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Caste: One in every 25 people suffers from caste discrimination based on the kind of work they do and their family origins. That is around 250-300 million people globally and 179 million in India alone. Many countries have laws against discrimination, some specifically against caste discrimination, but they are rarely enforced.

From: New Internationalist  |  Date: 7/1/2005

Common features of caste systems (1)

* Physical segregation--for example, not being allowed to drink from the same cup or share the same water source as higher castes.

* Social segregation, including a prohibition on intercaste marriages.

* Work in traditional occupations often associated with death or filth.

* Debt bondage due to poor wages for lower-caste occupations. An estimated 25-60 million people in India are bonded labourers, working in slave-like conditions ...

COPYRIGHT 2005 New Internationalist Magazine
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