Reddit reviews Castes in India : their mechanism and development

Wow. There is actually so much wrong with this comment, I don't know where to begin.

> People who actually have exposure to modern and progressive world views are a tiny minority

This is true of almost every country, including the U.S. Only a few European countries can actually say most of their population is "progressive" and by that I'm assuming you mean supportive of minority/women/LGBT rights. Because "progressive" could also mean having open views about more complex issues like euthanasia, relative punishments for crime, ecological/environmental conservation etc. But again, probably less than 5 countries have even reached that level.

> The vast majority of the country is extremely uneducated, inherently conservative and socially extremely backward.

Ahh, yes the classic urban attitude towards rural people. Have you actually been to the villages of India? The progressiveness you speak of is more prevalent there. Unlike the urban Indian, they are more likely to respect their fellow human and Earth. Sure, they may not be ok with gays, but over time, I have more faith in them doing so than the average urban Indian.

Moreover, these are the same people who have miserable lives, yet have hope and optimism. They invent, innovate, create. What do the urbans do? File for applications to leave the country?

> You have gigantic class divides and every community only cares about themselves. Indian society is inherently very hierarchial and this goes back 1000s of years, with roots in caste.

Ok true. But I don't think it goes back "thousands of years" nor is it "inherent".

Here are 1, 2, and 3 different sources from non-Indian historians that explicitly state otherwise.

Indian society was modeled upon concentric relationship-based circles rather than linear hierarchy. That is something the colonial Europeans brought with them.

> Our religion has also had very little reform and that inevitably shapes society. If anything Hinduism has moved backwards in recent decades.

I don't think Hinduism needs reform. What it need is a revival of its true form. I mean literally everyone I know in India or otherwise who is at least a bit knowledgeable, respects Indian religions as "enlightened".

You've alluded to it elsewhere in your post, it just needs to be less focused on empty rituals, superstitions etc. But the moral/ontological frameworks are more suited to life in this chaotic, globalized world than any other religion, or philosophy (except maybe for Taoism). That's why millions of American/European youth are turning to Indian religions to inform their spirituality.

Though yes, the sanghis need to be curbed for this to happen.

> Of the 'old money' urban Indians, there's a class of them that see everyone beneath them as subhuman. They see themselves as lords. This is a bit like the old British conservative aristocracy mindset. People like Kanchan Gupta, Suhel Seth, Swapan Dasgupta, Chandan Mitra - they're all of this category.

This is how I know you don't know what you're talking about. Suhel Seth as old money? What a fucking joke. I don't even know who these are other people are. How do you fail to mention the Mafatlals, Mistrys, Tatas, Godrejs, Birlas, Mariwalas? There are families that are 8-10 generations of money.

And sure, the may feel aristocratic, but please tell me which country in the world doesn't have an elite that is aristocratic? The Grosvenors Rothschilds, Rockefellers, Carnegies, Vanderbilts, Gumis think the same way of "subhumans". Please read this to understand what old money truly is.

> So India is in a state of flux - from a feudal and medieval society to a modern industrialized society. Until a full transformation happens and there is a proper level of equality and development - both social and economic - you won't see much change.

Right, so basically like most countries in South America, Africa and South East Asia, Eastern Europe and the Middle East. I wonder what the common factor is there, hmm, could it be that they are all developing parts of the world?

> If this continues we will gradually set a course towards what's happening in many parts of the muslim world. A highly politicized, fundamentalist and intolerant far-right influence of religion on politics.

While I agree that the Hindu right is more vocal every time the BJP is in power, Indian society (all societies generally) have been moving to the left for the past hundred years.

The rest of your post I agree with. But, wow do you blow things way out of proportion.

TLDR: It's easy to be a cynic. India is a huge shit-hole, but rock-bottom has been achieved, regardless of politics. It can only get better.

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