Dear Arjun Periyar, those who are harping on such trivial things are living in the past. Untouchability, etc existed in pre-independence India. Our Constitution guarantees equal rights to every one irrespective of caste, creed, colour or religion.
Caste system exists even in Islam and Christianity and in some other countries also. It is a myth that the converted Christians and Muslims were treated as equals. If such was the case, there would not have been any Dalits in India (or atleast in North India where the Muslims ruled for over 500 years).
Our Country has made tremendous progress after independence (especially after economic liberalisation of the 90s). If the same trend continues, we will become a developed country like USA or UK in another two decades.
The real problems we face today are lack of education and exployment opportunities. It is mostly people who lack financial security who resort to religious dogmas to escape from day to day drudgery.
