“ If the inhuman treatment of the Panchamas were a part of Hinduism, its rejection would be a paramount duty both for them and for those like me who would not make a fetish even of religion and condone every evil in its sacred name. But, I believe that untouchability is no part of Hinduism. ”
Mahatma Gandhi, Freedom's Battle
Being a Comprehensive Collection of Writings and Speeches on the Present Situation (1922). copy citation
Author | Mahatma Gandhi |
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Source | Freedom's Battle Being a Comprehensive Collection of Writings and Speeches on the Present Situation |
Topic | treatment religion |
Date | 1922 |
Language | English |
Reference | |
Note | |
Weblink | http://www.gutenberg.org/files/10366/10366-h/10366-h.htm |
Context
“And if a change of religion could be justified for worldly betterment, I would advise it without hesitation. But religion is a matter of the heart. No physical inconvenience can warrant abandonment of one's own religion. If the inhuman treatment of the Panchamas were a part of Hinduism, its rejection would be a paramount duty both for them and for those like me who would not make a fetish even of religion and condone every evil in its sacred name. But, I believe that untouchability is no part of Hinduism. It is rather its excrescence to be removed by every effort. And there is quite an army of Hindu reformers who have set their heart upon ridding Hinduism of this blot. Conversion, therefore, I hold, is no remedy whatsoever.
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