Alex Singleton | Journalist and political commentator

Globalisation’s effect on promoting social progress is significant, and an article in The Wall Street Journal this week reinforces it. The article says:

For thousands of years, advancement in India has been restricted by its caste system, which is enshrined in the country’s dominant Hindu religion. While Brahmins, the highest caste, are said to stem from the mouth of Purusha, or Universal Man, Dalits were considered so impure they were left outside the structure altogether. Castes — which often can be identified by a person’s last name — reach into every part of Indian society.

But India’s rapid economic expansion — and its booming high-tech sector — are beginning to chip away at the historical system that reserved well-paying jobs for upper castes and menial jobs for Dalits. With annual gross-domestic-product growth exceeding 9%, companies that have hired tens of thousands of workers in recent years are looking beyond their traditional sources of employees. High-tech firms, both foreign and domestically based, are at the forefront of that search. As a result, some Dalits are rising into India’s middle class.