When an Indian applies for a job at a US based company or applies for a visa to US his/her caste does not come into the picture.In my opinion a lot of credit goes to US for the reduction of caste and gender inequalities in India .

I left India 40 years ago and am ashamed to read that in a country so proud to be a leader in nuclear power and IT hub of the world, the untouchable stil have to deal with the toilet buckets.

Sarah, what you are showing here is only one isolated segment. Have you ever bothered to know state of poor upper caste brahmins?
They have been disowned by their own country . A guy born in upper caste can't get a seat in college even if he has scored 90% , where as a guy with 40% score can get seat in any college as long as he is born in lower caste.

Lower caste is harassing upper caste through legal system . Since lower caste people have legal rights to sue and get any one arrested without bail , they are using it for illegally acquiring upper caste lands, to settle scores etc. Entire upper caste is terrorized and they can't speak in front of media. Any one who dares is beaten up , legally harassed
by so called lower caste army. A small incident involving lower caste is given so much publicity, where as upper caste harassment of highest nature never make out to public.
People like you who are journalist in an internationally covered media should behave more responsibly and try to know the truth. Go speak to one of those victims of lower caste harassment or to a student born in upper caste to know what is truth...

pls do something to help these people ,by educating those who look down upon them and creating jobs for the unfortunate.It's really bad.God help them.

WOW this article is about what now.... i believe ive seen people clean toilets in the US, these positions are usually held for minorities/illegals in the US. These are the jobs that according to our government Americans don't want. Also we here in the US have a caste system and thats how we define people by there socio economic status. Our untouchables live in the projects, whether they are in the city or in rural mountianous regions. I believe if you want to help people who do this kind of work wherever they may live get them representation for better wages and appropriate uniforms for there jobs (ie..gloves, mouth covers and so on..) not try to humiliate them by stating that what they do is horrific and that you gaged. I mean at the end of the day someone has to clean the toilets. I really had a hard time trying to figure out what this article was about, was it about the work these women do, or was it about the classless employers that hire these women or was it about lack of education/opportunities untouchables have and if that is the case you have a lot of material here in the US to write volumes. We can go to any country and write about many injustices but we here have those same injustices, NOTHING AND NO ONE OR COUNTRY IS PERFECT, stop throwing stones.

Its true this problem still exists in india. But over the past 10 years i have seen dramatic improvement as India moves towards capitalism,opens its market-jobs are created and now young indians go for inter-caste marriages. which ultimately brings down caste discrimination
and also because of good education and awareness thru media more and more young indians would shun caste based discrimination

The system tells them they have no choice. They are born to this and deserve no better than the s&&! they clean.

That is what it was probably like to be a slave in the US and what it is like to be an untouchable in India today.

You make a really good point, "hmmm".

I leave my government job at 6 p.m everyday and always cross paths with the same cleaners. To me it never seems right to say hi or to get to know them...society trains us to avoid the cleaners or to pretend that they are invisible. In a way, we have our own "untouchables" right here in North America.

To Krishnan Rikhi,

Mr. Rikhi, you left India 40 yrs back....so what you did to uplift your country,,,,,,,,,,,,nothing probably, and there are more people like you left India..10,20,30, 40.... yrs back and still leaving to uplift themselves, hoping that some supernatural powers would improve India. You should be ashamed to put such a comment.

One of the challenges for present India has been its strong division of growth of econmoy which still has not touched the poor. Caste system, which had put shadow on her soul for thousands of years. Even with religious reforms dating back to 2500 yrs ..to recent movements from likes of Gandhi, still some of the hardships, and humiliation people of lower caste face is something which needs to removed from her social fabric.

The challenge which developing india face today is , limited prosperity, population, and scarece resource with poor distribution, which at times can not do social justice to many facets of life.

Question is not what is there, but how one can help.. Very few rich nations or people, have contributed to the poverty or social injustice. We need more social organizations which can start at grass roots
at social, religous levels to improve human values.

The entire humanity, with its suffering at physical, social and psychlogical levels, keep our entire planet behind and we are all participants in it.

This is an article about a social issue that is explicitly engendered by the evil and discriminatory superstitions colloquially referred to as "Hinduism" and it does not mention Hinduism or religion at all. The author claims that one of these people is a Dalit (untouchable) because they clean toilets, when anyone with a freshman-level understanding of world religions knows that it is the opposite: this person scrubs feces because they are Dalit, not the other way around.

Either this article was sanitized of all language that is critical of India's dominant religion/racial ideology, or the author is so ignorant, detached, and uninformed that she is unqualified to report on an issue that is too serious for unlettered, childish articles like this. The problem in India is religion; the caste system comes from Hindu tradition, and as long as superstitions go uncriticized by the media here and abroad due either to cowardice or ignorance.

