"As I write this, the dalits (India's most oppressed group, our "untouchables') are doing a special "freedom' march to Una, a small town in Gujarat where last month four young men were brutally beaten up with iron rods by a mob of cow vigilantes for skinning dead cows. These young men are from the "chamar' or leather tanning caste. Even now, if ordered to move a carcass '" and that means any dead animal ranging from cows to goats to dogs or cats -- they are compelled by societal norms to do so, regardless of whether they've earned a doctorate in economics or history. The unwritten rule: once a chamar, always a chamar. Yes, we've come a long way economically, but our feudal system is alive and well. And not just kicking. It's maiming, raping and killing, too."

Read the column on the Guardian as India celebrates 70 years of independence.