The Untouchables

Item Information

Title:
The Untouchables
Description:
This lantern slide, “The Untouchables,” shows three men, one woman, and four children in the middle of a dirt road in India. The woman has a long and shallow basket at her feet. To the right of the image is a house, and further down the road three people are watching the woman. Text on the lantern slide indicates these people are untouchables, a Hindu caste.
Creator:
Hawkes, Joseph
Date:
[1910?–1930?]
Format:
Photographs
Location:
Springfield College Archives and Special Collections
Collection (local):
College Archives Digital Collections
Series:
Lantern Slide Collection
Subjects:
International Young Men's Christian Association
Lantern slides
Thatched roofs
Extent:
3.25x3.25 in
Link to Item:
http://cdm16122.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/p15370coll2/id/3157
Terms of Use:
Text and images are owned, held, or licensed by Springfield College and are available for personal, non-commercial, and educational use, provided that ownership is properly cited. A credit line is required and should read: Courtesy of Springfield College, Babson Library, Archives and Special Collections. Any commercial use without written permission from Springfield College is strictly prohibited. Other individuals or entities other than, and in addition to, Springfield College may also own copyrights and other propriety rights. The publishing, exhibiting, or broadcasting party assumes all responsibility for clearing reproduction rights and for any infringement of United States copyright law.
Contact host institution for more information.
Publisher:
Springfield College
Notes:
The Hindu caste system describes a social hierarchy where class is hereditary, distinct, and immutable. From the highest to lowest rank, the four castes are Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaishya, and Shudra. Those entirely excluded are called Dalit (untouchable). As reincarnation is a core belief in Hinduism, many believe that the Dalit caste is punishment for past crimes and that virtuous behavior will be rewarded with a higher station in the next life. The origin of the Hindu caste system can be dated between 1000 and 200 BCE. During the mid-20th century, the British Empire created laws to protect the untouchables. However, it wasn’t until the 19th and early 20th century that Indian society began moving toward the emancipation of the untouchables, partly driven by Gandhi’s activism. In 1928, the first temple welcomed untouchables to worship with its upper-caste members. In 1889, the Y.M.C.A. International Committee sent a young American named David McConaughy to Madras to serve as the first foreign secretary in India. McConaughy encouraged the development of pre-existing Associations and held the first National Convention in 1891, resulting in the formation of the National Council of India, Burma, and Ceylon. The Association’s most notable contribution in India was its rural development work, first begun by K. T. Paul in 1913. Paul established microloan programs that freed the rural poor from the grips of moneylenders and won many converts among India's lower classes. Joseph Hawkes, the slide’s creator, spent much of his life producing and coloring lantern slides from his home in New York. This slide is part of Springfield College’s lantern slide series depicting Y.M.C.A. work in India, Ceylon, and Burma in the early twentieth century. The series was prepared by the Foreign Division of the American and Canadian Y.M.C.A, which established self-sustaining associations staffed by trained secretaries in foreign lands.
Text on border reads,"Made by Joseph Hawkes New York City; 35; India rural; The Untouchables."
Part of the Y.M.C.A. Work in India and Sri Lanka Lantern Slide Series
Identifier:
LS-08-07