In reading about the history of the movements to end caste abuse I came upon the following: “The Mahar [the highest rank of Untouchable] takes pride in the duties required of him as government messenger; for he is often entrusted with the transport of large sums of money remitted to the district treasury and he has inherited from his fathers a tradition of faithfulness in the discharge of such duties.”
Meanwhile, the Mahar also traditionally was required to wear an earthenware pot around his neck into which he would spit, to prevent defiling the ground upon which a Brahmin might walk, and “…had to sweep the earth behind him to erase his footsteps or at least maintain a good distance from Brahmins to avoid contaminating them with his shadow."
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