05 July,2026 07:53 AM IST | Mumbai | Suhana Saha
As the Internet enables the normalisation of caste based slurs, one wonders if Gen Z has grown immune or ignorant of casteist lingo today. Pic/iStock
Not many - irrelevant of which generation they are born in - understand what the origins of the slur "kameena". The word is derived from Persian, in which it means "of lower birth".
The lack of understanding about how powerful words are combined with the Internet and social media has created a toxic mix of casual casteism. What is unique is that the casual casteism has been normalised under the pretext of accents and aesthetics.
A recent video by a Gen Z creator went viral for saying, "You cracked NEET but I cracked a Brahmin". Although the video was later deleted, similar content is doing the rounds in the Gen Z algorithm. Another video has a man sprinkling water around a pizza box while the caption reads "My nastik [atheist] a'' trying to impress a 10/10 Brahman baddie". A photo of a goth Gen Z girl and boy on the Metro train is captioned "Average Chhapri in India". When people point out the obvious casteist connotations in such words, the creators of these reels fall back on a common defence: "I didn't mean it like that".
Meanwhile, in the offline world, Gen Z still continues the usual insensitivity in the form of someone saying, "I look like a bhangi because I just didn't the time to dress up". Here, even though it seems like a jibe aimed at oneself, it uses a Scheduled Caste (SC) as a pejorative, and is very much still casteist. Even when one points out the years of systemic oppression associated with these slurs, some say "I didn't know it was casteist," while continuing to use the harmful words on other occasions.
Aleena who has gained one of the largest Instagram followings of any Dalit content creator, is a writer and poet and has been in the middle of today's anti-caste movement. Both her vocation and social locations have given a unique insight into the "so what-ness" around the language of casual casteism. "Social media has made casual casteism much more visible. Before that, many of these conversations happened within closed circuits; social media has produced newer, âmodern', less obvious slurs."
Avinash Pandey, professor at Mumbai University believes that resolution, or even a dialogue, is getting tougher as compared to before, when such conversations took place in real life. "It is because of the lack of free and common spaces that we are not able to participate in real dialogue. Expression has become impersonal because of algorithms."
Neha Thombre, who is a millennial content creator and has also been selected at Venice International Film Festival's human rights cinema workshop this year, believes that the anonymity of social media has led many Gen Z to be disjointed from the day-to-day realities of caste. "Social media gives polarisation a platform. With extremism being championed, it often leaves young adults feeling like casteism doesn't exist anymore, that reservation is begging, and slurs simply exist on the surface level."
However, both Aleena and Thombre note that social media has given visibility to victims and activists like never before.
Aleena points out what many older generations have been debating about Gen Z's particular brand of casteism. "While some genuinely don't know, others, despite being informed repeatedly, continue to do it anyway," she says. Distilled to one point about this generation's patterns of casteist behaviour? "One thing about Gen Z is that they may reject caste discrimination in principle, while reproducing casteist language in everyday life."
When we ask if pretty privilege helps creators "get away" with casteist behaviour, Aleena points out how the adoration or power that comes with this privilege plays a role. "People are generally more willing to excuse problematic behaviour when it comes from someone they admire. Online culture can intensify this because popularity and appearance often become social capital."
Thombre goes one step further, stating its pretty privilege - especially if it's wielded by women. "It doesn't matter whether the person is part of the majority or minority, if a pretty woman is the face of a piece of content, then men will ignore her behaviour." Casual casteism is also rampant because it meets no repercussions - socially and legally. Thombre states, "You simply can't trace them [perpetrators]. Most profiles that leave rape threats, bigoted comments, and slurs are profiles without names, photos, and bios⦠people are frustrated because of socio-economic problems in the country, like petrol prices and unemployment - they often take that out on minorities online."
However casually one may use slurs online, it will never take away the history behind them. "The normalisation of a slur does not erase its impact," says Aleena
Pandey states, "Caste identities are becoming stronger because social media allows the exaggeration of differences, with increased fragmentation in society. Also because algorithms show you things that you agree with, dehumanising people has gotten easier because there is no one to challenge you."
