Based on their previous caste affiliations, the new converts were usually lumped into new Catholic castes.

Informal polls at several stops showed how caste affiliations now dominate voting.

It is land ownership which gives status and power in the village, rather than caste affiliation.

A study by Joanna L. Mountain et al. of Stanford University concluded that there was "no clear separation into three genetically distinct groups along caste lines", although "an inferred tree revealed some clustering according to caste affiliation".

To gain group status, they engaged in mass conversion campaigns, with a goal of increased adherents with maintained caste affiliation of the converts.

Although social castes are no longer legally recognized, ancestral caste affiliation often continues to affect social status, economic opportunity and roles within the community.

According to the Hindu caste system, one's caste affiliation is inherited and passed down from generation to generation.

This left enormous leverage with the smaller parties that draw on caste affiliations, language differences and regional identification.

The Kumbh Mela (literal meaning is ('festival of pots') is the "confluence of faith" since lakhs of people irrespective of their caste affiliations attend it.

He would like to see all Indians drop their last names as these invariably announce your caste affiliation.