Sara, while I applaud you for "going into the trenches" with an untouchable to get a story, you must realize that this type of work goes on in EVERY state in India. I have lived here for over two years now and have seen conditions much worse than what your story describes. People here do what it takes to eat. My suggestion to you is to look deeper into the problem of a lack of infrastructure, sanitation, over-population and the ever present corruption. There are literally hundreds of millions of people just like Manju doing what it takes to feed her kids. I agree to some extent with "truth" in that there is upper caste harassment, but that has nothing to do with the type of work a lower caste person is forced to perform.

It is not the lower caste being treated such ways but poor people. Lower caster can get better seats in universities because of their caste whereas a higher caste student has to get close to 90% in grades to secure a seat.
The lady you mentioned is living such a lifestyle due to her financial means rather than her caste....

Unfortunately, the entire issue of caste has been misunderstood and misused by all - including Westerners - for many centuries.

The idea of the caste system was never bad. It's people's interpretation that has made it so dreary.

It would be nice to see people talking about true policy change and social reform. But denigrating the caste system just for the sake of it being a unique aspect of India is, in my opinion, a tragedy. This is even more unfortunate when both Indians and Westerns get in on the act.

The US Constitution was created with good intentions, but some people tend to misintrepet its tenants. In the same vein, the caste system has many virtues.

Indians from India are too proud of themselves but their caste system make them look like as the most inhuman on this hemisphere. These Indians have nerve to worship statute of diffirent Indian Gods and respect the water of Ganges but illtreats their own that we do not even treat our pets in that manner.
The Dalhits should be treated like any other human in this world. If indian continues to treat them in inhumane manner, the whole should put sanction as they did to South Africa. World Bank should stop all loans to these evil country and the world isolate and embargo this nation.

I agree with Chris . You have pointed towards the right direction. The problem is not the kind of work they are doing but that they are the only ones who have to do it and there is no hope for these lower caste people either as they were born that way according to their religion Hinduism. Secondly it is terrible that because of this caste system, other higher caste people see the lower caste people as disgraced people.

Things like these should inspire people to ponder at the source of this problem which is Hinduism. Unlike Hinduism, Islam does not discriminate by any classification in fact Islam is a communal religion in which thrives because of equality, justice and brotherhood and sisterhood. These people should have freedom at least as someone put it they are very much like slaves. The society should not pressurize them.

Caste system in India STINKS!!! I have deserted India because of that system just recently (2007). India will never reap its economic, nuclear and IT lead because of Caste and Religious Discrimination. It is a shame and will reamin shamefull forever!!!

Equating discriminatory social practices with India's major religion is pretty naive and ignorant. Caste system is as much a Hindu issue as racism is a Christian one. Toilet cleaning by lower castes is as much a Hinduism thing as lynching is to Christianity. So it would be better if people stop showing threir ignorance about other world religions and faiths.

Nobody has said what the real issue here is. It's the politicians throughout the centuries and even the present-day ones who want to perpetuate the caste system to keep the vote banks intact. Politicians all over follow only one religion – greed and power. Neither Hindusim nor Christianity or any other.

hmmm & GH

Seems like you guys are really pissed off at the whole story.. have some balls pals.. face the truth.. unless we realize the problem exists, we can't fix it..

This is just another story, a disgusting one, like the 'sutti' tradition where the wife either has to die with her husband or could never get married again.. the list goes on and on..

Wake up folks..

A ..

We didn't 'make' this whole story up.. It's pathetic when you say the caste system was created for some 'betterment'.. watch your TV shows and news.. and come up with 'one' good reason of this caste system..

To Marie:

I also agree that "hmmm" makes a good point but I cringed when I read your next comment:

"I leave my government job at 6 p.m everyday and always cross paths with the same cleaners. To me it never seems right to say hi or to get to know them…society trains us to avoid the cleaners or to pretend that they are invisible. In a way, we have our own “untouchables” right here in North America."

Are you serious? It doesn't seem right to say hi? Whenever I am at work late and a person comes in to clean OF COURSE I greet them as I would any other human being. I am wonderng if it is because you pity the person or if you actually feel superior to the person in some way.

Marie,

I also work at a government facility. I say hi to the cleaners all the time. Society has not trained me to look the other way or pretend they are not there.

That's probably a result of your own family background which I suspect was a sheltered life so don't go blaming society.

I am an Indian student in the US for a year. In the 25 years I spent in India, I have NEVER come across these scavengers. This story is pretty much like a desperate attempt by CNN to dig deep to find rot in a system.

In the one year I've been here, I've seen a similar, rather more deep rooted discrimination against people of different skin color. ( and I am not even pointing towards a particular race, but that's pretty obvious I think). In my time here at my university, almost ALL of my professors are whites or Indians/Chinese. Just to mention a small observation.

No country is perfect. Please begin highlighting the better parts of it.

Kumar
read wikipedia on caste system, and you'll know what A means.. He isn't actually wrong.

Caste system sucks. Its bad for the dhalits as well as the upper classes. Its high time that India got out of these stupid, superstitious systems and devote their time and energy in development of infrastructure in rural areas. that way, Dalits wont have to scrub bucket toilets if there was a better facility and drainage system.

A,
what good has caste system done until now? Just curious if you knew something about it that we dont. Please explain.

