E/CN.4/1999/15 page 23 F. The question of the untouchables in India 88. In 1996 the Special Rapporteur’s attention was drawn to the situation of the Dalits or untouchables in India (E/CN.4/1997/71, para. 127). Given the complexity of the question, the Special Rapporteur consulted the Indian Government, undertook documentary research and studied the position of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination on the question. The basic question was whether the age-old caste system in India, which had produced several million untouchables, could be regarded as racial discrimination. 89. In its appearances before the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination and its communications to the Special Rapporteur, the Indian Government has consistently held that the caste system is not a hierarchical system based on race. The following five paragraphs, which are taken from the Indian Government’s communication of 30 September 1997, illustrate this position. 90. History has made India home to people of diverse origins. Over the millennia, the assimilative character of the Indian civilization combined with the process of intermingling of inhabitants after waves of immigration has resulted in a composite society. A variety of racial sources have therefore contributed to the “mix” that is the hallmark of the Indian people today. The fusion of these diverse racial elements over centuries has meant that Indian society is neither racially nor ethnically homogenous. Categorical distinctions of “race” or “national or ethnic origin” have ceased to exist and race itself as an issue does not impinge on the consciousness or outlook of Indian citizens in their social relations. Today India is a mosaic of different groups who seek identification in terms of language, religion, caste or even regional characteristics, rather than race, colour or ethnic origin. 91. The term “caste” denotes a “social” and “class” distinction and is not based on race. It has its origins in the functional division of Indian society during ancient times. A hierarchical arrangement is the principal characteristic of this social institution in which certain privileges or disabilities are enjoined on its members from birth and are not supposed to change during a person's lifetime. Each caste group is functionally dependent on the other caste groups and has a well-defined role in a social set-up based on a symbolic relationship between persons belonging to different castes. Racial hierarchy appears as an aberrant adjunct to the main structure of society, while the multi-segmented and intricately ranked social grouping of castes has been the central principle of a functional organization of Hindu society. Further, there is ample evidence of persons belonging to different castes having the same racial characteristics. 92. Communities which fall under the category of “Scheduled Castes” are unique to Indian society and its historical process. They comprise persons who were excluded from the caste system and subjected to severe discrimination in ancient India. These persons were treated as “untouchables” and social and physical contact with them was shunned by the dominant castes. 93. The first enumeration of the former “untouchable” communities was carried out during a census in 1931 under British rule. Based on the