Bahishkar, literally meaning ‘to push or throw outside’, is a term denoting punishment through prohibition of an individual or a group from residing in a place and interacting with other members of society. Traditionally, the term had a religious connotation because those who declared and executed the punishment used to be religious leaders.
Through such action, society was insulated from the influence
of such a person; the person concerned was deprived of the benefits and
facilities of society; and the person concerned was made to realize his/her
dependence on society.
Like all other major religions, Hinduism, too, had this
practice. Among the Hindus, this punishment was serious, next to the death
penalty. Not only the priesthood but also the panchayats (organ of local governance
at the village level, usually comprising five members) at the level of gotra,
caste or ghosha could declare such punishment. In the yajamani (balutedar)
system, religious and socio-economic relations were intertwined in such a way
that being ostracized by any of those pacayatas meant being deprived of earing
a livelihood.
The punishment was not restricted to the persons concerned but
extended to their children, or other family members who might have helped a
criminal or even to those who might have ignored a criminal action knowingly.
In many cases when texts were not clear regarding punishment,
those who passed judgements used bahishkar as a punishment. Many of the
standard sins (patakas) have been declared punishable by bahishkara. The punishment
carried more weight among those sections of society which had more to lose,
than those who were anyway deprived of most privileges due to their lower
social position.
However, there was a provision of prayaschitta, i.e.,
repentance, which involved expenditure, like giving a feast to people or
donating to a temple. This meant that low-income families had to face the
consequences of the action whilst the well-to-do families got away with it. The
social and religious reformers of all ages had been threatened with this type
of punishment but seldom did they bow to the demands of orthodoxy.
In 1860-61, the British government passed laws depriving the
power of the panchayat or any such non-constitutional bodies to punish
anybody for any caste-based offence. Today the practice has almost vanished
except in some small pockets of the country.