 of the Constitution abolishes untouchability, forbids its practice in any form, and makes it an offence punishable by law [3][4].

• It matters because it is one of the few rights in the Constitution aimed at a social evil, not just at the State. It is the heart of the Constitution's promise of equality.
• It also shows that the Constituent Assembly accepted a hard truth: law alone cannot end caste. Society's attitudes must also change.

Explanation

Background: the Depressed Castes and the question of "minority"

• During the national movement:
• Ambedkar demanded separate electorates for the Depressed Castes. Separate electorates meant that only Depressed Caste voters would elect their own members.

• Gandhi opposed this. He said it would permanently cut them off from the rest of Hindu society.

• In the Constituent Assembly (1946–1950) the debate moved from numbers to society itself.

• Speakers said untouchability lived in the norms and moral values of caste society.

• So it could not be treated as a simple "protect the minority" problem.

• N.G. Ranga, a socialist and peasant leader, widened the meaning of "minority". He said "the real minorities are the masses of this country": the poor, people deep in debt, and tribals. Rights on paper were not enough. "They need props. They need a ladder."

Voices of the Depressed Castes in the Assembly

• J. Nagappa:
• the Depressed Castes were 20–25 per cent of the population, so they were not a small group;
• they had no education and no share in the administration;

• his warning: "we are prepared to suffer no more."

• K.J. Khanderkar: "We were suppressed for thousands of years." The injury was very old, not recent.

• Dakshayani Velayudhan:
• she refused to call seventy million Harijans a minority;
• she asked for a "moral safeguard", meaning a change of heart in society, more than any legal device;
• she wanted social disabilities removed at once. These included bans on entering temples, using wells and sitting in schools.

What the Assembly decided

• Ambedkar dropped separate electorates after the Partition violence.
• People now linked separate electorates with the division of the country.

• So reserved seats (seats kept for a group, but filled by all voters together) were chosen instead.

• The Assembly's final recommendations:

• untouchability abolished;
• Hindu temples opened to all castes;

• seats reserved in legislatures and in government jobs for the lowest castes.

• The Assembly admitted the limit of law. Legal abolition alone could not end discrimination unless social attitudes changed.

How it entered the Constitution and later law

• Article 17 abolished untouchability. Practising it in any form is forbidden and is an offence punishable by law. The Constitution came into force on 26 January 1950 [3][4].
• Articles 15 and 16 stop discrimination and give equal opportunity in public employment. Articles 15, 16, 17 and 18 together carry the promise of social and economic equality [3].
• A follow-up law was needed.
• Punishment for breaking Article 17 was set out in the Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955. It was first called the Untouchability (Offences) Act [3][5].
• This shows the Assembly was right to worry that "law is not enough". Further laws were needed to make the right work.

Time, place and evidence

• Period: the Constituent Assembly debates, 1946–1950. Nehru moved the Objectives Resolution on 13 December 1946. The Constitution came into force on 26 January 1950 [3][4].
• Key people:
• B.R. Ambedkar led the framing work. He is popularly called the "Father of the Indian Constitution" [4].
• J. Nagappa, K.J. Khanderkar and Dakshayani Velayudhan spoke for the Depressed Castes.
• N.G. Ranga and Jaipal Singh argued for the poor and the Adibasis.

• Gandhi opposed separate electorates during the national movement.

• How we know:

• Constituent Assembly Debates (Proceedings), the official record of what members said. Volume II covers the session of 24 January 1947 [2].
• The text of the Constitution itself (Articles 15–18).
• A Press Information Bureau note on the eradication of untouchability [3].
• The text of the Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955 [5].
• NCERT Class 12, Ch 4 "Framing the Constitution".

Don't confuse with

• Separate electorates vs reserved seats. With separate electorates, only Depressed Caste voters elect their members. With reserved seats, the seat is kept for a Depressed Caste candidate but all voters elect them. The Constitution chose reserved seats.
• Article 17 vs Articles 15 and 16. Article 17 deals only with untouchability: it abolishes it and makes its practice an offence. Articles 15 and 16 deal with discrimination in general and equal opportunity in public jobs [3].
• Article 17 vs the Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955. Article 17 is the constitutional rule. The 1955 Act, first called the Untouchability (Offences) Act, sets out the punishments [3][5].
• Dakshayani Velayudhan vs Hansa Mehta. Velayudhan spoke for Harijans and asked for a "moral safeguard" and the end of social disabilities. Hansa Mehta (Bombay) spoke for women and refused reserved seats, asking for "social justice, economic justice, and political justice".

Prelims Hooks

• Article 17 abolishes untouchability. Its practice in any form is an offence punishable by law [3][4].
• The law that sets punishments under Article 17 is the Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955, originally the Untouchability (Offences) Act [3][5].
• J. Nagappa put the Depressed Castes at 20–25 per cent of the population. K.J. Khanderkar said, "We were suppressed for thousands of years."
• Dakshayani Velayudhan asked for the "moral safeguard" and refused to call seventy million Harijans a minority.
• Trap: Ambedkar first demanded separate electorates. Gandhi opposed them. Ambedkar dropped the demand after the Partition violence. The final Constitution gave reserved seats, not separate electorates.
• The Assembly recommended three things together: abolishing untouchability, opening Hindu temples to all castes, and reserving seats in legislatures and government jobs.

Mains Points

• Legal equality vs social equality. The Assembly abolished untouchability but openly said that law alone cannot end caste. Social attitudes had to change too. This is why further laws such as the Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955 were needed [5]. It makes a strong conclusion for any answer on caste and the Constitution.
• Why reserved seats were chosen over separate electorates.
• Separate electorates were blamed for dividing the country and were linked with Partition.
• Reserved seats placed Depressed Caste members inside the common House, not outside it.

• This is useful for questions on the Communal Award, the Poona Pact and minority rights.

• A wider idea of who needs protection. Ranga, Jaipal Singh, Nagappa and Velayudhan moved the debate away from religion and head-counts towards poverty, dispossession and social contempt. This shaped Article 17, reservations and the wider equality promise of Articles 15–18 [3].

Related concepts

• N.G. Ranga
• Jaipal Singh
• Adivasi
• J. Nagappa
• K.J. Khanderkar
• Dakshayani Velayudhan
• Jagjivan Ram
• Hansa Mehta
• Reservation for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes

Read more

• The oppressed groups: masses, tribals, Depressed Castes, women