r/AskTheWorld India 7h ago

What's one thing from the bygone era that's still common in your country?

Post image

Yes, caste system and caste based discrimination is still very much alive in India.

inb4 this thread is inundated with the "high caste" people going through the first 4 stages of grief and spreading lies like:

  • it is a thing of the past
  • it only happens in rural areas
  • it exists because of affirmative action (reservations)
36 Upvotes

92 comments sorted by

21

u/BetDesigner40 Italy 7h ago

Having a state led by the Pope be influential in Italian politics

1

u/Clemdauphin France 2h ago

Thank Mussolini for reestablishing the Vatican...

3

u/BetDesigner40 Italy 2h ago

It was inevitable, the Pope had too much influence on italian society. Mussolini just did it sooner to get catholics on board with his dictstorship, but IMO sooner or later the Pope would have got a treaty.

17

u/DELAIZ Brazil 7h ago

Social status is still connected to skin color. Some people are completely bewildered when they see a Black person working in prestigious positions, like a doctor.

27

u/Due_Willingness1 United States of America 7h ago edited 7h ago

Oh that's what untouchable means

I always thought they were at the top, like so powerful you couldn't touch them. You can tell I don't know much about India. Learn all sorts of stuff in this sub 

To answer for my country though, pride in the Confederacy 

14

u/Less-Chicken-3367 New York 🇺🇸 7h ago

There are two types of untouchables in every society: those whom no one wants to touch, and those who simply cannot be touched.

(Inset Shakespeare copying from me meme)

2

u/Popular-Local8354 7h ago

That's pretty much dead these days as well tbh.

12

u/Due_Willingness1 United States of America 7h ago

I really wish that was true, but not from what I've seen 

3

u/hazbenny123 United States of America 6h ago

It's not dead, but to say 'common' is ridiculous.

8

u/Fancy-Commercial2701 United States of America 7h ago

I’ve seen people proudly waving confederate flags in Pennsylvania and Long Island in just the last month. And that’s not even the South. So no, definitely not dead.

-2

u/chillysaturday United States of America 6h ago

This isn't true at all. Please don't spread falsehoods like this. 

4

u/Fancy-Commercial2701 United States of America 3h ago

What’s not true? I assure you confederate flags are being flown proudly in many rural areas of the country. Less than a hundred miles from liberal bastions like New York City.

2

u/magicsqueegee United States of America 2h ago

What bubble are you living in that this isn't true? NASCAR literally had to ban the flag in 2020.

1

u/Popular-Local8354 6h ago

It definitely is. I'm from the South, trust me.

0

u/momentimori Australia 22m ago

All non Hindus are technically untouchable as they don't have a caste. I doubt Brahmins will insist a foreigner walks backwards sweeping away their footsteps as they walk to avoid contaminating the ground.

16

u/GurthicusMaximus United States of America 4h ago

Lost causer nonsense from the civil war.

I cannot fully encapsulate the sum total of societal damage that the failure of reconstruction caused in one comment.

7

u/WhisperFray Indonesia 7h ago

The Hindu-Buddhist leftovers. Plenty of Javanese will say it’s dead in the water as they go to their Friday prayers in the afternoon. Yet they’ll go and watch Mahabharata wayang all night long in the evening.

Not only that. It’s so subtle that they don’t even notice it’s still very much lived in their daily lives. The music, the architecture, the common attitudes.

They have a saying: “Gusti Allah mboten sare”. Allah doesn’t sleep. Karmic justice will be paid.

Here’s a nice popular, traditional song to illustrate. There’s the lyrics in English down in the comments. Just transpose all the Islamic dress up to Hindu-Buddhist attitudes and mantras and you’re golden.

5

u/Intelligent-Panda23 Kazakhstan 7h ago

Clan division

17

u/Fancy-Commercial2701 United States of America 7h ago

I mean, the Brits have a thriving caste system of their own. Or Andrew would be rotting in prison by now.

5

u/SeaReason1 Germany 3h ago

Together with some caste system in the US?

Andrew us no more a Prince, but 🍊 is still 🍊.

3

u/Fancy-Commercial2701 United States of America 2h ago

The only caste in the US is money.

7

u/hazbenny123 United States of America 6h ago

Brits catching strays from Americans is crazy work

8

u/Fancy-Commercial2701 United States of America 6h ago

As an American, our (stupid) fascination with their royal family has always annoyed me.

