Mumbai, Feb. 13 -- Soundala village in Maharashtra's Ahilyanagar district convened together and declared itself "caste-free," claiming to live as per the Preamble of the Constitution.

At a special Gram Sabha on February 5, sarpanch Sharadrao Argade, before the forum began, announced a voluntary blood donation camp. After the event concluded, and as the villagers gathered, the sarpanch addressed the crowd saying, "Our blood is not green or blue. It is simply red. And once it mixes, no one can ever separate it again."

He then proposed to recognise the village as a "caste-free" village. Despite knowing that a complicated society like India had its own concerns regarding caste, he said, "But in my three tenures as sarpanch of the village, I...