힌두교에는 카스트라는 고유의 계층이 있고 그 바닥계층이 불가촉민이다. 그들은 인구의 20%를 차지하고 있는 인도의 국민이면서도 헌법이 보장하는 것과 관계없이 불가촉민이기 때문에 받아야 하는 천형 같은 수많은 제약이 있고 져야하는 칼 같은 의무가 있다. 영국의 통치하에서 집단개종이라는 방법으로 천형을 벗어나고자했던 그들의 노력과 과정을 짚어보면서 개종이라는 방법을 택할 수밖에 없는 상황과 아직도 막강하게 존재하는 사회적인 장벽을 인식해보려 한다.
Hinduism, the Indian national religion in reality, is characterized its unique socioreiligious system named caste which has been a pivotal social structure. This structural system presupposed out caste who are called as outcaste or panchama under its feet. The outcaste is well known as different name of dalit or the untouchable and is consisted of 20% of Indian population. The history of dalit's existence can be traced to the Veda, Upanishad and Manu. They are Indian culturally, religiously and politically. But they have suffered from the caste Hindu from the beginning to the present as the lowest even lower than animals quite often. Strangely enough, there were no action attempts against the ruling part until the time of British Raj through the thousands of Indian History. It is not worthless to follow the subsistence of dalit and their real effort to get out of the bondages they got trapped. The two significant dalit leaders, Ambedkar and Azariah, made it possible to bring dalit's problems in public against the ruling part of caste Hindu through the conversion en masse. They are down trodden from the caste Hindu publicly because they are remaining in Hinduism. In any religion except the Hinduism one can find such an unreasonable system. So the last decision they chose was conversion en masse to Buddhism and Christianity to put off their untouchablity. Regretfully, the thousands years of stronghold would not shake its foundation and so to the system of the untouchability. The ruling part, especially Gandhi who was the leader of Congress did not allow dalit's conversion on the basis of nationalism or patriotism. Hinduism is all what Indian is. Conversion is the betrayal of the Indian identity. But it is quite true that exactly Hinduism is all what dalit is! Thus, the dice was thrown. It is not simple at all to get the clear cut resolution. Would it be the ongoing struggle to the time unknown? Would it be possible to view and interpret the procedure only?
目次
I 민족주의. 215 II 달리트 운동. 222 III 한계와 양면성. 232 IV 그 후. 238
