So what do you think Jati is???
Is that not a hindi name for class division??
All Hindu strike that all religious texts are vague and fuzzy enough to provide plenty of scope for rationalization by interpretation. In case of The Dalit/Shudra question this is more-soever true because of allegorical nature of Hindu scriptures.
I don't care one iota about whether organized discrimination and exploitation of Shudras and other lower caste were sanctioned as such by Vedas. Since Brahmins were the only caste monopolizing religious text for centuries it doesn't matter what Vedas and scriptures said what matters is how were they applied in society.
I won't blame Hinduism and it's followers alone as exploitation is not exclusive to Indian society. There are many forms of class division - and no society is immune from it - not in mists of history nor today nor in future. Every society has put barriers to keep the lower strata artificially suppressed. In one way it makes sense - Not everyone can be a Royalty or modern royalty like Industrialist/Doctors/Judges/Lawyers etc. We need workers to do the dirty work which no one else want's to do - For Eg Cleaning Toilets and Streets, easiest way to make people do is to take away all their other options by denying them quality education, denying them a way to acquire necessary skill set to move up.
In modern days this denial has become very creative, you cannot openly discriminate based on pre-existing norms like color, caste, creed etc so all this has become unofficial and un-stated.
The modern day barriers are - English Proficiency, Dressing sense, Access to quality education and coaching - We all know how big a gap there is between a Village boy and a city educated boy in English fluency and pronunciation. I am sure, we all have had a smug smile when we hear broken English spoken by a village boy. Now temme given equal marks and mental dexterity, whom would an HR select - A village boy or a city boy? Of-course same would have been passed of as better personality and body language. This is not even considering how difficult it is for a Village boy to achieve same marks a City boy due to lack of coaching and quality education at primary and secondary level.
There can be some exceptions like our beloved Kalam but usually that is the norm. It takes twice as much work and time for a village boy to achieve the same status as a privileged city kid. This is just one of the examples among countless others of the divide between India of gleaming cities and decaying Villages
This modern rural - urban divide is nothing but caste system of our times, when village kids who are the majority share in their demographic are relegated to comparatively Shudra kind of work compared to modern Brahmins of Cities.
So
@SarthakGanguly and others, caste system will continue in India and the whole world, there is no religious basis for it - that was just a means to enforce it in past. We will continue finding new means to keep the gap alive.
There is no egalitarian society, that is a stuff of fairy tales.