Estimate the caste and the religion from an Indian name

A caste group refers to a system of social hierarchy traditionally present in India. Indian society is divided into different castes, which are social groups determined by birth. Each caste is associated with specific privileges, duties and restrictions.

In order to detect discrimination related to the caste system, we have developed a feature to detect an individual's caste group from their first name, last name and region of origin. This classification is divided into 4 groups:

• Scheduled Castes (SC) also known as Dalit is a category officially instituted by the British in 1936. These groups of people practice or practiced activities considered 'impure' by the Brahmanic tradition and are among the most disadvantaged groups in the Indian society. The term 'untouchables' is sometimes used despite the fact that it is considered degrading. This caste group numbers 201 million people and represents 16.6% of the Indian population (2011 census).
• Scheduled Tribes (ST) is a list of tribes based on the criteria defined by the colonial administration in 1936. These tribes, also called Adivasi, are with the Scheduled Castes among the most disadvantaged in Indian society. This caste group includes 705 tribes (2011 census) and has 104 million people (8.6% of the Indian population).
• Other Backward Classes (OBC) is an official term used by the government to refer to other castes who are educationally or socially disadvantaged. A survey carried out in 2006 estimated their proportion at 41% of the population, which would represent 496 million people.
• General, castes that do not fall under the definition of Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST) and Other Backward Classes (OBC) and do not receive affirmative action from the relevant authority belong to the general category.

For example, an individual bearing the first name Akash, the surname Sharma and living in the state of Uttar Pradesh has a 93% chance of belonging to the general caste group and 97% chance of belonging to the group of caste general or to Other Backward Classes.

Always with the aim of helping our customers to detect possible discrimination, we have developed a function which makes it possible to determine the most probable religion of a person from his first name, his last name and his region of origin or residence. This feature focuses on the 7 major religions of India.

• Hindu is an exonym for people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Hinduism is one of the worlds oldest religions still practiced. It has neither imposed dogma, nor uniformly organized clerical institution, nor founder. It is the third most popular religion in the world and has approximately 1.3 billion followers.
• Muslim is an Arabic word for people who religiously adhere to Islam. Islam is one of the three abrehamic religions, it has its source in the Koran and is based on the dogma of absolute monetheism. It is the second largest religion in the world with around 1.9 billion followers.
• Buddhist is a person who religiously adhere to Buddhism. Buddhism is a philisophy and a religion originating in India and having appeared in the fifth century following the awakening of Siddhartha Gautama and the diffusion of his teaching. It is the fourth largest religion in the world with approximately 623 million adherents.
• Christian is a person who religiously adhere to Christianity. Christianity is an Abrahamic religion, originating in the Near East and based on the teachings of the life of Jesus of Nazareth.. The Christian religion is the most practiced religion in the world with 2.5 billion followers.
• Sikh is a person who religiously adhere to Sikhism. Sikhism was founded in Punjab (northern India) in the 15th century and is based on the spiritual teaching of guru Nanak, the first guru among the 11 Sikh gurus. It is the fifth most widely practiced religion in the world with around 30 million followers.
• Parsi is a person who religiously adhere to Zoroastrianism. Zoroastrianism is one of the oldest monetheistic religions in the world. It is founded from the teachings of Zoroaster during the 2nd millennium BC. Zoroastrianism has about 120,000 followers worldwide, mainly in India, Iran and North America.
• Jain is a person who religiously adhere to Jainism. Jainism appears from the 10th century BC in India with the awakened Master Rishabhanatha. As with Hinduism, Sikhism and Buddhism, the goal of the follower is to attain enlightenment. Jainism has about 5 million followers mainly in India.

For example, an individual bearing the first name Akash, the surname Sharma and living in the state of Uttar Pradesh has a 97.98% chance of belonging to the Hinduism religion and 99.88% chance of belonging to Hinduism or to Christian religions.

India is a federal republic consisting of twenty-eight states and eight union territories. The states, unlike the union territories which fall under the central government, have their own institutions and can pass certain laws.

• In India, a union territory refers to a specific administrative subdivision of the country. Unlike the Indian states which have their own government and some legislative autonomy, the union territories are regions administered directly by the central government of India. Union territories are usually areas with a smaller population or special strategic importance.
• In India, a State refers to a major administrative division of the country. Each state has its own parliament and head of government, called the chief minister. They have the power to legislate on various matters, including education, health, economic development, public safety, justice, and other areas of state jurisdiction. States also have the power to levy taxes and collect revenues to finance their activities.

A person named Jannat Rahmani has a 22% chance of being a resident of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and a 35.57% chance of being a resident of States of Uttar Pradesh or Rajasthan.