Read the article closely, and see what’s bad, its you as you read only the bad stuff and cry about it, some left India (good that they did) some feel ashamed (good they do).
Well, almost every country has it own problem, here we have had people organized and sexually assaulting kids in the name of religion. Some where else the same things happened ..but in another religion. Every one nitpicks at others.

The Guy(Dr. Pathak) who helped remove the problem (is of higher cast) is not talked about, but the Lady (lower cast) is talked about ? The Issue is talked about but the problem solving is ignored, the same article tells that only a few (300) in that community are having a hard time.
India also has politicians who are of lower cast, none here talk about it, they just want to run away from problem, like their ancestors did.. like every one does ?

Hmm..does George Bush know about this. You should ask him to send his Operation Freedom to India too.
Wooo hoo and some one is talking about Hinduism here.. As if Islam treats women at the same level like men, as if circumcision of women doesn't exist and there are not Sunni and Shia troubles in Pakistan. Of course I also forgot that the Arabs consider themselves better muslims that the non Arabs. An I am sure all of us here have NEVER heard of mohajirs in Pakistan.
This is a problem that India faces and the country is trying to get over it. Situation has improved since India achieved freedom and is getting better by the day. I think there are bigger problems in India than this..

ISLAM : QURAN :
Al-Araf [7:11] And surely, We created you (your father Adam) and then gave you shape (the noble shape of a human being); then We told the angels, "Prostrate yourselves to Adam", and they prostrated themselves, except Iblîs (Satan), he refused to be of those who prostrated themselves.

All are children of Adam and Eve , We are all brother and sister who will meet during day of judgement and will be accountable for all deeds good or bad on that day.

Do Good , Think Good

vote for Obama and we'll all see where this country ends up – in the toilet.

I agree with Kumar. It is not just caste, not politics, not religion but the society as such. There is overt cast system in all religions in India including Christianity and Islam. Syrian Christians always consider themselves higher than all others. The Roman Catholics look down upon the Latin Catholics as most of the Latin Catholics are from the fishermen community. The caste system in the Islam is as bad as any other sect in India.

Let us realize this and let us accept these things, there is a general apathy towards human suffering in India- from all quarters – educated and the uneducated, religious and the non religious, rich and the poor. Rather than getting defensive and throwing muck at the US system let us realize that all countries have their own problems, but the difference is that when the US and other countries are debating and trying to correct the injustices , we are happily sleeping over ours pointing fingers at others.

The reason we have all the above mentioned problems is that the British left too soon.....yes people, if they had stayed longer there would be no caste system. We would have the infrastructure needed to be ahead of China in manufacturing and now with IT dominance we would be ruling the world. Ask the politicians and check their Swiss bank accounts, what have they done with the billions from the world bank and other sources. So, here is another chance for India and the poor. Let foreign investments flourish and stop the BJP and other leftist regimes take over the country.

I agree with Chris.

The root of this problem (the one in the article AND the more recently developed problem of reverse discrimination for the upper 'castes' that were mentioned) is ignorance. And in this case, the conduit that feeds this ignorance is indeed Hinduism.
Yes, other countries all over the world face similar situations. And yes there are other causes for sustained ignorance, such as limited resources and poverty. But it is very evident that religion is one of the main causes of such situations all over the world.

Condemning this one religion and comparing it against the 'good' attributes of another one also betrays the problem of ignorance that faces so many parts of this otherwise beautiful and impressive world of humans.

In this present day world, in the 21st century, people are still brought up in western cultures to be politically correct and to be 'tolerant' and 'respectful' of other cultures and their religions. To be truly tolerant, and respectful of other fellow human beings, people have to start giving up the primitive mindsets of religions. We are better than that. And like Chris said, a big problem is that people are afraid to say what the problem really is. Hinduism is the problem here.

Every one deserves the same opportunity to happiness and to a fruitful life! All people deserve humane treatment.

People deserve respect.

Religions DO NOT deserve respect.
Not Christianity, not Islam, not Hinduism, not any other.

It is time people that have opened their eyes stopped being afraid to say it. It is the only way to break the chains of the powers that strongly suppress this to this day (the 21st century!)

GH, I understand your frustation on Rikhi's comment. But the fact is its easier to clean the house when you are inside than from outside. Its true that people who have settled abroad can contribute towards good ideas and initiatives. But the entire cleanup should happen from within.
US or any other EU nations were not cleaned up by their citizens living in Asia or Africa but by the people who resided there itself.
It is good to see that India has progressed a lot in technology and its economy has boosted, but the ground reality of untouchability, corruption, bad laws, illiteracy etc. still persist which affect most of the bigger community which probably does not benefit from the so called "development"

dont forget, economic status is a major decider of whether you'll come to the US or not. I rather have low cast indians coming than any of the other camel jockeys who just send their earnings over to India.

