Hello Avelino, Pardon me for responding, even if briefly, but late, to your post.
If you take the institution of apartheid in South Africa as it existed until it was got rid off largely through external pressure, you could note that it basically was in the interests of the white oppressors to subjugate the blacks. One group benefitted at the expense of the other and it was the reason it existed until it was rejected wholesale as an absolute evil.
Likewise, caste in India has historically oppressed weaker socio economic groups unjustifiably and 'rejected' successful socio economic individuals if they were not deemed to be of an acceptable caste in a tangled layered web of intrigue. Above all, today, Hindu caste is not compatible with Catholicism and nobody, as yet, has taken me up on this specific issue. I wonder why this is?
I have argued on Goanet that casteism is brown on brown racism. Nobody has challenged this view either, but I can provide informed references on this issue if necessary. Racism is rejected in all civilized societies and the Pope has emphasised this point repeatedly. Therefore, I can see all the 'cons' in caste and no 'pros' at all in today's society. However, if you or any other Catholic Goan can find some 'pros' and justify them, I'd be more than willing to suspend judgement and consider them dispassionately.
I look forward to your reply,
Regards,
Cornel DaCosta, London
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