Releasing Today | What's Your Ism ? EP 21 feat. Dalit feminist lawyer Nikita Sonavane 

Watch the full episode here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Seewc_aYogg.html

Namasthé from the USA. There are two aspects to untouchability that people seldom think about. 1. Hereditary untouchability: you are born into a family of untouchables. *This practice is vicious, evil, hateful and despicable,* and despite being illegal, is still being practiced across India, mostly in villages and areas where your family background is known. The "upper castes" don't seem to realize or care that this cruel and inhuman practice of treating people as Dalits has severely weakened Hinduism; how can you call it an "Eternal and Universal Dharma?" That becomes a sick joke, does it not? The other is: 2. Incidental untouchability. Would you happily go shake hands with someone who just came out of cleaning a toilet and hasn't washed their hands yet? No, right? For a surgeon and nurse with gloves and gown on in the operating room, you and I are untouchable. We'll get thrown out of the operating room if we even go near those medical staff, let alone touch them. Incidental untouchability is very ancient. In Hinduism, it particularly related to Brahmins performing a Homa fire ritual. They would not, and will not, tolerate anything "Ashuddha" or ritually impure. Menstruating women are impure, those who had a death in the family are impure until a purification ceremony is performed. Anyone who hasn't had a bath yet that day, is ashuddha as regards being near the homa ceremony. So is this unique to Hinduism? No. See below. How about in the Biblical tradition? Please read Leviticus in the Old Testament of the Bible. Very similar practices of untouchability were followed there too. In fact, Vedic Hinduism, centered around the fire sacrifice, is eerily similar to what was practiced in Israel before the 70 CE destruction of the second Jewish Temple and the killing/expulsion of Jews from the holy land. It was only around 1900 years later that the Jews started returning. The main and most important practice in Judaism before the Temple was destroyed was the fire sacrifice with "burnt offerings" being offered to their God. You'll see countless references to burnt offerings. In Hinduism they are called Samagri. Anyhow as per Leviticus in the Bible, a man with a discharge from his private parts, including that of semen, is untouchable. A human with a suspicious skin lesion is untouchable. A menstruating woman is untouchable sometimes for weeks. Anyone who has touched a dead body is untouchable. Anyone with leprosy is untouchable. Oh my, reading Leviticus is like reading a Dermatology textbook! :) I'll conclude by saying: the New Testament was written by Jewish mystics who got sick and tired of priestly Judaism and the aspects of ritual impurity. That was one the core teachings of Jesus. After expulsion from the holy land, Rabbinical Judaism, which included the Talmud as well as the Tanakh (the Jewish Bible, also called the Old Testament) took over. Fire sacrifice rituals were replaced by prayers in Synagogues with Rabbis in charge. In India, devotional practice of devotion to Krishna and other deities took the place of the Homa rituals. The Buddha was well known to ridicule Brahmins, which is likely why Dalits have accepted and adopted Buddhism in huge numbers. What people don't realize is that the Mundaka Upanishad said exactly the same as the Buddha did. The Upanishad stated: "These rituals are, verily, unsafe boats. They will not get you to the farthest shore." It likely took hundreds of years for the philosophy of the Upanishads to take root and become added to the Vedas.

Bring interview of telengana activist who wanted internal reservation