Although i personally have not experienced this caste system and am not part of the Hindu faith, this prejucdice exists within all Indian natives. The financially well to do folks do mistreat and are unfair to fellow humans. I have lived on four continents and thus can honestly compare how people in other lands behave. No matter how wealthy or intelligent a person may become in India they as a whole lack social skills when it comes to treating one another with respect. It is a game of "survival of the fittest" in this region and perhaps their religious beleifs do not place any emphasis on how to be kind towards other humans and at the same time help one another. Personally I feel that this backward thinking of " I am better than the other" needs to go. I have compared world religions and one stands out the most as being the winner when it comes to the well being of the human soul without racial or class prejudice and that is Islam. For example when they attend the prayer during the yearly Haj all of humanity is draped in a similar material without any distinction where a king may be stand shoulder to shoulder with a person who may clean toilets. The wealthy in the Indian sub continent need to take care of the less fortunate and not neglect them. It is wonderful that the outside world drops in donations for development but what has happened to its own rich. Once the mentality of a people is changed perhaps from a religious aspect then we can make progress.

Every system has some type of social Injustice. People has to change . I am a Brahmin, when I was a kid other castes were not allowed in the house. But now things have changed . It is not that lowercaste have to do what they are doing but it is up to each individual. There are lowercaste people who hold high positions in various agencies eg: Jagjivan Ram was the Prime Minister and also a Defense minister. I have travelled many countries and I see that even if the person is same color, same religion and there is no caste system there is still discrimination based on the tribe or the region they belong to. My opinion of the caste system is that when India consisted of small kingdoms, the king had to make sure his kingdom was well managed. If everyone was brahmins and there is nobody to protect or run the economy or keep it cleaned, the kingdom would have failed. Like an organization, King mad sure that the Kingdom was managed efficiently by allocating different tasks for the smooth running and it was flexible but during certain time in the history the system became rigid. By the way I have two friends who are from the lowercaste but come from different sublowercaste. One thinks he is superior the other.

Sensational articles like this do little to really discuss issues of caste and poverty in India. The author surely only needs to look in his kitchen to find poverty, or just down the street or another corner of his neighborhood.

My in-laws in India own a small farm (6 acres). They are not rich but much better off than the people the author is writing about, yet my in-laws could never afford a car, nor is it really necessary in a country with fairly good public and private transportation (buses, etc) available.

While caste remains part of many people's identity and reflects on their station in life (mainly in villages less so than the cities), poverty and a lack of sufficient educational resources are the main issues. Just as in America and Europe, bringing a good education will lift people out of poverty. Portraying this problem as somehow exotic or solely based on birth is in fact myopic.

Oh come on.... ..we all point fingers 'coz that all we've learned to do... India is diverse and in the real sense... there maybe a million reason why people choose to leave it or live there but this is not the reality ... I've never seen a single person clean toilets that ways and no one I know has... this is the administration that went wrong in not implementing a ban that the government imposed in the 70's.
Discrimination occurs everywhere it happens in india it happens in US.. I got 92 % on high school but I didn't get admission in the engg stream that I wanted to get admission to 'coz they had reservation and my classmate who was a from Lower class did even when she got a mere 50% marks.. and her father was an IAS officer... what she really DALIT? Was that justice....... NO.................I didn't complain….. CNN didn't write about my story... wasn't that discrimination....
So we all need to think…. just draw our own conclusion that this village in Rajasthan...... has discrimination or all students who study hard... loose these seats to children born to some privileged "dalit" parents....

I read some comments on the untouchability. Never there was inequality among Casts in India. In ancient India it was based on profession of an individual ...and not by birth.

Everything changed during the middle ages, thanks to uncivilized Islamic dacoits who attcked India during middle ages. Their oppression of Hindus corrupted Hindu society and Caste system became a corrupt social structure conforming to the lawlessness in the aftermath of Muslim invasions. Cunning Mullahs and greedy European missionaries systematically divided the society using economic conditions of different castes.

Social cancer that erupted at that time still persists with the viruses still sround.

Its shame that Indian people are segreaged based on caste.
I come from brahmin, a 6% people of 1Billion+.
–But stll, 65 % of Kashmir govt and 90% of central jobs are held by us. us.
–Most of the manager positions in IT companies are held by us.
–100% are temple priest positions are held by us.
–We create temples every city, town and propagate and my community and get preist visas and get whole families to rest of the world.
– We are the ones who create marriages
–we are the ones who does after death formalities.
So, we are everywhere, without us–there is no India.

My main point is, why cant rest of the people from other castes learn from us and implement ? Dont they have skills ?

Thanks

Why are people commenting about Hinduism? I don't know if these people had at all read anything about Hinduism? I believe that Hinduism had spread a lot of culture and socialization among all human beings. Many a times, some people took a good ideology and misuse it for personal gains. people had used religion for good and for bad. It depends on which side you belong to. I know there are such situations (As explained in the blog) existing around the world in many other countries where Hinduism did not exist. So is Hinduism related to this kind of situation?? Definitely, NO. The topic presented in the blog is different and you are narrowing everything down to one aspect "Caste". Is India nuclear because of Caste? Is India the main IT hub because of Caste? The list goes on and nothing is related to Caste. It's all related to Economics & Politics.