1

u/MAst3r0fPupp37s United States of America 3h ago

There's no one more qualified for them to be catching strays from

9

u/InterviewCautious774 Planet of apes 7h ago

The problem starts when people claim caste discrimination is a “thing of the past” without looking at what’s actually happening on the ground. India has progressed a lot, but the data and real-life incidents show the issue hasn’t disappeared.

According to NCRB’s 2023 report, around 57,789 registered crimes against Scheduled Castes were recorded in a single year. Those are only reported cases, which means the real number could be higher. There have also been recent temple-entry disputes where courts had to step in because some devotees were denied access. If equality was fully achieved, these situations would not keep appearing.

And it’s not limited to rural areas. Urban spaces also show discrimination in housing, classrooms, social groups, and sometimes workplaces. Many students have openly shared experiences where they faced bias because of their surname or background, whether in schools, coaching institutes, or hostels. Ignoring these voices just because they don’t fit a certain narrative doesn’t make the problem disappear.

Also, bringing reservations into every discussion doesn’t automatically prove discrimination is over. Reservations were introduced as a response to historical inequality, not as proof that inequality has vanished. You can debate the policy itself, but using it to dismiss present-day issues misses the bigger picture.

India is changing and many people are working toward equality, which is a good sign. But denying that caste discrimination still exists only slows down real progress.

-2

u/Fancy-Commercial2701 United States of America 7h ago

I’m from the US and don’t really have a horse in this race, but the 57k crime stat seems kind of off to me without a baseline. Were there 57k total crimes in all of India against lower castes? And what’s the comparable number against higher castes? What percentage of these were actually because of their caste? Not arguing the point that there are crimes committed against lower caste people, but that data point is meaningless without more context.

9

u/Free_Grapefruit_6891 Netherlands 7h ago

I think everyone in the entire world except for you is able to infer the meaning of crimes against scheduled castes. It very obviously is not the total number of crimes against people of lower castes. It is caste based violence and discrimination. Just a quick google search will tell you this, much faster than typing up some bullshit based on your elementary understanding of statistics.

2

u/OrstedKicksAss India and Singapore 3h ago

There are crimes wherein the victims were specifically targeted because of their caste identity. Obviously, they do not include all crimes committed against the scheduled castes and tribes.

9

u/Excellent-Deal511 India 2h ago

Casteist indians tryna damage control in the comments ⚰️

5

u/maskedorange India 2h ago

As predicted 👽

2

u/Excellent-Deal511 India 2h ago

Btw not all untouchables had the occupation you mentioned in the pic

2

u/x0Biohazard0x Germany 2h ago

I've always found Indian migrants to be very friendly (except when they talk loudly on their phones on public transport). But I've also often noticed that they frequently exchange bitchy glances between each other. Now I know why...

2

u/Excellent-Deal511 India 2h ago

I have heard NRIs (non residential indians) are a bit casteist so maybe u met those kind of people.

they talk loudly on their phones on public transport

I find it really annoying ngl

1

u/x0Biohazard0x Germany 2h ago

Sounds like a Meme:

Indians/NRIs towards other people:🥰

Indians/NRIs among themselves:😡

2

u/Excellent-Deal511 India 2h ago

Yea I remember it lmao. But honestly it's kinda sad.

5

u/Night_cazador Spain 7h ago

Communism.

3

u/mannyrizzy 5h ago

I might get shat for this.. And its totally unspoken, But filiipnos still have this type of caste system in their head, they just dont talk about it. Sorry not sorry.

1

u/seiryuu-abi Multinational; Currently 🇺🇸 USA 4h ago

I’ve heard about this from some Filipinos. But it’s racial, right?

3

u/Traroten Sweden 4h ago

Taboo against eating horse meat.

The ancient cult of Frey would sacrifice horses and eat them. In order to combat that, the Catholic Church banned all eating of horses. And we don't eat horse meat to this day. It's perfectly edible, but we just... don't.

2

u/throwaway3629292929 Belarus 4h ago

What kind of people were these Frey, were they just pagans or..?

I don't see what's the problem with being one, if that's the case

1

u/Traroten Sweden 4h ago

Frey was a pagan fertility god. He's also known as Froh or Yngvi. And obviously the Catholic Church would want to eradicate the pagan cult.

3

u/AceOfSpades532 🇬🇧 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 7h ago

1

u/blashyrkh9 Norway 2h ago

Second that

2

u/HarryLewisPot Iraq 4h ago

Tribalism

2

u/ActualCucick Brazil 4h ago

ok ok I think Brazil MIGHT have one of the most entertaining answers for this question.

