STORIES, DATA, AND WOUNDS FROM INDIA

India was meant to outgrow caste. When the Constitution came into force in 1950, it outlawed untouchability under Article 17 and promised that no person would be judged by birth.

- Rishini Weeraratne

It was the promise of rebirth; a nation cleansing itself of an ancient cruelty. Yet as 2025 unfolds, the promise feels unfinished.

Caste, far from disappearing, has learned to disguise itself. It now hides behind class and privilege, behind accents and surnames, behind who gets to enter certain schools or who gets a fair chance at a government job.

It decides who marries whom, whose voice counts in a crowd, and, tragically, who lives and who dies. From the rice fields of Tamil Nadu to university corridors in Bengaluru, from Dalit colonies in Uttar Pradesh to film studios in Mumbai, caste remains India's most enduring social wound.

The story of caste is not ancient mythology; it is modern architecture. The Hindu varna system once divided society into four broad groups: Brahmins, the priests and scholars; Kshatriyas, the warriors and rulers; Vaishyas, the merchants and traders; and Shudras, the service providers and labourers. Outside these varnas were the avarna, literally, those "without varna," people now known as Dalits, formerly called "untouchables." They performed tasks considered impure, such as cleaning, leatherwork, and handling the dead. Over centuries, these categories hardened into hereditary jatis, or subcastes, tied to specific occupations and closed marriages. What began as a division of labour ossified into a division of dignity.