These international awarded photo essay - here with several more photos - demonstrate everyday life for "the dalits" - the untouchables of India, Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh. One fifth
of the Indian population, regarded unclean and therefore with no possibilities in society. A situation, inherited though families in spite of the fact that this system made made illegal 50
years ago. Photographer Jakob Carlsen about his background for the project:: "Fifteen years ago I traveled around India for six months. I was taken by the culture and religion and
considered the caste system to be a natural part of Indian society. I didn't realize the consequences that the caste system has for the people on the bottom of the hierarchy, and i think
this is quite normal for people visiting India. In January 2004 I traveled to Tamil Nadu in Southern India with my wife who is a journalist to document the lives of the people on the bottom
of the caste system. Their living conditions and the daily humiliations they face and the general hopelessness shocked me. We traveled around for a month and saw how the Indian society and
religion not only suppressed the weak - it was building it’s wealth and progress on the fact that a fifth of the population would work for food scraps and pennies. They are still denied
basic human rights.