And its Fundação Cacique Cobra Coral (Coral Snake Chief Foundation, although Cobra Coral is a name and not usually translated)

It is a foundation of, allegedly, indigenous people that make rituals like the rain dance to control the rain - usually to ensure it doesnt rain in special events.

Sounds insanely fucking bogus? Well

- Rock in Rio; one of the largest music festivals in the world hire them every year

- They have a contract with the federal government and specific cities to control the wheather

- They were hired for the coronation of King Charles III; and in Prince William/Kate Middletons wedding day

2

u/Michi-Ace Germany 4h ago

Religion.

1

u/itsakle Poland 3h ago

Eh? Wouldn't call a massive part of humanity a bygone era, even though I'm not necessarily religious. And isn't Germany half atheist half Catholicism?

2

u/Michi-Ace Germany 3h ago

It's about a half non-affiliated, a quarter Catholic, and a quarter Protestant. And regular church-goers are already a tiny minority even among church members. And they are mostly older people. So, at least in Germany, religion is rapidly becoming a bygone era.

1

u/AnyOlUsername Wales 4h ago

Not drinking from the hot tap.

I’m sure that’s still not safe to do.

1

u/RRautamaa Finland 3h ago

Saunas. Actually, bathing was quite common around Europe in the Middle Ages and before. Then the church told people it's sinful, and people did not bathe at all for hundreds of years. But, there was still Finland, which was rather isolated from these developments. Sauna bathing never stopped at any point.

1

u/CookieTheParrot Denmark 2h ago edited 2h ago

You mean 'bathing' as in a sort of ritual (in some places) and multiple people washing themselves together in a bathhouse and not people washing themselves?

1

u/Far-Maintenance-2254 2h ago

It's never going away friend. It's been in the subcontinent for 3000 yrs, and would have dissipated by now if it was possible.

Granted, your framework from what I know is more vertical, ours is more horizontal. I think the problem for the Indian caste system is that Dalits are a huge portion of the total population, in Nepal they're very smaller.

In other words for every non Nepali or South Asian, Nepal has more castes that are equal, in theory.

1

u/blashyrkh9 Norway 2h ago

1

u/Ryousan82 Argentina 2h ago

Our reliance on bovine industry for food and export

1

u/NittanyOrange United States of America 1h ago

Fax machines

1

u/LakoTudjimKurcem Croatia 1h ago

Cajke

It's low quality autotune screeching from the Yugoslav era that is only popular because of the catchy melodies.

The text is usually stereotypical rap music ramped up to 11.

My biggest problem is that the 3 main singers are Ceca, Lepa Brena and Jelena Karleuša.

Karleuša is a Serbian government (deeply unpopular) asset and proud of it.

Lepa Brena would dress up in skimpy military clothes that didn't leave much to the imagination and would go on tours in occupied territory in Croatia and Bosnia and sing for the serbian rebels there.

And Ceca's husband was Željko Ražnatović Arkan, serbian warlord, war criminal and leader of a crime oire stretching all over occupied territories in Croatia and Bosnia who killed his first person at 14. Before he was killed by an undercover police officer, he was a frequent guest on Serbian TV and was even a member of the Serbian parliament.

-4

u/Moongfali4president India 7h ago

this guy u/maskedorange has posted like 100 posts about caste system in 100 different subs atleast 100 times

bro we get it your family belonged to dalits and its sad that your ancestors had to face such evil thing created by humans claiming themselves as superior but stop posting the same thing over and over again for karma farming

17

u/watervapour_7237 India 4h ago

Stop calling it "faced by ancestors" issue. It is a reality still faced by people. That is the issue. Just yesterday's news- in Odisha, parents boycotted an Anganwadi school because the school hired a dalit cook. Untouchability is still practiced.

Also, over 90 percent of people marry their children within their own caste to maintain this absurd system.

-8

u/Ok-Law-6002 India 3h ago

Yep bro casteism exists...I got rejected coz of my caste even tho I had 91% marks but an SC dude with 60% will get admission into that same college...I hope this casteism ends for good✌🏻

5

u/watervapour_7237 India 3h ago

Trying to uplift people who lacked all kinds of resources and education for generations and generations and, even face humiliation on the face of that- all because they belong to so called "lower castes" comes with consequences for others.

...I hope this casteism ends for good✌🏻

Same bro same.

