Re: Hinduism 101: A crash course in the ancient faith
I am a hindu, and though i dont know as much history as surya does, i cant help myself from putting my two bits in!
Regarding brahmins not eating with people of lower caste, i think that is in the past now. Seriously in India today, no one checks the caste of the person sitting next to him/her in a restaurant or train or anywhere else. In fact the only place where your caste plays a role is while filling application forms for college admissions or government jobs!
Women have been historically mistreated in south asia, and it has nothing to do with hinduism. In fact among the nair society in kerala along with the khasis of meghalaya, the system is matriarchal. Women are considered the head of the family. In any case hinduism as a religion makes no distinction between sexes, there are equal numbers of female deities as there are male.