<P> Endogamy is very common in Muslims in the form of arranged consanguineous marriages among Muslims in India and Pakistan . Malik states that the lack of religious sanction makes qaum a quasi-caste, and something that is found in Islam outside South Asia . </P> <P> Some assert that the Muslim castes are not as acute in their discrimination as those of the Hindus, while critics of Islam assert that the discrimination in South Asian Muslim society is worse . </P> <P> Although the Sikh Gurus criticised the hierarchy of the caste system, one does exist in Sikh community . According to Sunrinder S, Jodhka, the Sikh religion does not advocate discrimination against any caste or creed, however, in practice, Sikhs belonging to the landowning dominant castes have not shed all their prejudices against the Dalits . While Dalits would be allowed entry into the village gurudwaras they would not be permitted to cook or serve langar (the communal meal). Therefore, wherever they could mobilise resources, the Dalits of Punjab have tried to construct their own gurudwara and other local level institutions in order to attain a certain degree of cultural autonomy . </P> <P> In 1953, the Government of India acceded to the demands of the Sikh leader, Tara Singh, to include Sikh castes of the converted untouchables in the list of scheduled castes . In the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, 20 of the 140 seats are reserved for low - caste Sikhs . </P>

When did india stop using the caste system