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Comment by jaldhar | Hacker News Reader

Why would that be? A caste is an extended family. It certainly can be an instrument of oppression but it doesn't have to be and for most it isn't.

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.

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No I mean exactly what it means, caste system as in some people deserve to be rulers and we need someone to clean toilets. And it shall be determined via your caste, birth, over which you have no say.

Well that doesn’t accurately describe the state of affairs in historical India so there’s not much more I can say.

https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/upper-caste-studen...

That is specifically about food. OP was talking about jobs in general. If you survey Indian history you can find examples of castes or individuals taking up new professions over time. Take “rulers” for instance. How many dynasties have been non-Rajput? Some of them did try to paper over their origins by retroactively claiming Kshatriya status but others did not.

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.

> and for most it isn't.

70% Indians are from the lower caste.

No 70% are from demographics that qualify for affirmative action and other aid from the government. (Categories that are themselves subject to political manipulation.). That’s not the same thing.

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.

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