Culture and Caste
The caste system has been in place for more than 3,000 years and was created for the division of labour among the community. At the top of the caste system are the Brahmins, who are the priests and arbiters of what is right and wrong in matters of religion and society. Next come the Kshatriyas, who are soldiers and administrators. The Vaisyas are the artisan and commercial class, and finally, the Sudras who are the farmers and the peasant class. These four castes are said to have come from Brahma's mouth (Brahmin), arms (Kshatriyas), thighs (Vaisyas) and feet (Sudras).
Beneath the four main castes is a fifth group, the Scheduled Caste. They literally have no caste. They are the untouchables, the Dalits, which means "crushed", "downtrodden", "broken".
A Dalit is not considered to be part of the human society, but something, which is beyond that. The Dalits perform the most menial and degrading jobs. Sometimes Dalits perform important jobs, but this is mostly not socially recognized.
In India there are approximately 250 million Dalits. Dalits do not have access to enough food, health care, housing and clothing. They also do not have access to education and employment. Officially everyone in India has the same rights and duties, but the practice is different. Education will help provide the opportunity to change the future -- and transform a child's life now and forever.