"Can you recognize who is bahun or dalit or chettri just by looking.?" Yes, usually I can. It has to do with different lvls of admixture. Some Ranas can look like bahuns, but most Chettris I come across don't look like bahuns. But Chettris are a more heterogeneous group than are bahuns, and so things get confusing. Many Chettris look no different from Magars or Tamangs, and many look like bahuns. Go to cybernepal.com and search for Priyanka Karki. She looks no diferent from most bahuns I know. What's hilarious is that there's this "model" with surname Sharma who looks like a Newar. My point still stands though. As you go up the caste ladder, there's less admixture. "1. Why is it that we always have to think in terms of what's happened elsewhere." Because their experiences can teach us valuable lessons. The best way to deal with divisions imho is to embrace rather than ignore them. We need to learn to live with each other. You can't just pretend that there's no caste system in Nepal. The caste system is a part of Nepali culture, whether people like it or not. Just because in America discrimination is shunned upon, does not mean it's non-existent. Use this analogy in the context of Nepali culture. "However, is it too much to ask that the effects of such a stratification not allow fundamentally unjust (no matter how you look at it) practices, such as "untouchability" and oppression? " I agree with this point completely. But realize that we can have stratification without oppression. You want to do away with stratification completely. That's too much of a stretch. We need to do things one step at a time. Let's do away with pipe dreams. People are not gonna mix up all of a sudden.