“In the Indian (Bhartiya)— read Hindu — civilisational ethos, humans had never been seen as belonging to one uniform behavioural class.  The Indian civilisation had recognised diversity in behaviour and morals.  It therefore never imposed one moral value or rule for all.  But it believed in a hierarchy of moral principles.  It held out right conduct as ideal for the rest to imbibe and follow, but on their own volition.  Even as it had evolved normative moral principles for the mainline society, it had subtly ignored, rather than focus on or punish, the deviants.  Those who could not follow an ideal were never held as illustration for others to follow.”