Indian court rules against caste

The ruling has far-reaching social implications

By Ram Dutt Tripathi BBC reporter in Lucknow

An Indian court has urged state authorities to prevent the persecution of couples from different communities.

The Allahabad High Court dismissed a private prosecution for kidnapping brought by a father against the young man his daughter had eloped with.

The young couple - from different communities within India's caste system - told the court that their parents had threatened to kill them if they did not seek a divorce.

Describing the caste system as a great evil that was hindering the country's progress, the court said parents could not legally stop a person who was an adult from marrying someone from another caste or community.

'Honour killings'

Although discrimination on the grounds of caste has been outlawed in India, the ruling has far reaching social implications.

Cases of honour killings persist where parents and relatives of young men and women have killed them in public.

The court termed these killings feudal and barbaric, and urged the police to prevent them, along with other forms of harassment.

Indian law recognises inter-caste marriages, but certain communities, especially in rural areas, still considers them to be an insult.

Analysts say the court ruling may accelerate the process of reforms in Hindu society.

The caste system - which determines social status by birth - is nearly 3,000 years old.

But experts are still divided on whether it is an essential part of Hinduism or whether it was imposed by invaders from Central Asia.