Untouchable
In India the untouchables were those who did not belong to any caste. They were barred from entering the temples. In the cities they were confined to the slums and did only the most menial jobs. In the country they were forbidden to use the wells.
Yet it was precisely the untouchables whom the great Mahatma Gandi befriended. When he entered a village he would ask: ‘Where are your untouchables? I want to stay with them.’ He touched them. He ate and drank with them, and played with their children.
He once said: ‘I do not want to be reborn. But if that should happen, I would like to find myself among the untouchables in order to share the suffering and insults they are subjected to. In this way, perhaps I would have the chance to liberate them and myself from their miserable condition.
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