Answer:

Untouchability is an extreme and vicious aspect of the society that prescribes stringent social sanctions against members located at the bottom of the purity-pollution scale. It is widely prevalent in all spheres of life and has evolved over time and expanded in form of exclusion, humiliation-subordination and exploitation. It has grown its dimension from caste factor to other factors like religion, poverty, ethnicity etc..

The performance of publicly visible acts of humiliation and subordination include common instances like the imposition of gestures of deference such as taking of headgear, carrying footwear in the hand, standing with bowed head, not wearing clean or ‘bright’ clothes, and so on.

Moreover, untouchability is also associated with economic exploitation of various kinds, most commonly through the imposition of forced, unpaid labor, or the confiscation of property.

In terms of exclusion, religion exclusion, exclusion of persons with disability, caste based exclusion etc. are giving new dimensions to untouchability.