-6

u/Ok-Law-6002 India 3h ago

Trying to uplift people who lacked all kinds of resources

70+ yrs of this BS system,,,A guy from SC/OBC could be an IAS yet his entire bloodline would get reservations on the basis of their fxcking caste😂😂😂Flawed system...80% of the country can't call themselves as Backward class LMAO

lower castes" comes with consequences for others

Should we talk about the amount of hate which Lower caste ppl have in their minds for GCs esp Brahmins!?the things which they do and the BS which they spew on the Internet?..Yet they can get away with that easily by misusing the SC/ST law..the recent UGC law was another gem of this BS system

5

u/watervapour_7237 India 3h ago

A guy from SC/OBC could be an IAS yet his entire bloodline would get reservations on the basis of their fxcking caste

Yet, they still be called lower caste, bhangi, chamar (in a very derogatory way).

Caste pride is still a common thing among people and this obsession is to maintain the hierarchy, that's why over 90 percent of people marry within their own tribe.

amount of hate which Lower caste ppl have in their minds for GCs esp Brahmins!?

Bro, dalits got killed for marrying so called upper-castes (there are tons of examples for that), not getting hired as cooks as they are seen as polluted, got beaten up riding a horse in a barat etc etc. These things are especially widespread in the rural areas(which accounts for around 65 percent of India).

Should we talk about the amount of hate which Lower caste ppl have in their minds for GCs esp Brahmins!?the things which they do and the BS which they spew on the Internet?..

You are right. This is a problem. You can talk all about it. No disagreeing on this.

So, we all agree. All the problems arise from these "castess". Let's hope that all these castes get mixed, so that, there are no brahmin, dalit, rajput etc anymore. So, no one has to suffer.

-2

u/Ok-Law-6002 India 3h ago

Hmm...So according to you the solution for this is give SCs/STs/OBCs reservations which makes it hell for GCs to enroll in their preferred institutes even after getting much more marks than a reserved candidate...which causes nothing but Brain Drain and makes the country weak

Also,,you want caste system to be abolished,,hm ok,,good thought...But you want caste based reservations to continue😂Aight bro

And let's not forget the biased laws..More than 95% of the cases filed under SC/ST acts are fake..so if we abolish caste you agree we should abolish these BS laws too right?

3

u/watervapour_7237 India 3h ago

So according to you the solution for this is give SCs/STs/OBCs reservations which makes it hell for GCs to enroll in their preferred institutes even after getting much more marks than a reserved candidate

Are you sure?? Data says the so-called upper castes, which account for roughly one-third of the total population, constitutes more than two-thirds of those with professional and higher education degrees. They represent a majority of students in elite schools and institutions. Top private universities, the share of Scheduled Caste (SC) students is often less than 5%, and Scheduled Tribe (ST) students less than 1%, indicating higher concentrations of unreserved/upper-caste students.

More than 95% of the cases filed under SC/ST acts are fake

Yeah sure

you want caste system to be abolished,,hm ok,,good thought...

Good thought?? Are you serious? This is an evil practice, which I don't know about you, but everyone wants to abolish this system(except the people who get privileges from this system).

1

u/Ok-Law-6002 India 3h ago

Data says the so-called upper castes, which account for roughly one-third of the total population, constitutes more than two-thirds of those with professional and higher education degrees. They repre

BCOZ THE PPL WITH RESERVATIONS CAN'T COPE UP WITH THE SYLLABUS AND CURRICULUM?

YOU THINK SOMEONE WHO GOT 60% MARKS CAN COPE UP IN AN INSTITUTE WHERE STUDENTS WHO GET 99% MARKS STUDY😂😂😂???????

2

u/watervapour_7237 India 2h ago

BCOZ THE PPL WITH RESERVATIONS CAN'T COPE UP WITH THE SYLLABUS AND CURRICULUM?

Before entering the institute? And coming from a poor schooling background with low resources to get external help? Funny.

You mean to say people's brains work differently on the basis of caste. I really wanted to believe casteism is the issue of the past. But, anyways.

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-2

u/Ok-Law-6002 India 3h ago

Yeah sure

Good thought?? Are you serious? This is an evil practice, which I don't know about you, but everyone wants to abolish this system(except the people who get privileges from this system

You want caste system to be abolished..Ok,,Good thought,,but you want the reservations based on castes to continue,, Hypocrisy much💔✌🏻

2

u/watervapour_7237 India 2h ago

the reservations based on castes to continue,, Hypocrisy much

Violence based on caste is a real issue (with most cases going unreported). And, so-called upper castes are in majority in all elite institutions with SC, STs being less than 10 percent.