Such people exist at every part of the world. I say that it's the economic reforms and opportunities that needs to be created for the people to come up in life. So stop mentioning about caste and please post something useful like any ideas on how you can help these people and What should the government do, etc. It's people who can change the things in this world and not the government. So if anyone wants to bring the change that it should start with "YOU". I believe that if you want to change something , it should begin with "I". People should start thinking like "It's me who should do something rather than blaming government, politics, etc."

Rajpal – BJP is leftist?

I agree with hmm:
Lets look at the parallels in the US Illegal immigrants, people in the projects or trailer parks= American untouchables,

People on the top who run corporations, control everything are the Rulers.

Human race has always had a caste/class system and will always have one.

Get your facts straight !!

I am Indian, and am tired of hearing Westerners talk about India's as "sacred cows," as you do in the article.

Fact: The cows you see wandering on the streets in India? They are NOT considered sacred!! No one prays to them! Indians may not be able to afford "grazing land," so they allow the animals to wander around and find food. We don't eat cows because we respect life .. not because cows are gods!

Westerns just love to impute the most ridiculous exoticizing stereotypes on India - how we have sacred cows, snake charmers, walk on fire - we Indians may as well be circus freaks!

To hmmm:

Are you that oblivious to the difference between cleaning empty toilets with gloves, a brush and Clorox and the extreme degradation of hand cleaning the progressive build up of a household's excrement from a rocky cave that has not been cleaned in perhaps a month? Does anyone in the US carry a sewage vessel on their head until it is emptied?

Surely you can see a difference!

Hmmm, the only thing more disgusting than the the jobs of these women is your opinion on the matter.

Just walk through an airport in Europe and notice who is doing the janitorial work.
I was surpriced to see the number janitors who are of Indian Origin at Heathrow.

Sara is incorrect if she believes that people are untouchable because of the work they do. In India, it is the other way around.

A number of people have commented that we effectively have a caste system in the US. In effect, this is correct. However, we do not have laws (written or traditional) which bind people to their status.

India is a complex country with many cultures, ranging from the most developed to the least developed, with people of both extremes in plain view of one another. The country is undergoing incredible changes very rapidly, and inconsistencies in the quality of life abound. Even the US has had 230+ years to get this far; India is just getting started.

But the caste system, supposedly outlawed but still observed throughout the court system, makes real social change much more challenging in India. It is not "throwing stones" to observe this or report on it.

And finally, I feel that anyone still scraping poop by hand while living in a nuclear-armed country has a right to question their society's values.

I see that Shahab has taken a swipe at Hinduism, and claimed "Unlike Hinduism, Islam does not discriminate by any classification in fact Islam is a communal religion in which thrives because of equality, justice and brotherhood and sisterhood".

Now that's the kind of stone-throwing rhetoric (oh, no pun intended) that gets people riled up. I haven't heard of any Hindu endorsement for wife-beating and I haven't heard any tales of clitoral castration in Hinduism, either.

Perhaps Shahab is unaware that his ideas of what equality and justice are all about may differ between the brothers and sisters of his own culture.

Lower Caste or Upper Casete........ in India or in South asia. because............ The Few people have the Power of Capital and Power of Education they are playing and doing what ever they want , if the distribution of the capital and Education reach to mevery body in south asia then It will be OK , INDIA proudly said we have so and so MILLIONER in the country ...... Millioner FOR WHAT ?? they are millioner for selves .

What a shame ! To compare what these people do, to imaginary inconveniences suffered by so called Brahmins is an insult ! According to Bhagavat Gita, caste was never meant to be hereditary. It is meant to be based on one's intellect, character etc., People who dehumanize other people should be considered untouchables ! Thanks for great reporting.

Sadly mainstream media does very little to exposure such blatant inequalities in India that make it more like world's largest hypocrisy than democracry. We do not help the cause when our media sheilds india from such realities due to commercial interests.

Untouchables are no longer "Untouchable" as the word literally means. They are everywhere today, most people don’t even know who an untouchable is in cities. You probably would've rubbed shoulders with an "untouchable" at some point of time. There’s the paradox to an "untouchable". Even though it might have allegedly been encoded in some of the Hindu laws, every country has inequalities when it comes to people. England had/has classes. The Irish were discriminated, so were African. In India one might still see some form of discrimination in a few villages, not all mind you.
And the untouchables themselves have a hierarchy. It’s hard to understand this whole thing. You can often hear about caste clashes amongst the backward classes. The only thing that can probably change this is education. But still at the end of the day , someone has to do that job. A job's a job period. And if the necessity arises anybody would do it I suppose. Today India is ruled by backward classes, without a doubt. And some of them are educated in the larger sense. But they are not really learned. They probably have degrees or fake ones or they hung around some sort of a college before they set out to make a political career. But yes, the backward classes are no more backward in India. And this discrimination of people exists all over the world even though it’s wrong...

Ahhhh....CNN at its best. Maybe they have a group in the organization called "CurseIndia". It is a shame that this still happens in India but does it need to be on CNN?

