I was mind blown when I found my Indian friend fully supports caste system, that was like finding out your old and closest friend is KKK member and fully supports it.
KKK members used to wear a mask in public after all.
While it is much harder for you to see the signs as you won't have the cultural context for this, for another indian it would be easy to identify such behaviour.
Are you one of those Americans who think any expression of e.g. White/Southern pride is a sign of KKK racism? I mean it could be but some people just enjoy being Southern.
"Caste System" in India is like "Patriarchy" or "Structural Racism" in the West. Some people are very invested in the idea. Some think it is one of several factors. Some argue it is an invalid concept and some just say la la I'm not listening.
What I am pushing back against is the idea that there is one static monolithic hierarchical “caste system” that explains Indian society. Reality is more complex.
70% Indians are from the lower caste.
How then do you define “lower”? Ritual status? Socioeconomic influence? Material wealth? Feeling lower? In each case some of that 70% would qualify and some would not. Some of the 30% would qualify and some would not.