This important book presents systematic evidence of the incidence and extent of the practice of untouchability in contemporary India. It is based on the results of an extensive survey and its findings conclude that untouchability continues to be widely prevalent and is practised in one form or another in almost 80 per cent of test villages. The field data is supplemented by information about associated forms of discrimination which Dalits face in their daily lives, such as: - the 'unclean' occupations open to them; - the double burden of Dalit women, who suffer both gender and caste discrimination; - the upper-caste violence with which any Dalit self-assertion is met. The authors also describe Dalit efforts to overcome deeply entrenched caste hierarchies and to assert their right to live with dignity. While the evidence presented in this book suggests that the more blatant and extreme forms of untouchability appear to have declined, discrimination continues and is most prevalent in the religious and personal spheres. The authors show that the notion of untouchability continues to pervade the public sphere, including in a host of state institutions and the interactions that occur within them.