I have written before on the curse that is the caste 'system' in India. What is so outrageous is that caste-based discrimination is still practiced in Tamilnadu - one of the first places in India that woke up to fight this unacceptable 'practice'. The fight was led by 'Periyar' E.V.Ramasamy and was quite effective - up to a point.

A YouTube Video on Raja Raja Cholan, the Tamil king (emperor?) who lived around the year 1000CE. Interesting stuff.