My Muslim grandfather grew up in what is now Indian state of Karnataka (Gulbarga). When he would touch metal utensils of neighboring high caste family, they wou

My Muslim grandfather grew up in what is now Indian state of Karnataka (Gulbarga). When he would touch metal utensils of neighboring high caste family, they would curse at him and wash them, so he would do it to wind them up every so often. Although it's not always that straightfoward. In Gujarat, Muslims used to be able to "cancel" caste pollution - that is, if you touched a Dalit and then touched a Muslim you wouldn't have to purify yourself.