According to a local paper, two Yadavs, a cow-herd caste just above Dalits, forced a government school to stop serving the federally mandated lunches after they found out Dalit women had been hired to make the rice puddings.

The women were considered "untouchables." Indian officials are investigating reports that villagers stopped a school giving lunch to its students because lower caste Dalits, or untouchables, cooked the desserts.

Although caste discrimination is outlawed, some Indians regard Dalits -- more than 16 percent of the country's one-billion plus people -- as less than human and abuse and even murder are still common.

Government schools give children lunch every day as part of a federal program to fight poverty and malnutrition.