Comment by vmception | Hacker News Reader

Comment by vmception | Hacker News Reader

One day it occurred to me that I can tell if someone is from India, but that I'd never considered to notice more nuances than that, for such a big country with so many groups of people.

I have just begun to notice, but I have no idea about the identity politics. I recall in college that some of my friends from India would fawn over certain last names, and I felt it was something to do with the caste system, but I had concluded that the people I was around in universities and in the workforce were mostly from a level of privilege that it wouldn't be possible to learn more. I always found Indian nationalism to be strange, where so many people would interject that everything is perfect. Makes it easier for me to avoid my own US nationalism, because it must be just as comical to others.

In this article it mentions Dalit. How many people from that group would be in Silicon Valley, is it impossible to know since it is insensitive to ask and disastrous for them if people did know?

Seems like there is a potential for solidarity amongst more vocal groups pushing for representation.

^ How many people from that group would be in Silicon Valley

Less that 10%

Over 90% of Indian techies in the US are upper-caste Indians - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24552047 - Sept 2020 (613 comments)

^ Seems like there is a potential for solidarity amongst more vocal groups pushing for representation.

Good luck, but I don't believe that's happening anytime soon considering that SV is upper-caste dominated also no politician really gives a damn unless your group has the population significant enough to win the elections.

Also, do you know prop-16 was rejected by Cali, the most progressive state in the US. see https://newsroom.ucla.edu/stories/prop-16-failed-in-californ...

The 10% can be split into 2 more layers - Dalits (untouchables) and Shudras. Dalits are significantly worse off than Shudras.

California didn't reject Prop 16 because of a consensus against this form of progressiveness, they rejected it because people read the implementation of Prop 16 and saw it was flawed. California has enacted a great number of "feel good" things that screwed everyone, voters are being more discerning.

> One day it occurred to me that I can tell if someone is from India

Can you really tell if someone is from India and not from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka or Bangladesh? Because I can't and I am from India.

After hearing their name, dialect and seeing their mannerisms, yes, I can tell. Several other comments mentioned there is an overrepresentation of specific groups from India, within the US, so I am attuned to recognize that group as "Indian heritage".

These things are rarely as simple as looking at someone visually from afar or in a lineup and making a complete decision.

> After hearing their name, dialect and seeing their mannerisms

So, you can confidently tell a Bengali Indian from a Bangladeshi? Or a Madhesi from a Bihari? An Indian Gurkha from a Nepali?

I respectfully call BS.

> overrepresentation of specific groups from India, within the US, so I am attuned to recognize that group as "Indian heritage"

the ambiguity is practically nonexistent in the US so the circumstance wouldn't come up

I acknowledged that

You’re not going to get more than that

(unless I’m wrong about how represented those other groups are, that could be an insightful conversation I’m willing to have)

In India dalits are about 20%. In Silicon valley, I would be surprised if they are more than 2%.

India is like 3 different countries when sliced by caste. The highest castes are about as privileged as the typical Chinese. The middle are at sub saharan Africa levels. The bottom 25% constitute probably the most deprived population in the world. Better off than the Rohingyas but not by too much.

"Jay Bhim" is a great movie based on a real incident. Bhim refers to the social reformer profiled in the article Bhimrao Ambedkar.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt15097216/

^ India is like 3 different countries when sliced by caste. The highest castes are about as privileged as the typical Chinese. The middle are at sub saharan Africa levels. The bottom 25% constitute probably the most deprived population in the world. Better off than the Rohingyas but not by too much.

Not true, at all. It depends on your state of birth and the caste. A Dalit from a poor state like Bihar is underprivileged than a Dalit of Kerala or Tamil Nadu.

^ typical Chinese

Is it not racist?

No.

I don't know how you see it as racist. He meant they have the same material standards as the average Chinese person (from the PRC)

If you check his comment history he has been trying to pin caste discrimination on the tiny Indian Christian community - 1% of the population. Indian right wing is focused on promoting Hindu exceptionalism.

As my comments go against the Hindu exceptionalism narrative, he is trying to discredit my comments in whichever way possible.

The movie is quite controversial as it twists reality to target and tarnish specific castes.

The perpetrators in real life were Christians but portrayed as Hindus.

The Hindu villagers who in real life helped the victim seek justice are portrayed as casteists who hinder justice.

A lot of literature, news articles and movies are made to exacerbate the problem and create problems where none exist.

No the police and state apparatus was upper caste hindu. One of the police officers was Christian - no one else.

Two of the main perpetrators were christians, the movie deliberately substituted it with names and symbolism connected to a specific caste with the intent of falsely sowing discord between the communities while whitewashing the Christian angle.

Thanks to social media, this deliberate twisting of facts has come to light, but much of these stories manufactured by the evangelical groups as equally ridiculous as with Christian persecution or Caste atrocities.

I don't doubt you, at all. Most of this catholic priest are from the upper caste community.

1) https://scroll.in/article/876000/is-the-caste-system-deep-ro...

2) https://www.jstor.org/stable/44144111

3) https://www.bbc.com/news/world-south-asia-11229170

4) https://www.hindustantimes.com/india/dalit-catholics-continu...

The leadership of Churches in India remains in the hands of upper-caste Christians, and they are as bad as their Hindu counterparts.

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