ABSTRACT
Caste has been thought of as an institution intimately tied to the Indian past and present. However, caste as a, social system invested in purity, pollution, endogamy, hierarchy, and inflexibility locked in the rigidity of birth, is found in major societies across the world. Yet, caste has not received the desired attention outside India. Nor it has become a social, economic, and political concern of the world. Everyday caste oppression is indicative of the gross human rights violations wrought upon Dalit and other caste oppressed groups, not least in India, but globally. Drawing from caste studies in south Asia, Africa, Latin America, and North America, this paper inaugurates pioneering inquiry into caste discrimination as a global human rights concern. By complificating, to complicate and facilitate the conduits of hierarchical societies, it posits the importance of global caste theory as a way to synthesize the experiences of outcastes of each society.
