Explore the origins of the caste system, rooted in political and economic factors rather than purity, pollution, or race.

Caste is an ancient system of social hierarchy based on one’s birth that is tied to concepts of purity and social status. Its history, evolution and current state are complicated. A move to outlaw ...

(RNS) — It was a beautiful sunny afternoon on a verdant Ivy League campus when the “C” word was thrown at me, casually, over greasy takeout noodles. “You are a Hindoo!!! What is your caste?” asked my ...

Dr. S. Anandhi, a professor at the Madras Institute of Development Studies in India, discussed class division for the lowest class, the Dalits’ and women’s rights in a talk titled, “The Pandemic of ...

The reason India’s Dalits hate Gandhi is that, to the Dalits, he helped preserve the caste system, or Varna, in post independence India. To understand India you must understand caste, or what the real ...

As Janmashtami neared, the group discussed Krishna and “agreed” that the deity had committed “a grave crime by sanctifying ...

It is traditionally believed that the caste system has been in existence virtually as long as humanity. However, a recent study on genetics carried out by the Harvard Medical School and the ...

FILE - Members of the audience listen to a speaker at a rally organized by National Conference of Dalit Organisations in New Delhi, India, Sunday, Dec. 5, 2005. Dalits, who belong to the lowest of ...