Question:
How did Bama react when she came to know about untouchability?
How did Bama react when she came to know about untouchability?
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Recall the packet-of-snacks incident and her brother Annan's explanation.
Updated On: Sep 24, 2026
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Solution and Explanation
Understanding the Question:
This refers to Bama's memoir 'Memories of Childhood' ('We Too Are Human Beings'), describing her discovery of caste discrimination as a child.
Final Answer:
When Bama, then a young girl, saw an elder of her community carrying a packet of snacks by its string without touching it directly, and later learnt from her brother Annan that this was because the man belonged to a 'lower' caste and was forbidden from touching upper-caste people or their food directly, she was shocked, angered, and deeply hurt. Her initial reaction was disbelief and amusement, which quickly turned into anger and sadness once she understood the humiliation involved. Following her brother's advice, she resolved to study hard so that she could earn respect through her own achievements rather than accept this indignity passively.
This refers to Bama's memoir 'Memories of Childhood' ('We Too Are Human Beings'), describing her discovery of caste discrimination as a child.
Final Answer:
When Bama, then a young girl, saw an elder of her community carrying a packet of snacks by its string without touching it directly, and later learnt from her brother Annan that this was because the man belonged to a 'lower' caste and was forbidden from touching upper-caste people or their food directly, she was shocked, angered, and deeply hurt. Her initial reaction was disbelief and amusement, which quickly turned into anger and sadness once she understood the humiliation involved. Following her brother's advice, she resolved to study hard so that she could earn respect through her own achievements rather than accept this indignity passively.
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It is clear that language is used for more than one purpose. The man who hits his thumb nails with a hammer and utters a string of curses is using language to relieve his feeling and needs no audience but himself. But when a philosopher uses language to clarify his ideas on a subject, he is using it as an instrument of thought. When two women gossip over the fence or two men exchange greetings as they pass in the street, language is being used to strengthen the bonds between the members of society. Language, it seems, is a multipurpose instrument. One function, however, seems to be basic — language enables us to influence people's behaviour and thereby makes human co-operation possible. Some animals co-operate especially the social animals like bees and ants, but human co-operation is more thorough, more detailed, more effective than that found anywhere in the animal kingdom. The human co-operation would be unthinkable without language.
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It is clear that language is used for more than one purpose. The man who hits his thumb nails with a hammer and utters a string of curses is using language to relieve his feeling and needs no audience but himself. But when a philosopher uses language to clarify his ideas on a subject, he is using it as an instrument of thought. When two women gossip over the fence or two men exchange greetings as they pass in the street, language is being used to strengthen the bonds between the members of society. Language, it seems, is a multipurpose instrument. One function, however, seems to be basic — language enables us to influence people's behaviour and thereby makes human co-operation possible. Some animals co-operate especially the social animals like bees and ants, but human co-operation is more thorough, more detailed, more effective than that found anywhere in the animal kingdom. The human co-operation would be unthinkable without language.
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