This article has exposed a deep rooted evil in our indian society. However, living in India and abroad, I have an opinion that education has really resolved many of these issues. However I do agree with other posts regarding class discrimination while trying to obtain a seat in our education system. I do not know how prevalent this is but I know it exists. If you have a heart of lion and a painstaking to succeed, even the backward classes can do well. They just need to realize that education can open so many avenues in life. Our goverment should also do more to provide opportunites for an education to the impoverished. To all the NRI's , we owe giving back to our country.

I't agree with Islamic contribution. He seems to know his history. The system was based on your occupation or profession. The Brahmin being the highest as he is considered closest to God. I am an American,but I know many from different parts of India. I think that India has a long way to go when it comes to social reform. Hence the reason so many want ot come here. What I don't like is when they come to America too many of them look down on American minorities as inferior to them. They bring their prejudices with them. You cannot compare the maids,sanitation workers, janitors,etc. in this country to those women mentioned in the article. People who perform those tasks here have running water and disinfectant cleaners! Jesus encouraged us to treat everyone equal.

Interesting comments by "Lekarshi" !. If the progress made in the recent decade is due to fake degrees and fraud by Backward classes, we need to have more of those ! Indian PM is a Sardar, Congress chief is a Catholic ah..so much for backwardness ! Let us not forget that for decades the so called higher classes/castes climbed the Ladder through caste pulls. And the country remained backward for the longest time. Now that the "backward classes" are alleged to be ruling, Country has gone forward ! Bring it on !

Rajpal Gurm
Are you serious about your comments? I do agree that because of Britishers we have some systems in place,country is united BUT do you know what cost India has paid for that? It is too much you are asking for. We have lived in slavery for 400 years..again telling you 400 years. They left the country after nothing was left for them to rob.
India was "sone ki chidiya" and now I am happy to see again we are getting to that...
Also curruption and bad politics are part of their policies with what they ruled the country.

Can't deny the existence of descrimination but it exists everywhere in the world including the USA.

However there is inaccuracy in the article where it is trying to say that people of lower caste are forced to do such work.

The fact has to do more with opportunities to leave that work. An untouchable has become prime minister of India and our constitution has great contribution from untouchable as well.

USA has yet to find a black president or even a woman president for that matter !!

If there is better education and job opportunities we can get more people out of what they are doing. But there is no way they are forced but the economic situation does indirectly forces them.
The example of Manju in the article has six children well if she had one or two it might have been better for the kids not to be in the same cycle as their parents.

Second thing with education and uplifting are the reservation laws pretty much what USA has Affirmative action. This has worked for the most part but still not enough because of size of population and given the opportunities.

Stereotypes do exist and it does even in USA or any other developed country.

There are scores of stories where blacks in the US are unjustly treated or picked up on by law enforcement and looked upon as ciphers by majority whites.

It is one thing to point these things out and another to come up with a solution.
I think India has done much better given its history (6 decades of independence) than any other country.

However much remains to be done and solutions (as you might expect) can come from developed countries like US or Europe but alas they are no different they do not have any solution other than lip service so far..

And tired of Western (media) obsession with target practice on India and China. Let me resort to Juvenalian satire.

Some noble and righteous monotheistic readers (Christian and Muslim—Chris, John, S) claim that Hinduism is the root of India’s ills. Hinduism with its caste-system stinks. Archaic religions with their discriminatory practices should be replaced by modern, clean, tolerant, 21st century practices—the new faiths of democracy, meritocracy, laissez-faire capital, and monotheistic religions with moral leverage.

Sirs, how much do you know of the religion itself and how much of its evolving practice? Obviously none, otherwise you would not confuse the mis-practice of its tenets by some or many people with the faults or tenets of its philosophy. How would you take it, were I to say, in a sweeping statement, that Christianity is barbaric because its followers routinely eat the blood and body of its god, or that Islam is Medieval because of its benighted attitude to its women’s basic health, or that both are horrifying in their support of polygamy? You would not like it, because that would confuse Utah with all Christianity, and the Taliban or the Gulf with all Islam. Similarly do you confuse one Indian story with all of Hindusim, and Tibet with all of Buddhism. That’s a reinforcement of the cognitive stereotype of the monotheistic monolithic West.

To echo other readers, let him whose faith is innocent cast the first stone. Then you may hold Hinduism hostage for its evils.

I have lived in the US for 5 yrs, and in India for 25, and I can safely say that the US is hypocritical in its trumpeting of equality. I have faced racial, class and sexual discrimination in the halls of academia and in society at large. And back home, I have faced discrimination and harassment from Muslims in the market for the liberalism of my faith that allows me not to cover myself in a burka, and from Hindus because I am neither upper nor lower caste. So of course, I couldn’t get into coveted centers of higher education because I was not ‘low’ enough or rich enough. In the US, I was not rich enough or not native enough or not enough of a ‘minority.’ And of course, I was not useful enough, not being one of the science or computer science cohort.

