Untouchability

Untouchability refers to the social practice of ostracizing a (usually) minority endogamous group by regarding them as "ritually polluted" and segregating them from the mainstream by social custom or legal mandate. In its most notorious form, it is known in its Hindu version, in the apartheid-like ostracization of Dalits. This feature of ritual pollution is found among other religious groups on the Indian subcontinent as well - as in the segregation of Ajlaf castes in India and Pakistan.

See also