I've always heard about this caste system thing in India, but I didn't know much about it. I still don't, but I know that it's led to the burning of a 6 year old, who was pushed into burning embers because she was considered as contaminating a path normally reserved for higher caste people.

This is an interesting concept because, unlike in America where skin color can determine who gets treated in what manner, the Indians have five levels of caste system based on which part of the body of the first man they were determined to have come from.

The Brahmin class comes from the mouth. They are the priests and holy men, the most elevated of the castes.

Next is the Ksatriyas, the kings, warriors and soldiers created from the arms.

The Vaisyas come from the thighs. They are the merchants and traders of society.

And the Sudras, or laborers, come from the feet.

The last group is the Dalits, or the 'untouchables.' They're considered too impure to have come from the primordial being. Untouchables are often forced to work in menial jobs. They drink from separate wells. They use different entry ways, coming and going from buildings. There are over 250 million of them, or 25% of the population.

So, the girl was a Dalit; we haven't been told which caste the man, actually an older teen, comes from. He turned himself in and he's been charged with attempted murder, as India is trying to find ways of eliminating the caste system, which is going to be a long road, one can bet. It's just a shame that hatred can go so far as to make someone believe they can take it out on a child.