Five statements describing the traditional social position of so-called “untouchables” are given. Four of them form a coherent description of their occupations, diet, and living conditions. From the given options, choose the statement that does NOT fit most logically into this description.

Introduction / Context:
This “odd one out” question deals with a sensitive historical topic: the social and occupational status of the group traditionally labelled as “untouchables” in the caste system. The statements describe various aspects of their life. Your task is not to judge the content ethically (modern law rightly rejects such discrimination), but simply to identify which sentence does not sit comfortably with the specific theme formed by the other sentences.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• Option A: They have to kill or dispose of dead cattle or work with their hides for a living.
• Option B: They pursued activities involving contact with bodily emissions like faeces, urine, sweat and spittle.
• Option C: They have to eat the flesh of cattle or domestic pigs and must live outside the village.
• Option D: They were not allowed to enter temples or touch wells, rivers or ponds.
• All four sentences clearly concern practices connected with the idea of “untouchability”.

Concept / Approach:
In a paragraph-arrangement or odd-sentence-out task, you look for a common thread. Here, statements A, B and C focus mainly on the prescribed occupations, tasks, and living arrangements associated (historically and unjustly) with untouchables: handling dead cattle and hides (A), working with human waste and bodily emissions (B), and being forced to eat certain kinds of meat and live outside the village (C). Statement D, while still related to discrimination, shifts the focus from occupations and living conditions to religious and social prohibitions about entering temples and touching public water sources. It belongs more naturally to a discussion on restrictions on access, rather than on “unclean” work and marginal living conditions.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Group A, B, C: all describe occupational and lifestyle expectations imposed on untouchables – disposing of dead animals, working with hides, handling bodily waste, eating certain meat, and living outside village boundaries.Statement D: describes ritual and social prohibitions on entering temples and using wells, rivers or ponds; it is about access to sacred spaces and shared resources.Imagine a focused paragraph: “Untouchables had to kill or dispose of dead cattle or work with their hides. They pursued activities that involved contact with bodily emissions such as faeces, urine, sweat and spittle. They were forced to eat the flesh of cattle or domestic pigs and live outside the village.”This paragraph is tightly about the nature of their work and harsh living conditions, all of which were seen as “polluting” tasks.Statement D, though historically connected, introduces a slightly different sub-theme: denial of temple and water access, which could form the basis of a second paragraph on social and religious exclusion.

Verification / Alternative check:
If we remove D, the remaining three sentences form a coherent description of occupations and living spaces, all linked by the idea of physical “pollution” as defined by the old caste mindset. If we instead remove B or C, we lose important details about that pollution-linked work and lifestyle. Removing A would omit the very typical task of disposing of dead cattle, making the paragraph feel incomplete. D is the one that most naturally stands apart as a separate but related dimension of discrimination.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Options A, B, and C all focus on the work (handling carcasses, hides, bodily waste) and living conditions (eating certain meat, living outside the village) that historically defined the “untouchable” status. These three can easily stand together in a single descriptive paragraph. Option D deals with ritual exclusion from temples and water sources; although part of the same broader topic, it introduces a new angle and therefore fits less tightly in a one-paragraph description of occupation and residence.

Common Pitfalls:
Because all four statements mention the same group and all are negative or discriminatory, it is tempting to think there is no odd one out. In such questions, you must look more finely at sub-themes: “What they do and where they live” versus “what places they are not allowed to enter.” The exam expects you to notice this subtle shift in focus.

Final Answer:
The statement that does not fit as neatly into the paragraph about occupations and living conditions is “They were not allowed to enter the temples or touch wells, river or ponds.”