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From Our Own Correspondent: India and Algeria

India and Algeria

BBC World Service - From Our Own Correspondent, India and Algeria

Alan Johnston presents insights beyond the headlines, from Craig Jeffrey and Chloe Arnold

Alan Johnston introduces wit and analysis from correspondents abroad. Today, Craig Jeffrey finds India still haunted by the ghost of caste; Chloe Arnold learns why Algeria's started drinking Irn Bru.

Alan Johnston introduces insight and analysis from BBC correspondents around the world. In this edition, Craig Jeffrey reflects on how India is still haunted by the ghosts of the caste system, while Chloe Arnold learns why Algeria is beginning to appreciate the Scottish soft drink Irn Bru.

"A strange feeling of happiness" about caste 

In India, the old belief that some people are "untouchable" is meant to be a thing of the past. "Untouchability" was legally abolished more than 60 years ago, meaning that your position in the caste system was no longer supposed to dictate your job and other prospects. 

But in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, Craig Jeffrey has been spending time with people from the castes once labelled "untouchable" - and heard that caste conflict is still very much alive.

The other amber nectar

Scotland may be better known for its renowned whiskies, but at home its people have a taste for quite a different kind of drink - a non-alcoholic, fizzy stuff called Irn Bru. It's part of countless Scottish childhoods and a symbol of national pride. 

As Chloe Arnold in Algiers explains, this quintessentially Scottish drink is starting to break into new markets - even as far as North Africa.

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