India’s caste system remains entrenched, 75 years after independence

THE EVIL of India's caste practice is almost as old as the gods, and is the most noxious and evolved example today of how humans attempt to impose superiority and suffering on others by virtue of their birth. Hindu texts speak of four tiers, or varnas, making up a broader caste pyramid in society. The British Raj incorporated varnas into its imperial system of rule, perpetuating the caste system, with the outcaste "Untouchables", now known as Dalits, facing immense discrimination for their "Polluted" labours, including the removal of human waste. Just last month a desire for expanded reservations was behind a political delegation to Delhi from the northern state of Bihar that called for a national census on caste. With unofficial surveys of caste suggesting that over half of the country might count as "Backward", the portion of the population claiming to be eligible for reservation potentially exceeds 80%-implying affirmative action not for a minority but for the majority. So the suspicion grows that reservation policies, however well-intentioned, help perpetuate caste iniquities. Even low-caste activists tend to fight for better rights for their caste than for an end to a pernicious system.