little jeremiah,
Your knowledge of foreign traditions, religions, and cultures is amazing!!! People like you are the ones I have so much to learn from. Thanks a lot!!!
You're 100% right about the Indian dislike for the so-called gay rights/marriage.
BTW, the Manu Samhita much-malaigned caste division started out as a merit-based system. It was only later that the caste system became based on one's family origins. I blame that needless development (caste system based on one's family origins) on the power-hungry consolidating their power further.
Several of us have had more than one discussion on the origins of the caste (varna) system. The Bhagavad Gita clearly states it's by character, qualities, and work. There are many instances of people (in the Puranas, for instance) being born in one caste and functioning in another.