Yes, exactly. Such ingrained thoughts and behavior are not easily changed, and a few laws do not end the age-old discrimination and disparities. There has to be a concerted effort to overcome those horrors. And in India, there is NO such effort. Most people accept the situation cuz "That's the way it is, and always has been."

I was in Gurgaon, just 1 hour from New Delhi. The very wide central (West-to-East) corridor from Mumbai, thru Delhi, and on to Kolkata is largely Hindu-dominated, and yes, that's where the caste system seems to be worst. Just my observations, of course, but that's after living there for close to 4 years.

The people in the Himalayas and those way down south seemed less concerned with any caste differences, and I always enjoyed my travels there because of their more easy-going attitudes.

In Goa (which was ruled by the Portuguese until 1961!!), the people and culture are noticeably different. Great food and port wine, too. Also, the people from the far Northeast (Assam and surrounding regions) hardly even seem Indian. They look more oriental. And for some unknown reason, the seem to be better educated and more open to the outside world also. And they love music.

One more note. After 4 years in India, I spent 5 years in Singapore, which has a diverse population of Chinese, Malays, Tamil Indians, whiteys, and various other ethnicities and religions. But while racial tension and inequality remain in India (and the USA and other countries), they are virtually nonexistent in Singapore.

Singapore's founding father / leader Lee Kuan Yew essentially dictated, "Sorry, no discrimination, no fighting, and let's not just TRY to get along, let's make a special effort to get along and ensure that nothing and nobody stands in the way of a harmonious, multi-ethnic, multi-faith society."

Whereas India passed a few laws and then made little effort to overcome caste and other travesties, Singapore made a concerted, ongoing effort ... Oh, and passed a few laws to support that effort.

The result is that Singapore is the peak of civilization. It aint perfect, but it's closer to ideal than anywhere else I've ever been to or heard of.

Peace.