Thread by @shrikanth_krish

Random thought on caste

Stripping out detail - it can be summed up this way

"Pride in one's birth"

E.g A working class Brahmin clerk finds it beneath his dignity to marry off his daughter to an OBC or Dalit multi-millionaire

So in that sense, Caste runs counter to materialism

We live in a world where "money is the measure of a person's status"

That's the American creed

Caste kind of is antagonistic to that spirit

So there is always this tension b/w "pride in one's birth and ancestors" vs "pride in one's material wealth and acquisitions" (be it acquisitions inherited or acquisitions earned)

Once the acquisitive spirit triumphs over the pride in one's birth, caste is a thing of the past

In modern India, "materialism" has come a long way

There is this very strong urge to get ahead, among all sections of society

And with that will arise the temptation to "marry well"

Which means marry a spouse with some wealth.

As opposed to marrying someone with a similar "cultural and ethnic inheritance"

I think that's where caste will come under pressure. As it already has.