Modernity (and its baggage of modern religion—Christianity and Islam) loves to claim moral superiority by transporting all that is ‘exotic’ and ‘primitive’ to the past where history is a forward linear path of ‘Progress.’ Hence, all modern evil is rooted in the remnants of the old. Clean out the Augean stables and all will be well.

Just by the way: Caste or ‘varna’ means ‘species’ with specific reference to work. If anyone really cared to delve into Hindu philosophy (not religion, mind you), they would find a strategic and synthesizing philosophy for survival. Its derogatory and corrupted practice must be attacked, but not mistaken for the religion. That should be punishable as severely as Islam or Pakistan attacks those who oppose it. Unfortunately, Hindusim is not a militant religion like Christianity or Islam; it is a metaphysical assimilator, though. And in its flexibility has lain its potential for corruption and its vulnerability to foreign attackers. Truth is, the less rigid always occupy a lower rung in the pecking order because they are erroneously perceived as being weaker. Pity.

I’m curious about the media pastime of bashing the Eastern giants (lets make them Goliaths). Down with the bad stuff of India and China, even though we cannot seem to stop training our eyes on their movements; giant whales, surfacing from the ocean, disrespectful of the pillars of the modern west. Leviathan! Why this concern with China’s polluting ills or India’s monetary eyesores? Why not Myanmar’s anti-Hindu discrimination or the Gulf’s Islamic repression? Money, of course! Let’s not look a gift horse in the mouth.

Children, children....you all have good, and not so good, arguments for the world's problems – none of which will solve one damn thing. Remember this, just one thing....religion, no matter what its flavor is, IS A MAN-MADE CONCEPT! Every so-called religion in this world has enumerous slants, splinter groups, break-off sects, etc., etc. Why? Because someone, somewhere, at sometime, became disenchanted with the ideals, restrictions (read suffocating extremism), conflicting rules – well, you get the idea – that they simply just had enough; enough to reinterpret the 'rules' to satisfy their own idea of what it should be. Just look at Christianity! How many 'flavors' are there! For one religion! Hinduism is no different. The problem, people, is directly related to those in power; those who control the 'religion' and all that it pertains to.

For generations upon generations, those who wielded this control over the population gained immeasurable wealth and power! THAT IS THE KEY! And, sad to say, those who were/are disenfranchised, because of a serious lack of intellect and/or knowledge (history shows that keeping the people dumb and misinformed, kept those in power...In Power), unknowingly fuel the problem.

As sad as it is, with people all over the globe suffering as they do, only THEY have the power to say 'enough is enough, I will not stand for this any longer, I will have a better life as that exhibited by those who look down upon me.' Until that happens, this shit will continue – and nothing, not a single, damn thing we say or do will change that. It is a distinction that is ingrained, so perverse in its depth and longevity, that no matter how often or deep it is exposed, only those who are directly effected can make a difference. I wish I had the cosmic power to force – no, make that effect – a quantum, physical change in every human being's brain to realize that. We, as a species...so brilliant, so caring, so intelligent...are the stupidest creatures on this planet! We have the capability, and the resources to end every ill that we manifest upon ourselves if only we could see beyond our own petty, self-interests. Again, religion is the root of all evil – it drives a stake through the very heart of humanity; it separates us all.

Before I am castigated as being an aetheist, a non-believer, know that I believe in God, no matter what name you have embodied in your belief system. If there is one single truth that threads itself throughout all religions, it is the ultimate belief that there is but one Being that we look to for our salvation. Unfortunately, there were/are those who find evil benefit in corrupting what should be a very singular, private commitment to our own, personal ideal.

ndia’s globalization took place during the prime ministership of P.V.Narasimha Rao. That’s when it saw economic growth. Manmohan Singh is no doubt a great economist, not a political leader and is indeed unfit for that job. He is a puppet in the hands of the congress leaders. Having said that, nobody though he was from a backward class, I think one should understand the difference between minorities and backward classes. And what’s the major change that India has seen since 2003 when he became PM other than depleting infrastructure, higher crime rates, mindless migration between states, a crashing stock market......
The congress is riding the already existing success wave. Wonder what qualification the so called “Catholic leader” in India has to serve that country. I say bring it full on, backward classes, foreign nationals who are wives of famous people, let India disintegrate, and hopefully the British will return to rule it better.

". Unlike Hinduism, Islam does not discriminate by any classification in fact Islam is a communal religion in which thrives because of equality, justice and brotherhood and sisterhood"

yeah Shahab u r write but u forgot one more tenets of islam blowing up innocent poeple becauz they belive in diff gods.

I agree there are many shotrcomings in hinduism one of which is caste system but atleast they dont kill each other on mass scale

Well, I read through all or most of these. There is certainly a wide variety of opinions.
Unlike Hinduism, Islam does not discriminate? True, they will bomb Christians, Jews, and even other Muslims.
As far as the Indian woman and her notice that her professors are all white or Chinese, I imagine that you havent' gone to many colleges besides the one you're attending. I had several black professors. Never had an Indian professor or Chinese for that matter. Did have a nice Japanese man for Christian teachings.
I also took note regarding the not talking to the cleaning people and had never thought to do so. I speak with the custodian, janitor or whatver title the man has every day. We talk about golf and life. I sure don't judge him. I guess he's a great musician also. And he can probably whip me in golf.
I did work for several years in the IT field with many Indians and to be honest, they were the most arrogant group of people. I guess they came from a finer Caste than I did.

