The importance of purity in the body and food is found in early Sanskrit literature. Untouchables have separate entrances to homes and must drink from seperate wells. They are considered to be in a permanent state of impurity. He tried to raise their status with symbolic gestures such as befriending and eating with Untouchables. Upward mobility is very rare in the caste system.
Most people remain in one caste their entire life and marry within their caste.
The Novel In Arundhati Roy's novel, The God of Small Things , the laws of India's caste system are broken by the characters of Ammu and Velutha, an Untouchable or Paravan. Velutha works at the Paradise Pickles and Preserves Factory owned by Ammu's family. Yet, because he is an Untouchable, the other workers resent him and he is paid less money for his work. Velutha's presence is unsettling to many who believe he acts above his station. An unwarranted assurance.