An Indian untouchable who tried to use a hand pump during a heatwave was brutally beaten to death for breaking strict caste rules

Mohan Paswan, in his late 40s, was lynched in Parhuti village in Bihar state when he disobeyed an order by a local thug not to touch the pump. Police in north India are now hunting for the village strongman accused of the murder. A local police official said: "Paswan was attacked and brutally thrashed by Pramod Singh and his henchmen for taking water." Caste-based discrimination is illegal in India, but abuse is rife, particularly in remote rural areas where the rigid system that places untouchables at the bottom of the social order remains intact. The low castes, also known as Dalits, traditionally do menial, dirty and often dangerous jobs and are seen as spiritually and physically dirty by the high castes who sometimes prevent them from drinking at the same wells. Recently, there were tensions in the Arwal district of Bihar where Dalits were prevented from entering a Hindu temple where high castes were worshipping. The term caste itself is not an Indian one, coming from the Portuguese casta, meaning race or pure stock. According to those who practice and promote it, caste is determined by birth and cannot be changed.