write an article in about 150 words,the contribution of Gandhiji in eradicating untouchability in India.
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Mohandas K. Gandhi (1869-1948) and Bhimjirao Ambedkar (1891-1956) are among the major makers of modern India. Their public careers began early — Gandhi's in South Africa in the mid-1890s and Ambedkar's in western India in the early 1920s. They built on the work of nineteenth century and early twentieth century religious and social reformers such as Ram Mohun Roy (1772-1833), Mahadev Govind Ranade (1842-1901), Swami Vivekananda (1863-1902), Gopal Krishna Gokhale (1866-1915), Swami Dayananda (1824-1883), and Jotiba Phule (1827-1890). Each fought with rare persistence and exceptional vigor to rid India of oppression from within and without. Once they entered the public arena, there was no turning back for either of them. They maintained the momentum in their struggles for justice and equality until the very end of their lives. Gandhi and Ambedkar offered specific goals for and pathways to the creation of a just social order in India. They differed over objectives as well as the methods for achieving their ends. In their long public careers, both of them addressed a number of crucial social and political issues. How best to remove untouchability was a major issue over which the two had fundamental differences from late 1920s onward.
Perhaps it was to be expected that their very different backgrounds and commitments took them on different paths in the struggle against internal and external oppression. Gandhi believed that standing at the heart of the inherited Hindu tradition, including its caste system, it was possible to overcome untouchability. "In my opinion, untouchability is a blot on humanity and therefore upon Hinduism. It cannot stand the test of reason. It is in conflict with the fundamental precepts of Hinduism,” he insisted.2 Untouchability was reform “custom masquerading under the name of religion.”3 He set out to reform but not to reject Hinduism. According to the Mahatma, "the caste system is a hindrance, not a sin. But untouchability is a sin, a great crime, and if Hinduism does not destroy this serpent while there is time, it will be devoured by it."4 He firmly believed that ultimately the removal of untouchability depended on the change of heart of millions of caste Hindus.5