I really applaud Mr. Sundaram for his different, broadminded and sensible view of the caste system. I agree that it's been abused and what started as a professional division, became a division by birth - really, if you think about it, it made sense - about 5000 years ago ;) as a family profession was handed down generations, and therefore, kshatriyas remained kshatriyas, brahmanas remained brahmanas and so on..by what they did for their living and not just for having been born in a certain family.
But now, when anyone can and does anything, we're simply hanging on to an old, valueless and harmful system just because THAT'S THE WAY IT HAS BEEN DONE AND WHO ARE WE TO CHANGE IT? If each one of us pledges to do our best to get rid of it, I know we can - but it's not going to happen, atleast in my lifetime.
Therefore, I'm doing the best I can - namely, bringing up my children basically casteless. They are 12 and 10, and do not know what caste they belong to. I know some people who say, "it's easy for you because you're in the States". I truly believe I would've raised them the same way even if I had lived in India. And, believe me, there are people in the US who are very caste-conscious. Old habits die hard!!
This is for Rajkumar:
As far as eradicating the Vedas and sanscrit - man, that's extreme. Using your own example of getting rid of a body part to get rid of a cancer, you don't cut off your leg because one toe is bad. I am not very literate on the Vedas, but I'm sure there are things in them that are good.