This article is part of a Nature series examining data on ethnic or racial diversity in science in different countries. See also: How UK science is failing Black researchers — in nine stark charts.

Discrimination against individuals based on caste would seem to be a relic of the past. Even in India, where the caste system was most rigid, the practice has been officially banned since 1950.

For millions across India, a rigid caste system thousands of years old still dictates much of daily life – from social circles to dating pools to job opportunities and schooling. The Indian government ...

This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated. Caste is an ancient system of social ...

Why do people defend social systems that oppress them? Why do the marginalized sometimes work to uphold structures and arrangements that limit their potential? These questions are not just ...

Vikki Velasquez is a researcher and writer who has managed, coordinated, and directed various community and nonprofit organizations. She has conducted in-depth research on social and economic issues ...

In the fall of 2015, a group of Dalit survivors and activists from India began marching across 16 cities in North America—including New York, Los Angeles, and Seattle—to “break the silence” on caste ...

Being born in Indian means inheriting a place in an ancient social system which will dominate much of your life, from where you can live to who you can marry. Now, the government wants to know more ...

Counting castes in India has always been about more than numbers - it is about who gets a share of government benefits and who doesn't. The country's next national census, scheduled for 2027, will - ...