Do caste systems and caste-based discrimination only occur in Hindu societies?
No. The division of a society into castes is a global phenomenon not exclusively practised within any particular religion or belief system. In South Asia, the caste system originally emanated from the Hindu religion and caste discrimination is today still deeply engrained in the Hindu society. Supported by philosophical elements, the caste system constructs the moral, social and legal foundations of Hindu society. Dalits are ‘outcastes’ or people who fall outside the four-fold caste system consisting of the Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vysya and Sudra. Dalits are also referred to as Panchamas or people of the fifth order. However caste system and the ensuing caste discrimination have spread into Christian, Buddhist, Muslim and Sikh communities. Caste systems are also found in Africa, other parts of Asia, the Middle East, the Pacific and in Diaspora communities around the world. In Japan association is made with Shinto beliefs – Buraku people – concerning purity and impurity, and in marginalized