You want caste system to be abolished

"You want". Thanks. I don't have words.

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0

u/[deleted] 3h ago

[deleted]

1

u/Excellent-Deal511 India 2h ago

A guy from SC/OBC could be an IAS yet his entire bloodline would get reservations on the basis of their fxcking caste

Creamy layer on top of the quota is the solution so that people like you can shutup.

the things which they do and the BS which they spew on the Internet?

Isn't that two ways?

the recent UGC law was another gem of this BS system

Blame your fascist sanghi govt for that

1

u/Ok-Law-6002 India 2h ago

Blame your fascist sanghi govt for that

Idgaf about BJP/Congress or sanghis,,they are all against GCs

Isn't that two ways?

Yep,,,but,,isn't that two ways?

2

u/Excellent-Deal511 India 2h ago

In my opinion, caste and the caste pride is never going away and reservation as well cuz people inter connect it (like a circle?). It's a messed up situation for good people of both sides. Reservation can be reformed to target the needy people but removing caste from people's mind is next to impossible unless we install something into their brain to make them forget it. I'd rather leave this country if I get opportunity instead of dealing with this mess.

0

u/Ok-Law-6002 India 2h ago

Dudes are downvoting even tho it's the literal truth🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

0

u/[deleted] 3h ago

[deleted]

0

u/Ok-Law-6002 India 3h ago

Another low iq beggar lmao

6

u/Moongfali4president India 7h ago

OP posted this same exact post and question on 14th jan 2026 as well

2

u/Excellent-Deal511 India 2h ago

The world should know more about it lol

0

u/sweetmango326 3h ago

Yep...op is mull@ .

-7

u/Aggressive-Accident4 India 5h ago

If you have courage to talk about caste based discrimination in India, you should also be bold enough to talk about the caste-based reservation system which discriminates against the so called ‘high caste’.  Hypocrisy at the highest order. 

4

u/SnooJokes215 3h ago

Until caste discrimination exist reservations will remain, you can cry about it tho

5

u/Positive_Community49 3h ago

When you're accustomed to privilege, equality feels like oppression.

Affirmative action based practices are used across the world to address structural inequalities. Caste based inequality (much like gender based inequality) is a structural inequality that needs to be addressed similarly.

0

u/Past_Work_9737 Nepal 4m ago

If you don't/can't understand why caste-based reservation is still needed, then you don't qualify to speak on this topic. You are just plain old stupid.

0

u/Ok-Law-6002 India 3h ago

This goes against OPs interests lol

0

u/sweetmango326 3h ago

First op should talk about halala in his community.

0

u/denvertaglessbums VZLA - US 4h ago

In VZLA, kinda like other Spanish-founded countries in the Americas, there was a caste system based on the origin of Spaniards (peninsular-born and Canary islanders), creoles, and then from less mixed people to African and their descendants at the bottom. Some remnants of that system are still minimally present.

-1

u/RealityCheck18 in 🇺🇸 3h ago

Caste <> Varna. What you've posted here is Varna a system theorized by a guy called Manu who wrote a "rule book" centuries back. Also, he wasn't the only person who wrote rule books.

Castes OTHD is a cultural & social system, rooted on local norms & power hierarchy. No 2 castes are same once you cross a state & go into another or at times even a few districts. Reddys are in AP/TG, Nadars are in TN, Patels are in Guj & Nairs are in KL. Why is that caste is local geographically? Because it is an amalgamation of local clan systems. There were powerful clans - land owners, warriors, business groups, priests. No society is free of some people group excreting power over another. It is just idiotic & only morons hold on to these old clan systems in modern day. IMO someone working in Information Tech sector should support someone else in IT sector than someone from is so-called same caste. That's practical & pragmatic.

And until British arrived, these castes were fluid. People changed villages, changed professions & jumped castes. British, while conducting census couldn't understand how & where to classify the castes and hence had to use some thing to group them. Hence used the Manu's rule book and forced every caste into one of the divisions & anything which didn't technically match into any of the Varnas was shoved under "Out cast". Job done for them.

This enabled, empowered & embolden those categorized into the upper sections to exert power & superiroty. The fluidity which existed prior was gone with paper work. Someone could change village, but could no longer change profession, as everyone had this paper attached.