Grow up India!

The primitive caste system dating back to 1500 BC still continues to divide our society. It has been a cause of numerous honour killings and brutal murders; a tool for building vote banks for unprincipled politicians and a means for inciting mob violence by fringe groups. Surveys show caste-based discrimination exists even in urban settings in educational institutions and workplaces, and untouchability, which is banned, is still practised discreetly in rural hinterlands particularly. Every now and then, some part of the nation comes to a boil over caste – the nation’s financial capital Mumbai faced the brunt of one such sporadic violence at the start of the year when the Dalit’s celebration of the victory of historic Bhima Koregaon against upper caste Marathas was opposed by “right wing” group. Houses of the poor and vehicles were torched and lives lost.