India's caste system is among the world's oldest forms of surviving social stratification. The BBC explains its complexities. The system which divides Hindus into rigid hierarchical groups based on ...

Vikki Velasquez is a researcher and writer who has managed, coordinated, and directed various community and nonprofit organizations. She has conducted in-depth research on social and economic issues ...

For centuries, what we now call Hinduism was never a single religion. It was a civilisation organised through caste. Each ...

(RNS) — As more institutions adopt policies against caste discrimination, disagreements about caste's prevalence among those in the Hindu diaspora are stronger than ever. (RNS) — Nearly a decade ago, ...

YAVATMAL, India (Reuters) - Taking off his shoes and joining his palms together in prayer, young engineer Ravi Turkane stands under a sizzling sun waiting to be reborn as a Buddhist. Sign up here.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has agreed to conduct a caste census to enumerate the proportional share of different castes in India’s population. This marks a significant shift in the position of the ...

Why do people defend social systems that oppress them? Why do the marginalized sometimes work to uphold structures and arrangements that limit their potential? These questions are not just ...

(RNS) — Last week, a federal district judge ruled against two California State University professors who claimed the university’s policy barring discrimination on the basis of caste violates the U.S.

MUMBAI, May 27 (Reuters) - About 50,000 Indian low-caste Hindus and nomadic tribespeople converted to Buddhism before a vast crowd on Sunday in the hope of escaping the rigidity of the ancient Hindu ...

Why is Christian Science in our name? Our name is about honesty. The Monitor is owned by The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and we’ve always been transparent about that. The church publishes the ...

Below is the edited transcript of a speech delivered online by Professor Anand Teltumbde, on April 17, 2026, at a seminar on Brahmanisation at Jadavpur University. Long ago, while speaking about the ...