Except the Brahmin caste others were denied education until british occupied although that was not their primary motive. A lot of non-brahmins are unware of this fact, so this is news to them

> Secondly, this one passage is an obscure reference. Contrast this for example against the story of Eklavya[1].

Thats a different case. This point diverts the original issue. In my experience if pressed more the proponents of caste system will point to japanese order.

> Thirdly, this should be seen in the context of story-telling (ie: in the context of mythological fantasy rather than 'endorsement' of any sort)

Context in religious text is an excuse. As the public is brainwashed by far right like RSS groups(the killer of Mahatma Gandhi is a member of this group and this group supports the current ruling part BJP ) the context dilutes and the text is interpreted more directly. A very recent example in Tamilnadu(a state in india) a high priest spoke in public on the merits of caste system and told the audience if dogs have caste(breed) why should not human have it.

> Fouthly, there isn't one authoritative Ramayana, there are more like 300+[2]

In all of the versions Brahmin is the high caste and ever one else is denied education. Because according to hinduism(the vedas , rig veda in particular) the brahmins are the only people who should be given access to education for the good of the socitey. The current BJP govt is proposing to have public exams for 5th standard students(about 9 to 10 years old). The plan is to discourage students of shudras and dalits who are majorly from villages .

> Finally, why does it even matter what RMS cites (doesn't even comment on) ...not even from a primary source ?

> Is the fact that these examples exist only interesting because RMS cites it ?

> What's the motive behind sharing this ? Both by RMS and by the OP ?

I will try to answer the above 3 question together because they are related.

The only reason i bother to write this long comment is because it is posted by RMS. I guess thats the motive of the op, may be op can talk about it. RMS speaking against the evils of hinduism will give more weight to clarify the misconception about the hindusim being peaceful religion.