A caste system often uses discriminatory notions of purity and contamination. It continues to have an impact on contemporary society in many areas of the world.

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.

Caste and race are so interwoven in America that it is hard to separate the two. When a country has developed and perfected ...

This week, years of work culminated in a historic win: On Feb. 22, Seattle became the first American city to explicitly ban discrimination on the basis of caste, after a vote by the city council ...

1. A System Built on Qualities, Not Birth. The term "Varna" comes from the Sanskrit word for "color" or "quality." It wasn’t about your family lineage or the name you carried at birth.

Recent events are a reminder that the caste system still determines American life—but we can overcome it, writes Isabel Wilkerson. Sign Up for Our Ideas Newsletter POV. Subscribe Subscribe.

Two cities, Seattle and Fresno, Calif., made caste a protected class this year, and several universities, including the 23-campus California State University System, have also created special ...

Nearly 5.4 million South Asians live in the U.S., most of whom trace their roots to Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan or Sri Lanka, according to the group South Asian Americans Leading ...

For the first time in nearly 100 years, India will get 1.4 billion people to name their caste in a census.. Presenting the biggest obstacle to India’s embrace of modernity, the caste system ...

What is India’s long-awaited caste census and why has it sparked outcry from Modi’s followers? More than two-thirds of country’s 1.4 billion people estimated to be on lower rungs of archaic ...

Letter: The coming caste system. By John Duffy. Published: April 13, 2025. As I write this letter, the stock market continues to crash as does my retirement savings.

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 ...