The Dalit plight is a byproduct of an over-crowded and ancient land. Notice that the dalit women in the story has 4 kids. Why? Why in the hell would you have 4 children when you are that poor? But all that aside, India will be third world until they drop the caste system altogether. It's not a race issue. It's something from the ancient times which needs to go away. (I love Indians bytheway, and work for an Indian company here in the usa). I know that when an Indian professional falls in love and marries an American, it pisses-off the whole family, lol.

The caste system has a pack mentality; Indians who come to America and get criticized for not doing anything to lift India up, are simply sick of running with the pack. The division between Indians who just work here and create a little india whereever they live, and those Indians who assimilate into American culture is bigger than caste discrimination. These two don't mix, lol.

This is a poorly written journalistic piece. Make no mistake, we as current or former Indian citizens (settled outside of India) are truly ashamed of even a single incidence of this kind.

However, a journalist needs to look at the whole canvass rather than a corner of it. We cannot go to Mississipi or Arkansas, do a story on neglected Black neighborhoods and forget the fact that up until mid-sixties, almost all blacks lived like that. Now, a very small percentage of them are so disadvantaged. That, although not perfect, is progress.

Do not forget that a former untouchable is the Chief Minister of the largest Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and is harboring ambitions of becoming the Prime Minister. And she is a woman. India already has had a President and a Prime Minister from the lower classes – not to mention a much larger proportion of mayors, county execs, ministers and members of parliament compared to the US African American community.

Get your facts right and do balanced reporting if you wish to be taken seriously. Otherwise, it's cheap sensationalism.

Dalits have always claimed to be mistreated and ignored. Then the govt came up with the reservation quota for Dalits in all PSU's and now look at the plight of the country because of this. 80% of our parliament is filled with them. Does anybody think that they are contributing to the progress of our country in any sense? All these dalit politicians care about is to rake in Moolah of money in the name of uplifting the dalits in their respective states.
Dalit CM rules UP and she openly supports castism.Does she understand anything the basic problems faced by the people there and the lack of basic amenities and infrastruture in the state and the entire country for that matter when she hints at becoming the PM of this vast country. Come on!! wake up..how do u think she will communicate with world leaders on different issues ? This country had already made the mistake of accepting a PM from the south who claimed to the 'Son of the soil' and ruled the country for 13 months and the first thing he did was to take his family on a world tour.

All I am trying to say is if the Dalits are capable of achieving something on their merit then they have to do it, not get undue advantage becuase of the ridiculous caste quota.

Wake up!! India needs intellectuals not somebody with Quota!!

Stop all the religious nuts. Hail Family Guy. the new religion :) You guys are so funny. I love this soap opera. You just don't have to put on the TV anymore. Just look at the comments online. A brief sampling of the most delectable cuisine available on this blog : "Untouchability=Hinduism" ... wow that was insightful. " Indians are this arrogant group of people", fantabulous, folks a big hand for that one, he gets that from his years of IT experience. Anyways you guys are a true microcosm of the real world. One voice of reason amongst the hundred voices of sensationalism. Long live Family Guy and Calvin and Chacha Chowdhury, down with religiousism, communism,democracy, the human race and last but not the least, Charlie Sheen. Seriuosly, get a life. Help the unwanted if you can. Learn about conditions in India, if you want to. Otherwise stop groping around in the dark with malformed ideas of India, world religions, or at least come here slightly better informed; not with google please....

Ashok Thakkar I believe the reporter made that point. Change is coming, this is just somebody that it hasn't reached yet. Did she not report that they are expanding the training center?

Why do we get upset someone reporting something. Did they report lies? This is a story about old world disappearing.

If we are each responsible for our own actions (clean out your own toilet) we might realize that we are all the same and not view others as being less human that we are.

I clean my toilet but I am a brahmin. I can't afford to pay anyone to clean. What is bad about cleaning a toilet? I clean my toilet by hand. My hand becomes dirty. So what? I am a brahmin. People in west clean their toilets big deal? There are castes everywhere. In west it is rich versus the poor, white vs the black, white vs the irientals, blacks vs the orientals and so on. It is like that everywhere.

The main problem is overpopulation and limited resources. We need 2 planets to sustain us now. Oil is going to be used up in 30 -40 years then what? Can we find another planet like earth so we could move there and sustain the current lifestyle?

SHAHAB, stop barking about Islam here. Muslims like you are uneducated lots.. no better than those who oppress others.

For all supporters of castism – especially upper cast.

Just for a change why dont you guys try switching your cast with a lower one...for a change let you children do the job Manju does and let her children do the job your children is planned to...