Changing Religious Practices of an Untouchable Caste

The new constitutional opportunities for untouchables & the earlier reforms of the Arya Samaj have had a marked effect on the religious practices of the Chuhras, (a group of untouchable sweeper-scavengers studied by P. M. Mahar for 2 yrs in a village of north-western Uttar Pradesh). Thus the world view of the Chuhras has been altered, though their econ situation does not appear to be improving. 3 dominant modes of religious worship represented in Chuhra life today are described: (1) the shamanistic & polytheistic `original' religious practices, (2) the Valmiki cult influenced by the Arya Samaj, & (3) the Valmiki cult as it integrates new ideas of nat'lism emanating from the Indian public Sch's. The SM advocated in religious terms is no longer predominantly the mobility of the case group as a whole, but tends to be on an individual basis, since the new hope appeals chiefly to the educated young man for whom opportunity exists. AA.