I work on a regular basis with the author, and we have discussed caste before. I guess the most I can add to the story is that he is very supportive of all thos

I work on a regular basis with the author, and we have discussed caste before. I guess the most I can add to the story is that he is very supportive of all those who have not been given the chance, for whatever reason, to excel. For example he is a staunch supporter of women's rights (just check out his track record of both hiring and retaining female talent as PhD/PostDoc), and speaks up regularly for those who are oppressed. I like that he used Freedom of Information regulation to get information on discrimination. This reminds me of an old friend who did the same here in Germany, about West vs East-Germany born heads of universities. The ratio is way-way worse than you might imagine. It's not the same level of oppression as in India, but those who think this issue is far from Europe need not look further than the heart of the EU itself.